[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 4, Chapters 15 - 17]
[Chapter 15. Investigations and Inquiries]
[B. Inquiries and the Executive Branch]
[Â§ 2. Resolutions of Inquiry and Responses]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 2304-2323]
 
                               CHAPTER 15
 
                      Investigations and Inquiries
 
                 B. INQUIRIES AND THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
 
Sec. 2. Resolutions of Inquiry and Responses


    Resolutions of inquiry are usually simple resolutions used to 
obtain information from the executive branch. Such resolutions, if 
addressed to the President or head of an executive department, are 
given privileged status in the House, provided they seek information of 
a factual nature, rather than request opinions or require an 
investigation on the subject.(19)
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19. See House Rules and Manual Sec. Sec. 856 and 857 (1973).
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    The effectiveness of such a resolution derives from comity between 
the branches of government rather than from any elements of 
compulsion.(20)
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20. See Sec. 4, infra, for a discussion of legal proceedings initiated 
        by a Senate select committee to enforce a subpena issued to the 
        President. Other methods to obtain information include 
        committee or subcommittee oral or written requests for 
        documents or testimony from the President or cabinet officers.
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    Certain conventions have arisen with regard to the wording of 
resolutions of inquiry. Thus, the House traditionally ``requests'' the 
President and ``directs'' the heads of executive departments to furnish 
information.(21) Moreover, such resolutions often include 
the qualifying phrase, ``if not incompatible with the public 
interest,'' particularly where the request is for information relating 
to foreign affairs.(1)
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21. 3 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 1856, 1895; and Rule XXII clause 5, 
        House Rules and Manual Sec. 856 (1973).
 1. See 3 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 1899, ``directing'' the President, and 
        Sec. Sec. 2.1, 2.2, and 2.7, infra, ``directing'' the President 
        and other officers, and Sec. Sec. 2.15, and 2.21-2.23, infra, 
        ``requesting'' certain department heads.
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    The ensuing precedents are illustrative of resolutions of inquiry 
directed to the President,(2) Secretary of 
State,(3) Secretary of Defense,(4) Attorney 
General,(5) Acting Attorney General,(6) Secretary 
of Commerce,(7) Secretary of the Interior,(8) 
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare,(9) and 
Postmaster General.(10) The emphasis in these precedents is 
upon the nature of the information requested in each case, and the 
response if any to the resolution of inquiry.(11) Actual 
floor procedures

[[Page 2305]]

relating to the use of resolutions of inquiry, and prerequisites for 
privileged status, are treated in detail elsewhere.(12) 
Generally, formal responses to resolutions of inquiry are laid before 
the House, referred to the committee having jurisdiction, and ordered 
printed but more informal responses to resolutions of inquiry are 
sometimes forwarded directly to the interested committee or Members, 
even where the resolution itself has been tabled or not otherwise 
disposed of. (See, e.g. Sec. 2.11, infra.)
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 2. See Sec. Sec. 2.1, 2.2, 2.7, and 2.16, infra.
 3. See Sec. Sec. 2.1-2.5, 2.9-2.11, 2.13-2.1.5, 2.21, and 2.26, infra.
 4. See Sec. Sec. 2.1, 2.6-2.8, 2.12, and 2.15 infra.
 5. See Sec. Sec. 2.18 and 2.19, infra.
 6. See Sec. 2.17, infra.
 7. See Sec. Sec. 2.20, 2.22, infra.
 8. See Sec. 2.23, infra.
 9. See Sec. 2.24, infra.
10. See Sec. 2.25, infra.
11. See 2 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 1596, 3 Hinds' Precedents 
        Sec. Sec. 1856-1910, and 6 Cannon's Precedents Sec. Sec. 404-
        437, for earlier precedents.
12. See Ch. 24, infra.                          -------------------
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Foreign Affairs--American Military Involvement in South Vietnam

Sec. 2.1 A resolution of inquiry directing the President, Secretary of 
    State, Secretary of Defense, and Director of the Central 
    Intelligence Agency to furnish information relating to the history 
    and rationale for American involvement in South Vietnam, nature and 
    capacity of the South Vietnamese government, and plans for 
    elections in the Republic of South Vietnam was held not privileged 
    in response to a point of order.

