[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 2 (Monday, January 4, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H38-H41]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair customarily takes this occasion at 
the outset of a Congress to announce policies with respect to 
particular aspects of the legislative process. The Chair will insert in 
the Record announcements concerning:
  First, privileges of the floor;
  Second, introduction of bills and resolutions;
  Third, unanimous-consent requests for the consideration of 
legislation;
  Fourth, recognition for 1-minute speeches;
  Fifth, recognition for Special Order speeches;
  Sixth, decorum in debate;
  Seventh, conduct of votes by electronic device;
  Eighth, use of handouts on the House floor;
  Ninth, use of electronic equipment on the House floor; and
  Tenth, use of the Chamber.
  These announcements, where appropriate, will reiterate the origins of 
the stated policies. The Chair intends to continue in the 117th 
Congress the policies reflected in these statements.
  The policy announced in the 102nd Congress with respect to 
jurisdictional concepts related to clauses 5(a) 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.
  Without objection, the announcements will be printed in the Record.
  There was no objection.

     Privileges of the Floor
       The Chair will make the following announcements regarding 
     floor privileges, which will apply during the 117th Congress.


           ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER WITH RESPECT TO STAFF

       Rule IV 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 21, 1986, January 3, 1985, January 
     25, 1983, and August 22, 1974, and as stated in Chapter 10, 
     section 2, of House Practice, 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. 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 
     within the jurisdiction of their committees. The Chair is 
     making this statement and reiterating this policy because of 
     Members' past insistence upon strict enforcement of the rule. 
     The Chair requests each committee chair, and each ranking 
     minority member, to submit to the Speaker a list of those 
     staff who are allowed on the floor during the consideration 
     of a measure in the jurisdiction of their committee. The 
     Sergeant-at-Arms, who has been directed to assure proper 
     enforcement of rule IV, will keep the list. Each staff person 
     should exchange their ID for a ``committee staff'' badge, 
     which is to be worn while on the floor. The Chair has 
     consulted, and will continue to consult with, the Minority 
     Leader. Furthermore, as the Chair announced on January 7, 
     2003, in accordance with the change in the 108th Congress of 
     clause 2(a) of rule IV regarding leadership staff floor 
     access, only designated staff approved by the

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     Speaker shall be granted the privilege of the floor. The 
     Speaker intends that this approval be narrowly granted on a 
     bipartisan basis to staff from the majority and minority side 
     and only to those staff essential to floor activities.


       ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER WITH RESPECT TO FORMER MEMBERS

       The Speaker's policy announced on February 1, 2006, will 
     continue to apply in the 117th Congress. The House has 
     adopted a revision to the rule regarding the admission to the 
     floor and the rooms leading thereto. Clause 4 of rule IV 
     provides that a former Member, Delegate or Resident 
     Commissioner or a former Parliamentarian of the House, or a 
     former elected officer of the House or a former minority 
     employee nominated as an elected officer of the House shall 
     not be entitled to the privilege of admission to the Hall of 
     the House and the rooms extending thereto if they are a 
     registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal; have 
     any direct personal pecuniary interest in any legislative 
     measure pending before the House, or reported by a committee; 
     are in the employ of or represents any party or organization 
     for the purpose of influencing, directly or indirectly, the 
     passage, defeat, or amendment of any legislative proposal; or 
     have been convicted by a court of record for the commission 
     of a crime in relation to that individual's election to, or 
     service in, the House. This restriction extends not only to 
     the House floor but adjacent rooms, the cloakrooms and the 
     Speaker's lobby. Clause 4 of rule IV also allows the Speaker 
     to exempt ceremonial and educational functions from the 
     restrictions of this clause. These restrictions shall not 
     apply to attendance at joint meetings or joint sessions, 
     Former Members' Day proceedings, educational tours, and other 
     occasions as the Speaker may designate. Members who have 
     reason to know that a person is on the floor inconsistent 
     with clause 4 of rule IV should notify the Sergeant-at-Arms 
     promptly.
     2. Introduction of Bills and Resolutions
       The policy that the Chair announced on April 6, 2020, with 
     respect to the introduction of bills and resolutions will 
     apply permanently in the 117th Congress. All floor 
     documents--including bills, resolutions, co-sponsor forms, 
     constitutional authority statements, general leave 
     statements, and extensions of remarks--may be submitted 
     electronically to a dedicated and secure email system, or 
     delivered by hand to staff in the Speaker's Lobby or 
     Cloakrooms. Electronic and hand-delivered submissions will be 
     accepted when the House is in session, as well as 15 minutes 
     immediately before and after. Members and staff should 
     reference additional detailed guidance from the Clerk's 
     Office regarding where and how to submit materials 
     electronically.
       The policy that the Chair announced on January 3, 1983, 
     with respect to the introduction and reference of bills and 
     resolutions will continue to apply in the 117th Congress. The 
     Chair has advised all officers and employees of the House who 
     are involved in the processing of bills that every bill, 
     resolution, 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 92d Congress. It has 
     worked well, and the Chair thinks that it is essential to 
     continue this practice to ensure the integrity of the process 
     by which legislation is introduced in the House. The Chair 
     has noted a need for increased attention to detail regarding 
     the addition of cosponsors to measures to ensure accuracy. To 
     that end, Members are encouraged to use the template provided 
     by the Office of the Clerk, which requests Members seeking to 
     be added as cosponsors to include their printed name, 
     original signature, and state. Members routinely include 
     their original signatures, states, and districts when voting 
     by card in the well, so the Chair is hopeful that the 
     inclusion of such information on a cosponsor form will be a 
     familiar task. Under this policy, original signatures may 
     include those in electronic form.
     3. Unanimous-Consent Requests for the Consideration of 
         Legislation
       The policy the Chair announced on January 6, 1999, with 
     respect to recognition for unanimous consent requests for the 
     consideration of certain legislative measures will continue 
     to apply in the 117th Congress. The Speaker will continue to 
     follow the guidelines recorded in section 956 of the House 
     Rules and Manual conferring recognition for unanimous-consent 
     requests for the consideration of bills, resolutions, and 
     other measures only when assured that the majority and 
     minority floor leadership and the relevant committee chairs 
     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 XVII, the Chair, and any 
     occupant of the chair appointed as Speaker pro tempore 
     pursuant to clause 8 of rule I, will decline recognition for 
     the unanimous-consent requests chronicled in section 956 
     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.
     4. Recognition for One-Minute Speeches


    ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER WITH RESPECT TO ONE-MINUTE SPEECHES

       The Speaker's policy announced on August 8, 1984, with 
     respect to recognition for one-minute speeches will apply 
     during the 117th Congress. 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. In addition, 
     during the 117th Congress, the Chair will continue the 
     practice of not recognizing Members for a one minute speech 
     more than one time per legislative day.
     5. Recognition for Special-Order Speeches


   ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER WITH RESPECT TO SPECIAL-ORDER SPEECHES

       The Speaker's policy with regard to special-order speeches 
     announced on February 11, 1994, as clarified and reiterated 
     by subsequent Speakers, will continue to apply in the 117th 
     Congress. The Chair may recognize Members for special-order 
     speeches for up to 4 hours. Such speeches may not extend 
     beyond the 4-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, the 
     Chair will not recognize for any special-order speeches 
     beyond 10 o'clock in the evening. The 4-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. The second hour reserved to 
     each party will be divided into two 30-minute periods. 
     Recognition for one-hour periods and for 30-minute periods 
     will alternate initially and subsequently between the parties 
     each day. The Chair wishes to clarify for Members that any 
     60- or 30-minute period that is not claimed at the 
     appropriate time will be considered to have expired; this 
     includes the first 60-minute period of the day. The 
     allocation of time within each party's 2-hour period (or 
     shorter period if prorated to end by 10 p.m.) will be 
     determined by a list submitted to the Chair by the respective 
     leaderships. Members may not sign up with their leadership 
     for any special-order speeches earlier than one week prior to 
     the special order. Additionally, Members must sign up with 
     their leadership for any special-order speech at least one 
     day prior to the special order. The Chair will not recognize 
     a Member for more than one special-order speech per week, nor 
     may a Member sign up for a second special-order speech in the 
     same week. Additional guidelines may be established for such 
     sign-ups by the respective leaderships. Pursuant to clause 
     2(a) of rule V, the television cameras will not pan the 
     Chamber, but a ``crawl'' indicating the conduct of 
     morning-hour debate or that the House has completed its 
     legislative business and is proceeding with special-order 
     speeches will appear on the screen. The Chair may announce 
     other adaptations during this period. 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 XVII and includes the ability to 
     withdraw recognition for longer special-order speeches 
     should circumstances warrant.
     6. Decorum in Debate
       Although clause 5 of rule XVII prohibits Members from 
     wearing hats on the floor of the House, the Speaker intends 
     to continue to apply discretion in enforcing this prohibition 
     in the case of hats or other head coverings worn for reasons 
     of medical necessity. In addition, the Chair's announced 
     policies of January 7, 2003, January 4, 1995, and January 3, 
     1991, will apply in the 117th Congress. 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 also 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 XVII to gain a better understanding of 
     the proper rules of decorum expected of them, and especially: 
     to avoid ``personalities'' in debate with respect to 
     references to other Members, the Senate, and the President; 
     to address the Chair only during, and not beyond, the time 
     recognized, and not to address the television or other 
     imagined audience; to refrain from passing between the Chair 
     and a Member speaking, or directly in front of a Member 
     speaking from the well; to refrain from smoking in the 
     Chamber; to wear appropriate business attire in the Chamber; 
     and to generally display the same degree of respect to the 
     Chair and other Members that every Member is due. The Chair 
     would like all Members to be on

