[Deschler-Brown Precedents, Volume 16, Chapters 32 - 33]
[Chapter 33. House-Senate Conferences]
[E. CONSIDERATION AND DISPOSITION OF REPORT]
[Â§ 21. In General]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 766-775]
 
        House-Senate Conferences
 
E. CONSIDERATION AND DISPOSITION OF REPORT
 
Sec.    21. In General

Conference reports embody the compromises negotiated by the managers of 
both Houses and must be acted on in both Houses.(1) Each report must be 
voted on as a whole and adopted or rejected in its entirety,(2) 
although the House rules now permit separate votes on nongermane matter 
contained in a conference report.(3) In accordance with Jefferson's 
Manual, conference reports may not be amended or altered by either 
House acting alone(4) although the two Houses may do so by concurrent 
resolution.(5) A report may also be amended by recommittal with 
instructions to the conference committee who may then file a new 
report.(6) 
Parliamentarian's Note: The question of consideration as provided for 
in Rule XVI clause 3,(7) may be raised against a conference report, and 
this is a proper way to avoid immediate consideration of a report. On 
Sept. 28, 1976, Speaker Carl Albert, of Oklahoma, entertained the 
question of consideration before recognizing Members wishing to press 
points of order against the substance of the report.(8) A conference 
report cannot be tabled,(9) referred,(10) or amended.(11) There is no 
direct 
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 1.     House Rules and Manual Sec. 549 (1997); see Sec.Sec. 21.2, 21.3, 
infra.
 2.     Sec.Sec. 30.4, 30.5, infra.
 3.     H. Res. 1153, 92d Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 13, 1972, added clause 4 
to Rule XXVIII, House Rules and Manual Sec. 913(b) (1997). This clause 
provides that the House may vote separately on portions of conference 
reports containing nongermane material if offered in the House. 
However, in conformity with the principle set forth in Sec. 542 of 
Jefferson's Manual, rejection of a portion of a conference report 
results in the rejection of the entire report.  See Sec.Sec. 30.10-
30.12, infra.
 4.     Jefferson's Manual, House Rules and Manual Sec. 542 (1997); see 
Sec. 30.6, infra.
 5.     8 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 3308; and 5 Hinds' Precedents Sec.Sec. 
6536, 6537.
 6.     8 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 3317. See generally, Sec. 32, infra.
 7.     House Rules and Manual Sec. 781 (1997). See also 8 Cannon's 
Precedents Sec. 2439.
 8.     122 CONG. REC. 33018, 33019, 94th Cong. 2d Sess.
 9.     5 Cannon's Precedents Sec.Sec. 6538-6544.
10.     Id. at Sec. 6558.
11.     Id. at Sec.Sec. 6534, 6535.
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[[Page 767]]

precedent on the applicability of the motion to postpone.
Conference Report Not Subject to Motion To Lay on the Table
Sec.    21.1 While the practice of the House is not to allow a motion to 
table a conference report, the Senate has taken such action and 
informed the House, by message, that it insisted on its amendments to a 
House bill. The House then acted on the bill and amendments thereto by 
privileged motion, the stage of disagreement being in effect. 
The practice of the House is not to apply the motion to lay on the 
table a conference report. This practice has been followed at least 
since the 42d Congress when Speaker Blaine refused to entertain the 
motion, and his decision was sustained on appeal.(12) 
In the 93d Congress, the Senate did table a conference report on    a 
House bill and the Senate amendments in disagreement, in-formed the 
House of this action together with a message further insisting on its 
amendments. 
The message and the proceedings of July 16, 1974,(13) in the House are 
carried here.
FURTHER MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE
A further message from the Senate by Mr. Arrington, one of its clerks, 
announced that the Senate had tabled the report of the committee of 
conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments 
of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 7824) entitled "An act to establish a 
Legal Services Corporation, and for other purposes."
And that the Senate further insists upon its amendments to the above-
entitled bill, disagreed to by the House. . . . 
LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION ACT
MOTION OFFERED BY MR. PERKINS
MR. [CARL D.] PERKINS [of Kentucky]: Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion.
The Clerk read as follows:

