[House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House]
[Introduction and Reference of Bills]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
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INTRODUCTION AND REFERENCE OF BILLS
Sec. 1. Introduction of Measures in the House; Sponsorship
Sec. 2. Reference
Sec. 3. -- Private Bills
Sec. 4. Multiple Referrals; Sequential or Split Referrals
Sec. 5. Bills Reported With Amendments
Sec. 6. Matters Subject to Referral
Sec. 7. Time Limitations on Referred Bills; Extensions
Sec. 8. Referrals to or From Special and Ad Hoc Committees
Research References
4 Hinds Secs. 3364-3366
7 Cannon Secs. 1027-1033
4 Deschler Ch 16
Manual Secs. 700, 849-860
Sec. 1 . Introduction of Measures in the House; Sponsorship
Bills and Resolutions
The system for introducing measures in the House is a relatively
free and open one. Bills and resolutions are introduced simply by
depositing them in the hopper at the Clerk's desk anytime that the
House is in session. Deschler Ch 16 Sec. 1. A Member may introduce a
bill during an interim pro forma meeting at a time when no legislative
business is being conducted. 96-2, Jan. 7, 1980, p 25; 102-2, Jan. 28,
1992, p ____.
A bill or resolution may be introduced by any Member who has taken
the oath (89-1, Jan. 4, 1965, p 25) and he need not seek recognition
for that purpose. The Member is generally present on the floor to
introduce the measure. A Member may introduce a bill even though he is
personally opposed to its passage. Deschler Ch 16 Sec. 1.6. The rules
do not limit the number of bills a Member may introduce.
Once introduced the bill becomes the property of the House, and
the House may consider it notwithstanding the death, resignation, or
replacement of its sponsor. 86-2, May 3, 1960, p 9246; 88-2, Jan. 29,
1964, p 15274.
Bills Introduced ``By Request''
Only a Member or Delegate may introduce a bill. The House does not
permit the names of citizens requesting the introduction of a bill to
be print-
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ed in the Record, but the rules do permit the words ``by request'' to
be entered on the Journal and printed in the Record. Manual Sec. 860.
These words appear following the name of the primary Member
introducing the bill. 87-1, Apr. 13, 1961, p 5900.
Petitions and Memorials
Petitions and memorials addressed to the House are delivered to
the Clerk (Manual Sec. 849a), and may be presented by the Speaker as
well as by any Member (4 Hinds Sec. 3312). A Member may present a
petition from the citizens of a state other than his own. 4 Hinds
Secs. 3315, 3316.
Sponsorship; Endorsements and Signatures
By House rule, all bills, resolutions, and memorials must be
endorsed with the name(s) of the Member or Members introducing them.
Manual Sec. 854. By directive of the Speaker, all bills must bear the
original signature of the chief sponsor or first-named Member. 92-2,
Feb. 3, 1972, p 2521; 93-1, Jan. 3, 1973, p 30. A bill falsely
introduced in a Member's name in his absence involves a question of
privilege, and the House may agree to an order providing for its
cancellation. 4 Hinds Sec. 3388.
Cosponsorship
Unlimited cosponsorship of public bills is permitted until such
time as all committees authorized to report the bill have done so.
Manual Sec. 854. Before the bill is reported, a Member may remove his
name as a cosponsor by unanimous consent. 96-1, Feb. 26, 1979, p 326.
Alternatively, a sponsor may announce his withdrawal of support for a
bill (92-1, Mar. 29, 1971, p 8268), and a statement indicating that an
error was made in the listing of a sponsor's name may be made on the
floor and will appear in the Record. Deschler Ch 16 Sec. 2.5. At its
organization for the 104th Congress, the House resolved that each of
the first 20 bills and each of the first two joint resolutions
introduced in that Congress could have more than one Member reflected
as a first sponsor. Manual Sec. 855.
Sec. 2 . Reference
Generally
After a bill has been introduced it is referred to committee in
accordance with the rule fixing the jurisdiction of committees over
particular subjects (Rule X clause 1), and in accordance with the
referral procedures that were adopted in 1975 and in 1995 (Rule X
clause 5). See also Deschler Ch 16 Sec. 3.