[[Page H40]]

     notice that the Chair intends to strictly enforce time 
     limitations on debate. Furthermore, the Chair has the 
     authority to immediately interrupt Members in debate who 
     transgress rule XVII 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.
     7. Conduct of Votes by Electronic Device
       The Speaker's policy announced on January 4, 1995, with 
     respect to the conduct of electronic votes will continue in 
     the 117th Congress with modifications as follows. As Members 
     are aware, clause 2(a) of rule XX provides that Members shall 
     have not less than 15 minutes in which to answer an ordinary 
     record 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 record votes. 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. 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. Members will be given a 
     reasonable amount of time in which to accurately record their 
     votes, and the Chair will endeavor to assess the presence of 
     the membership and the expectation of further votes prior to 
     exercising the authority under clause 9 of rule XX or clause 
     6(g) of rule XVIII. The Speaker believes the best practice 
     for presiding officers is to await the Clerk's certification 
     that a vote tally is complete and accurate. Members are 
     further reminded, in accordance with the Speaker's statement 
     of January 7, 2016, that the standard policy is to not 
     terminate the vote when a Member is in the well attempting to 
     cast a vote. Other efforts to hold the vote open are not 
     similarly protected. The Chair also recognizes that the 
     enforcement of this policy will be modified during the 
     pendency of a covered period pursuant to section 3(s) of 
     House Resolution 8.
     8. Use of Handouts on House Floor
       The Speaker's policy announced on September 27, 1995, which 
     was prompted by a misuse of handouts on the House floor and 
     made at the bipartisan request of the Committee on Standards 
     of Official Conduct, will continue in the 117th Congress. 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 5 of rule IV, staff is 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.
     9. Use of Electronic Equipment on House Floor
       The Speaker's policy announced on January 27, 2000, as 
     clarified on January 6, 2009, and as modified by the change 
     in clause 5 of rule XVII in the 112th Congress, will continue 
     in the 117th Congress with modifications as follows. All 
     Members and staff are reminded of the absolute prohibition 
     contained in clause 5 of rule XVII against the use of mobile 
     electronic devices that impair decorum. Those devices include 
     wireless telephones and personal computers. The Chair wishes 
     to note that electronic tablet devices do not constitute 
     personal computers within the meaning of this policy and 
     thus may be unobtrusively used in the Chamber. No device 
     may be used for still photography or for audio or video 
     recording or for live broadcasting. The Chair requests all 
     Members and staff wishing to receive or make wireless 
     telephone calls to do so outside of the Chamber. The Chair 
     further requests that all Members and staff refrain from 
     wearing telephone headsets in the Chamber and to 
     deactivate any audible ring of wireless phones before 
     entering the Chamber. To this end, the Chair insists upon 
     the cooperation of all Members and staff and instructs the 
     Sergeant-at-Arms, pursuant to clause 3(a) of rule II and 
     clause 5 of rule XVII, to enforce this prohibition. In 
     light of the changes to rule II and rule XVII in the 115th 
     Congress, the Chair would like to take this opportunity to 
     educate all Members and staff on how these changes will be 
     implemented. The Sergeant-at-Arms is charged with 
     enforcement of clause 3(g) rule II, which prohibits the 
     use of electronic devices for still photography or for 
     audio or visual recording or broadcasting in contravention 
     of clause 5 of rule XVII and the policies just 
     articulated. The Chair would advise Members of the 
     following policies of the Sergeant-at-Arms surrounding the 
     rules change. The Sergeant-at-Arms will enforce the 
     prohibition with respect to violations observed first-hand 
     on the House floor as well as violations that become 
     apparent at a later time, such as through publication 
     online or broadcast on television. In the case of 
     violations observed on the floor, the Sergeant-at-Arms 
     will hand the offending Member a card noting the 
     violation, and will follow up by sending the Member a 
     written letter. In the case of other violations, Members 
     will receive a written letter detailing the offending 
     conduct. The fine for a first offense is $500. The fine 
     for each subsequent offense is $2500. The Sergeant-at-Arms 
     will endeavor to provide Members a written warning prior 
     to assessing a fine for a first offense. Because of the 
     inherent difficulty of enforcing this prohibition during 
     ceremonial events, the Sergeant-at-Arms may choose not to 
     cite minor violations occurring during such an event. 
     Pursuant to clause 3(g)(3) of rule II, in addition to 
     notifying the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 
     concerned, the Sergeant-at-Arms will also notify the 
     Speaker, the Chief Administrative Officer, and the 
     Committee on Ethics of any fine imposed. Upon receiving 
     notification of a fine, a Member, Delegate, or Resident 
     Commissioner may appeal the fine to the Committee on 
     Ethics within 30 calendar days or 5 legislative days, 
     whichever is later. The Sergeant-at-Arms and the Committee 
     on Ethics are each authorized to establish policies and 
     procedures for the implementation of these rules. The 
     Chief Administrative Officer is authorized to establish 
     policies and procedures for deducting any such fine from a 
     Member's net salary. It is the desire of the Chair that 
     any such policies and procedures be submitted for printing 
     in the Congressional Record. Nothing in the House rules or 
     this policy deprives the House of its ability to address 
     breaches of decorum or other violations of House rules 
     that may give rise to questions of the privileges of the 
     House under rule IX. The Chair appreciates the attention 
     of all Members to these efforts.
     10. Use of Chamber
       The Speaker's policy announced on January 6, 2009, with 
     respect to use of the Chamber will continue in the 117th 
     Congress. The Chair will announce to the House the policy of 
     the Speaker concerning appropriate comportment in the chamber 
     when the House is not in session. Under clause 3 of rule I, 
     the Speaker is responsible to control the Hall of the House. 
     Under clause 1 of rule IV, the Hall of the House is to be 
     used only for the legislative business of the House, for 
     caucus and conference meetings of its Members, and for such 
     ceremonies as the House might agree to conduct there. When 
     the House stands adjourned, its chamber remains on static 
     display. It may accommodate visitors in the gallery or on the 
     floor, subject to the needs of those who operate, maintain, 
     and secure the chamber to go about their ordinary business. 
     Because outside ``coverage'' of the chamber is limited to 
     floor proceedings and is allowed only by accredited 
     journalists, when the chamber is on static display no audio 
     or video recording or transmitting devices are allowed. The 
     long custom of disallowing even still photography in the 
     chamber is based at least in part on the notion that an image 
     having this setting as its backdrop might be taken to carry 
     the imprimatur of the House. The imprimatur of the House 
     adheres to the Journal of its proceedings, which is kept 
     pursuant to the Constitution. The imprimatur of the House 
     adheres to the Congressional Record, which is kept as a 
     substantially verbatim transcript pursuant to clause 8 of 
     rule XVII. The imprimatur of the House adheres to the audio 
     and visual transmissions and recordings that are made and 
     kept by the television system administered by the Speaker 
     pursuant to rule V. But the imprimatur of the House may not 
     be appropriated to other, ad hoc accounts or compositions of 
     events in its chamber.
     11. Conduct during a Covered Period
       The Chair's announced policies of December 15, 2020, 
     November 18, 2020, and July 29, 2020, will apply during the 
     pendency of a covered period pursuant to section 3(s) of 
     House Resolution 8. Under clause 2 of rule I, the Chair is 
     required to preserve order and decorum in the Chamber. This 
     includes the responsibility to ensure the protection of 
     Member and staff safety and health during proceedings. This 
     responsibility is of paramount importance, particularly in 
     the midst of a pandemic. As such, the Chair wishes to stress 
     the importance of safe practices. Members and staff will be 
     required to wear masks at all times in the Hall of the House 
     without exception, including while Members are under 
     recognition. Members will not be recognized unless they are 
     wearing a mask, and recognition will be withdrawn if they 
     remove their mask while speaking. The Chair expects all 
     Members and staff to adhere to this requirement as a sign of 
     respect for the