    On July 7, 1971,(13) Speaker Carl Albert, of Oklahoma, 
sustained a point of order against a resolution of inquiry, House 
Resolution 491, directing the President, Secretary of State, Secretary 
of Defense, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency to furnish, 
within 15 days after adoption of the resolution, full and complete 
information on the following: (1) the history and rationale of American 
involvement in South Vietnam since completion of the study ``United 
States-Vietnam Relationships, 1945-1967,'' (the Pentagon Papers) 
prepared by the Vietnam Task Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense; 
(2) the known existing plans for a residual force of American armed 
forces in South Vietnam; (3) the nature and capacity of the South 
Vietnamese government, including but not limited to their past and 
present military capabilities; the capacity for self-sufficiency 
including but not limited to the political base of the Republic, the 
scope if any, of governmental malfunction and corruption; the depth of 
popular support and procedures for dealing with nonsupport including

[[Page 2306]]

but not limited to known existing studies of the economy and internal 
workings of the government of the Republic of South Vietnam; and (4) 
American and South Vietnamese plans and procedures for Nov. 1971 
elections in the Republic of South Vietnam, including but not limited 
to United States covert or non-covert involvement in those elections.
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13. 117 Cong. Rec. 23810, 23811, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
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    The Speaker sustained the point of order raised by F. Edward 
Hebert, of Louisiana, Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, on 
the ground that the resolution sought opinions rather than facts. The 
ruling was made when Ms. Bella S. Abzug, of New York, moved to 
discharge the Committee on Armed Services from further consideration of 
the resolution under Rule XXII clause 5.
    Parliamentarian's Note: Although the issue was not raised in this 
instance, the reference to the Director of Central Intelligence would 
have destroyed the privilege if a point of order had been raised on 
that ground. 6 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 406 indicates that the term 
``heads of executive departments'' in Rule XXII clause 
5,(14) refers exclusively to members of the President's 
cabinet and only resolutions of inquiry addressed to these heads of 
executive departments are privileged. (The resolution at issue in 
Sec. 406 to which Cannon referred was addressed to the Federal Reserve 
Board.) See also 3 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 1861-1863, and 5 Hinds' 
Precedents Sec. 7283, for other relevant precedents.
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14. House Rules and Manual Sec. Sec. 855, 856 (1973).
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Sec. 2.2 The House laid on the table resolutions of inquiry directing 
    the President and Secretary of State to furnish the report entitled 
    ``United States-Vietnam Relationships, 1945-1967,'' also known as 
    the Pentagon Papers.

    On June 30, 1971,(15) the House, by a roll call vote of 
yeas 272 to nays 113, tabled a privileged resolution of inquiry 
reported adversely by the Committee on Armed Services, House Resolution 
489, directing the President to furnish the House, within 15 days after 
adoption of the resolution, the full and complete text of the study 
entitled ``United States-Vietnam Relationships, 1945-1967,'' also known 
as the Pentagon Papers, prepared by the Vietnam Task Force, Office of 
the Secretary of Defense.
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15. 117 Cong. Rec. 23030, 23031, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
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    On the same date,(16) the House by voice vote tabled an 
identical

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16. Id. at p. 23031.
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[[Page 2307]]

resolution, House Resolution 490, and on July 7, 1971,(17) 
by voice vote tabled House Resolution 494, directing the Secretary of 
State to furnish this study.

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17. Id. at p. 23808.
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South Vietnamese Presidential Election

Sec. 2.3 The House laid on the table a privileged resolution of inquiry 
    directing the Secretary of State to furnish communications between 
    the Department of State, the United States Embassy in Saigon, and 
    certain Vietnamese presidential candidates which might relate to 
    the Vietnamese presidential elections.

    On Sept. 30, 1971,(18) the House by voice vote tabled a 
privileged resolution of inquiry reported adversely by the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, House Resolution 595, directing the Secretary of State 
to furnish to the House, within one week after adoption of the 
resolution, the complete text of all communications, as described 
above, taking place since Jan. 1, 1971, pertaining to the 1971 
Vietnamese presidential election.
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18. 117 Cong. Rec. 34266, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
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    Following this action the House by unanimous consent tabled House 
Resolution 619, which was identical to House Resolution 595 and had 
also been adversely reported by the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Sec. 2.4 The House laid on the table two privileged resolutions of 
    inquiry directing the Secretary of State to furnish information 
    relating to an election in South Vietnam.

