[Deschler-Brown Precedents, Volume 16, Chapters 32 - 33]
[Chapter 33. House-Senate Conferences]
[C. INSTRUCTIONS TO CONFEREES; MOTIONS TO INSTRUCT]
[Â§ 13. Extending Power of Managers]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 633-635]
 
        House-Senate Conferences
 
C. INSTRUCTIONS TO CONFEREES; MOTIONS TO INSTRUCT
 
Sec.    13. Extending Power of Managers

Authority To Agree to Senate Amendments
Sec.    13.1 The House agreed to a special rule taking a House joint 
resolution making appropriations with Senate amendments from the Speak-
er's table, disagreeing to the amendments, agreeing to the conference 
requested, directing the Speaker to im-mediately appoint conferees 
without intervening motion, and giving specific authority to the 
conferees to agree      or disagree to any Senate amendment.
On Mar. 26, 1935,(1) Mr. John J. O'Connor, of New York, was recognized 
by Speaker Joseph W. Byrns, of Tennessee, for the purpose of offering 
the following resolution relating to House Joint Resolution 117, an 
appropriations measure for relief purposes:
H. RES. 174
Resolved, That immediately upon the adoption of this resolution the 
joint resolution, House Joint Resolution 117, with Senate amendments 
thereto, be, and the same is hereby, taken from the Speaker's table; 
that the Senate amendments be, and they are hereby, disagreed to by the 
House; that the conference requested by the Senate on the disagreeing 
votes of the two Houses on the said joint resolution be, and hereby is, 
agreed to by the House; that the Speaker shall immediately appoint 
managers on the part of the House without intervening motion; and that 
the managers on the part of the House are hereby given specific 
authority to agree, with or without amendment, or disagree to any 
amendment of the Senate to the said joint resolution notwithstanding 
the provisions of clause 2 of rule XX.

After considerable debate, the resolution was agreed to by the House.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1.     79 CONG. REC. 4465-77, 74th Cong. 1st Sess.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 634]]

Sec.    13.2 The House granted unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table an appropriation bill with Senate amendments thereto, 
disagree to the Senate amendments, agree to the conference asked by the 
Senate, authorize the managers on the part of the House to agree to the 
amendments of the Senate with amendments, notwithstanding the 
provisions of Rule XX clause 2, and permit the conference report to be 
considered at any time.
On July 2, 1947,(2) the following occurred in the House:

MR. [JOHN] TABER [of New York]: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to 
take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 4031) making 
appropriations to meet emergencies for the fiscal year ending June 30, 
1948, and for other purposes, with Senate amendments thereto, disagree 
to the Senate amendments, and agree to the conference asked by the 
Senate; and that the managers on the part of the House have authority 
to agree to the amendments of the Senate with amendments, 
notwithstanding the provisions of clause 2 of rule XX, and that the 
conference report may be considered at any time.
THE SPEAKER:(3) Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
New York? [After a pause.] The Chair hears none and appoints the 
following conferees: Messrs. Taber, Wigglesworth, Engel of Michigan, 
Stefan, Case of South Dakota, Keefe, Kerr, and Mahon.(4) 
Use of Concurrent Resolution To Place New Matter in Conference
Sec.    13.3 By adoption of a con-current resolution in both Houses, 
conferees may be authorized to consider a matter not committed to them 
in the text of a bill passed by one House and amended by the other. 
On Dec. 17, 1974,(5) the House, by unanimous consent, adopted the 
following concurrent resolution which had been messaged from the 
Senate.

MR. [GEORGE H.] MAHON [of Texas]: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
to take from the Speaker's table the Senate concurrent resolution (S. 
Con. Res. 124) relating to conference consideration of the bill (H.R. 
17468), and ask for its immediate consideration.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 2.     93 CONG. REC. 8131, 80th Cong. 1st Sess.
 3.     Joseph W. Martin, Jr. (Mass.).
 4.     See also 80 CONG. REC. 8822, 74th Cong. 2d Sess., June 3, 1936.
 5.     120 CONG. REC. 40472, 93d Cong. 2d Sess.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 635]]

The Clerk read the title of the Senate concurrent resolution.
THE SPEAKER:(6) Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
Texas?
There was no objection.
The Clerk read the Senate concurrent resolution, as follows:
S. CON. RES. 124
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That, 
due to an inadvertent omission in the Senate reported version of H.R. 
17468, entitled "An act making appropriations for military construction 
for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1975, 
and for other purposes", in resolving the difference between the Senate 
and the House on such bill, it shall be deemed that the Senate agreed 
to an amendment (No. 6) striking from the House-passed bill the 
following section 111, and the conferees are authorized to consider the 
same:
SEC. 111. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds available 
to the Department of Defense during the current fiscal year for the 
construction of family housing units may be used to purchase sole 
interest in privately owned and Federal Housing Commissioner held 
family housing units if the Secretary of Defense determines it is in 
the best interests of the Government to do so. . . .

The Senate concurrent resolution was concurred in.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

Other examples of enlarging the scope of conference can be found in 5 
Hinds' Precedents, Sec.Sec. 6437-6439.