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     health, safety, and well-being of others present in the 
     Chamber and surrounding areas. Members and staff will not be 
     permitted to enter the Hall of the House without wearing a 
     mask. Masks will be available at the entry points for any 
     Member who forgets to bring one. The Chair views the failure 
     to wear a mask as a serious breach of decorum. The Sergeant-
     at-Arms is directed to enforce this policy. Based upon the 
     health and safety guidance from the attending physician and 
     the Sergeant-at-Arms, the Chair would further advise that all 
     Members should leave the Chamber promptly after casting their 
     votes. Furthermore, Members should avoid congregating in the 
     rooms leading to the Chamber, including the Speaker's lobby. 
     The Chair will continue the practice of providing small 
     groups of Members with a minimum of 5 minutes within which to 
     cast their votes. Members are encouraged to vote with their 
     previously assigned group. After voting, Members must clear 
     the Chamber to allow the next group a safe and sufficient 
     opportunity to vote. It is essential for the health and 
     safety of Members, staff, and the U.S. Capitol Police to 
     consistently practice social distancing and to ensure that a 
     safe capacity be maintained in the Chamber at all times. To 
     that end, the Chair appreciates the cooperation of Members 
     and staff in preserving order and decorum in the Chamber and 
     in displaying respect and safety for one another by wearing a 
     mask and practicing social distancing. All announced 
     policies, including those addressing decorum in debate and 
     the conduct of votes by electronic device, shall be carried 
     out in harmony with this policy during the pendency of a 
     covered period.

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