Mr. Perkins moves that the House take from the Speaker's table the bill 
H.R. 7824, with the Senate amendments thereto, recede from its 
disagreement to the Senate amendment to the text of the bill and concur 
therein with an amendment as follows:
In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate amendment 
insert the following:
That this Act may be cited as the "Legal Services Corporation Act of 
1974".
SEC. 2. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 is amended by adding at 
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12.     5 Hinds' Precedents Sec.Sec. 6539, 6540. 
13.     120 CONG. REC. 23348, 23349, 23353, 23354, 93d Cong. 2d Sess.
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[[Page 768]]

the end thereof the following new     title:
"TITLE X-LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION ACT . . . 
THE SPEAKER:(14) The gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Perkins) will be 
recognized for 1 hour.

PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY
MR. [H. R.] GROSS [of Iowa]: Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary inquiry.
THE SPEAKER: The gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry.
MR. GROSS: Mr. Speaker, when was this matter brought to the floor of 
the House.
THE SPEAKER: The Chair will state that the Senate had just messaged 
this matter over to the House; the Chair received the message a few 
minutes ago, informing the House that the Senate insists on its 
amendments to the House bill.
MR. GROSS: Mr. Speaker, is there any information available to the 
Members of the House concerning the action taken by the other body on 
this matter?
THE SPEAKER: The Chair will state that that is not a parliamentary 
inquiry.
MR. PERKINS: If the gentleman will yield, yes, there happens to be.
MOTION TO LAY THE MOTION ON THE TABLE OFFERED BY MR. GROSS
MR. GROSS: Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the motion on the table.
THE SPEAKER: The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman 
from Iowa.
The question was taken; and the Speaker announced that the noes 
appeared to have it.
MR. GROSS: Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
THE SPEAKER: The Chair will count; 162 Members are present, not a 
quorum.
The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
The vote was taken by electronic device; and there were-yeas 136, nays 
269, not voting 29. . . . 
So the motion to table was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
MR. PERKINS: Mr. Speaker, on May 16 we sent the Legal Services 
conference report, after it was adopted, over to the Senate. As I 
recall, the House acted first. Over there, the conference report was 
tabled. I do not know the reasons why, but I presume they received word 
that in all probability the conference report as passed by the House 
and agreed to by the Senate may not be acceptable to the President of 
the United States.
Receiving Senate Message During Adjournment
Sec.    21.2 The Speaker laid before the House a communica-  tion from 
the Clerk advising that pursuant to authority granted, he had, during 
adjournment, received a message from the Senate an-
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14.     Carl Albert (Okla.).
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[[Page 769]]

nouncing agreement to a conference report.
On June 30, 1958,(15) Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, laid before the 
House the following communication from the Clerk of the House:
June 30, 1958.
THE HONORABLE THE SPEAKER,
House of Representatives.
SIR: Pursuant to authority granted on June 27, 1958, the Clerk received 
from the Secretary of the Senate on Friday, June 27, 1958, the 
following message:
That the Senate agree to the report of the committee of conference on 
the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate 
to the bill (H.R. 12181) entitled "An act to amend further the Mutual 
Security Act of 1954, as amended, and for other purposes."
Respectfully yours,
RALPH R. ROBERTS,
  Clerk, United States House of Representatives.
Senate Has "Deemed" Adoption of Conference Report When Message Received 
From House
Sec.    21.3 The Senate stipulated, by unanimous consent, that a 
conference report already agreed to by the House be deemed to 
have been adopted by the Senate, on receipt of a message from the House 
informing the Senate of the adoption of a Senate concurrent resolution 
correcting the enrollment of the bill in question, changing a proviso 
included in the conference agreement.
The unanimous-consent request propounded in the Senate not only deemed 
the adoption of the report but disposed of the motion to reconsider and 
provided for the insertion of comments by Senators into the 
Congressional Record. 
The request, made on Oct. 21, 1993,(16) is included here. The House 
agreed to the concurrent resolution on Oct. 26, 1993,(17) and this is 
the date shown in the House Calendar for the adoption of the conference 
report in the Senate.

