[Deschler-Brown Precedents, Volume 16, Chapters 32 - 33]
[Chapter 33. House-Senate Conferences]
[D. CONFERENCE REPORTS]
[Â§ 16. Privilege of Filing; When in Order]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 666-673]
 
        House-Senate Conferences
 
D. CONFERENCE REPORTS
 
Sec.    16. Privilege of Filing; When in Order

Filing of Report as Privileged

Sec.    16.1 The filing of a conference report while the House is in 
session is a privileged matter and the presentation of such a report 
does not require unanimous consent.
On Aug. 1, 1968,(14) after Mr. Graham B. Purcell, of Texas, submitted a 
conference report and statement on H.R. 16363, a bill to clarify and 
amend the Poultry Products Inspection Act, Mr. Wiley Mayne, of Iowa, 
raised the following objection:

Mr. Speaker, I wish to object to the filing of the conference report on 
the ground that it is not in proper form. I am a conferee and I have 
not had an opportunity to see the report.
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE:(15) That is a matter that the gentleman should 
take up with the gentleman from Texas.
The Chair has no knowledge of the conference report except that it is 
being filed.
MR. MAYNE: Mr. Speaker, I wish to have the record made clear that I do 
object to its filing for the reason that it is not in the proper form.
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: The gentleman's statement will appear in the 
Record.
Sec.    16.2 Notwithstanding the recommittal of a conference report to a 
committee of conference with instructions, the subsequent conference 
report is filed as privileged, given a new number and otherwise treated 
as a new and separate report.
On May 8, 1963,(16) the House voted to recommit the conference report, 
House Report No. 275, on H.R. 5517, a supplemental appropriations bill. 
On May 14, 1963,(17) Speaker John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, 
recognized Mr. Albert Thomas, of Texas, to call up House Report No. 
290.

MR. THOMAS: Mr. Speaker, I call up the conference report on the bill 
(H.R. 5517) making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year 
ending June 30, 1963, and for other purposes, and ask unanimous consent 
that the statement 
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14.     114 CONG. REC. 24806, 90th Cong. 2d Sess.
15.     Chet Holifield (Calif.).
16.     109 CONG. REC. 8043, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
17.     Id. at p. 8502.
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of the managers on the part of the House be read in lieu of the report. 
. . . 
CONFERENCE REPORT (H. REPT. NO. 290)
The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses 
on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 5517) making 
supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1963, 
and for other purposes, having met, after full and free conference, 
have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as 
follows: . . . 
Printing Report in Record
Sec.    16.3 By unanimous consent, the House waived the requirement that 
a conference report be printed in the Record in accordance with Rule 
XXVIII clause 2.(18) 
On June 26, 1959,(19) the following proceedings occurred in regard to 
H.R. 7523, a bill providing for a one-year extension of existing 
corporate taxes:

MR. [WILBUR D.] MILLS [of Arkansas]: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that the conferees may have until midnight Saturday night next 
to file a conference report on the bill H.R. 7523, and that rule XXVIII 
relating to printing in the Record in this instance be waived.
THE SPEAKER:(20) Is there objection to the request of the gentleman 
from Arkansas?
There was no objection.

Parliamentarian's Note: The report was printed in the daily Record, 
however, since it was filed before the Record went to press, Mr. Mills 
had anticipated that the report would not be filed in time to make this 
deadline.
Printing of Conference Report in Congressional Record
Sec.    16.4 Where the House grants permission for the filing of a 
conference report on a day when the House will not be in session, the 
report and the accompanying statement are printed in the Congressional 
Record, under a special heading, if there is a Record printed on that 
day because of a Senate session. 
Rule XXVIII clause 2(a)(1) mandates that a conference report be printed 
in the Congressional Record before House consideration is in order. The 
Congressional Rec-
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18.     House Rules and Manual Sec. 912a (1997).
19.     105 CONG. REC. 11961, 86th Cong. 1st Sess.
20.     Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
 1.     House Rules and Manual Sec. 912(a) (1997).
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[[Page 668]]

ord for Jan. 23, 1976,(2) provides an example of the practice 
described.

