[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 1, Chapters 1 - 6]
[Chapter 5.  The House Rules, Journal, and Record]
[A. House Rules and Manual]
[Â§ 3. Background Information - Power of New House to Adopt Rules]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 302-304]
 
                               CHAPTER 5
 
                  The House Rules, Journal, and Record
 
                       A. HOUSE RULES AND MANUAL
 
Sec. 3. Background Information--Power of New House to Adopt Rules

    With respect to the importance of adopting rules of procedure in 
legislative bodies, Jefferson stated in his Manual:(8)
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 8. House Rules and Manual Sec. 285 (1973).
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        And whether these forms be in all cases the most rational or 
    not is really not of so great importance. It is much more material 
    that there should be a

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    rule to go by than what that rule is; that there may be a 
    uniformity of proceeding in business not subject to the caprice of 
    the Speaker or captiousness of the members. . . .

    The Constitution(9) provides that, ``Each House may 
determine the Rules of its Proceedings. . . .'' Thus, the power of each 
House of Representatives to make its own rules may not be impaired or 
controlled by the rules of the preceding House or by a law passed by a 
prior Congress.(10) As an example, the provisions of a 
legislative reorganization act enacted into law in a previous Congress 
cannot restrict the authority of a present House to adopt its own 
rules.(11) But a law passed by an existing Congress with the 
concurrence of the House has been recognized by that House as of 
binding force in matters of procedure.(12)
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 9. U.S. Const. art. I, Sec. 5.
10. See Ch. 1, supra.
11. See 117 Cong. Rec. 132, 92d Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 22, 1971 (remarks 
        of Speaker Carl Albert [Okla.]).
12. See, generally, Ch. 1, supra. See also 59 Am. Jur. 2d, 
        Parliamentary Law Sec. 2 (adoption and suspension of rules of 
        procedure).
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    In some cases, Congress has enacted statutes containing provisions 
relating to procedures to be followed in certain instances. Such 
statutes have been enacted as an exercise of the rule-making power of 
Congress and deemed a part of the rules of each House. Thus, Congress 
has provided by statute for procedures to be followed with respect to 
the consideration of certain resolutions relating to executive 
reorganization plans.(13) Such statutes were enacted with 
express recognition of the power of each House to change its rules, and 
with specific limitations on the applicability of the 
statute.(14)
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13. 5 USC Sec. Sec. 908-913.
14. See 5 USC Sec. 908.
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    Joint rules are rarely employed. It may be noted that, in the 91st 
Congress, a law specifying that the counting of electoral votes for 
President and Vice President should be conducted in a joint session was 
made a joint rule of the two Houses by its incorporation by reference 
in a concurrent resolution.(15)
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15. See 115 Cong. Rec. 36, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 3. 1969.
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    The House at any time may, by rules, provide new methods of 
procedure so long as such rules do not conflict with constitutional 
provisions.(16) With regard to the scope of the power of the 
House to determine the rules of its proceedings, Jefferson stated in 
his Manual:(17)
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16. See Sec. 4, infra.
17. House Rules and Manual Sec. 387 (1973).

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        Where the Constitution authorizes each House to determine the 
    rules of its proceedings, it must mean in those cases (legislative, 
    executive, or judiciary) submitted to them by the Constitution, or 
    in something relating to these, and necessary toward their 
    execution. But orders and resolutions are sometimes entered in the 
    journals having no relation to these, such as acceptances of 
    invitations to attend orations, to take part in procession, etc. 
    These must be understood to be merely conventional among those who 
    are willing to participate in the ceremony, and are therefore, 
    perhaps, improperly placed among the records of the House.

    Propositions to adopt or change a rule are within the jurisdiction 
of the Committee on Rules.(18)
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18. See Ch. 17, infra; see also Ch. 21, infra.
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    The action of the House taken with respect to a rule that has been 
reported by the Committee on Rules is controlling. A rule having been 
adopted, the Chair will thereafter look to the rule and direct the 
House to proceed in accordance with its terms, unless the rule has been 
superseded.(19)
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19. See Sec. 6, infra.
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    Proceedings in the House are not, of course, governed by the rules 
exclusively. Thus, the procedure of the House is governed in some 
instances by the custom or practice of the House rather than by express 
rules. On the other hand, even where a matter or procedure is not 
expressly prohibited by the rules, it may be considered unauthorized 
thereby and therefore deemed improper.(20)
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20. See, for example, the discussion in 7 Cannon's Precedents 
        Sec. 1029. See also 98 Cong. Rec. 1334, 82d Cong. 2d Sess., 
        Feb. 25, 1952, in which Speaker Sam Rayburn (Tex.) stated, with 
        reference to the televising of committee meetings, that since 
        there was at that time no authority in the rules of the House 
        granting the privilege of televising the proceedings of the 
        House of Representatives, there was no authorization for 
        televising committee meetings. (Speaker Rayburn's rulings on 
        the subject were later relied upon by Speaker John W. McCormack 
        [Mass.], in 108 Cong. Rec. 267-269, 87th Cong. 2d Sess., Jan. 
        16, 1962.) See Sec. 6.4, infra.
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    Before the adoption of rules by a new House, that House is governed 
by general parliamentary law. The Speakers have been inclined to give 
weight to the precedents of the House in modifying the usual 
constructions of general parliamentary law.(1)
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 1. See Ch. 1, supra.
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    On occasion, the House has passed a bill of major importance prior 
to the adoption of the rules.(2)
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 2. There was an instance in the 73d Congress (77 Cong. Rec. 75 et 
        seq., 73d Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 9, 1933) in which the House by 
        unanimous consent agreed to consider, under a stringent 
        procedure with respect to debate and amendments, a bank bill 
        whose immediate passage had been recommended by President 
        Roosevelt.

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