[Deschler-Brown Precedents, Volume 12, Chapter 29 (Sections 1-34), Volume 13, Chapter 29 (Sections 35-end, plus index)]
[Chapter 29. Consideration and Debate]
[F. Disorder in Debate]
[Â§ 45. Reference to Gallery Occupants]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 10626-10631]
 
                               CHAPTER 29
 
                        Consideration and Debate
 
                         E. RELEVANCY IN DEBATE
 
Sec. 45. --Reference to Gallery Occupants

    By standing rule of the House, no Member may introduce or refer to 
any occupant of the galleries of the House.(1) The rule is 
strictly

[[Page 10627]]

enforced, and the Speaker may intervene on his own initiative to 
prevent infraction thereof.(2) The rule may not be suspended 
by permission to proceed out of order, even for commendations for 
honored guests.(3)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Rule XIV clause 8, House Rules and Manual Sec. 764 (1995). The rule 
        was not adopted until 1933; however, Speaker John N. Garner 
        (Tex.) independently invoked a prohibition against introducing 
        gallery occupants. 6 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 197.
 2. See Sec. Sec. 45.4, 45.7, infra.
 3. See Rule XIV clause 8, House Rules and Manual Sec. 764 (1995) and 
        the ruling of Chairman Benjamin F. James (Pa.) cited at 
        Sec. 45.1, infra.                          -------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Generally; Reference to Guests

Sec. 45.1 Reference in debate to an honored guest in the gallery is not 
    in order under House rules, even with permission to proceed out of 
    order.(4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. See Rule XIV clause 8, House Rules and Manual Sec. 764 (1995). For 
        an occasion where a Member referred to a certain individual--
        who happened to be in the gallery--without violating the rule, 
        see Sec. 45.9, infra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On July 27, 1954,(5) during debate on a bill, Mr. 
Clarence Cannon, of Missouri, yielded to Mr. Walter H. Judd, of 
Minnesota, who stated his purpose to call attention to a ``French nurse 
who is in the gallery.'' Chairman Benjamin F. James, of Pennsylvania, 
ordered Mr. Judd to suspend since the rules of the House prohibited 
references to persons in the gallery. Mr. Judd then asked for unanimous 
consent to proceed out of order, and the Chairman answered as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5. 100 Cong. Rec. 12253, 83d Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Chairman: The gentleman may not proceed out of order for 
    the purpose which he manifestly intends to use the time. The Chair 
    regrets extremely that he must so hold under the rules of procedure 
    of the House. We are all conscious of the great heroism of the 
    person to whom the Chair knows that the gentleman wishes to allude, 
    but it is a matter of extreme regret that because of the rules of 
    the House, reference may not be made to anyone in the gallery.
        Mr. Judd: I shall not say anything about the gallery. I shall 
    say she is on the Hill today.
        The Chairman: The Chair greatly regrets that under the rules of 
    procedure of the House, the gentleman must be denied the privilege 
    of introducing anyone in the gallery which, I know, every Member of 
    the House would greatly appreciate in this instance, if it were 
    possible under the rules.
        Mr. Judd: Mr. Chairman, I had no intention of introducing 
    anyone in the gallery. Is it not possible to refer here to persons 
    who are in our country?
        The Chairman: It is not possible to refer to any person in the 
    gallery.
        Mr. Judd: May I not call attention to a most distinguished 
    visitor in our country today?

[[Page 10628]]

        The Chairman: The gentleman may refer to one who is in our 
    country.
        Mr. Judd: Well, then, I should like to refer to the 
    distinguished heroine of Dien Bien Phu who we, in the United 
    States, are happy these days to welcome to our shores and to our 
    city, and to pay tribute to her as a person whose heroism is 
    acclaimed by all, and as a symbol of all women of the world who in 
    times of great crisis and peril are faithful to their duty, 
    particularly that of ministering to men wounded in the defense of 
    freedom. We pay tribute to her wherever she may be in our country 
    at the present moment.

