119-hr2797

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2797 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2797

To establish a commission to study and develop proposals for expanding 
 the House of Representatives, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 9, 2025

 Ms. Stevens introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To establish a commission to study and develop proposals for expanding 
 the House of Representatives, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``House Expansion Commission Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) For nearly a century, the number of members of the 
 House of Representatives has been set at the 1929 cap of 435 
 members.

    (2) The number of constituents represented by each member 
 of the House of Representatives has dramatically increased 
 since the number of members of the House of Representatives was 
 arbitrarily capped in 1929.

    (3) The 1929 cap on the number of members of the House of 
 Representatives was instituted when the United States 
 population was 123 million. Since then, the United States 
 population has tripled to about 346 million which means the 
 average congressional district now represents nearly 800,000 
 constituents, according to data from the Bureau of the Census.

    (4) With current population growth estimates, the average 
 congressional district could have approximately 829,000 
 constituents by 2050.

    (5) A growing movement in Congress, and in think tanks, 
 seeks to increase the number of members of the House of 
 Representatives to increase public access to members, improve 
 diversity, and enhance Member ability to serve their 
 constituents.

    (6) Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced 
 House bill 622, the Restoring Equal and Accountable Legislators 
 in the House Act, in the One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, which 
 would add 150 seats to the House of Representatives, increasing 
 it to 585 members.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

 There is established a commission to be known as the ``U.S. House 
of Representatives Expansion Commission'' (in this Act referred to as 
the ``Commission'').

SEC. 4. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Study.--The Commission shall study--

    (1) the current size of the membership of the House of 
 Representatives considering--
        (A) the correlation between the current size of the 
 House and fair representation and efficacy; and
        (B) whether an expanded House of Representatives 
 can better serve Congress' core Article 1 function;

    (2) the option of a one-time expansion compared to the 
 feasibility of recurring expansions;

    (3) the so called ``Cube Root Law'', ``Wyoming Rule'', and 
 other relevant methods to increase the size of the House of 
 Representatives;

    (4) the cost implications and practical challenges to the 
 House of Representatives associated with expanding the number 
 of members of the House of Representatives including the 
 logistics for--
        (A) offices and meeting spaces;
        (B) congressional support entities;
            (C) hiring congressional staff;
            (D) voting by members of the House of 
 Representatives;
        (E) House administration offices; and
        (F) funding;

    (5) how countries with similar legislative structures 
 expanded their legislative bodies and the outcomes of such 
 expansions;

    (6) the historical context of the last time the number of 
 members of the House of Representatives was changed and key 
 motivations behind the amendments made by the Act entitled ``An 
 Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial 
 census and to provide for apportionment of Representatives in 
 Congress'', approved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a);

    (7) whether an expanded House of Representatives can better 
 exercise the powers vested in Article I of the Constitution;

    (8) how expanding the number of members of the House of 
 Representatives may affect district size variance across States 
 and impact underrepresented constituencies; and

    (9) the potential effects of an expanded House of 
 Representative on the ability of the House to enact laws.

    (b) Consultation.--In conducting the study under subsection

    (a) , 
the Commission shall consult with the Architect of the Capitol, the 
Administrator of General Services, the Sergeant at Arms of the House of 
Representatives, the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of 
Representatives, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and such 
other persons as the Commission considers appropriate.
            (c) Report and Proposals.--Not later than 2 years after the first 
meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall submit to the President 
and to the Congress a report of the study of the Commission, and shall 
include in the report proposals based on such study for--

    (1) expanding the size of the membership of the House of 
 Representatives;

    (2) potential ways to expand the House of Representatives 
 to bolster the key role of the House of Representatives in 
 representing the American people in Congress; and

    (3) solutions to any identified challenges that may arise 
 from such expansion.

SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

    (a) Number and Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 13 
members who are not Members of Congress at the time of appointment, and 
who shall be appointed not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, as follows:

    (1) 5 members appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives.

