[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 3, Chapters 10 - 14]
[Chapter 11. Questions of Privilege]
[C. Basis of Questions of Privilege of the House]
[Â§ 11. Correcting the Record; Expungement of Words Uttered in Debate]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 1608-1614]
 
                               CHAPTER 11
 
                         Questions of Privilege
 
            C. BASIS OF QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE OF THE HOUSE
 
Sec. 11. Correcting the Record; Expungement of Words Uttered in Debate

    A resolution asking the Senate to expunge from the Congressional 
Record language used in debate in the Senate which is offensive or 
otherwise improper may give rise to a question of the privilege of the 
House since the remedy of demanding that words be taken down is not 
available.(16) However, neither a question of personal 
privilege nor a question of the privilege of the House arises during a 
debate in which offensive language is used, the remedy being a demand 
that the objectionable words be taken down when spoken. Thus, on one 
occasion,(17) a Member, having risen to a question of 
personal privilege and of the privilege of the House, submitted a 
resolution to strike from the Congressional Record remarks made by a 
Member in the course of floor debate reflecting on the integrity of 
both the House and a majority of the Members. Citing Rule XIV clause 
5,(18) which provides for the taking down of objectionable 
words, the Speaker (19) ruled the Member out of order in 
raising a question of privilege under the circumstances.
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16. Sec. Sec. 11.1 et seq., infra.
17. 96 Cong. Rec. 1514, 81st Cong. 2d Sess., Feb. 6, 1950. For further 
        illustrations see Ch. 29, infra.
18. House Rules and Manual Sec. 761 (1973).
19. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).                          -------------------
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Senate Debate Reflecting on House Integrity

Sec. 11.1 A resolution to expunge from the Congressional Record Senate 
    debate reflecting on the integrity of the House presents a question 
    of the privilege of the House.

    On July 12, 1956,(1) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
presented as a matter giving rise to a question of the privilege of the 
House a resolution seeking the expurgation from the Record of Senate 
debate attributing improper motives and influence to House action on an 
education bill.
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 1. 102 Cong. Rec. 12522, 12523, 84th Cong. 2d Sess.
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    The resolution [H. Res. 588] provided:

        Resolved, whereas in the Congressional Record of July 9, 1956, 
    certain articles appear which reflect upon the integrity of the 
    House as a whole in its

[[Page 1609]]

    representative capacity, and upon individual Members of the House; 
    and
        Whereas such statements tend to disgrace, degrade, and render 
    ineffective the actions of the Members of the House; and
        Whereas the statements so made and carried in the Record 
    adversely affect the rights of the House collectively, its safety, 
    dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings: Now, therefore, be 
    it
        Resolved, That the House hereby by the adoption of this 
    resolution most respectfully requests that the other body expunge 
    from its records the rollcall votes and remarks appearing on pages 
    11016-11017 and the remarks appearing on page A5384 of the daily 
    Congressional Record of July 9, 1956, under the caption ``Ignoring 
    the children''; and be it further
        Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the 
    Presiding Officer of the other body.

    By vote of the House the resolution was referred to the Committee 
on Rules.

House Debate Reflecting on the Senate

Sec. 11.2 A resolution to expunge from the Congressional Record House 
    debate reflecting on the Senate presents a question of the 
    privilege of the House.

    On May 24, 1950,(2) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
rose to a question of the privilege of the House:
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 2. 96 Cong. Rec. 7635-37, 81st Cong. 2d Sess.
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        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (3) The gentleman will 
    state the question of privilege.
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 3. John W. McCormack (Mass.).
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        Mr. Hoffman of Michigan: Mr. Speaker, in the daily 
    Congressional Record of Monday, May 22, 1950, on page A4071 under 
    date of Thursday, May 18, 1950, under the caption ``We will meet 
    the test,'' there appears an extension of remarks of the Honorable 
    Andrew J. Biemiller, of Wisconsin, which is a violation of the 
    rules of the House in that in those remarks and in the editorial 
    accompanying those remarks a Member of the other body is mentioned 
    in such manner as to reflect upon him in his representative 
    capacity. Such remarks and editorial as inserted in the 
    Congressional Record are made a part of this question of privilege, 
    are a violation of the rules of the House which prohibit any 
    reference in the Congressional Record by a Member of this body to a 
    Member of the other body.
        The resolution which I offer is that such remarks be stricken 
    from the Appendix.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Clerk will report the resolution.
        The Clerk read as follows:

            Whereas the remarks of the gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr. 
        Biemiller, which appear on page A4071 of the daily 
        Congressional Record of Monday, May 22, 1950, and which are 
        captioned, ``We will meet the test,'' are a violation of the 
        rules of the House: Therefore be it
            Resolved by the House, That said remarks as so indicated 
        be, and the

[[Page 1610]]

        same hereby are, stricken from the Record.

    Debate on the resolution ensued. Subsequently, on the House's 
agreement to a unanimous-consent request by Mr. Biemiller that his 
remarks be deleted from the permanent Record, the resolution was 
withdrawn.

