[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 2, Chapters 7 - 9]
[Chapter 7. The Members]
[A. The Speaker]
[§ 2. Seniority and Derivative Rights]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
[Page 668-684]
CHAPTER 7
The Members
A. INTRODUCTORY
Sec. 2. Seniority and Derivative Rights
Seniority is a Member's length of service in the House or on a
[[Page 669]]
House committee. The seniority system is the traditional practice
(12) in the House whereby certain prerogatives and positions
are made available to those Members with the longest continuous service
in the House or on committee.(13) However, the seniority
system as such is nowhere codified and is only mentioned collaterally
in the House rules; (14) it can be changed by the House or
modified by the party caucuses.(15)
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12. For detailed descriptions of the practice and its origins, see
Celler, The Seniority Rule in Congress, Western Poll Quar.
(Mar. 1961); Goodwin, The Seniority System in Congress, Am.
Poll Sci. Rev. (June 1959); Polsby, Gallaher, and Rundquist,
The Growth of the Seniority System in the U.S. House of
Representatives, Am. Poll Sci. Rev. (Sept. 1969).
Congressional hearings have focused on the seniority system
and proposals for change. Hearings of the Joint Committee on
the Organization of Congress, 79th Cong. 1st Sess. (1945);
hearings of the Joint Committee on the Organization of
Congress, 89th Cong. 1st Sess. (1965); hearings of the Special
Subcommittee on Legislative Reorganization of the House
Committee on Rules, 91st Cong. 1st Sess. (1970). For a critical
analysis of the system by an ex-Member, see 116 Cong. Rec.
26034-39. 91st Cong. 2d Sess., July 28, 1970.
13. In assigning office suites, ``longest continuous service'' refers
not only to present consecutive service but also to a past
period of service interrupted by a period of nonmembership.
(See Sec. 2.1, infra).
In computing committee seniority, the Committee on
Committees may credit a Member for past interrupted service on
the committee to which he has been assigned (see Sec. 2.2,
infra).
14. Rule X clause 4, House Rules and Manual Sec. 672 (1973) provides
for the Member next in rank on a standing committee to act as
chairman in the latter's absence.
The House rejected proposed amendments to the Legislative
Reorganization Act of 1970 which would have altered and
codified seniority as a factor in the selection of committee
chairmen (see Sec. 2.4, infra).
15. For demotions in seniority by the House, see Sec. Sec. 2.11, 2.12,
infra. For seniority demotions by the party, see
Sec. Sec. 2.13-2.16, infra.
For changes implemented by the majority and minority party
caucuses in the 92d and subsequent Congresses modifying strict
seniority practices in the selection of committee chairmen, see
Ch. 3, supra, and Ch. 17, infra.
One party has refused to interfere with the prerogative of
the opposing party caucus in selecting a committee chairman on
the basis of seniority. 117 Cong. Rec. 1709-13, 92d Cong. 1st
Sess., Feb. 4, 1971.
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There are two types of seniority--congressional seniority, which
relates to the length of service in the House, and committee seniority,
which relates to the length of consecutive service on a particular
committee.
[[Page 670]]
Congressional seniority is computed from the official date that a
Member begins his service. Therefore, seniority ordinarily dates from
Jan. 3 of the first Congress to which a Member is elected or re-elected
after a break in service in the House.(16) Where a Member is
elected to fill a vacancy, his congressional seniority is computed from
the date of election.(17) An objection to a Member's right
to be sworn, later resolved in his favor, does not affect his
congressional seniority.(18)
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16. Pursuant to the 25th amendment to the Constitution (ratified Feb.
6, 1933), the terms of Members begin on Jan. 3 of the odd-
numbered years.
17. Cf. 2 USC Sec. 37 (salary begins at election for Member to fill
unexpired term) and 2 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 1206 (general
discussion of terms of Members elected to fill vacancies).
18. See Ch. 2, supra (rights of Members-elect).
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Committee seniority is computed from the date a Member is elected
to a specific committee. Members-elect whose seats in the House are in
doubt may be excluded from the resolution electing committees and
fixing rank thereon, pending resolution of any challenges and
investigations.(19)
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19. See Sec. Sec. 2.5, infra (election to committee after resolution of
contest), and 2.11, infra (Member-elect excluded pending
investigation, elected to no committees, and stripped of
chairmanship).
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Some of the rights derived from congressional seniority are purely
ceremonial in nature. For example, a senior Member traditionally
announces the death of a Member from his state and
party.(20) Where a delegation of Members is appointed by the
Speaker for the funeral of an ex-Member, Members are listed in the
order of their congressional seniority.(1) The dean of the
House, or the Member with the longest continuous service in the House,
traditionally administers the oath to the Speaker at the beginning of a
new Congress.(2)
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20. See Sec. 2.21, infra.
1. See Sec. 2.22, infra.
2. See Sec. 2.20, infra.
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Congressional seniority determines the priority of assignment to
office suites in the office buildings.(3)
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3. Preference is given to those Members with longest continuous
service in the House. House Rules and Manual Sec. 985 (1973).
For computation of ``longest continuous service'' as
related to the assignment of offices, see Sec. 2.1, infra.
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Committee rank and the election of committee chairmen and
subcommittee chairmen is largely a matter for determination by the
political party organizations in the House.(4) In computing
committee
[[Page 671]]
seniority, a party organization may credit not only the present
consecutive service of a committee member, but also prior interrupted
service on the same committee.(5)
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4. For party organization, see Ch. 3, supra. For committee election
and organization, see Ch. 17, infra.
When an attempt was made by certain members of the majority
party to unseat a committee chairman in the 92d Congress, they
urged support from the minority party on the floor of the
House, in departing from ``the custom of the House, which is
that the majority party in the enclaves of their caucus make
the determinations and the minority party accepts those
decisions.'' 117 Cong. Rec. 1709, 92d Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 4,
1971 (address of Mr. Jerome Waldie [Calif.]). The minority
party refused to support the attempt. Id. at p. 1713. During
debate on Mr. Waldie's proposal, Mr. James O'Hara (Mich.)
stated that ``each party should be free to make its own
decisions without hindrance from the other.'' Id. at p. 1711.
Mr. James Fulton (Pa.), of the minority party, stated: ``It has
been the custom that each party shall select its own people and
set the seniority and that they shall select the membership of
the various committees and their own officers and that the
other party would do the same.'' Id. at p. 1709.
5. See Sec. 2.2, infra.
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Relative committee rank is indicated by the order in which the
names of Members appear in the resolution which names Members to a
standing committee.(6) When the committee seniority of a
Member is not yet determined, or if election contests over his seat are
pending, vacancies may be left open in the resolution pending the
determination of such matters.(7)
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6. See Sec. 2.3, infra.
7. See Sec. 2.7, infra.
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A Member may be stripped of his congressional seniority or his
committee seniority for certain improprieties.(8) Thus, in
the 91st Congress, the House punished a Member for improper conduct in
past Congresses by reducing his seniority to that of a first-term
Representative.(9)
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8. See Ch. 12, infra.
9. See Sec. 2.12, infra.
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Forms
Form of resolution electing a Member to committee and fixing
his rank thereon.
Resolved, That J. Edward Roush, of Indiana, be, and is
hereby elected a Member of the standing committee of the House
of Representatives on Science and Astronautics and to rank No.
10 thereon.(10)
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10. 107 Cong. Rec. 10391, 87th Cong. 1st Sess., June 14, 1961.
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Cross References
Seniority and party organization, see Ch. 3, supra.
Committee organization and seniority, see Ch. 17, infra.
Conference appointments and seniority, see Ch. 33 infra.
Collateral References
Celler, The Seniority Rule in Congress, Western Political Quarterly
(Mar. 1961).
[[Page 672]]
Goodwin, The Seniority System in Congress, American Political Science
Review (June 1959).
Hearings of the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress, 79th
Cong. 1st Sess. (Wash. 1945); Hearings of the Joint Committee on
the Organization of Congress, 89th Cong. 1st Sess. (Wash. 1965);
Hearings of the Special Subcommittee on Legislative Reorganization
of the House Committee on Rules, 91st Cong. 1st Sess. (Wash. 1970).
Polsby, The Growth of the Seniority System in the United States House
of Representatives, American Political Science Review (Sept. 1969).
Bolling, Power in the House, E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. (N.Y. 1968).
Democratic Study Group, The Seniority System in the United States House
of Representatives, Special Report (Feb. 25,
1970). -------------------
Computing Seniority
Sec. 2.1 In computing seniority for the assignment of office suites,
``longest continuous service'' is interpreted as the longest period
of uninterrupted service as a Member.
On Mar. 2, 1967,(11) the Chairman of the House Office
Building Commission, Speaker John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts,
announced a determination as to the meaning of the term ``longest
continuous service'' in relation to seniority for assignment of office
suites.
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11. 113 Cong. Rec. 5218, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Mr. McCormack: Mr. Speaker, for the information of the Members,
I include an action recently taken by the House Office Building
Commission:
Assignment of Rooms, House Office Buildings
In connection with assignment of rooms to Members of the House
of Representatives in the House Office Buildings, 40 U.S.C. 178
provides, in part, as follows:
``If two or more requests are made for the same vacant room,
preference shall be given to the Representative making the request
who has been longest in continuous service as a Member and Member-
elect of the House of Representatives.''
The question was raised before the House Office Building
Commission as to whether the wording ``longest continuous service''
should refer to any period of continuous service whether or not
such continuous service occurred before or after a break in service
in the House.
At meeting of February 27, 1967, the House Office Building
Commission unanimously ruled on this point, as follows:
``The term `longest continuous service' as used in 40 U.S.C.
178, governing seniority in assignment of rooms in the House Office
Buildings, is held to refer to the longest period of uninterrupted
service as a Member and Member-elect of the House of
Representatives (not necessarily the last period of uninterrupted
service as held
[[Page 673]]
in Cannon's Precedents, Vol. 8, page 981, Sec. 3651).''
This ruling is effective February 27, 1967 and is being
submitted as a matter of record for the information of all Members
of the House of Representatives.
Sec. 2.2 In computing committee seniority, a party may credit a Member
for prior interrupted service in the House.
In the 89th Congress, Mr. Glenn R. Davis, of Wisconsin, was elected
to the Committee on Appropriations, to rank fifth from the
bottom.(12) Mr. Davis began service in the 89th Congress
after a break in service extending from the 85th Congress to the 88th
Congress; prior to that break he had served in the House from the 80th
Congress through the 84th Congress.(13)
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12. 111 Cong. Rec. 991, 89th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 21, 1965.
13. Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1971, S. Doc.
No. 92-8, 92d Cong. 1st Sess. (1971).
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Mr. Davis was elected to higher committee rank in the 89th Congress
than four Members each of whom had served for at least one term
immediately preceding the 89th Congress.(14)
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14. 111 Cong. Rec. 991, 89th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 21, 1965. For the
prior service of those Members listed below Mr. Davis, see the
Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1971, S.
Doc. No. 92-8, 92d Cong. 1st Sess. (1971).
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Sec. 2.3 Committee rank is indicated by the order in which the names of
Members appear in the resolution electing them to a standing
committee.
On Feb. 3, 1969,(15) the House made a correction in the
election of Members to the standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
since the original resolution which was adopted contained an error in
the order in which names were listed:
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15. 115 Cong. Rec. 2433, 2434, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
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Mr. Gerald R. Ford [of Michigan]: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous
consent to vacate the proceedings whereby the House agreed to House
Resolution 176 on January 29, and ask for its immediate
consideration with an amendment which I send to the desk.
The Speaker: (16) Is there objection to the request
of the gentleman from Michigan?
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16. John W. McCormack (Mass.).
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There was no objection.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 176
Resolved, That the following named Members be, and they are
hereby, elected members of the following standing committees of
the House of Representatives: . . .
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Charles M. Teague, California; E. Ross Adair, Indiana;
William H.
[[Page 674]]
Ayres, Ohio; John P. Saylor, Pennsylvania; Seymour Halpern, New
York; John J. Duncan, Tennessee; John Paul Hammerschmidt,
Arkansas; William L. Scott, Virginia; Margaret M. Heckler,
Massachusetts; John M. Zwach, Minnesota; Robert V. Denney,
Nebraska. . . .
amendment offered by mr. gerald r. ford
The Clerk read as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. Gerald R. Ford: On page 7, lines 5
and 6, strike out ``E. Ross Adair, Indiana; William H. Ayres,
Ohio;'' and insert: ``William H. Ayres, Ohio; E. Ross Adair,
Indiana;''
Mr. Gerald R. Ford: Mr. Speaker, my amendment, which has just
been read by the Clerk, will correct the seniority standing of the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ayres) on the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs.
The amendment was agreed to.
Seniority Considerations in Selecting Chairmen
Sec. 2.4 During consideration of a legislative reorganization act, the
House rejected two amendments proposing that seniority need not be
the sole consideration in the selection of committee chairmen.
On July 28, 1970, during consideration of the Legislative
Reorganization Act of 1970,(17) the House rejected an
amendment and a substitute amendment proposing that the House consider
other factors in addition to seniority in the selection of committee
chairmen.
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17. 116 Cong. Rec. 26044, 91st Cong. 2d Sess.
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The primary amendment had been offered by Mr. Henry S. Reuss, of
Wisconsin, on July 27, 1970.(18) His amendment read as
follows:
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18. Id. at p. 25831.
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Sec. 119 Clause 3 of rule X of the rules of the House of
Representatives is amended to read as follows:
3. At the commencement of each Congress, the House shall
elect as chairman of each standing committee one of the Members
thereof, who need not be the Member with the longest
consecutive service on the Committee; in the temporary absence
of the Chairman the Member next in rank in the order named in
the election of the committee, and so on, as often as the case
shall happen, shall act as chairman; and in case of a permanent
vacancy in the chairmanship of any such committee the House
shall elect another chairman.
The substitute amendment, offered as a substitute to Mr. Reuss'
amendment, was offered by Mr. Frederick Schwengel, of Iowa, and read as
follows: (19)
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19. Id. at p. 25832.
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Sec. 120. Clause 3 of Rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is amended to read as follows:
3. (a) As soon as possible after the commencement of each
Congress, the senior member of the majority party on each
standing committee shall call an organization meeting of all
[[Page 675]]
the members of the committee for the purpose of electing the
chairman of the committee and the minority leader for the
committee. . . .
(d) The first order of business at any such organization
meeting shall be the election of the chairman of the committee.
The three most senior members of the committee who are members
of the majority party shall be regarded as having been
nominated for the office of chairman. Tellers shall be
appointed by the temporary chairman, one from among the members
of the committee who are members of the majority party and two
from among the other members of the committee. Voting shall be
confined to members of the majority party, and shall be by
secret written ballot.
(e) After the chairman of the committee has been elected
and installed, the next order of business shall be the election
of a minority leader for the committee, which shall be
accomplished in the same manner as in the case of the election
of the chairman except that (1) the tellers shall be appointed
by the chairman, two from among the members of the committee
who are members of the majority party and one from among the
other members of the committee, and (2) voting shall be
confined to members of the committee who
are not members of the majority party. . . .
After these amendments were of I Bred, and before they were
rejected by the House, there ensued lengthy debate on the seniority
system in the House and on possible alternatives to the current
practice.(20)
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20. See the Congressional Record insert at 116 Cong. Rec. 26034-39,
91st Cong. 2d Sess., July 28, 1970, of a paper written by ex-
Member John V. Lindsay (N.Y.) on the seniority system in
current practice and on proposals for change.
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Fixing Committee Seniority
Sec. 2.5 When the House has determined the right of a Member to his
seat after the organization of the House, the House elects such
Member to committee and designates his rank thereon by resolution.
On June 29, 1961,(1) pursuant to the determination by
the House on June 14, 1961, that Mr. J. Edward Roush, of Indiana, was
entitled to a seat,(2) the House adopted the following
resolution:
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1. 107 Cong. Rec. 11797, 87th Cong. 1st Sess.
2. 107 Cong. Rec. 10391, 87th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Resolved, That J. Edward Roush, of Indiana, be, and he is
hereby elected a Member of the standing committee of the House of
Representatives on Science and Astronautics and to rank No. 10
thereon.
Sec. 2.6 Where a senior Member was assigned to the last position on a
committee for disciplinary purposes by his party caucus, the House
was advised that junior Members subsequently elected to the
committee would be placed below the punished Member in rank.
[[Page 676]]
On Oct. 18, 1966,(3) the House was considering a
resolution electing a junior Member from New York to the standing
Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Mr. John B. Williams, of
Mississippi, who had been assigned the last position on that committee
by the Democratic Caucus at the convening of the 89th
Congress,(4) arose to propound an inquiry. He asked whether
the freshman Member would go above him or below him in committee rank.
Mr. Wilbur D. Mills, of Arkansas, who had offered the resolution,
responded that freshmen Members newly elected to the same committee
would be placed below Mr. Williams.
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3. 112 Cong. Rec. 27486, 89th Cong. 2d Sess.
4. See Sec. 2.13, infra.
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Sec. 2.7 The Committee on Committees may report a resolution leaving
vacancies on certain standing committees pending further
consideration of the assignments and seniority of certain Members.
On Jan. 23, 1967,(5) the Committee on Committees
reported House Resolution 165, electing Members to committees but
leaving certain vacancies on the Committee on Interstate and Foreign
Commerce.
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5. 113 Cong. Rec. 1086, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
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One vacancy related to an as yet undecided contested election
case.(6)
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6. The right to a seat of Member-elect Benjamin B. Blackburn (Ga.) was
challenged on Jan. 10, 1967, 113 Cong. Rec. 14, 90th Cong. 1st
Sess., and had not yet been decided.
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The other vacancy related to the undetermined status of Mr. John B.
Williams, of Mississippi, who had, in the 89th Congress, been stripped
of his committee seniority and assigned to the last majority position
on said committee.(7) Mr. Williams had requested the
committee to refrain assigning him to any committee pending a
determination by his party caucus of his committee seniority in the
90th Congress.(8)
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7. See Sec. 2.13, infra.
8. See Sec. 2.16, infra.
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Correction of Seniority Rankings
Sec. 2.8 The House by unanimous consent fixed the relative rank of two
Members on a committee where an error had been made in the original
appointment.
On Jan. 20, 1947,(9) the House agreed by unanimous
consent to
[[Page 677]]
correct the committee seniority of two members of a committee:
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9. 93 Cong. Rec. 481, 80th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Mr. [Charles A.] Halleck [of Indiana]: Mr. Speaker, in
determining seniority on the reorganized Public Lands Committee,
into which were merged six previous standing committees of the
House, we made an error in the determination of seniority between
the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Rockwell] and the gentleman from
North Dakota [Mr. Lemke].
In order to correct that error and to bring that assignment of
seniority in line with other similar assignments adopted by the
Committee on Committees, I ask unanimous consent to correct the
list of members of the Committee on Public Lands by placing the
gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Rockwell] No. 4 thereon and the
gentleman from North Dakota [Mr. Lemke] No. 5 thereon.
The Speaker: (10) Is there objection to the request
of the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Halleck]?
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10. Joseph W. Martin, Jr. (Mass.).
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There was no objection.
Sec. 2.9 On one occasion, the House adopted a resolution electing a
Member retroactively to a committee and fixing his rank on such
committee accordingly.
On Nov. 2, 1939,(11) the House adopted the following
resolution:
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11. 85 Cong. Rec. 1283, 76th Cong. 2d Sess.
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Resolved, That E.C. Gathings, of Arkansas, be, and he is
hereby, elected a member of the standing committee of the House of
Representatives on Claims as of June 2, 1939, and shall take rank
accordingly.
Parliamentarian's Note: The House took such action because the
Member in question had served on the committee for a period of months
under the misapprehension, also held by the committee, that he was a
duly-elected member of that committee.
Sec. 2.10 On motion of the Minority Leader, the House agreed by
unanimous consent to vacate past proceedings where by it had agreed
to a resolution electing minority members to committees, and then
reconsidered the resolution with an amendment changing the order of
names in order to correct seniority.
On Feb. 3, 1969,(12) Gerald R. Ford, of Michigan, the
Minority Leader of the House, asked unanimous consent to vacate the
proceedings whereby the House had agreed to House Resolution 176,
electing Members to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Mr. Ford
offered an amendment changing the order of the names, and therefore the
seniority of members, in order to correct the
[[Page 678]]
seniority standing of Mr. William H. Ayres, of Ohio. The resolution as
amended was agreed to by the House.
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12. 115 Cong. Rec. 2433, 2434, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
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Demotions in Committee or Congressional Seniority
Sec. 2.11 Where a Member-elect was excluded from the House pending a
determination of his right to his seat, he was stripped of his
chairmanship of the Committee on Education and Labor and not named
to any committees.
On Jan. 23, 1967,(13) the Committee on Committees
reported a resolution (H. Res. 165) electing Carl D. Perkins, of
Kentucky, as Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, which
position had formerly been held by Member-elect Adam C. Powell, of New
York. Mr. Powell's name was not nominated for election to any
committee. He had been excluded from House membership pending an
investigation of his right to a seat.(14)
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13. 113 Cong. Rec. 1086, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
14. 113 Cong. Rec. 26, 90th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 10, 1967.
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Sec. 2.12 In authorizing a challenged Member-elect to take his seat,
the House may discipline him for actions in past Congresses by
reducing his congressional seniority to that of a first-term
Congressman.
On Jan. 3, 1969, the House authorized Adam C. Powell, Member-elect
from New York, whose seat had been challenged,(15) to take
the oath of office and to be seated as a Member of the House by House
Resolution 2.(16) The resolution provided for deductions
from Mr. Powell's salary as punishment for past conduct, and also
provided as follows:
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15. 115 Cong. Rec. 15, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
16. Id. at p. 33.
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(3) That as further punishment the seniority of the said Adam
Clayton Powell in the House of Representatives commence as of the
date he takes the oath as a Member of the 91st Congress.
Sec. 2.13 Two Members were stripped of their committee seniority in the
89th Congress by their party.
In the 89th Congress, the Democratic Caucus adopted a resolution on
Jan. 2, 1965, directing the Committee on Committees to demote in
committee rank Mr. John B. Williams, of Mississippi, and Mr. Albert W.
Watson, of South Carolina. (Both of those Members had allegedly
supported
[[Page 679]]
the Presidential nominee of the Republican Party.) (17)
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17. See the remarks in the Senate of Senator Strom Thurmond (S.C.)
analyzing the action of the House Democratic Caucus and the
activities of Mr. Williams and of Mr. Watson which precipitated
that party action. 111 Cong. Rec. 758, 759, 89th Cong. 1st
Sess., Jan. 15, 1965.
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Mr. Williams had ranked second on the Committee on Interstate and
Foreign Commerce (18) and fifth on the Committee on the
District of Columbia in the 88th Congress.(19) In the 89th
Congress, he was demoted in seniority by being elected to the last
majority position on both of those committees.(20)
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18. 109 Cong. Rec. 506, 88th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 17, 1963.
19. 109 Cong. Rec. 505, 88th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 17, 1963.
20. 111 Cong. Rec. 809, 810, 89th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 18, 1965.
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Mr. Watson had ranked last on the Committee on Post Office and
Civil Service in the 88th Congress.(1) In the 89th Congress,
he was elected to the next-to-last position on the Committee on
Interstate and Foreign Commerce.(2) (Mr. Watson later
resigned from the House, was re-elected as a Republican, and was
elected as a minority member of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign
Commerce.) (3)
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1. 109 Cong. Rec. 506, 88th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 17, 1963.
2. 111 Cong. Rec. 992, 89th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 21, 1965.
3. See Sec. 2.17, infra.
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Sec. 2.14 A Member who had refused to support the Presidential nominee
of his party was reduced in committee seniority by his party in the
91st Congress when his name was placed at the bottom of a list of
members of his party elected to one of the standing committees.
On Jan. 29, 1969,(4) the House adopted a resolution
electing Members to the standing Committee on Agriculture. The name of
Mr. John R. Rarick, of Louisiana, was placed at the bottom of the list,
pursuant to the determination of the Democratic Caucus to punish him
for refusing to support the Presidential nominee of the Democratic
Party. Under the listing of the resolution, he became the lowest
ranking majority member of the Committee on Agriculture.
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4. 115 Cong. Rec. 2083, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
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Sec. 2.15 On one occasion, the Committee on Committees left a vacancy
on a standing committee pending further consideration of the com
[[Page 680]]
mittee assignments and seniority of a Member whose party had
stripped him of committee seniority in the preceding Congress.
On Jan. 23, 1967,(5) the Committee on Committees
reported to the House a resolution leaving a vacancy on the Committee
on Interstate and Foreign Commerce because of the undetermined status
of Mr. John Bell Williams, of Mississippi, who had, in the previous
Congress, been stripped of his committee seniority and assigned to the
last majority position on said committee.(6)
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5. 113 Cong. Rec. 1086, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
6. See Sec. 2. 13, Supra.
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Sec. 2.16 In one instance a Member requested the Committee on
Committees to refrain from assigning him to any House committees
pending a determination by his party caucus of his committee
seniority.
On Jan. 23, 1967,(7) there was included in the Record a
letter from Mr. John Bell Williams, of Mississippi, to the Chairman of
the Democratic Committee on Committees, requesting such committee to
postpone assigning him to any House committees pending a determination
by the Democratic Caucus of his seniority status.
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7. 113 Cong. Rec. 1087, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Parliamentarian's Note: Mr. Williams had been stripped of his
committee seniority during the 89th Congress and as of Jan. 23, 1967,
his committee seniority in the 90th Congress had not yet been acted
upon by the Democratic Caucus.
Effect of Change in Party Affiliation
Sec. 2.17 A Member who was stripped of committee seniority by his party
caucus resigned from Congress, joined the opposition party, was re-
elected to Congress, and was elected to the same committee.
On Jan. 21, 1965,(8) Mr. Albert W. Watson, of South
Carolina, was elected to the next-to-last position in rank on the
Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Mr. Watson had been
demoted in committee seniority by the House Democratic Caucus because
of his support of the Republican Presidential candidate.(9)
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8. 111 Cong. Rec. 992, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
9. See Sec. 2.13, supra.
See also the remarks of Senator Strom Thurmond (S.C.) on
Jan. 15, 1965, 111 Cong. Rec. 758, 759, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.,
explaining the circumstances under which Mr. Watson was
stripped of his seniority.
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[[Page 681]]
On Jan. 28, 1965,(10) Mr. Watson resigned his
congressional seat, to become effective Feb. 1, 1965.
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10. 111 Cong. Rec. 1452, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Mr. Watson joined the Republican Party and was re-elected to the
Congress as a Republican; he took the oath of office on June 16,
1965.(11)
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11. 111 Cong. Rec. 13774, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
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On June 23, 1965,(12) Mr. Watson was elected to the
Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce on the recommendation of
the Republican Conference.
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12. 111 Cong. Rec. 14501, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Sec. 2.18 A change in party affiliation by a Senator might necessitate
a change in party ratios on certain committees and a loss of seats
on some committees for the other party.
On Sept. 17, 1964,(13) Majority Leader Michael J.
Mansfield, of Montana, announced that the change in party affiliation,
from the majority party to the minority party, by Senator Strom
Thurmond, of South Carolina, might require a change in party membership
ratios on certain committees, since ratios on Senate committees reflect
the relative membership of the two parties in the Senate as a whole.
Senator Mansfield stated that it would appear that the Republicans
would be entitled to an additional seat on each of the two committees
on which Senator Thurmond had formerly sat and that the Democrats would
lose those seats on those committees.
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13. 110 Cong. Rec. 22369, 88th Cong. 2d Sess.
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Seniority as Affecting Floor Recognition
Sec. 2.19 The order of recognition to offer amendments is within the
discretion of the Chair, but precedent indicates that he should
recognize members of the committee handling the pending bill in the
order of their committee seniority.
On July 23, 1970,(14) Chairman Chet Holifield, of
California, ruled, in answer to a parliamentary inquiry, that he would
recognize members of a committee handling a pending bill to offer
amendments in the order of their
[[Page 682]]
seniority. He stated that the order in which amendments may be offered
to a pending paragraph (open to amendment at any point) is not
determined by the sequence of lines to which the amendments may relate,
but by the committee rank of those seeking recognition.(15)
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14. 116 Cong. Rec. 25635 91st Cong. 2d Sess.
15. For full discussion of priorities of recognition, see Ch. 29,
infra.
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Seniority Considerations and Ceremonial Functions
Sec. 2.20 The Member of the House with longest consecutive service
customarily administers the oath to the Speaker at the convening of
a new Congress.(16)
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16. The Member of longest consecutive service is now the ``Dean'' of
the House (113 Cong. Rec. 14, 90th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 10,
1967; 115 Cong. Rec. 15, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 3, 1969),
although he has sometimes been termed the ``Father'' of the
House (2 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 1140; 6 Cannon's Precedents
Sec. 6).
While the Member with longest consecutive service has
usually administered the oath to the Speaker in past
Congresses, the practice has not always been followed (6
Cannon's Precedents Sec. 6).
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At the convening of the 90th Congress the Member with the longest
consecutive service in the House, Mr. Emanuel Celler, of New York,
administered the oath to the newly-elected Speaker.(17) Mr.
Celler likewise administered the oath to the Speaker at the opening of
the 91st Congress.(18)
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17. 113 Cong. Rec. 14, 90th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 10, 1967. As of the
convening of the 92d Congress, Mr. Celler had amassed service
in 24 consecutive Congresses. Biographical Directory of the
American Congress 1774-1971, S. Doc. No. 92-8, 92d Cong. 1st
Sess. (1971).
18. 115 Cong. Rec. 15, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 3, 1969.
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When Mr. Celler was absent on the opening day of the 92d Congress,
Wright Patman, of Texas, the Member second to him in consecutive
service, administered the oath to the Speaker.(19)
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19. 117 Cong. Rec. 13, 92d Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 21, 1971. As of the
beginning of the 92d Congress, Mr. Patman had served for 21
consecutive Congresses. Biographical Directory of the American
Congress 1774-1971, S. Doc. No. 92-8, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
(1971).
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Sec. 2.21 The announcement of the death of a sitting Member is normally
the prerogative of the senior Member of the deceased's state party
delegation in the House.
On June 23, 1969,(20) Mr. Silvio O. Conte, of
Massachusetts, the
[[Page 683]]
senior member of the Republican party state delegation from
Massachusetts, arose to announce to the House the death of Mr. William
H. Bates, a Republican from Massachusetts.
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20. 115 Cong. Rec. 16795, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
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Similarly, the death of Senate Minority Leader, Everett M. Dirksen,
of Illinois. was announced to the House by the senior member of his
party in his state's House delegation, Mr. Leslie C. Arends, of
Illinois, on Sept. 8, 1969.(1)
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1. 115 Cong. Rec. 24634, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
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Sec. 2.22 When the Speaker appoints a funeral delegation for a deceased
Member, he lists, following the state delegation, other appointed
Members in the order of their seniority.
On June 23, 1969,(2) Speaker John W. McCormack, of
Massachusetts, announced his appointments to the funeral delegation for
the funeral of a deceased Member of the House. After listing the names
of the Members from the same state as the deceased Member, the Speaker
listed the names of 45 other Members of the House, listed in order of
their congressional seniority.(3)
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2. 115 Cong. Rec. 16800, 16801, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
3. For other instances where House funeral delegations were listed in
order of congressional seniority, see 115 Cong. Rec. 24695,
91st Cong. 1st Sess., Sept. 8, 1969; 116 Cong. Rec. 25866, 91st
Cong. 2d Sess., July 27, 1970; 116 Cong. Rec. 43770, 91st Cong.
2d Sess., Dec. 29, 1970.
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Senate Practice
Sec. 2.23 In the Senate, prerogative according to seniority practice is
a custom, not a rule, and is not always followed.
On Mar. 2, 1956,(4) Senator Wayne L. Morse, of Oregon,
in opposing the appointment of a senior Senator to the chairmanship of
the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated that the seniority practice in
the Senate is a customary tradition but is not a rule. Senator Morse
listed three important precedents in the Senate where the Senate did
not elevate to the chairmanship of a committee the next Senator in line
in order of seniority.(5)
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4. 102 Cong. Rec. 3815, 84th Cong. 2d Sess.
5. The precedents cited by Senator Morse occurred during the 42d
Congress, where Senator Charles Sumner (Mass.) was dropped as
Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, during the 68th
Congress where Senator Albert B. Cummins (Iowa) was dropped as
Chairman of the Committee on Interstate Commerce and during the
69th Congress, when Senator Edwin F. Ladd (N.D.) was not
designated to the chairmanship of the Committee on Public Lands
and Surveys, to which he had seniority under the traditional
practice.
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[[Page 684]]
Sec. 2.24 The Senate may, by unanimous consent, exchange the committee
seniority of two Senators pursuant to a request by one of them.
On Feb. 23, 1955,(6) Senator Styles Bridges, of New
Hampshire, asked and obtained unanimous consent that his position as
ranking minority member of the Senate Armed Services Committee be
exchanged for that of Senator Everett Saltonstall, of Massachusetts,
the next ranking minority member of that committee, for the duration of
the 84th Congress, with the understanding that that arrangement was
temporary in nature, and that at the expiration of the 84th Congress he
would resume his seniority rights.(7)
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6. 101 Cong. Rec. 1930, 1931, 84th Cong. 1st Sess.
7. Mr. Bridges stated he requested the alteration of seniority
``because last year he [Senator Saltonstall] served as Chairman
of the Armed Services Committee, and did a very able job in
that capacity; and I desire to show him the courtesy of letting
him be a rung higher on the ladder, so to speak, temporarily. .
. .'' Id. at p. 1931.
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In the succeeding Congress, on Jan. 22, 1957,(8) Senator
Bridges reiterated that request for the duration of the 85th Congress.
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8. 103 Cong. Rec. 835, 85th Cong. 1st Sess.
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It was so ordered by the Senate.