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Absent specific authority, a committee may not report a measure
which it did not originate and which has not been properly referred to
it by the Speaker or by the House. 4 Hinds Secs. 4355-4360; 7 Cannon
Secs. 1029, 2101. Under the modern practice reports filed from the
floor as privileged pursuant to Rule XI clause 4(a) have been
permitted on bills and resolutions originating in certain committees.
Manual Sec. 412. The committees so authorized are Appropriations,
Budget, House Oversight, Rules, and Standards of Official Conduct.
Manual Sec. 726.
Public bills are referred by the Speaker (Manual Sec. 854)
pursuant to the jurisdictional requirements of Rule X clause 1 (Manual
Sec. 669), but when the House itself refers a bill it may send it to
any committee without regard to the rules of jurisdiction. 4 Hinds
Sec. 4375; 7 Cannon Sec. 2131. Jurisdiction in such a case is deemed
conferred by the action of the House. 4 Hinds Secs. 4362-4364; 7
Cannon Sec. 2105.
Erroneously Referred Bills
A House rule (Manual Sec. 854) provides for procedures to be
followed in case of an error in the reference of a public bill. The
House rerefers such bills without debate (Deschler Ch 16 Sec. 3.13)
usually pursuant to a unanimous-consent request (Deschler Ch 16
Secs. 3.14, 3.15) or infrequently by agreement to a rereferral motion
authorized by the committee claiming or relinquishing jurisdiction
over the matter. Manual Sec. 854; Deschler Ch 16 Secs. 3.10-3.13. The
motion to rerefer in such cases:
Must apply to a bill erroneously referred (7 Cannon
Sec. 2125).
Must be made immediately following the reading of the Journal
(Rule XXII clause 4. See also 7 Cannon Secs. 1809, 2119, 2120).
Must apply to a single bill and not to a class of bills (7
Cannon Sec. 2125).
May be amended (7 Cannon Sec. 2127).
May not be divided (7 Cannon Sec. 2125).
May not be debated (7 Cannon Secs. 2126-2128).
Bills Reported From Committee; Referrals to Calendars
Bills reported from committees are ordinarily referred to the
proper calendar under the direction of the Speaker. Manual Sec. 743.
Once a bill has been reported by committee, points of order against
its reference and motions for its rereferral are not entertained. 7
Cannon Sec. 2110; Deschler Ch 16 Sec. 3.6. However, under the modern
referral procedures authorized by the rules, a bill reported from
committee may be sequentially referred by the Speaker to other
committees. Sec. 4, infra. Moreover, once consideration of the
reported measure has begun in the House, a motion to refer or recommit
is in order in differing situations under the House rules. Manual
Secs. 782, 787. Generally, see Refer and Recommit.
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Sec. 3 . -- Private Bills
A private bill delivered to the Clerk is referred to committee
pursuant to the endorsement specified thereon by the Member
introducing it. Manual Sec. 849a. The introduction from the floor of a
private bill is rarely permitted, and then only by unanimous consent.
91-1, Apr. 16, 1969, p 9258. As to the distinction between public
bills and private bills, see Bills.
Certain types of private bills, such as bills for the payment of
claims which may be instituted under the Federal Tort Claims Act, may
not be received or considered in the House. Manual Sec. 852. And bills
for the payment of a private claim against the government may be
referred only to certain committees (Rule XXI clause 4), although this
requirement has been waived by unanimous consent so as to permit
reference to a different committee. 95-2, May 4, 1978, p 12615.
Under the rules (Manual Sec. 853), errors in private bills may be
corrected without action by the House at the suggestion of the
committee having possession of the bill. 4 Hinds Sec. 4379. Since an
erroneous reference of a private bill does not confer jurisdiction on
the committee to report it (Rule XXII clause 3), a point of order will
lie against the bill when it comes up for consideration in the House
or in the Committee of the Whole. 4 Hinds Secs. 4382-4389.
