[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 3, Chapters 10 - 14]
[Chapter 11. Questions of Privilege]
[C. Basis of Questions of Privilege of the House]
[Â§ 8. General Criticism of Legislative Activity]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 1602-1604]
 
                               CHAPTER 11
 
                         Questions of Privilege
 
            C. BASIS OF QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE OF THE HOUSE
 
Sec. 8. General Criticism of Legislative Activity


Criticism of Congress

Sec. 8.1 A newspaper editorial making a general criticism of the 
    Congress does not present a question of personal privilege or the 
    privilege of the House.

    On Sept. 22, 1941,(12) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of 
Michigan, sought to submit, as a matter presenting a question both of 
personal privilege and of the privilege of the House, the text of a 
newspaper editorial charging Congress with ``inertia, cowardice, and 
political

[[Page 1603]]

slickness,'' thereby detracting from the authority and respect bestowed 
by the Constitution. In his ruling declining recognition to the Member 
for the purpose of submitting the editorial in question, the Speaker 
(13) stated:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. 87 Cong. Rec. 7500, 77th Cong. 1st Sess.
13. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        . . . The Chair does not think that an editorial in a paper 
    making general criticism of Congress raises a question of the 
    privileges of the House, and certainly no Member of the House in 
    his individual capacity is attacked in this resolution, and, 
    therefore, the Chair must hold that this is not a question of 
    personal privilege or a question of the privilege of the House.

Criticism of Members Generally

Sec. 8.2 A newspaper editorial charging Members of the House with 
    demagoguery and willingness to punish the District of Columbia did 
    not give rise to a question of the privilege of the House.

    On May 21, 1941,(14) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
offered as a matter raising a question of the privilege of the House, a 
resolution requesting the appointment of a committee to investigate and 
report on a newspaper editorial which charged Members of the House with 
demagoguery and willingness to punish the District of Columbia to win 
votes back home. In his ruling on the validity of the resolution as 
raising a question of the privilege of the House, the Speaker 
(15) stated:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. 87 Cong. Rec. 4307, 4308, 77th Cong. 1st Sess.
15. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        . . . For the moment at least the Chair would hesitate to hold 
    that the gentleman's resolution is privileged. The Chair assures 
    the gentleman that he would like to look into it further. He would 
    hesitate to hold at this time that the general criticism of Members 
    of the House is a matter so involving the privileges of the House 
    that a resolution of this kind would be in order.

    No further floor action was taken by the Speaker with respect to 
this resolution.

Resolutions Relating to Critical Publications

Sec. 8.3 A resolution providing for an investigation of newspaper 
    charges, including allegations of criminal conduct by the Congress, 
    was presented as a question of the privilege of the House.

    On Nov. 28, 1941,(16) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
presented as a question of the privilege of the House a resolution 
(17)

[[Page 1604]]

seeking the factual basis for a newspaper article charging Congress 
with lack of courage, with being ``yellow,'' with having ``sold the 
country out for a few lousy jobs,'' with ``protecting Communists,'' and 
with aiding in ``the robbery, extortion, physical brutality and 
arrogant suppression of citizens' plain rights by groups of thugs, 
thieves, and anti-American conspirators in the service of the 
Kremlin.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. 87 Cong. Rec. 9194, 9195,77th Cong. 1st Sess.
17. H. Res. 349.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Mr. Hoffman then received the consent of the House that 
consideration of this resolution be reserved until the next legislative 
day, Dec. 1.(18) At that time the resolution was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. 87 Cong. Rec. 9256-60, 77th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sec. 8.4 A resolution calling for a committee investigation of 
    newspaper charges that the House was being influenced by mobs was 
    presented as a question of the privilege of the House.

    On Mar. 29, 1954,(19) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
offered as a matter raising a question of the privilege of the House a 
resolution (20) requesting the appointment of a committee to 
ascertain the facts concerning and make recommendations for action in 
relation to a newspaper article charging that ``mobs appear to have 
enough influence to reach into the House of Representatives to kill 
probes into labor racketeering.'' Following some discussion of the 
resolution a motion was adopted referring the resolution to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. 100 Cong. Rec. 3968-71, 83d Cong. 2d sess.
20. H. Res. 482.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
