[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 1, Chapters 1 - 6]
[Chapter 3.  Party Organization]
[D. Floor Leaders]
[Â§ 19. Role as Party Leader]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 233-238]
 
                               CHAPTER 3
 
                           Party Organization
 
                            D. FLOOR LEADERS
 
Sec. 19. Role as Party Leader

    In his capacity as a leader of his party, the floor leader plays a 
key role in the formation and promotion of his party's policies. 
Wherever possible, he protects the interests of his party and 
individual members thereof.
    The Republican floor leader generally introduces the resolution 
assigning members of his party to House committees,(3) and 
undertakes other responsibilities respecting such committee 
assignments.(4)
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 3. Sec. 19.7, infra.
 4. Sec. 19.8, infra.
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    The floor leader may be consulted with respect to changes in 
committee size or composition that might affect his party's 
representation on the committee.(5)
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 5. Sec. 19.9, infra.
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    The floor leader protects the interests of individual members of 
his party, as by ensuring that the Record or Journal accurately 
reflects the votes of Members,(6) the presence of 
Members,(7) or the legitimate reasons for a Members 
absence.(8) Where requested to make objection to certain 
unanimous-consent requests, the floor leader has done so.(9)
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 6. Sec. 19.5, infra.
 7. Sec. 19.5, infra.
 8. See the remarks of Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford (Mich.) at 111 
        Cong. Rec. 20362, 89th Cong. 1st Sess., Aug. 12, 1965.
 9. Sec. 19.6, infra.
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    On occasion, the floor leader has addressed remarks directly to 
members of his party on the floor of the House, for purposes of 
ascertaining(10) or influencing(11) the 
sentiments of his party with respect to particular issues.
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10. Sec. 19.2, infra.
11. Sec. 19.3, infra.                          -------------------
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Announcements of Party Meetings

Sec. 19.1 On occasion, the floor leader has made announce

[[Page 234]]

    ments concerning meetings of the caucus, conference, or other party 
    group.

    On July 30, 1968,(12)  the Majority Leader, Carl Albert, 
of Oklahoma, announced as follows:
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12. 114 Cong. Rec. 24269, 90th Cong. 2d Sess. For discussion of recent 
        practice with respect to calling organizational meetings of the 
        caucus prior to the convening of a new Congress, see 
        supplements to this edition as they appear.
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        Mr. Albert: Mr. Speaker, I take this time to advise the 
    Democratic Members that a caucus of the Democratic Members of the 
    House is called to meet in the Hall of the House of Representatives 
    on Thursday, August 1, 1968, at 10 a.m., for the purpose of 
    electing Members to the Ways and Means Committee.

    On January 13, 1937,(13) the Republican floor leader, 
Bertrand H. Snell, of New York, announced as follows:
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13. 81 Cong. Rec. 201, 75th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. Snell: Mr. Speaker, there will be a meeting of the 
    Republican members of the committee on committees at 4 o'clock this 
    afternoon in the rooms of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce 
    Committee, located in the New House Office Building, and there will 
    be a Republican Conference in this hall at 10 o'clock tomorrow 
    morning.

Request for Indication of Sentiment

Sec. 19.2 The Minority Leader, during a debate in the Committee of the 
    Whole, requested Members of his party to informally indicate their 
    support for a certain proposition by a show of hands.

    On Aug. 6, 1963,(14) Minority Leader Charles A. Halleck, 
of Indiana. made the following request:
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14. 109 Cong. Rec. 14289, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. Halleck: Mr. Chairman, I do not know whether it would be 
    parliamentary or not, but I would like to have the Republicans who 
    are here--and we are in goodly number--raise their hands to 
    indicate whether they will vote for this bill with or without the 
    amendment.

Expression of Viewpoint on Committee Assignments

Sec. 19.3 The Republican floor leader, during debate in the House, 
    indicated the position that he thought the Republicans should adopt 
    with respect to the issue to be voted on.