The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on 
Monday, January 26, 1976, at 12 o'clock noon.
CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 2718, RAIL SERVICES ACT OF 1975
Pursuant to an order of the House on Thursday, January 22, 1976, the 
conference report on the bill (S. 2718) to improve the quality of rail 
services in the United States through regulatory reform, coordination 
of rail services and facilities, and rehabilitation and improvement 
financing, and for other purposes, is herewith printed, as follows:
[Submitted by Mr. Staggers]
 CONFERENCE REPORT (H. REPT. NO. 94-781)
The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses 
on the amendment of the House to the text of the bill (S. 2718) to 
improve the quality of rail services in the United States through 
regulatory reform, coordination of rail services and facilities, and 
rehabilitation and improvement financing, and for other purposes, 
having met, after full and free conference, have agreed to recommend 
and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows: . . . 
Who May File
Sec.    16.5 A conference report is filed by a manager on the part of the 
House at the conference, and it takes unanimous consent for a Member, 
not a conferee, to submit the report for printing under the rule. 

On Dec. 1, 1977,(3) Mr. Richard L. Ottinger, of New York, a member of 
the committee which reported the measure but not named as a conferee, 
asked permission of the House to file a conference report on behalf of 
another.
PERMISSION TO FILE CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 9418, HEALTH PROFESSIONS 
EDUCATION AMENDMENTS OF 1977
MR. OTTINGER: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent, on behalf of the 
chairman of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, to file a 
conference report on the bill (H.R. 9418) to amend the Public Health 
Service Act to require increases in the enrollment of third-year 
medical students as a condition to medical schools receiving capitation 
grants under such Act, and for other purposes.
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE:(4) Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 9418, HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION AMENDMENTS 
OF 1977
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 2.     122 CONG. REC. 804, 94th Cong. 2d Sess.
 3.     123 CONG. REC. 38271, 95th Cong. 1st Sess.
 4.     Sidney R. Yates (Ill.).
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[[Page 669]]

Mr. Ottinger (on behalf of Mr. Staggers) filed the following conference 
report and statement on the bill (H.R. 9418) to amend the Public Health 
Service Act to require increases in the enrollment of third-year 
medical students as a condition to medical schools receiving capitation 
grants under such Act.
Sec.    16.6 Where conferees from two standing committees of the House 
were appointed to consider separate titles of a bill, their report was 
filed by the chairman of the committee which had originally reported 
the bill to the House.
On May 12, 1970,(5) Harley O. Staggers, of West Virginia, Chairman of 
the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, was recognized by 
Speaker John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, to submit House Report No. 
91-1074. The Record carries the following entry:

Mr. Staggers submitted the following conference report and statement on 
the bill (H.R. 14465) to provide for the expansion and improvement of 
the Nation's airport and airway system, for the imposition of airport 
and airway user charges, and for other purposes: . . . 

Parliamentarian's Note: Managers had been appointed from the Committee 
on Interstate and Foreign Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means.
(6) 
Authority To File by Midnight on a Future Day
Sec.    16.7 By unanimous consent, the House took from the Speaker's 
table a House bill with Senate amendments thereto, disagreed with the 
Senate amendments, agreed to a conference, and granted the conferees 
until midnight the following Tuesday (four calendar days from the date 
of the request) to file a report.
On June 18, 1959,(7) the following occurred in the House:

MR. [FRED] MARSHALL [of Minnesota]: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 7175) making 
appropriations for the Department of Agriculture and Farm Credit 
Administration for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1960, and for other 
purposes, with Senate amendments thereto, disagree to the Senate 
amendments, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.
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 5.     116 CONG. REC. 15202, 15203, 91st Cong. 2d Sess.
 6.     116 CONG. REC. 5713, 91st Cong. 2d Sess., Mar. 3, 1970.
 7.     105 CONG. REC. 11268, 11269, 86th Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 670]]