    Similarly, on Apr. 16, 1940,(6) Speaker Pro Tempore Sam 
Rayburn, of Texas, called to order Mr. Bernard J. Gehrmann, of 
Wisconsin, for calling attention to ``a couple of children that were 
rescued in Finland'' who were in the gallery, over Mr. Gehrmann's 
protestations that the children were rescued from a war zone through 
the efforts of the State Department.(7)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. 86 Cong. Rec. 4589, 76th Cong. 3d Sess.
 7. See also 103 Cong. Rec. 10585, 85th Cong. 1st Sess., June 28, 1957.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sec. 45.2 It is a violation of the rules for a Member to call 
    attention to any person or group in the gallery, including his 
    constituents.

    On Mar. 16, 1945,(8) the following exchange took place:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 8. 91 Cong. Rec. 2371, 79th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Robert F.] Rich [of Pennsylvania]: Mr. Chairman, I move to 
    strike out the last word.
        Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, it so happens that I 
    have some of my constituents come to the House once in awhile and 
    visit me, and they happen to be in the gallery now. I was in the 
    gallery when I heard 
    the statement made by the chairman 
    of the subcommittee, and immediately started down.
        Mr. [Frank E.] Hook [of Michigan]: Mr. Chairman, a point of 
    order.
        The Chairman: (9) The gentleman will state it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 9. Wilbur D. Mills (Ark.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. Hook: If I understand the rules correctly, no reference is 
    to be made to any parties in the gallery. I make the point of order 
    against the statement of the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
        The Chairman: The gentleman from Michigan properly understands 
    the rules of the House. The gentleman from Pennsylvania will 
    proceed in order.

Guests Interested in Pending Bill

Sec. 45.3 Reference to federal officials present in the gallery and 
    interested in pending legislation is a breach of order.

    On Feb. 6, 1964,(10) the following exchange and ruling 
took place:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. 110 Cong. Rec. 2264, 88th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Paul C.] Jones of Missouri: . . . I think this is just 
    another exam

[[Page 10629]]

    ple of how misinformed we have been on some of the features of this 
    bill. . . . [W]hat are you looking at the gallery for? I know the 
    Justice Department is there. Maybe the guy who prepared the figures 
    is up there in the gallery. If he is, he ought to step down here 
    and keep the man posted.
        The Chairman: (11) The gentleman from Missouri, I am 
    sure, knows the rules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Eugene J. Keogh (N.Y.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. Jones of Missouri: I am not addressing the gallery.
        The Chairman: You are not to refer to anybody in the gallery. 
    The gentleman will proceed in order.

Sec. 45.4 It is not in order in debate to refer to or to direct 
    questions regarding pending legislation to persons in the gallery; 
    and the Chair must on his own initiative enforce this rule.

    On Oct. 19, 1977,(12) Chairman Morris K. Udall, of 
Arizona, exercised his duty to enforce the rule (13) 
prohibiting reference to occupants of the gallery during debate. The 
following proceedings occurred during consideration of the Energy 
Transportation Security Act of 1977 (H.R. 1037) in the Committee of the 
Whole:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. 123 Cong. Rec. 34220, 95th Cong. 1st Sess.
13. Rule XIV clause 8, House Rules and Manual Sec. 764 (1995).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Paul N.] McCloskey [Jr., of California]: Mr. Chairman, I 
    notice the sole administration spokesman, the Maritime 
    Administrator, is in the gallery. Can we get the administration's 
    position, so that the House can be advised?
        It was never discussed in committee. Can we ask the 
    Administrator what the administration's position is?
        The Chairman: The gentleman will proceed in order. The Chair 
    will inform the gentleman from California (Mr. McCloskey) that the 
    precedents of the House do not permit questions of persons in the 
    House gallery and the rules do not permit reference in debate to 
    persons in the gallery.

Sec. 45.5 It is a breach of order in debate to refer to the 
    observations of an occupant of the gallery on a bill pending before 
    the House.

    On June 4, 1963, the House was considering civil rights legislation 
which engendered numerous quorum calls and motions to adjourn. During 
the debate, Mr. Clark MacGregor, of Minnesota, yielded to Mr. William 
T. Cahill, of New Jersey, who stated that he ``thought the House might 
like to have the observation of a disinterested, objective observer who 
was sitting up in the gallery and who happens to be a visitor of 
mine''. Speaker John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, interrupted Mr. 
Cahill and ordered him to suspend, since reference to anyone in the 
gallery or reference to his observations or opinions

[[Page 10630]]

was not consistent with the rules of the House.(14)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. 109 Cong. Rec. 10151-66, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

References to the Press Gallery

Sec. 45.6 It is not in order for a Member to refer to or address 
    remarks to the press gallery.

