[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 7, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H32-H34]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE ON PROCEDURES FOR THE 105TH 
                                CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Policies of the Chair, January 7, 1997:
  The Chair customarily takes this occasion on the opening day of a 
Congress to announce his policies with respect to particular aspects of 
the legislative process. The Chair will insert in the Record 
announcements by the Speaker concerning, first, privileges of the 
floor; second, the introduction of bills and resolutions; third, 
unanimous consent requests for the consideration of bills and 
resolutions; fourth, recognition for 1-minute speeches, morning hour 
debate and special orders; fifth, decorum in debate; sixth, the conduct 
of votes by electronic device and, seventh, the distribution of written 
material on the House floor.
  These announcements where appropriate will reiterate the origins of 
the stated policies. The Speaker intends to continue in the 105th 
Congress the policies reflected in these statements. The policy 
announced in the 102d Congress with respect to judicial concepts 
related to clause 5(b) of rule XXI, tax and tariff measures, will 
continue to govern but need not be reiterated as it is adequately 
documented as precedent in the House Rules and Manual.
  The announcements referred to follow:


                       1. privileges of the floor

       The Speaker's instructions to the former Doorkeeper and the 
     Sergeant-at-arms announced on January 25, 1983, and on 
     January 21, 1986, regarding floor privileges of staff will 
     apply during the 105th Congress. The Speaker's policy 
     announced on August 1, 1996, regarding floor privileges of 
     former Members will also apply during the 105th Congress.


             announcement by the speaker, January 25, 1983

       The SPEAKER. Rule XXXII strictly limits those persons to 
     whom the privileges of the floor during sessions of the House 
     are extended, and that rule prohibits the Chair from 
     entertaining requests for suspension or waiver of that rule. 
     As reiterated as recently as August 22, 1974, by Speaker 
     Albert under the principle stated in Deschler's Procedure, 
     chapter 4, section 3.4, the rule strictly limits the number 
     of committee staff permitted on the floor at one time during 
     the consideration of measures reported from their committees. 
     This permission does not extend to Members' personal staff 
     except when a Member has an amendment actually pending during 
     the five-minute rule. To this end, the Chair requests all 
     Members and committee staff to cooperate to assure that not 
     more than the proper number of staff are on the floor, and 
     then only during the actual consideration of measures 
     reported from their committees. The Chair will again extend 
     this admonition to all properly admitted majority and 
     minority staff by insisting that their presence on the floor, 
     including the areas behind the rail, be restricted to those 
     periods during which their supervisors have specifically 
     requested their presence. The Chair stated this policy in the 
     97th Congress, and an increasing number of Members have 
     insisted on strict enforcement of the rule. The Chair has 
     consulted with and has the concurrence of the Minority Leader 
     with respect to this policy and has directed [the Doorkeeper] 
     and the Sergeant-at-arms to assure proper enforcement of the 
     rule.


             announcement by the speaker, january 21, 1986

       The SPEAKER. Rule XXXII strictly limits those persons to 
     whom the privileges of the floor during sessions of the House 
     are extended, and that rule prohibits the Chair from 
     entertaining requests for suspension or waiver of that rule. 
     As reiterated by the Chair on January 25, 1983, and January 
     3, 1985, and as stated in chapter 4, section 3.4 of Deschler-
     Brown's Procedure in the House of Representatives, the rule 
     strictly limits the number of committee staff on the floor at 
     one time during the consideration of measures reported from 
     their committees. This permission does not extend to members' 
     personal staff except when a member's amendment is actually 
     pending during the five-minute rule. It also does not extend 
     to personal staff of members who are sponsors of pending 
     bills or who are engaging in special orders. The Chair 
     requests the cooperation of all members and committee staff 
     to assure that only the proper number of staff are on the 
     floor, and then only during the consideration of measures 
     reported from their committees. The Chair is making this 
     statement and reiterating this policy because of concerns 
     expressed by many members about the number of committee staff 
     on the floor during the last weeks of the first session. The 
     Chair requests each chairman, and each ranking minority 
     member, to submit to the [Doorkeeper] Sergeant-at-arms a list 
     of staff who are to be allowed on the floor during the 
     consideration of a measure reported by their committee. 
     Each staff person should exchange his or her ID for a 
     ``committee staff'' badge which is to be worn while on the 
     floor. The Chair has consulted with the Minority Leader 
     and will continue to consult with him. The Chair has 
     furthermore directed the [Doorkeeper and] Sergeant-at-arms 
     to assure proper enforcement of rule XXXII.


