§6913 Membership of the Commission

Summary

The Commission must have 23 members. Nine are members of the House chosen by the Speaker: five from the majority party and four from the minority party after the Speaker talks with the House minority leader. Nine are members of the Senate chosen by the President of the Senate: five from the majority party after consulting the Senate majority leader and four from the minority party after consulting the Senate minority leader. The President of the United States appoints one employee each from the Departments of State, Commerce, and Labor, plus two at-large executive-branch employees. At the start of every odd-numbered Congress, the President of the Senate, after a recommendation from the Senate majority leader, must pick a Senate member on the Commission to be Chair, and the Speaker must pick a House member to be Cochair. At the start of every even-numbered Congress, the Speaker must pick the Chair from the House members, and the President of the Senate, after a recommendation from the Senate majority leader, must pick the Cochair from the Senate members.