[Deschler-Brown Precedents, Volume 16, Chapters 32 - 33]
[Chapter 33. House-Senate Conferences]
[E. CONSIDERATION AND DISPOSITION OF REPORT]
[Â§ 23. Who May Call Up; Reading]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 806-808]
 
        House-Senate Conferences
 
E. CONSIDERATION AND DISPOSITION OF REPORT
 
Sec.    23.  Who May Call Up; Reading

It is the general practice for the Speaker to recognize the senior 
majority manager on the part of the House to call up a conference 
report for consideration. On one instance, this general practice was 
followed even though this senior majority manager (the chairman of the 
legislative committee which had handled the bill) had not signed the 
report and was opposed to it.(6) The Speaker may recognize a junior 
member of the conference committee in the absence of the senior House 
conferee(7) or even the ranking majority member in lieu of the chairman 
of the legislative committee who was also a conferee.(8) 
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 2.     See annotation to Rule XIII clause 4(a) House Rules and Manual 
Sec. 746 (1997).
 3.     Id. at Sec. 909.
 4.     116 CONG. REC. 13987-4014, 14021-33, 14043, 91st Cong. 2d Sess.
 5.     John W. McCormack (Mass.).
 6.     Sec. 23.3, infra.
 7.     Sec. 23.1, infra.
 8.     Sec. 23.2, infra.
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Junior Member of Conference Committee
Sec.    23.1 The Speaker has recognized a junior member of the conference 
committee when the senior House conferee was unable to be present on 
the floor to file or call up the report.
On Dec. 23, 1969,(9) the Record indicates that Speaker John W. 
McCormack, of Massachusetts, recognized Mr. Thomas L. Ashley, of Ohio, 
for the following purpose:

Mr. Ashley submitted the following conference report and statement on 
the bill (H.R. 4293) to provide for continuation of authority for 
regulation of exports:
CONFERENCE REPORT (H. REPT. 91-786)
The signatures were affixed to the report in the following manner:
WRIGHT PATMAN,
LEONOR SULLIVAN,
HENRY REUSS,
THOMAS ASHLEY,
WILLIAM B. WIDNALL,
CHESTER L. MIZE,
Managers on the Part of the House.(10) 
MR. ASHLEY: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the immediate 
consideration of the conference report on the bill (H.R. 4293) to 
provide for continuation of authority for regulation of exports.
THE SPEAKER: Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
Ohio?
There was no objection.

Parliamentarian's Note: Mr. Patman, the senior House conferee, was 
unable to be present on the floor either to file or call up the 
conference report.
Ranking Majority Member
Sec.    23.2 The Speaker has recognized the ranking majority member of a 
committee (not the chairman, who was also a conferee) to call up a 
conference report.
On July 17, 1967,(11) the following occurred in the House:

THE SPEAKER:(12) The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. 
Friedel].
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 9.     115 CONG. REC. 40982-84, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
10.     Parliamentarian's Note: Mr. Ashley was the fifth ranking Democrat 
on the Committee on Banking and Currency. Wright Patman (Tex.), was the 
chairman of the committee, and Mrs. Leonor K. Sullivan (Mo.), and Mr. 
Henry Reuss (Wis.), were the third and fourth ranking majority members, 
respectively.
11.     113 CONG. REC. 19032, 19033, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
12.     John W. McCormack (Mass.).
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MR. [SAMUEL N.] FRIEDEL: Mr. Speaker, I call up the conference report 
on the Senate joint resolution (S.J. Res. 81) to provide for the 
settlement of the labor dispute between certain carriers by railroad 
and certain of their employees, and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
THE SPEAKER: The Clerk will read the conference report.
The Clerk read the conference report. . . . 
MR. FRIEDEL: Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion.
The Clerk read as follows:

Mr. Friedel moves to concur in the Senate amendments to the House 
amendment.

THE SPEAKER: The gentleman from Maryland is recognized for 1 hour.

Parliamentarian's Note: The chairman of the Committee on House 
Administration(13) was op-posed to the legislation, had not handled the 
resolution when it was under debate in the House, and had agreed that 
the Speaker should recognize the ranking majority member to call up 
this report and offer the essential motions.
Member Opposed to Conference Report
Sec.    23.3 The senior manager on the part of the House at a conference 
called up a conference report, even though he had not signed the report 
and was in fact opposed to it.
On Dec. 6, 1967,(14) Speaker John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, 
recognized William R. Poage, of Texas, Chairman of the Committee on 
Agriculture, to call up the conference report on H.R. 12144, the 
Federal Meat Inspection Act:

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the immediate consideration of 
the conference report on the bill (H.R. 12144) to clarify and otherwise 
amend the Meat Inspection Act, to provide for cooperation with 
appropriate State agencies with respect to State meat inspection 
programs, and for other purposes. . . . 
THE SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Poage].
MR. POAGE: Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes. . . . 
This report is signed by all of the conferees on the part of the Senate 
and all but two of the conferees on the part of the House. I am one of 
those two. . . . 

After Mr. Poage explained his opposition to the conference report, and 
after debate had taken place thereon, the House adopted the report.
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13.     Omar T. Burleson (Tex.).
14.     113 CONG. REC. 35144-51, 35163, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
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