Sec. 4 . Multiple Referrals; Sequential or Split Referrals
Prior to the 94th Congress, a bill could not be divided among two
or more committees, even though it contained matters properly within
the jurisdiction of several committees. 4 Hinds 4372. But in 1975, the
House adopted a rule stating that every referral must be made in such
manner as to assure ``to the maximum extent feasible'' that each
committee having jurisdiction over the subject matter of a provision
will have responsibility for considering it and reporting thereon to
the House. Rule X clause 5(b).
This rule was amended in 1995 (H. Res. 6, 104th Cong.) to require
the Speaker to designate a committee of primary jurisdiction upon the
initial referral of a measure to a committee. The Speaker then has the
discretion to:
Refer the same measure to other committees (sequential
referral), subject to time limits imposed after the primary
committee has reported.
Refer designated portions of the same measure to other
committees (split referral).
Refer a measure to a special ad hoc committee established by
the House consisting of members of committees with shared
jurisdiction over the measure.
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The new rule eliminates so-called joint referrals and substitutes
the requirement that the Speaker designate the committee of primary
jurisdiction. (Referrals are always for consideration only of such
provisions as fall within a committee's jurisdiction.) H. Res. 6,
Sec. 205, Jan. 4, 1995.
Sec. 5 . Bills Reported With Amendments
A bill reported from committee with an amendment may be
sequentially referred to another committee where the amendment falls
within the jurisdiction of the second committee. 95-1, Oct. 13, 1977,
p 33716; 97-1, May 20, 1981, p 10361. In determining whether the
matter falls within the jurisdiction of the second committee, the
Speaker may take into consideration the text of the amendment as well
as the text of the original bill (97-1, Jan. 5, 1981, p 115); or he
may base his referral solely on the text of a reported substitute
amendment in lieu of original text (100-1, Jan. 6, 1987, p 21). The
second committee may then report an amendment to the amendment adopted
by the first committee, if within the jurisdiction of the second
committee.
The Speaker has exercised the authority to base referrals on
committee amendments to reported bills by sequentially referring:
A reported bill to another committee solely for consideration
of provisions of the first committee's amendment within its
jurisdiction, and not for consideration of the entire bill. 97-
2, Apr. 5, 1982, p 6580.
A reported bill to two other committees for different periods
of time, solely for consideration of designated sections of the
first committee's recommended amendment. 97-2, May 18, 1982, p
10418.
A reported bill solely for consideration of designated
portions of the first committee's amendment. 97-2, May 21,
1982, p 11169.
Sec. 6 . Matters Subject to Referral
Generally
The rule establishing the referral procedures to be followed by
the Speaker applies to ``each bill, resolution, or other matter''
relating to a subject falling within the jurisdiction of a standing
committee under Rule X clause 1. See Rule X clause 5(a). Thus, the
Speaker may pursuant to the rule refer bills and resolutions (Manual
Sec. 700), a portion of a bill (95-1, May 2, 1977, p 13184), a
Presidential message (Rule XXIV clause 2) (Manual Sec. 883), an
executive communication (Rule XL) (94-1, Feb. 4, 1975, p 2253), or a
select committee report (94-2, Mar. 16, 1976, p 6539; 94-2, Apr. 2,
1976, p 9261).
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Senate Amendments to House Bills
Pursuant to Rule XXIV clause 2, a Senate amendment to a House-
passed bill is subject to discretionary referral by the Speaker to a
standing committee. 97-1, Mar. 26, 1981, p 5397. Under the House
rules, House bills with Senate amendments which do not require
consideration in Committee of the Whole may be at once disposed of as
the House may determine. Rule XXIV clause 2. Such bills are
accordingly laid before the House for action. Manual Sec. 883. Unless
otherwise disposed of by the House (8 Cannon Sec. 3187), a House bill
returned with a Senate amendment involving a new matter is at the
Speaker's discretion referrable under Rule XXIV clause 2 directly to a
standing committee, and on being reported therefrom is referred to the
Committee of the Whole. 4 Hinds Sec. 3108. Formerly, where a House
bill was returned from the Senate with an amendment relating to a new
and different subject, the reference was nevertheless to the committee
having jurisdiction of the original bill. 4 Hinds Secs. 4373, 4374.