    In the 92d Congress, a debate took place on whether the resolution 
assigning Democratic Members to the House committees

[[Page 235]]

should be open to amendment and any such amendment be voted on by the 
House.(15) In the course of the debate, the Republican floor 
leader, Gerald R. Ford, of Michigan, remarked as 
follows:(16)
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15. See Sec. 9.3, supra, for further discussion of the proceedings.
16. 117 Cong. Rec. 1711, 92d Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 4, 1971.
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        . . . I cannot help but make this observation. The gentleman 
    from California was unable to persuade a majority of the Democrats 
    to his point of view. I do not think that we on the Republican side 
    ought to succumb to his arguments of this occasion. Therefore, Mr. 
    Speaker, I would certainly hope and trust that the Republicans on 
    this issue, on a Democratic resolution expressing the views of the 
    Democratic Party, should not under any circumstances vote ``nay'' 
    on the motion to order the previous question. As Republicans we 
    should exercise our option to vote ``yea'' or ``present'' on the 
    previous question, because the matter is one for the Democrats to 
    decide and not for us.

Official Objectors

Sec. 19.4 The floor leader appoints his party's official objectors for 
    the Private and Consent Calendars.(17)
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17. See Sec. 20.1, infra.
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Correction of Roll Call

Sec. 19.5 The floor leader, acting on behalf of a Member, may ask for 
    correction of a roll call.

    Parliamentarian's Note: The floor leader, acting on behalf of 
Members of his party, may ask that corrections be made with respect to 
roll calls so that the Record and Journal accurately reflect the votes, 
or presence or absence, of Members. Thus, the Journal of the 88th 
Congress(18) reflects the following correction:
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18. H. Jour. 455, 88th Cong. 1st Sess. (1963).
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                             Roll Call Corrections

        On motion of Mr. Albert, on behalf of Mr. Holland, by unanimous 
    consent,
        Ordered, That roll call No. 55 be corrected to show Mr. Holland 
    present and answering to his name.

Objection to Unanimous-Consent Request

Sec. 19.6 Where the Minority Leader did not hear the unanimous consent 
    request, the order of the House entered pursuant thereto was 
    vacated; the request was again made, and the Minority Leader, 
    having been requested to do so, made objection to the request.

    On May 18, 1965,(19) the following proceedings took 
place:
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19. 111 Cong. Rec. 10871, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.

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[[Page 236]]

        Mr. [Harold T.] Johnson of California: Mr. Speaker, I ask 
    unanimous consent that the Committee on Public Works have 
    permission to sit during general debate this afternoon.
        The Speaker:(20) Is there objection to the request 
    of the gentleman from California?
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20. John W. McCormack (Mass.).
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        There was no objection.
        Mr. Gerald R. Ford [of Michigan]: Mr. Speaker, I have not been 
    able to hear some of these requests. I have been told indirectly 
    that a request was just made and permission was granted for the 
    Committee on Public Works to meet this afternoon. I had talked with 
    the majority leader and indicated we had some people who were in 
    opposition to it. I did not hear the request, and I am a little 
    disappointed that it was not made so that I could hear it.
        The Speaker: Without objection, the order concerning permission 
    for the Committee on Public Works to sit this afternoon will be 
    vacated.
        There was no objection.
        Mr. Johnson of California: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
    that the Committee on Public Works have permission to sit during 
    general debate this afternoon.
        The Speaker: Is there objection to the request of the gentleman 
    from California?

        Mr. Gerald R. Ford: Mr. Speaker, I have been requested to make 
    an objection, and I do make it.

Resolution Assigning Members to Committees

Sec. 19.7 The Republican floor leader introduces resolutions assigning 
    members of his party to standing committees of the House.