              announcement by the speaker, august 1, 1996

       The SPEAKER. The Chair will make a statement. On May 25, 
     1995, the Chair took the opportunity to reiterate guidelines 
     on the prohibition against former Members exercising floor 
     privileges during the consideration of a matter in which they 
     have a personal or pecuniary interest or are employed or 
     retained as a lobbyist.
       Clause 3 of House rule XXXII and the subsequent guidelines 
     issued by previous Speakers on this matter make it clear that 
     consideration of legislative measures is not limited solely 
     to those pending before the House. Consideration also 
     includes all bills and resolutions either which have been 
     called up by a full committee or subcommittee or on which 
     hearings have been held by a full committee or subcommittee 
     of the House.
       Former Members can be prohibited from privileges of the 
     floor, the Speaker's lobby and respective Cloakrooms should 
     it be ascertained they have direct interests in legislation 
     that is before a subcommittee, full committee, or the House. 
     Not only do those circumstances prohibit former Members but 
     the fact that a former Member is employed or retained by a 
     lobbying organization attempting to directly or indirectly 
     influence pending legislation is cause for prohibiting access 
     to the House Chamber.
       First announced by Speaker O'Neill on January 6, 1977, 
     again on June 7, 1978, and by Speaker Foley in 1994, the 
     guidelines were intended to prohibit former Members from 
     using their floor privileges under the restrictions laid out 
     in this rule. This restriction extends not only to the House 
     floor but adjacent rooms, the Cloakrooms, and the Speaker's 
     lobby.
       Members who have reason to know that a former Member is on 
     the floor inconsistent with clause 3, rule XXXII, should 
     notify the Sergeant-at-arms promptly.


                2. introduction of bills and resolutions

       The Speaker's policy announced on January 3, 1983, will 
     continue to apply in the 105th Congress.


              announcement by the speaker, january 3, 1983

       The SPEAKER. The Chair would like to make a statement 
     concerning the introduction and reference of bills and 
     resolutions. As Members are aware, they have the privilege 
     today of introducing bills. Heretofore on the opening day of 
     a new Congress, several hundred bills have been introduced. 
     The Chair will do his best to refer as many bills as 
     possible, but he will ask the indulgence of Members if he is 
     unable to refer all the bills that may be introduced. Those 
     bills which are not referred and do not appear in the Record 
     as of today will be included in the next day's Record and 
     printed with a date as of today.
       The Chair has advised all officers and employees of the 
     House that are involved in the processing of bills that every 
     bill, resolution,

[[Page H33]]

     memorial, petition or other material that is placed in the 
     hopper must bear the signature of a Member. Where a bill 
     or resolution is jointly sponsored, the signature must be 
     that of the Member first named thereon. The bill clerk is 
     instructed to return to the Member any bill which appears 
     in the hopper without an original signature. This 
     procedure was inaugurated in the 92nd Congress. It has 
     worked well, and the Chair thinks that it is essential to 
     continue this practice to insure the integrity of the 
     process by which legislation is introduced in the House.


   3. unanimous-consent requests for the consideration of bills and 
                              resolutions

       The Speaker will continue to follow the guidelines recorded 
     in section 757 of the House Rules and Manual conferring 
     recognition for unanimous-consent requests for the 
     consideration of bills and resolutions only when assured that 
     the majority and minority floor leadership and committee and 
     subcommittee Chairmen and ranking minority members have no 
     objection. Consistent with those guidelines, and with the 
     Chair's inherent power of recognition under clause 2 of rule 
     XIV, the Chair, and any occupant of the Chair appointed as 
     Speaker pro tempore pursuant to clause 7 of rule I, will 
     decline recognition for unanimous-consent requests for 
     consideration of bills and resolutions without assurances 
     that the request has been so cleared. This denial of 
     recognition by the Chair will not reflect necessarily any 
     personal opposition on the part of the Chair to orderly 
     consideration of the matter in question, but will reflect the 
     determination upon the part of the Chair that orderly 
     procedures will be followed; that is, procedures involving 
     consultation and agreement between floor and committee 
     leadership on both sides of the aisle. In addition to 
     unanimous-consent requests for the consideration of bills and 
     resolutions, section 757 of the House Rules Manual also 
     chronicles examples where the Speaker applied this policy on 
     recognition to other related unanimous-consent requests, such 
     as requests to consider a motion to suspend the rules on a 
     nonsuspension day and requests to permit consideration of 
     nongermane amendments to bills. Such applications of the 
     Speaker's guidelines will continue in the 105th Congress.
       As announced by the Speaker, April 26, 1984, the Chair will 
     entertain unanimous-consent requests to dispose of Senate 
     amendments to House bills on the Speaker's table if made by 
     the chairman of the committee with jurisdiction, or by 
     another committee member authorized to make the request.