Under the modern practice, however, the Speaker has discretionary
authority to refer from the Speaker's table Senate amendments to
House-passed bills to any standing committees under the conditions
permitted by Rule X clause 5, and in so doing the Speaker may include
the imposition of a time limitation for consideration of a certain
portion of the amendment. 97-1, Mar. 26, 1981, p 5397.
Senate Bills and Messages
Bills and joint and concurrent resolutions messaged from the
Senate if referred at the Speaker's discretion, are referred to
committees in the same manner as public bills originating in the
House. Rule XXIV clause 2. Senate messages requiring consideration in
Committee of the Whole (4 Hinds Sec. 3101), and Senate bills (with
certain exceptions, as where a similar House measure has been reported
or ordered reported) are referred to the appropriate standing
committees under direction of the Speaker without action by the House
(6 Cannon Sec. 727). Simple resolutions of the Senate that do not
require any action by the House are not referred. 7 Cannon Sec. 1048.
Sec. 7 . Time Limitations on Referred Bills; Extensions
Generally
Pursuant to Rule X clause 5, the Speaker may impose a time limit
for the consideration by any committee of a bill that is primarily or
initially or sequentially referred. 94-2, May 17, 1976, p 14093; 100-
2, June 30, 1988, p 16597; 103-1, Jan. 5, 1993, p ____. However, the
rules of the House do not require the Speaker to impose limits on the
period of time
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which a committee may consider a bill, and he may sequentially refer a
bill without setting a date certain on which the bill is to be
reported (95-1, July 11, 1977, p 22183), or he may set a time limit as
short as one day (94-2, Sept. 8, 1976, p 29274; 96-2, Mar. 20, 1980, p
6038).
On the last day of an expiring sequential referral, a committee
has until midnight to file its report. 102-1, Oct. 9, 1991, p ____.
Where the time period for reporting the bill to the House ends on a
day when the House is not in session, the committee may file its
report with the Clerk. 95-1, May 23, 1977, p 15865.
Rule X clause 5 is not construed to prevent a secondary committee
from reporting prior to the primary committee. It is the intent of the
rule to allow the primary committee to report before a measure is
scheduled for floor consideration, unless it waives its right to
report or the Speaker exercises discretion to impose a time limit on
the primary committee for reporting and it fails to meet the deadline,
in which case it will be considered to have been discharged of the
measure. 104-1, Jan. 5, 1995, p ____.
Extensions of Time
The Speaker may extend the time limit set for the consideration of
a referred bill, and he has exercised such authority with respect to
bills that have been sequentially referred (96-1, May 30, 1979, p
12978), or divided for reference (96-1, Apr. 10, 1979, p 8104). Where
the Speaker extends the time limit on a sequentially referred bill, he
may also refer the bill to another committee for the same period. 94-
2, June 1, 1976, p 16588.
More than one extension of time may be given by the Speaker to a
committee considering a bill. In the 95th Congress, the Speaker
extended for a second additional period the time limit for
consideration by committee of portions of a bill which had been
divided for reference. 95-1, July 18, 1977, p 23483.
Discharge of Committee
Where a committee does not report a measure to the House on or
before the date specified by the Speaker pursuant to his authority
under Rule X clause 5, the Speaker may discharge the committee from
further consideration of the measure and refer it to the appropriate
calendar or to another committee. 95-1, July 13, 1977, p 22733.
Sec. 8 . Referrals to or From Special and Ad Hoc Committees
The Speaker may refer bills, resolutions, and other matters
(including messages and communications) to an ad hoc committee
established with the approval of the House. 95-1, Jan. 11, 1977, p
894; 95-1, Apr. 21, 1977,
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p 11550. The House order authorizing the ad hoc committee may require
that referrals to the committee shall be by initial or sequential
reference or by some other method provided by Rule X clause 5. 95-1,
Apr. 21, 1977, p 11550; 95-1, July 20, 1977, p 24167.
Normally, the reference of a matter to an ad hoc committee would
not preclude a standing committee claiming jurisdiction from offering
a motion for rereference of the matter under Rule XXII clause 4. 95-1,
Apr. 21, 1977, p 11550.