THE SPEAKER:(8) Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
Minnesota? The Chair hears none and appoints the following conferees: 
Messrs. Whitten, Marshall, Cannon, Andersen of Minnesota, and Taber.
MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the conferees 
on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the bill H.R. 7175 may 
have until midnight June 22 in which to file a report.
THE SPEAKER: Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
Minnesota?
There was no objection.
Filing Conference Report During Special Orders
Sec.    16.8 A conference report, which is privileged for filing under 
the rules, can be presented during special orders.
Under Rule XXVIII clause 1(a): "The presentation of reports of 
committees of conference shall always be in order, except when the 
Journal is being read, while the roll is being called, or the House is 
dividing on any proposition."
Normally, the leadership permits no legislative business during the 
period set aside for "special order" speeches at the end of the day. 
However, the Chair does entertain unanimous-consent re-quests for late 
filing of reports having privilege. The following discussion, on Feb. 
6, 1984,(9) shows the current practice.

THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE:(10) Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Siljander) is recognized for 60 minutes.
MR. [CARL D.] PERKINS [of Kentucky]: Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman 
yield for a unanimous-consent request?
MR. [MARK] SILJANDER [of Michigan]: I yield to the gentleman from 
Kentucky.
MR. PERKINS: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the managers may 
have until midnight tonight to file a conference report on the Senate 
bill (S. 1340) to revise and extend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and 
to extend the Developmental Disability Assistance and Bill of Rights 
Act, and for other purposes.
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
MR. [ROBERT S.] WALKER [of Pennsylvania]: I reserve the right to 
object, Mr. Speaker.
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: The gentleman from Pennsylvania reserves the 
right to object.
MR. WALKER: Reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, it is my 
understanding this has been cleared by the minority side and that it is 
possible to have it cleared.
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 8.     Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
 9.     130 CONG. REC. 1902, 1903, 98th Cong. 2d Sess.
10.     Harry M. Reid (Nev.).
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[[Page 671]]

THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: The Chair's understanding is that the 
Speaker's statement dealt with calling up legislation, not filing a 
report. That is my understanding.
MR. WALKER: So we do have a precedent, then, that we can file 
conference reports during the special order time, that that is going to 
be permitted, that kind of business is going to be permitted during 
special order time?
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: The filing of a conference report can be done 
at any time as a matter of right before the House, before the House 
adjourns.
MR. WALKER: The gentleman from Pennsylvania is simply, under my 
reservation of right to object, is simply trying to find out just where 
we stand on all of these rulings that we had thrown at us over the last 
couple of weeks, and I am trying to make certain I have an 
understanding of how we are operating here, and that is my only 
concern.
On the substance of the gentleman's request, I understand that has been 
cleared and there is no problem. I am simply trying to clarify what we 
are all about here.
Is it now my understanding that filing conference reports will be one 
of those items of business always permitted under special orders, under 
the time allotted for special orders?
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: It has always been the practice of the House 
and is still the practice of the House.
MR. WALKER: I thank the Speaker and I withdraw my reservation of 
objection.
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
There was no objection.
During Adjournment of House
Sec.    16.9 By unanimous consent, the House may permit the managers on 
the part of the House to have until midnight on a certain day to file a 
conference report, the report to be printed in the Record even though 
the House is not in session on that day.
On Aug. 3, 1961,(11) the following occurred in regard to H.R. 7445, the 
1962 appropriations bill for independent offices:

MR. [ALBERT] THOMAS [of Texas]: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that the managers on the part of the House at the conference of the two 
Houses on the bill H.R. 7445 may have until midnight Friday, August 4, 
to file a conference report thereon, and that said report may be 
printed in the Congressional Record notwithstanding the fact that the 
House may not be in session.
THE SPEAKER:(12) Is there objection to the request of the gentleman 
from Texas?
There was no objection.(13) 
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11.     107 CONG. REC. 14544, 87th Cong. 1st Sess.
12.     Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
13.     See also 108 CONG. REC. 14841, 87th Cong. 2d Sess., July 26, 
1962; and 105 CONG. REC. 14742, 86th Cong. 1st Sess., July 30, 1959.
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[[Page 672]]