House Debate Reflecting on Members

Sec. 11.3 On one occasion the House agreed to a resolution which had 
    been presented as a question of privilege of the House, and which 
    expunged from the Congressional Record House debate which had 
    impugned the integrity of a Member.

    On Sept. 5, 1940,(4) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
rose to a question of the privilege of the House and offered a 
resolution (5) as follows:
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 4. 86 Cong. Rec. 11552, 76th Cong. 3d Sess.
 5. H. Res. 591.
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        Whereas the gentleman from the Second District of Kentucky [Mr. 
    (Beverly M.) Vincent], referring to the gentleman from the 
    Twentieth District of Ohio [Mr. (Martin L.) Sweeney], stated on the 
    floor of the House on September 4, 1940, as appears in the [daily] 
    Record on page 17450, ``I said I did not want to sit by a traitor 
    to my country;'' and
        Whereas such words were a violation of the rules of the House 
    and, as reprinted in the Record, charge the Member from Ohio with a 
    lack of patriotism, and with disloyalty to his country, reflect 
    upon him in his representative capacity and upon the dignity of the 
    House: Therefore, be it
        Resolved, That the words, ``I said I did not want to sit by a 
    traitor to my country,'' be expunged from the Record.

Debate on the resolution ensued, at the conclusion of which the 
resolution was agreed to.

    Parliamentarian's Note: No point of order was raised against the 
presentation of this resolution as a question of privilege of the 
House. The proper remedy in such a case is to have the offending words 
taken down. Detailed coverage of this procedure is found in chapter 29, 
infra.

Offensive or Unauthorized Material Inserted in the Record

Sec. 11.4 A resolution to expunge from the Congressional Record several 
    articles and documents criticizing a House committee, inserted in 
    the Record by a Member, was entertained as a question of the 
    privilege of the House.

    On Mar. 10, 1948,(6) Mr. John E. Rankin, of Mississippi, 
pre

[[Page 1611]]

sented as a matter involving the privilege of the House a resolution 
requesting that several articles and documents alleging that ``[the 
Committee on Un-American Activities] continue[s] the practice of Hitler 
and Himmler, which would lead America . . . down the road toward 
fascism'' which had been inserted in the Congressional Record by Mr. 
Adolph J. Sabath, of Illinois, be stricken therefrom. Following some 
debate the resolution was agreed to. The Member's entire speech, 
including the articles and documents, was stricken from the Record.
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 6. 94 Cong. Rec. 2476-81, 80th Cong. 2d Sess. For additional examples 
        see 93 Cong. Rec. 2461-63, 80th Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 24, 1947.
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Sec. 11.5 A resolution to expunge from the Congressional Record a 
    speech inserted therein alleged to reflect on the integrity of the 
    House and its Members is entertained as a question of privilege.

    On May 13, 1946,(7) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
offered as a matter involving a question of the privilege of the House 
a resolution (8) concerning the text of a speech delivered 
by August Scholle, a Michigan labor union official, assailing the 
integrity of both the House and its Members. The resolution proposed 
that the speech, which had been inserted in the Congressional Record by 
Mr. Adolph J. Sabath, of Illinois, be stricken therefrom. The 
resolution was adopted on a roll call vote--yeas 247, nays 77, not 
voting 106.
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 7. 92 Cong. Rec. 4922-24, 79th Cong. 2d Sess.
 8. H. Res. 616.
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Sec. 11.6 A resolution to expunge from the Congressional Record 
    unparliamentary language inserted under leave to extend is 
    entertained as a question of the privilege of the House.

    On Apr. 20, 1936,(9) Mr. Thomas L. Blanton, of Texas, 
presented as a question of the privilege of the House a resolution 
(10) demanding the expurgation from the Record of certain 
unparliamentary remarks concerning the personal life of a Member. The 
material had been inserted on a preceding day under leave to extend 
that had been granted to Mr. Marion A. Zioncheck, of Washington. The 
resolution was agreed to on a roll call vote.
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 9. 80 Cong. Rec. 5704-07, 74th Cong. 2d Sess.
10. H. Res. 490.
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Sec. 11.7 A resolution to expunge certain remarks inserted

[[Page 1612]]

    through an abuse of the grant of leave to print in the 
    Congressional Record gives rise to a question of the privilege of 
    the House.