MR. [GEORGE J.] MITCHELL [of Maine]: Mr. President, I ask unanimous 
consent that when the Senate receives a message from the House that the 
House has agreed to Senate Con-
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15.     104 CONG. REC. 12671, 85th Cong. 2d Sess.
16.     139 CONG. REC. 25876, 103d Cong. 1st Sess.
17.     For the House action and the text of the concurrent resolution, 
see 139 CONG. REC. 25876, 103d Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 770]]


current Resolution 48, as passed the Senate, that the conference report 
accompanying H.R. 2403, the Treasury, Postal Service appropriations 
bills shall be deemed to have been adopted, and the motion to 
reconsider shall be deemed to have been laid on the table, with the 
above occurring without any intervening action or debate; and that any 
statements relating to that conference report be placed in the Record 
at the appropriate place.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE: Without objection, it is so ordered.
So the conference report was deemed to have been agreed to, as follows:
H.R. 2403
That the Senate recede from certain of its amendments.
That the House recede from its disagreement to certain amendments of 
the Senate and agree to the same.
That the House recede from its disagreement to certain amendments of 
the Senate and agree to the same with an amendment; and the Senate 
agree to the same.
Signed by a majority of the conferees on the part of both Houses.
Consideration of Report Before Amendments in Disagreement
Sec.    21.4 In the consideration of conference reports the report itself 
is considered and voted up or down before action is taken on amendments 
in disagreement.
On Mar. 16, 1942,(18) after Mr. Hatton W. Sumners, of Texas, called up 
the conference report on S. 2208, to further expedite the prosecution 
of the war, he raised  a parliamentary inquiry:

Amendment No. 32 is highly controversial. I understand it is my duty to 
move that the House further insist upon this amendment. May I ask 
unanimous consent that the consideration of that amendment be postponed 
for the moment?
THE SPEAKER:(19) The Chair suggests to the gentleman from Texas that 
the first thing to do is to adopt the conference report, leaving out, 
of course, those matters that are in disagreement.
MR. SUMNERS of Texas: Then, Mr. Speaker, I make that motion at this 
time.

Mr. Wright Patman, of Texas, then posed an inquiry concerning the 
disposal of another amendment reported from the conference in 
disagreement. The Speaker replied,

The parliamentary situation is this: Insofar as the amendments in 
disagreement are concerned, the conference report must first be voted 
up or down.
Recognition for Question of Privilege of the House During Consideration 
of Report
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18.     88 CONG. REC. 2502-04, 77th Cong. 2d Sess.
19.     Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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[[Page 771]]

Sec.    21.5 During the consideration of a conference report the Speaker 
declined to recognize a Member on a question of privilege of the House.
On Oct. 3, 1949,(20) the House was considering the conference report on 
S. 1407, to promote the rehabilitation of the Hopi and Navaho Indian 
tribes and the better utilization of resources on their respective 
reservations. Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, then sought the floor:

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
MR. [TOBY] MORRIS [of Oklahoma]: I yield to the gentleman from 
Michigan.
MR. HOFFMAN of Michigan: Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of privilege 
of the House.
THE SPEAKER:(1) What is the gentleman's question of privilege?
MR. HOFFMAN of Michigan: The question of privilege is that, although we 
have been in session here something like 9 months, ever since we came 
back it has been almost impossible, in spite of the efforts of the 
Speaker, for the Members to hear what is going on. And I have a 
resolution which I want to offer, and which is as follows:

Be it resolved, That the legislative business of the House be suspended 
until order in the House is obtained so that Members may be informed as 
to the measures which are being considered.

