[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 1, Chapters 1 - 6]
[Chapter 6.  Officers, Officials, and Employees]
[A. The Speaker]
[Â§ 5. Participation in Debate and Voting]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 495-498]
 
                               CHAPTER 6
 
                   Officers, Officials, and Employees
 
                             A. THE SPEAKER
 
Sec. 5. Participation in Debate and Voting

    The Speaker is entitled as a Member of the House to participate in 
debate.(5) Accordingly, when the Speaker desires to be heard 
in debate on a matter he may speak from the floor, whether debate is in 
the House(6) or in the Committee of the Whole.(7) 
Occasionally the Speaker will speak in debate from the 
Chair.(8~)
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 5. House Rules and Manual Sec. 751 (1973).
 6. See Sec. Sec. 5.1, 5.2, infra.
 7. See Sec. 5.3, infra.
 8. See Ch. 29, infra, for fuller treatment of the Speaker's 
        participation in debate.
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    Under the House rules(~9~) the Speaker may, but is not 
required, to vote on matters except where (1) his vote would be 
decisive, or

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(2) where the House is engaged in voting by ballot.(10) 
Measures decided by a tie vote are lost.(11)
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 9. Rule I clause 6, House Rules and Manual Sec. 632 (1973).
10. Parliamentarian's Note: Voting by ballot in the House is rarely 
        used and is not to be confused with voting by electronic 
        device. See Rules I clause 5, Sec. 630 (electronic device), and 
        XXXVIII Sec. 934 (ballot), House Rules and Manual (1973).
11. Sec Ch. 30, infra, for fuller treatment of the Speaker's 
        participation in voting.
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    The Speaker has voted, for example: in order to make a quorum of 
the House;(12~) on a yea and nay roll call 
vote;(13) on a roll call vote to make a tie;(14~) 
and on a division vote to break a tie.(15) The Speaker may 
vote on a teller vote to make a tie(16) and in doing so he 
need not pass through the tellers to have his vote 
counted.(17)
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12. See Sec. 5.4, infra.
13. See Sec. 5.5, infra.
14. See Sec. 5.6, infra.
15. See Sec. 5.7, infra.
16. See Sec. 5.8, infra.
17. Sec  5.9, infra.                          -------------------
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Participating in Debate

Sec. 5.1 Normally, if the Speaker wishes to participate in House 
    debate, he does so from the floor of the House.

    On Mar. 31, 1958,(18) Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, 
participated in a debate on the floor of the House when a Member 
yielded to him. The Speaker commended the work of a particular 
subcommittee and congratulated the members thereof.
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18. 104 Cong. Rec. 5854, 5855, 85th Cong. 2d Sess.
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    On Aug. 27, 1959,(9) Speaker Rayburn participated in a 
debate in the House on the House floor. He took the occasion to express 
his views on the reconstruction of the east front of the Capitol.
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19. 105 Cong. Rec. 17237, 86th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Sec. 5.2 The Speaker may eulogize a deceased Member from the House 
    floor.

    On Jan. 16, 1962,(20) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, took the floor to eulogize a deceased Member, Louis 
Rabaut, of Michigan.
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20. 106 Cong. Rec. 285, 87th Cong. 2d Sess.
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Sec. 5.3 If the Speaker desires to participate in debate in the 
    Committee of the Whole, he does so from the floor.

    On Aug. 31, 1960,(1) Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, 
participated in debate in the Committee of the Whole from the floor. 
The debate concerned a bill [H.R. 13021] to provide financial assist

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ance to certain South American countries for reconstruction and 
development.
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 1. 106 Cong. Rec. 18734, 18735, 86th Cong. 2d Sess.
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Participation in Voting

Sec. 5.4 The Speaker may vote in order to make a quorum of the House.

    On Nov. 24, 1942,(2) Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, cast 
his vote to provide a quorum for purposes of voting on a motion to 
recommit.
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 2. 88 Cong. Rec. 9116, 9117, 77th Cong. 2d Sess.
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        The Speaker: The question is on agreeing to the motion to 
    recommit.

