Source: The Hill
by Don Wolfensberger
“For nearly three decades I labored in the congressional vineyards of rules, procedures, norms and reforms. And, in all that time, until last week, I had never heard of a law creating the Senate rule of five or the House rule of seven. Suffice it to say it was antiquated, obscure and rarely invoked. Moreover, it is not contained in the standing rules manual of either body. Instead, it is enshrined in permanent law — namely 5 U.S. Code, sec. 2954, first enacted in 1928. That section simply directs any executive agency to comply with any request for information from one of the two principal oversight committees of Congress. … What has reignited interest in this succinct century-old law is its resurrection last week by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and all seven Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee demanding that the Justice Department turn over all documents relating to the Jeffrey Epstein controversy.” (08/07/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/5439184-senate-house-rule-epstein/