    On July 13, 1942,(11) Mr. John E. Rankin, of 
Mississippi, presented as a matter of the privilege of the House the 
following resolution: (12)
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11. 88 Cong. Rec. 6102, 77th Cong. 2d Sess. For a further example see 
        92 Cong. Rec. 1274, 79th Cong. 2d Sess., Feb. 13, 1946.
12. H. Res. 518.
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        Whereas in the daily Congressional Record of July 9, 1942, on 
    page A2877, A2878, and A2879 of the Appendix thereof, the remarks 
    purporting to be made by the gentleman from New York, Mr. Sol 
    Bloom, and containing a letter written by one Ralph Ingersoll 
    attacking draft board No. 44 of New York for performing its 
    official duties in refusing to exempt the said Ralph Ingersoll from 
    the draft on the flimsy pretext set out in said letter; and
        Whereas said letter was inserted under permission to insert an 
    editorial and not a letter from the said Ralph Ingersoll; and
        Whereas it is stated on page 6271 of the Congressional Record 
    of July 9, 1942, that the printing of this insertion in the 
    Congressional Record was estimated to cost the Government of the 
    United States $157.50; and
        Whereas said letter so inserted in lieu of the editorial for 
    which permission was given contains language and statements that 
    are objectionable and unparliamentary; and
        Whereas said statements were not made upon the floor of the 
    House; and
        Whereas said statements reflect upon Members of Congress, are 
    false, improper, and out of order, and in violation of the 
    privileges and rules of the House; and if they had been uttered 
    upon the floor of the House they would have been subject to a point 
    of order: Therefore be it
        Resolved, That the said remarks be stricken from the Record and 
    the Public Printer prohibited from issuing copies thereof from the 
    columns of the Congressional Record.

Without debate, the resolution was adopted.

Sec. 11.8 A resolution to expunge from the Congressional Record certain 
    remarks inserted without proper authorization is entertained as a 
    matter of the privilege of the House.

    On Aug. 27, 1940,(13) Mr. Jacob Thorkelson, of Montana, 
offered as a question of the privilege of the House a resolution 
demanding that certain remarks inserted into the Congressional Record 
by Mr. Adolph J. Sabath, of Illinois, without first having obtained the 
permission of the House, be expunged from the Record and declared not 
to constitute a legitimate part of

[[Page 1613]]

the official Record of the House. After some debate the resolution was 
adopted.
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13. 86 Cong. Rec. 11046, 76th Cong. 3d Sess. For an additional example 
        see 80 Cong. Rec. 7019, 74th Cong. 2d Sess., May 11, 1936.
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Inaccuracies in the Congressional Record

Sec. 11.9 A resolution to correct inaccuracies in the report of 
    proceedings as printed in the Congressional Record is presented as 
    a question of the privilege of the House.

    On Apr. 26, 1940,(14) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
offered as a matter involving the question of the privilege of the 
House the following resolution:
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14. 86 Cong. Rec. 5111, 5112, 76th Cong. 3d Sess.
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        Whereas the Congressional Record of April 25, 1940, is not, on 
    pages 5046 to 5051, inclusive, a true and accurate record of the 
    proceedings that took place on the floor of the House on yesterday, 
    in that there is omitted therefrom a demand which was made on the 
    floor of the House by the gentleman from the Twelfth Congressional 
    District of Michigan that certain words uttered on the floor of the 
    House by the gentleman from the Second District of Georgia be taken 
    down, and, there is omitted therefrom, the ruling of the Speaker 
    upon such demand, and there is omitted therefrom a motion which was 
    made by the gentleman from the Twelfth District of Massachusetts, 
    and there is omitted therefrom the vote taken on said motion, and 
    there is omitted therefrom the result of said vote and the 
    subsequent direction of the Speaker to the gentleman from Georgia 
    to continue: Now, therefore, be it
        Resolved, That the Record of the House be corrected and that 
    the proceedings above referred to be printed therein.

Following agreement by unanimous consent to the request of Mr. Edward 
E. Cox, of Georgia, that the stricken matter in question be restored to 
the Record, the resolution was withdrawn.

Restoration of Remarks Previously Deleted

Sec. 11.10 A resolution to restore to the Record remarks previously 
    deleted by House adoption of a motion to expunge does not present a 
    question of the privilege of the House; the proper method of 
    reopening the matter being by motion to reconsider the vote whereby 
    such action was taken.

    On Feb. 13, 1941,(15), Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of 
Michigan, rose to a question of the privilege of the House and 
submitted a resolution requesting the restoration to the Record of 
certain remarks made by him and Mr. Samuel Dickstein, of New York, 
during the previous

[[Page 1614]]

day's proceedings. Such remarks had been deleted by the House pursuant 
to the adoption of a motion to expunge made by Mr. John E. Rankin, of 
Mississippi. Following debate, an inquiry was heard from Mr. Hoffman as 
to whether the Chair had ruled on the question of the privilege of the 
House. Responding to the inquiry, the Speaker (16) stated:
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15. 87 Cong. Rec. 979, 980, 77th Cong. 1st Sess.
16. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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        The House would have to decide that, and, in the opinion of the 
    Chair, the House did decide the matter when it expunged the remarks 
    from the Record. The Chair thinks, under the circumstances, that 
    the proper way to reopen the question would be by a motion to 
    reconsider the vote whereby the motion of the gentleman from 
    Mississippi [Mr. Rankin] was adopted. The Chair is of the opinion 
    that inasmuch as the question raised by the gentleman from Michigan 
    was decided by a vote of the House on a proper motion, that he does 
    not now present a question of privilege of the House or of personal 
    privilege.