       4. recognition for one-minute speeches and special orders

       The Speaker's policy announced on January 25, 1984, with 
     respect to recognition for one-minute speeches will apply 
     during the 105th Congress with the continued understanding 
     that the Chair reserves the authority to restrict one-minute 
     speeches at the beginning the legislative day. The Speaker's 
     following policies announced in the 104th Congress will also 
     continue through the 105th Congress: (1) the Speaker's 
     residual policy for the recognition of special-order speeches 
     absent an agreement between the leaderships to the contrary; 
     and (2) the Speaker's policy for recognition for ``morning 
     hour'' debate and restricted special-order speeches, 
     announced on May 12, 1995, with the further clarification 
     that reallocations of time within each leadership special-
     order period will be permitted with notice to the Chair.


 Announcement by the Speaker, August 8, 1984, relative to recognition 
                        for one-minute speeches

       The SPEAKER. After consultation with and concurrence by the 
     Minority Leader, the Chair announces that he will institute a 
     new policy of recognition for ``one-minute'' speeches and for 
     special order requests. The Chair will alternate recognition 
     for one-minute speeches between majority and minority 
     Members, in the order in which they seek recognition in the 
     well under present practice from the Chair's right to the 
     Chair's left, with possible exceptions for Members of the 
     leadership and Members having business requests. The Chair, 
     of course, reserves the right to limit one-minute speeches to 
     a certain period of time or to a special place in the program 
     on any given day, with notice to the leadership.


Announcement by the Speaker, January 4, 1995, relative to ``residual'' 
           policy for recognition for special-order speeches

       The SPEAKER. Absent an agreement between the leaderships 
     regarding recognition for requests to address the House for 
     ``special-order speeches'' at the end of legislative 
     business, the Chair will decline recognition for permission 
     to address the House for any period extending more than one 
     week in advance of the request. In accordance with the 
     Speaker's policy as enunciated on August 8, 1984, the Chair 
     will first recognize Members who wish to address the House 
     for five minutes or less, alternating between majority and 
     minority Members in the order in which those permissions were 
     granted by the House. Thereafter, the Chair will recognize 
     Members who wish to address the House for longer than five 
     minutes up to one hour, again alternating between majority 
     and minority Members in the order in which those permissions 
     were granted by the House. However, unlike the Speaker's 
     policy of August 8, 1984, the Chair will alternate daily 
     between parties recognition for the first special order 
     longer than five minutes regardless of the order in which 
     permissions were granted.


Announcement by the Speaker January 4, 1995, relative to special-order 
                    speeches and morning-hour debate

       The SPEAKER. Upon consultation with the Minority Leader, 
     the Chair announces that the format for recognition for 
     ``morning-hour'' debate and restricted special-order 
     speeches, which began on February 23, 1994, will continue 
     [through the 105th Congress], as outlined below:
       On Tuesdays, following legislative business, the Chair may 
     recognize Members for special-order speeches up to midnight, 
     and such speeches may not extend beyond midnight. On all 
     other days of the week, the Chair may recognize Members for 
     special-order speeches up to four hours after the conclusion 
     of five-minute special-order speeches. Such speeches may not 
     extend beyond the four-hour limit without the permission of 
     the Chair, which may be granted only with advance 
     consultation between the leaderships and notification to the 
     House. However, at no time shall the Chair recognize for any 
     special-order speeches beyond midnight.
       The Chair will first recognize Members for five-minute 
     special-order speeches, alternating initially 
     and subsequently between the parties regardless of the 
     date the order was granted by the House. The Chair will 
     then recognize longer special orders speeches. The four-
     hour limitation will be divided between the majority and 
     minority parties. Each party is entitled to reserve its 
     first hour for respective leaderships or their designees. 
     Recognition will alternate initially and subsequently 
     between the parties, regardless of the date the order was 
     granted by the House.
       The allocation of time within each party's two-hour period 
     (or shorter period if prorated to end by midnight) is to be 
     determined by a list submitted to the Chair by the respective 
     leaderships. Members may not sign up for any special-order 
     speeches earlier than one week prior to the special order, 
     and additional guidelines may be established for such sign-
     ups by the respective leaderships.
       Pursuant to clause 9(b)(1) of rule I, the television 
     cameras will not pan the Chamber, but a ``crawl'' indicating 
     morning hour or that the House has completed its legislative 
     business and is proceeding with special-order speeches will 
     appear on the screen. Other television camera adaptations 
     during this period may be announced by the Chair.
       The continuation of this format for recognition by the 
     Speaker is without prejudice to the Speaker's ultimate power 
     of recognition under clause 2 of rule XIV should 
     circumstances so warrant.