Parliamentarian's Note: The House adjourned from Thursday until Monday, 
the Senate from Friday until Monday. The conference report was printed 
in the Record for Friday, under a separate heading following the Senate 
proceedings.
Sec.    16.10 The House granted permission for the filing with the Clerk 
of conference reports notwithstanding the adjournment or recess of the 
House.
On June 5, 1936,(14) Mr. John J. O'Connor, of New York, made the 
following request:

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding the 
adjournment or recess of the House until June 15, 1936, it may be in 
order to file conference reports with the Clerk for printing under the 
rules.
THE SPEAKER:(15) Without objection, it is so ordered.
There was no objection.(16) 
Filing Conference Report on Day House Does Not Meet
Sec.    16.11 Where an order of the House permits a conference report to 
be filed on a day the House will not be in session, a request can be 
made to print a special Record for that day in which the report can be 
printed. 
The following unanimous-con-sent request illustrates the mechanism 
sometimes used to expedite consideration of a conference report:(17) 

MR. [SAM M.] GIBBONS [of Florida]: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that the conferees on the bill, H.R. 4170, the Deficit Reduction and 
Tax Reform Act of 1984, have until 12 noon on Saturday, June 23, 1984, 
to file a conference report to accompany the bill, and that there be an 
additional part of today's Congressional Record printed to contain the 
conference report. 

Parliamentarian's Note: The controlling rule here is Rule XXVIII clause 
2(a),(18) which specifies that a conference report can be considered on 
the third calendar day after filing but "only if such report and 
accompanying statement shall have been printed in 
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14.     80 CONG. REC. 9123, 74th Cong. 2d Sess.
15.     William B. Bankhead (Ala.).
16.     Parliamentarian's Note: The House adjourned from June 8 to June 
15, 1936, pursuant to H. Con. Res. 53.
17.     See 130 CONG. REC. 18012, 98th Cong. 2d Sess., June 22, 1984.
18.     House Rules and Manual Sec. 912a (1997).
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[[Page 673]]

the daily edition of the Congressional Record for the day on which . . 
. filed."
Sec.    16.12 A conference report was, by unanimous consent, filed on a 
day when the House was not in session and printed under a separate 
heading in the Record.
On July 10, 1970,(19) the following appeared in the Congressional 
Record:

Pursuant to an order of the House on Thursday, July 9, 1970, the 
conference report on the bill (S. 3215) to amend the National 
Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, is herewith 
printed, as follows:
CONFERENCE REPORT (H. REPT. NO. 91-1292)
The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses 
on the amendment of the House to the bill (S. 3215) to amend the 
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, and for 
other purposes, having met, after full and free conference, have agreed 
to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows: . 
. . 

Parliamentarian's Note: The House had adjourned from July 9 until July 
13.
During Recess
Sec.    16.13 The House stood in recess pending the preparation and 
filing of a conference report.
On Oct. 21, 1965,(20) Speaker Pro Tempore Hale Boggs, of Louisiana, 
made the following statement:

Under the previous unanimous-consent agreement, the Chair declares a 
recess subject to the call of the Chair.
Accordingly (at 2 o'clock and 21 minutes p.m.), the House stood in 
recess subject to the call of the Chair.

After the recess, the House received a message from the Senate 
transmitting the official papers and the signed conference report, 
which stated in part:

The message also announced that the Senate agrees to the amendments of 
the House to the amendments of the Senate Nos. 27 and 55 to the bill 
(H.R. 8370), "An act making appropriations for the Department of 
Agriculture and related agencies for the fiscal year ending June 30, 
1966, and for other purposes."
And agrees to the conference report.
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19.     116 CONG. REC. 23790-92, 91st Cong. 2d Sess.
20.     111 CONG. REC. 27846, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
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