THE SPEAKER: The Chair cannot recognize the gentleman for that purpose 
inasmuch as there is another matter pending before the House.
Speaker's Discretion as To Scheduling of Conference Report
Sec.    21.6 The Speaker announced from the Chair that he would not 
recognize Members for unanimous-consent requests until disposition of a 
conference report on a bill making appropriations for foreign 
assistance.
On Oct. 6, 1962,(2) Speaker John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, made 
the following statement regarding the consideration of the conference 
report on H.R. 13175:

The Chair desires to make a brief statement that the Chair will not 
recognize any Member for unanimous-consent requests until after the 
foreign assistance appropriations conference report is disposed of.
In order that Members may understand the reason why the Chair is doing 
this, last night our dear friend and distinguished colleague, the 
gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Passman] had an accident. He was sent to 
the Naval 
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20.     95 CONG. REC. 13662, 81st Cong. 1st Sess.
 1.     Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
 2.     108 CONG. REC. 22709, 87th Cong. 2d Sess.
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[[Page 772]]

Hospital. He is in his office. He is going to handle the conference 
report this morning. . . . 
The Chair, and I know the Members, will all agree with the thoughts and 
the action of the Chair to have the conference report disposed of as 
quickly as possible so that the gentleman from Louisiana may go back to 
the hospital for further treatment.
Withdrawal of Report After Filing
Sec.    21.7 A conference report has been withdrawn by unanimous consent.
On June 8, 1942,(3) the following occurred in the House:

MR. [R. EWING] THOMASON [of Texas]: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent to withdraw the conference report which I filed this morning on 
the bill S. 2025, to readjust the pay and allowances of personnel of 
the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Coast and Geodetic Survey, 
and Public Health Service.
THE SPEAKER:(4) Without objection, it is so ordered.
There was no objection.
Special Consideration of a Conference Report Established by Special 
Order
Sec.    21.8 A special order providing for the consideration in the House 
of a conference report on a major budget reconciliation bill may 
contain many elements. In 1993, the resolution included: a blanket 
waiver of points of order; the allocation of extended debate time among 
the 14 committees involved; a clause self-executing anoth-er resolution 
providing new procedures to implement budget enforcement procedures; 
special procedures to follow in the House if the conference report were 
rejected; and finally, specifying that the previous question be 
considered as ordered without any intervening motion except one motion 
to recommit which could not contain instructions. 

House Resolution 240 was called up in the House on Aug. 5, 1993. 
Following its adoption, the conference report itself was considered and 
adopted by the narrowest of margins. The resolution from the Committee 
on Rules, a portion of the debate, and the consideration of the 
conference report as ex-
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 3.     88 CONG. REC. 5031, 77th Cong. 2d Sess.
 4.     Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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[Page 773]]

cerpted from the Record of Aug. 5,(5) are noted below. 
WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2264, OMNIBUS 
BUDGET RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1993
MR. [ANTHONY C.] BEILENSON [of California]: Mr. Speaker, by direction 
of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 240 and ask for 
its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. RES. 240
Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to 
consider the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 2264) to 
provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 7 of the concurrent 
resolution on the budget for fiscal year 1994. All points of order 
against the conference report and against its consideration are waived. 
The conference report shall be considered as read. The conference 
report shall be debatable for six hours, with one hour equally divided 
and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on Ways and Means; twenty minutes equally divided and 
controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee 
on Agriculture; twenty minutes equally divided and controlled by the 
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed 
Services; twenty minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman 
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Banking, Finance and 
Urban Affairs; twenty minutes equally divided and controlled by the 
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and 
Labor; twenty minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman 
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce; 
twenty minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman and 
ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; twenty 
minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary; twenty minutes 
equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries; twenty 
minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources; twenty minutes 
equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service; twenty 
minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation; 
twenty minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman and 
ranking minority member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs; and one 
hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on the Budget. The previous question 
shall be considered as ordered on the conference report to final 
adoption without intervening motion except one motion to recommit, 
which may not contain instructions and on which the previous question 
shall be considered as adopted. After disposition of the conference 
report, no further consideration of the bill shall be in order except 
pursuant to a subsequent order of the House.
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 5.     139 CONG. REC. 19309, 19310, 19321, 19476, 103d Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 774]]

SEC. 2. House Resolution 235 is hereby adopted.

THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE:(6) The gentleman from California [Mr. 
Beilenson] is recognized for 1 hour. 
MR. BEILENSON: . . . Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 240 provides for 6 
hours of general debate on the reconciliation conference report, with 
the time allocated among the committees instructed to report deficit 
reduction legislation, and the time for each committee equally divided 
and controlled between the chairman and ranking minority member of 
each. The conference report will be considered as read. All points of 
order against the conference report and against its consideration are 
waived.
The conference report needs a waiver of the three-day layover 
requirement. The report also exceeds the scope of the conference; for 
example, the section providing an income tax credit for employees who 
pay Social Security taxes on their employees' tip income was in neither 
the House nor Senate bill. To meet the conferees' ambitious deficit 
reduction target, it was necessary for conferees to exceed scope in 
order to reach agreement between the Houses.
Mr. Speaker, the rule provides one motion to recommit which may not 
contain instructions. No further action on this reconciliation measure 
is in order except by subsequent order of the House. Finally, the rule 
provides that House Resolution 235 is adopted.
At this point, Mr. Speaker, I would like to explain House Resolution 
235. First, the intent is to put in place, in conjunction with the 
executive order that the President issued yesterday, the entitlement 
review procedures dropped from the conference report because of the 
Byrd rule in the Senate. The Executive order directs the Office of 
Management and Budget to set targets for entitlement spending. . . . 
Finally, under House Resolution 235, it would not be in order to 
consider any general appropriation bill until Congress, if required, 
adopts a budget resolution including the entitlement review problem. 
The point of order could be waived only by adoption of a single 
resolution covering all general appropriation bills. . . . 
H. RES. 235
Resolved, That, for fiscal years 1994 through 1997-
(1) the provisions of, and the procedures and points of order set forth 
in, sections 16004(c)(2), 16005, and 16009 of H.R. 2264, as passed the 
House (One Hundred Third Congress), shall, with respect to the House of 
Representatives, apply to any special direct spending message the 
President submits pursuant to a presidential order as if that message 
were submitted pursuant to section 16004(c)(1) of that bill; and
(2) for purposes of this application, any reference in section 16004(c)
(2) to paragraph (1) or in section 16005 or 16009 to section 16004 
shall be deemed to be to the appropriate provisions of that 
presidential order. . . .

MR. [MARTIN O.] SABO [of Minnesota]: Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House 
Resolution 240, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 2264) 
to provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 7 of the concurrent 
resolution on the budget for fiscal year 1994.
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 6.     Gerald D. Kleczka (Wis.).
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[[Page 775]]

The Clerk read the title of the bill.
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE:(7) Pursuant to House Resolution 240, the 
conference report is considered as having been read. . . . 
Pursuant to the rule, the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee 
on the Budget will each control 1 hour of debate, equally divided and 
controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member; and the 
following committees will each control 20 minutes of debate, equally 
divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member: The 
Committee on Agriculture; the Committee on Armed Services; the 
Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs; the Committee on 
Education and Labor; the Committee on Energy and Commerce; the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs; the Committee on the Judiciary; the 
Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries; the Committee on Natural 
Resources; the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service; the 
Committee on Public Works and Transportation; and the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs.
At this time, the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Sabo], will be 
recognized for 30 minutes and the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Kasich] will 
be recognized for 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Sabo]. . . . 
MR. SABO: Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the 
distinguished Speaker of the House, the gentleman from Washington [Mr. 
Foley].
MR. [THOMAS S.] FOLEY [of Washington]: Mr. Speaker, one important thing 
has happened today, and important as it was, a more important thing is 
about to happen.
The important thing that has already happened was not a reconciliation 
but an engagement, and all of us wish our two colleagues on the 
Republican side, Susan Molinari and Bill Paxon, the best of futures and 
the warmest of best wishes. . . . 
Whether we decide at long last, after many years of indulgence and 
avoidance and delay and excuse, take a hard road back to fiscal 
responsibility and a sound economic future for all of our people. . . . 
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: Pursuant to House Resolution 240, the previous 
question is ordered on the conference report.
The question is on the conference report.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the 
ayes appeared to have it.
RECORDED VOTE
MR. [JOHN R.] KASICH [of Ohio]: Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were-ayes 218, noes 
216, not voting 0.