    As a matter of long-standing practice, the Republican(1) 
floor leader introduces the resolution assigning members of his party 
to standing committees of the House. In the 91st 
Congress,(2) for example, the resolution was introduced by 
Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford, of Michigan.
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 1. The resolution assigning Democratic Members to House committees is 
        usually introduced by the Chairman of the Democratic Committee 
        on Committees. See Ch. 17, infra.
 2. 115 Cong. Rec. 2084, 2085, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 29, 1969.
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    Resolutions such as the following,(3) relating to the 
committee assignment of an individual Republican Member, have been 
offered by the Republican floor leader, in this case Majority Leader 
Charles A. Halleck, of Indiana:
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 3. 93 Cong. Rec. 536, 80th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 23, 1947.
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        Mr. Halleck: Mr. Speaker, I offer a resolution and ask for its 
    immediate consideration.
        The Clerk read the resolution (H. Res. 62), as follows:

            Resolved, That Walter H. Judd, of Minnesota, be, and he is 
        hereby, elected a member of the standing committee of the House 
        of Representatives on Expenditures in the Executive Departments 
        and to rank No. 3 thereon.

[[Page 237]]

    Parliamentarian's Note: In the 91st Congress, a resolution electing 
both Democratic and Republican Members to the newly created Committee 
on Internal Security was presented to the House by the Chairman of the 
Democratic Committee on Committees after consultation with, and with 
the approval of, the Minority Leader.(4)
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 4. See Sec. 11.1, supra. The resolution appears at 115 Cong. Rec. 
        3747, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 18, 1969.
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Amendment to Resolution

Sec. 19.8 The Republican floor leader asked unanimous consent to vacate 
    the proceedings wherein the House had agreed to the resolution 
    electing minority members to standing committees, and offered an 
    amendment changing the order of certain names in the resolution.

    The following proceedings took place in the 91st 
Congress:(5)
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 5. 115 Cong. Rec. 2433, 2434, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 3, 1969.
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        Mr. Gerald R. Ford [of Michigan]: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
    consent to vacate the proceedings whereby the House agreed to House 
    Resolution 176 on January 29, and ask for its immediate 
    consideration with an amendment which I send to the desk.
        The Speaker:(6) Is there objection to the request of 
    the gentleman from Michigan?
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 6. John W. McCormack (Mass.).
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        There was no objection.
        The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: . . .

            Amendment offered by Mr. Gerald R. Ford: On page 7, lines 5 
        and 6, strike out ``E. Ross Adair, Indiana; William H. Ayres, 
        Ohio;'' and insert: ``William H. Ayres, Ohio; E. Ross Adair, 
        Indiana;''

        Mr. Ford: Mr. Speaker, my amendment, which has just been read 
    by the Clerk, will correct the seniority standing of the gentleman 
    from Ohio (Mr. Ayres) on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
        The amendment was agreed to.

Resolution Relating to Composition of Committee

Sec. 19.9 A resolution adding three memberships to the Committee on 
    Government Operations, two to be assigned to the majority and one 
    to the minority, was offered by the Majority Leader, pursuant to 
    agreement between the leadership of both parties.

    The following proceedings took place on Jan. 14, 
1965:(7)
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 7. 111 Cong. Rec. 660, 661, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. [Carl] Albert [of Oklahoma]: Mr. Speaker, I offer a 
    resolution, House Resolution 114, and ask for its immediate 
    consideration.
        The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

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                                  H. Res. 114

            Resolved, That during the Eighty-ninth Congress, the 
        Committee on Government Operations shall be composed of thirty-
        four members.

        Mr. Gerald R. Ford [of Michigan]: Mr. Speaker, will the 
    gentleman yield?
        Mr. Albert: I yield to the gentleman.
        Mr. Ford: Would the gentleman from Oklahoma indicate the 
    distribution of the three additional Members?
        Mr. Albert: This is an addition of three memberships to the 
    Committee on Government Operations, two of which will be assigned 
    to the majority and one of which will be assigned to the minority.
        This is a matter which has been worked out, as a few other 
    matters have been, between the leadership on both sides for the 
    convenience of the House.