                          5. decorum in debate

       The Speaker's policies with respect to decorum in debate 
     announced on January 3, 1991, and January 4, 1995, will apply 
     during the 105th Congress as supplemented by an announcement 
     made by the Speaker earlier today.


              announcement by the speaker, january 3, 1991

       The SPEAKER. It is essential that the dignity of the 
     proceedings of the House be preserved, not only to assure 
     that the House conducts its business in an orderly fashion 
     but to permit Members to properly comprehend and participate 
     in the business of the House. To this end, and in order to 
     permit the Chair to understand and to correctly put the 
     question on the numerous requests that are made by Members, 
     the Chair requests that Members and others who have the 
     privileges of the floor desist from audible conversation in 
     the Chamber while the business of the House is being 
     conducted. The Chair would encourage all Members to review 
     rule XIV to gain a better understanding of the proper rules 
     of decorum expected of them, and especially: First, to avoid 
     ``personalities'' in debate with respect to references to 
     other Members, the Senate, and the President; second, to 
     address the Chair while standing and only when and not beyond 
     the time recognized, and not to address the television or 
     other imagined audience; third; to refrain from passing 
     between the Chair and the Member speaking, or directly in 
     front of a Member speaking from the well; fourth, to refrain 
     from smoking in the Chamber; and generally to display the 
     same degree of respect to the Chair and other Members that 
     every Member is due.
       The Speaker's announcement of January 4, 1995, will 
     continue to apply in the 105th Congress as follows:
       The Chair would like all Members to be on notice that the 
     Chair intends to strictly enforce the limitations on debate. 
     Furthermore, the Chair has the authority to immediately 
     interrupt Members in debate who transgress rule XIV by 
     failing to avoid ``personalities'' in debate with respect to 
     references to the Senate, the President, and other Members, 
     rather than wait for Members to complete their remarks.
       Finally, it is not in order to speak disrespectfully of the 
     Speaker; and under the precedents the sanctions for such 
     violations transcend the ordinary requirements for timeliness 
     of challenges. This separate treatment is recorded in volume 
     2 of Hinds' Precedents, at section 1248 and was reiterated on 
     January 19, 1995.


                6. conduct of votes by electronic device

       The Speaker's policy announced on January 4, 1995, will 
     continue through 105th Congress.
       The SPEAKER. The Chair wishes to enunciate a clear policy 
     with respect to the conduct of electronic votes.
       As Members are aware, clause 5 of rule XV provides that 
     Members shall have not less

[[Page H34]]

     than 15 minutes in which to answer an ordinary rollcall vote 
     or quorum call The rule obviously establishes 15 minutes as a 
     minimum. Still, with the cooperation of the Members, a vote 
     can easily be completed in that time. The events of October 
     30, 1991, stand out as proof of this point. On that occasion, 
     the House was considering a bill in the Committee of the 
     Whole under a special rule that placed an overall time limit 
     on the amendment process, including the time consumed by 
     rollcalls. The Chair announced, and then strictly enforced, a 
     policy of closing electronic votes as soon as possible after 
     the guaranteed period of 15 minutes. Members appreciated and 
     cooperated with the Chair's enforcement of the policy on that 
     occasion.
       The Chair desires that the example of October 30, 1991, be 
     made the regular practice of the House. To that end, the 
     Chair enlists the assistance of all Members in avoiding the 
     unnecessary loss of time in conducting the business of the 
     House. The Chair encourages all Members to depart for the 
     Chamber promptly upon the appropriate bell and light signal. 
     As in recent Congresses, the cloakrooms should not forward to 
     the Chair requests to hold a vote by electronic device, but 
     should simply apprise inquiring Members of the time remaining 
     on the voting clock.
       Although no occupant of the Chamber would prevent a Member 
     who is in the well of the Chamber before the announcement of 
     the result from casting his or her vote, each occupant of the 
     Chair will have the full support of the Speaker in striving 
     to close each electronic vote at the earliest opportunity. 
     Members should not rely on signals relayed from outside the 
     Chamber to assume that votes will be held open until they 
     arrive in the Chamber.


                   7. use of handouts on House floor

       The Speaker's policy announced on September 27, 1995, will 
     continue through 105th Congress.
       The SPEAKER. A recent misuse of handouts on the floor of 
     the House has been called to the attention of the Chair and 
     the House. At the bipartisan request of the Committee on 
     Standards of Official Conduct, the Chair announces that all 
     handouts distributed on or adjacent to the House floor by 
     Members during House proceedings must bear the name of the 
     Member authorizing their distribution. In addition, the 
     content of those materials must comport with standards of 
     propriety applicable to words spoken in debate or inserted in 
     the Record. Failure to comply with this admonition may 
     constitute a breach of decorum and may give rise to a 
     question of privilege.
       The Chair would also remind Members that pursuant to clause 
     4, rule XXXII, staff are prohibited from engaging in efforts 
     in the Hall of the House or rooms leading thereto to 
     influence Members with regard to the legislation being 
     amended. Staff cannot distribute handouts.
       In order to enhance the quality of debate in the House, the 
     Chair would ask Members to minimize the use of handouts.

                          ____________________