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Let Congress Fire Congress
AKA “Congressional Member Accountability Act”
Which agency/agencies promulgated the regulation? *
• U.S. House of Representatives (House Rules)
• U.S. Senate (Senate Rules)
• House Rule XV, Clause 3 – currently requires a two-thirds vote to expel a Member.
• Senate Rule XIII – currently requires a two-thirds vote to expel a Senator.
—OPTIONAL--
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
“Member Expulsion Threshold Reduction”
Both chambers today require a supermajority (two-thirds) to expel a Member—an almost impossible bar. Lowering the threshold to a simple majority (50 % + 1) makes it feasible to remove Members convicted of corruption, ethics violations, or severe misconduct.
U.S. House Administration Committee
1319 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
SR-301 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 225-9191
Under Article I, § 5, each chamber may expel a Member with the concurrence of two-thirds of members present. Both the House and Senate codified this supermajority requirement in their internal Rules (House Rule XV, Clause 3; Senate Rule XIII).
• House Rule XV, Clause 3: Amending to require a simple majority vote for expulsion.
• Senate Rule XIII: Amending to require a simple majority vote for expulsion.
— House Rule XV, Clause 3 is revised to read:
“Any member may be expelled from the House by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Members present.”
— Senate Rule XIII is revised to read:
“Any Senator may be expelled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Senators present.”
Virginia Foxx; Mitch Mcconnell
Chair, U.S. House Administration Committee; Chair, U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration