[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 3, Chapters 10 - 14]
[Chapter 11. Questions of Privilege]
[B. Privilege of the House]
[Â§ 7. Consideration and Debate; Referral to Committee]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 1600-1602]
 
                               CHAPTER 11
 
                         Questions of Privilege
 
                       B. PRIVILEGE OF THE HOUSE
 
Sec. 7. Consideration and Debate; Referral to Committee

Hour Rule on Debate

Sec. 7.1 The hour rule applies to debate on a question of the privilege 
    of the House.

    On Feb. 6, 1950,(1) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
following his submission of a resolution raising a question of the 
privileges of the House, inquired of the Speaker (2) as to 
whether he was entitled to one hour of debate. In response to the 
inquiry the Speaker stated, ``If it is a question of the privilege of 
the House, the gentleman would be.''
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 1. 96 Cong. Rec. 1514, 81st Cong. 2d Sess. For further illustration, 
        see 116 Cong. Rec. 41358, 91st Cong. 2d Sess., Dec. 14, 1970; 
        113 Cong. Rec. 6041, 90th Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 9, 1967; 92 
        Cong. Rec. 5001, 79th Cong. 3d Sess., May 14, 1946; and 86 
        Cong. Rec. 5111, 5112, 5114, 76th Cong. 3d Sess., Apr. 26, 
        1940.
 2. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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Scope of Debate or Argument

Sec. 7.2 A Member having been recognized on a question of the privilege 
    of the House must confine himself to such question.

    On Aug. 27, 1940,(3) Mr. Jacob Thorkelson, of Montana, 
presented a resolution raising the question of personal privilege and 
of the privilege of the House. At issue were remarks inserted in the 
Congressional Record by Mr. Adolph J. Sabath, of Illinois. Mr. 
Thorkelson, in presenting the resolution, stated:
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 3. 86 Cong. Rec. 11046, 76th Cong. 3d Sess.
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        It is of the utmost importance that the Congressional Record be 
    a true record of the proceedings of the House. The integrity of the 
    Record is destroyed by the insertion of remarks purporting to have 
    been made on the floor of the House, but which were not so made, 
    when no permission has been granted by the House to insert those 
    remarks.

[[Page 1601]]

        The remarks which have just been quoted as having been inserted 
    in the Record by the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Sabath] were not 
    made on the floor of the House and violate the rules of the House 
    in two particulars.
        First, the remarks charge that the Member from Montana had 
    inserted 210 pages of ``scurrilous matter'' in the Record. 
    ``Scurrilous,'' among other things, means ``grossly offensive,'' 
    ``vulgar,'' ``opprobrious.''
        Such remarks reflect upon the character, the reputation, of the 
    Member from Montana; tend to hold him up to ridicule; reflect upon 
    his ability, his reputation, and his character in his 
    representative capacity.
        They also charge him with having inserted in the Record a 
    forged letter.

    Subsequently, the Speaker (4) stated that Mr. 
Thorkelson's assertions did not ``raise a question of veracity [but 
did] raise a question in reference to the Record itself, as to whether 
or not such permission was obtained by the gentleman from Illinois.'' 
(5)
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 4. William B. Bankhead (Ala.).
 5. 86 Cong. Rec. 11049, 76th Cong. 3d Sess.
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    Later in the proceedings, when Mr. Thorkelson sought to introduce 
matter relevant to the alleged imputation of untruthfulness, the 
following exchange took place: (6)
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 6. Id. at p. 11156.
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        The Speaker: On what phase is the gentleman addressing himself 
    so far as the question of privilege is concerned?. . .
        Mr. Thorkelson: With regard to whether I have uttered truths or 
    falsehoods. I believe that is part of my resolution.
        The Speaker: The Chair does not find any language in the 
    gentleman's resolution where he is charged with an untruth or 
    falsity. . . . The only question of privilege involved is whether 
    or not the matter was put in without permission of the House. . . . 
    The Chair does not desire to interrupt the continuity of the 
    gentleman's argument, but the Chair is under some obligation to see 
    that the gentleman conforms with the rules and discusses the matter 
    of privilege about which he complains.

Applicability of Previous Question

Sec. 7.3 The previous question applies to a question of the privilege 
    of the House.

    On Apr. 26, 1940,(7) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
presented a resolution raising a question of the privilege of the 
House. Debate on the resolution then ensued. Thereafter, the Member 
moved the previous question on his resolution, the previous question 
ultimately being rejected on a division--ayes 102, noes 139.
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 7. 86 Cong. Rec. 5111-14, 76th Cong. 3d Sess.

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[[Page 1602]]

Referral of Question to Committee

Sec. 7.4 The House may refer to the Committee on Rules for 
    consideration a question involving the privilege of the House.

    On Jan. 23, 1940 (8) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
submitted a resolution (9) involving a question of the 
privilege of the House. Immediately thereafter, the House agreed to a 
motion which committed the resolution to the Committee on Rules for its 
consideration.
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 8. 86 Cong. Rec. 606, 76th Cong. 3d Sess.
 9. H. Res. 366.
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Sec. 7.5 The House by resolution may refer a matter to a designated 
    committee for its determination as to whether the matter involves a 
    question of the privilege of the House.

    On Mar. 26, 1953,(10) the House adopted a resolution 
(11) submitted by Mr. Charles A. Halleck, of Indiana, 
authorizing and directing the Committee on the Judiciary to determine 
whether the service of subpenas upon certain Members, former Members, 
and employees of the House, relative to a civil suit, constituted a 
question involving the privilege of the House.
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10. 99 Cong. Rec. 2356-58, 83d Cong. 1st Sess. For additional 
        illustration of the same point, see 87 Cong. Rec. 8734-39, 77th 
        Cong. 1st Sess., Nov. 10, 1941.
11. H. Res. 190.
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