    (2) 5 members appointed by the minority leader of the House 
 of Representatives.

    (3) 1 individual, appointed by the majority leader of the 
 Senate, who previously served in the House of Representatives.

    (4) 1 individual, appointed by the minority leader of the 
 Senate, who previously served in the House of Representatives.

    (5) 1 member appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives and the minority leader of the House of 
 Representatives to serve as Chairperson of the Commission.

    (b) Terms.--

    (1) In general.--Each member shall be appointed for the 
 life of the Commission.

    (2) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled 
 in the manner in which the original appointment was made.

    (3) Priority.--In making appointments under this section, 
 the appointing authorities shall seek to appoint individuals 
 who are particularly qualified to perform the functions of the 
 Commission, by reason of either practical experience or 
 academic expertise in politics, government, mathematics, or 
 statistics.
            (c) Basic Pay.--

    (1) Rates of pay.--Except as provided in paragraph

    (2) , 
 Members shall serve without pay.

    (2) Travel expenses.--Each member shall receive travel 
 expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 
 accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter I of 
 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
            (d) Quorum.--7 members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, 
but a lesser number may hold hearings.

    (e) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the 
Chairperson or a majority of its members.

SEC. 6. PERSONNEL OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Director.--The Commission shall have a Director who shall be 
appointed by a majority vote of the Commission. To the extent or in the 
amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts, the Director shall 
be paid at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay for level IV of 
the Executive Schedule.

    (b) Staff.--The Director, with the approval of the Commission, and 
the Commission may appoint such personnel as may be necessary to enable 
the Commission to carry out its duties, without regard to the 
provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in 
the competitive service, and without regard to the provisions of 
chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to 
classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that no rate of 
pay fixed under this subsection may exceed--

    (1) the equivalent of that payable to a person occupying a 
 position at level IV of the Executive Schedule, in the case of 
 an employee appointed by the Director; and

    (2) the equivalent of that payable to a person occupying a 
 position at level V of the Executive Schedule, in the case of 
 an employee appointed by the Commission.
            (c) Experts and Consultants.--With the approval of the Commission, 
the Director may procure temporary and intermittent services under 

section 3109

    (b) of title 5, United States Code.
            (d) Detail of Government Employees.--Upon the request of the 
Commission, the head of any Federal agency may detail, without 
reimbursement, any of the personnel of such agency to the Commission to 
assist in carrying out the duties of the Commission. Any such detail 
shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service status or 
privileges of the personnel.

SEC. 7. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Hearings and Sessions.--The Commission may, for the purpose of 
carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places, 
take testimony, and receive evidence as the Commission considers 
appropriate.

    (b) Powers of Members and Groups of Members.--Any member or group 
of members may, if authorized by the Commission, take any action which 
the Commission is authorized to take by this section.
            (c) Obtaining Official Data.--The Commission may secure directly 
from any Federal agency information necessary to enable it to carry out 
its duties, if the information may be disclosed under 

section 552 of 
title 5, United States Code. Upon request of the Chairperson of the 
Commission, the head of such agency shall furnish such information to 
the Commission.
            (d) Administrative Support Services.--Upon the request of the 
Commission, the Administrator of General Services shall provide to the 
Commission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support 
services necessary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 
under this Act.

    (e) Volunteer Services.--Notwithstanding 1342 of title 31, United 
States Code, the Commission may accept and use voluntary and 
uncompensated services as the Commission determines necessary.

    (f) Postal Service.--The Commission may use the United States mails 
in the same manner and under the same conditions as departments and 
agencies of the United States.

    (g) Contract Authority.--The Commission may enter into contracts 
for the acquisition of administrative supplies and equipment for use by 
the Commission, to the extent that funds are available for such 
purpose.

SEC. 8. TERMINATION.

 The Commission shall terminate 90 days after submitting the report 
under 

section 4
            (c) .

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.
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