    On Apr. 24, 1963,(15) Chairman Eugene J. Keogh, of New 
York, ruled as follows on a point of order:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. 109 Cong. Rec. 6892, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Thomas B.] Curtis [of Missouri]: Mr. Chairman, I want to 
    say to my so-called liberal friends who voted the motion up which 
    closed off debate on such a serious matter that you have clearly 
    demonstrated your concern for the basic civil liberties.
        I would say to the press that this is a good observation----
        Mr. [Ross] Bass [of Tennessee]: Mr. Chairman, I make the point 
    of order that the gentleman is out of order in addressing the press 
    gallery or any other gallery from the floor of the House.
        Mr. Curtis: I am not addressing the press gallery. I am 
    addressing----
        The Chairman: The gentleman from Missouri will suspend. The 
    Chair advises the gentleman that the correct parliamentary 
    procedure is for the gentleman to address the Chair and only the 
    Chair. The gentleman will proceed in accordance with the rules.

Duty of Speaker

Sec. 45.7 When a Member indicates in debate that he intends to make 
    reference to an occupant of the gallery, the Chair on his own 
    initiative invokes the rule prohibiting such references.

    On July 27, 1954,(16) a Member to whom time was yielded 
stated his purpose to call attention to a person in the gallery who had 
demonstrated great heroism in foreign combat. Chairman Benjamin F. 
James, of Pennsylvania, interrupted the remarks of Mr. Walter H. Judd, 
of Minnesota, to ask him to suspend due to those provisions of House 
rules which prohibit reference to any occupant of the gallery in House 
debate.(17)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. 100 Cong. Rec. 12253, 83d Cong. 2d Sess.
17. For other instances where the Chair has on his own initiative 
        prevented infraction of the rules prohibiting reference to 
        gallery occupants, see 110 Cong. Rec. 2264, 88th Cong. 2d 
        Sess., Feb. 6, 1964; and 109 Cong. Rec. 10151-66, 88th Cong. 
        1st Sess., June 4, 1963.
            For an occasion where the Speaker did not hear a reference 
        to gallery occupants and therefore did not call the Member 
        speaking to order, see 111 Cong. Rec. 6022, 6023, 89th Cong. 
        1st Sess., Mar. 25, 1965.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Announcements by the Chair

Sec. 45.8 The Speaker stated his intention in the 72d Congress

[[Page 10631]]

    (when the rule was not yet adopted) not to recognize any Member for 
    the purpose of calling attention to gallery occupants.

    On June 27, 1932,(18) Speaker John N. Garner, of Texas, 
made an announcement after permission had been requested to address the 
House:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. 75 Cong. Rec. 14051, 72d Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [James V.] McClintic of Oklahoma: Mr. Speaker, I ask 
    unanimous consent to address the House for one minute to make an 
    announcement.
        The Speaker: Is it concerning anyone in the gallery?
        Mr. McClintic of Oklahoma: No, sir.
        The Speaker: The Chair desires to state that after consultation 
    with a great many Members, he believes it is the better policy not 
    to recognize Members to call attention to guests in the gallery. 
    The Chair does not intend to recognize anyone in the future for 
    that purpose.

Acknowledging a Visitor Without Reference to His Presence

Sec. 45.9 On one occasion, a Member obtained unanimous consent to speak 
    out of order on time yielded him during debate on a motion to 
    suspend the rules, and delivered encomiums to a guest in the 
    gallery, but did not mention the guest's presence or directly 
    address remarks to him.

    On Sept. 25, 1978,(19) the following proceedings 
occurred in the House:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. 124 Cong. Rec. 31197, 95th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Thomas S.] Foley [of Washington]: I yield to the gentleman 
    from Ohio for the purpose of a unanimous-consent request.
        (By unanimous consent, Mr. Luken was allowed to speak out of 
    order.)
        Mr. [Thomas A.] Luken [of Ohio]: Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the 
    fact that the House has given its unanimous consent to take just 1 
    minute or at the most 2 minutes of the time of the House.
        I rise today to salute a man whose accomplishments on the 
    baseball diamond amount to more than most records in National 
    League baseball history. I am talking about my friend and fellow 
    Cincinnatian and constituent, Pete Rose.