        The question was taken and on a division, there were, ayes 15, 
    noes 70.
        Mr. [Robert F.] Rich [of Pennsylvania]: Mr. Speaker, I object 
    to the vote upon the ground that there is no quorum present.
        The Speaker: Evidently there is no quorum present. The Clerk 
    will call the roll. The question is on agreeing to the motion to 
    recommit.
        The question was taken; and there were--yeas 31, nays 184, not 
    voting,(3) 214. . . .
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 3. Parliamentarian's Note: Six vacancies existed in the House at the 
        time this vote was taken; and 215 Members were needed to make a 
        quorum.
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        The Speaker: The Clerk will call my name.
        The Clerk called the name of Mr. Rayburn and he answered 
    ``no.''
        So the motion to recommit was rejected.

Sec. 5.5 The Speaker may vote on a yea and nay roll call vote.

    On June 30, 1939,(4~) Speaker William B. Bankhead, of 
Alabama, voted as shown below on a yea and nay roll call vote involving 
a motion to recommit.
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 4. 84 Cong. Rec. 8512, 8513, 76th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        The Speaker: The question is on the motion to recommit.
        The question was taken; and on a division (demanded by Mr. 
    Fish) there were--ayes 179, noes 185.
        Mr. [Hamilton] Fish [Jr., of New York]: Mr. Speaker, I ask for 
    the yeas and nays.
        The yeas and nays were ordered.
        The question was taken; and there were--yeas 194, nays 196, 
    answered ``present'' 1, not voting 40. . . .
        The Speaker: The Clerk will call my name.
        The Clerk called the name of Mr. Bankhead, and he answered 
    ``nay.''
        So the motion to recommit was rejected.

Sec. 5.6 The Speaker may vote on a roll call vote to make a tie.

    On May 3, 1946,(5) Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, on a 
roll call voted to make a tie and thus reject the question being 
considered.
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 5. 92 Cong. Rec. 4434, 4435, 79th Cong. 2d Sess.
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Sec. 5.7 The Speaker may vote on a division vote to break a tie vote of 
    the House.

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    On July 15, 1937,(6~) Speaker William B. Bankhead, of 
Alabama, cast the deciding vote on a motion to recede and concur:
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 6. 81 Cong. Rec. 7197, 7198, 75th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        The Speaker: The question is on the motion of the gentleman 
    from Nevada that the House recede and concur [in a Senate 
    amendment].
        Mr. [Abe] Murdock of Utah: Mr. Speaker, I demand a division of 
    that question
        The Speaker: The gentleman is entitled to a division of the 
    question. The question is whether the House shall recede from its 
    disagreement to the Senate amendment. . . .
        The question was taken; and on a division (demanded by Mr. 
    Rich) there were--ayes 58, noes 58.
        The Speaker: The Chair votes ``aye.''

Sec. 5.8 The Chair may vote on a teller vote to make a tie.

    On Aug. 1, 1966,(7) in the Committee of the Whole, an 
amendment was offered and a vote taken on it, as follows:
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 7. 112 Cong. Rec. 17760, 17761, 89th Cong. 2d Sess.
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        Mr. [Richard H.] Poff [of Virginia]: Mr. Chairman, I offer an 
    amendment.
        The Chairman [Richard Bolling, of Missouri]: The question is on 
    the amendment offered by the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Poff].
        The question was taken; and on a division (demanded by Mr. 
    Celler) there were--ayes 51, noes 44.
        Mr. [Emanuel] Celler [of New York]: Mr. Chairman, I demand 
    tellers.
        Tellers were ordered, and the Chairman appointed as tellers Mr. 
    Poff and Mr. Celler.
        The Committee again divided, and the tellers reported that 
    there were-- ayes 84, noes 83.
        The Chairman [Mr. Bolling]: The Chair votes ``no.''
        So the amendment was rejected.

Sec. 5.9 The Chair may count himself to make or break a tie on a teller 
    vote without passing through the tellers.

    On Sept. 21, 1965,(8~) a teller vote was demanded and 
taken on an amendment offered in the Committee of the Whole.
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 8. 111 Cong. Rec. 24635, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        The Chairman [Daniel D. Rostenkowski, of Illinois]: The 
    question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from 
    Pennsylvania [Mr. Clark].
        The question was taken, and the Chairman announced that the 
    noes had it.
        Mr. [William C.] Cramer [of Florida]: Mr. Chairman, I ask for 
    tellers.
        Tellers were ordered, and the Chairman appointed as tellers Mr. 
    Clark and Mr. Blatnik.
        The Committee divided.
        The Chairman: On this vote by tellers, the ayes are 100, noes 
    99.
        The Chair votes in the negative.
        So the amendment was rejected. 

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