    On Oct. 20, 1971,(19) the House laid on the table two 
identically worded resolutions of inquiry, House Resolution 632 and 
House Resolution 638, directing the Secretary of State to furnish to 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs,(20) not later than 15 days 
after adoption of the resolution, materials relating to the Oct. 3, 
1971, Vietnamese election, including: (1) all documents and other 
pertinent information relating to public opinion surveys financed by 
the United States in Vietnam; (2) all documents and other information 
relating to use by South Vietnamese authorities of radio and television 
facilities financed by the United States; (3) all press re

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19. 117 Cong. Rec. 37055, 37057, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
20. See Sec. 2.26, infra, for a discussion of this precedent as it 
        relates to requesting a head of an executive department to 
        respond directly to a committee rather than to the House.
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[[Page 2308]]

leases by American officials in Saigon; (4) all communications between 
American and South Vietnamese officials; and (5) all representations 
made to the participants in that election by American officials 
concerning the desire that the election be free and contested.

    These resolutions, reported adversely by the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, were laid on the table by voice votes.

Phoenix Program

Sec. 2.5 The House laid on the table a privileged resolution of inquiry 
    directing the Secretary of State to furnish the House certain 
    information regarding the Phoenix Program.

    On July 7, 1971,(1) the House by voice vote tabled a 
privileged resolution reported adversely from the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, House Resolution 493, directing the Secretary of State, to the 
extent not incompatible with the public interest, to furnish the House, 
not later than 15 days following adoption of the resolution, all 
documents in the English language with respect to (1) the Phoenix 
Program, a counterintelligence operation conducted in South Vietnam, 
and (2) the extent of U.S. involvement in that program.
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 1. 117 Cong. Rec. 23808, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
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Bombardment of North Vietnam

Sec. 2.6 The House laid on the table a resolution of inquiry directing 
    the Secretary of Defense to furnish information relating to 
    American air and naval bombardment of North Vietnam.

    On Aug. 16, 1972,(2) the House by voice vote tabled a 
privileged resolution of inquiry reported adversely by the Committee on 
Armed Services, House Resolution 1078, directing the Secretary of 
Defense, to the extent not incompatible with the public interest, to 
furnish, not later than seven days after adoption of the resolution, 
information relating to American air and naval bombardment of North 
Vietnam since Mar. 1, 1972, including (1) the number of sorties flown 
and types of ordnance used each month; (2) post-action reports and bomb 
damage assessments, both written and photographic; and (3) specific 
descriptions and photographic evidence of all damage to dikes, cit

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 2. 118 Cong. Rec. 28365, 92d Cong. 2d Sess.
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[[Page 2309]]

ies, and villages of North Vietnam.

Sec. 2.7 The House laid on the table a resolution of inquiry directing 
    the President and Secretary of Defense to furnish information 
    relating to American bombing of North Vietnam in 1972 and 1973.

    On Mar. 6, 1973,(3) the House by voice vote tabled a 
resolution of inquiry reported adversely by the Committee on Armed 
Services, House Resolution 26, directing the President (4) 
and Secretary of Defense within 10 days after adoption of the 
resolution to furnish the House information relating to American 
bombing of North Vietnam from Dec. 17, 1972, through Jan. 3, 1973, 
including: (1) the number of sorties flown; (2) tonnage of bombs and 
shells fired or dropped; (3) the number and nomenclature of American 
airplanes lost; (4) the number of Americans killed, wounded, captured, 
and missing in action; (5) best available estimates of North Vietnamese 
casualties; (6) the cost of all bombing and shelling; and (7) the 
extent of damage to any and all facilities struck by bombs.
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 3. 119 Cong. Rec. 6383, 6384, 93d Cong. 1st Sess.
 4. To ``direct'' the President to furnish information contravenes 
        standard practice. Although the House ``directs'' a head of an 
        executive department, it usually ``requests'' the President to 
        furnish information. See 3 Hinds Precedents Sec. Sec. 1856, 
        1895.
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    Parliamentarian's Note: House Resolution 26 was technically not 
privileged because the request for information on the ``extent of 
damage'' to facilities struck by bombs required an opinion or 
investigation.(5)
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 5. See Rule XXII clause 5, House Rules and Manual Sec. 857 (1973) and 
        Ch. 24, infra, for discussions of the requirements for 
        privileged status.
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    On the same date,(6) the House also tabled House 
Resolutions 114, 115, and 143, which were identical to House Resolution 
26, except that they did not mention the President or ``extent of 
damage'' to facilities struck by bombs.
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 6. 119 Cong. Rec. 6384, 6385, 93d Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 6, 1973.
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Sec. 2.8 The House laid on the table a privileged resolution of inquiry 
    directing the Secretary of Defense to furnish certain information 
    relating to prisoner of war camps in North Vietnam and American 
    bombing in North Vietnam.

    On Aug. 16, 1972,(7) the House by voice vote tabled a 
privileged resolution of inquiry, House Resolution 1079, reported 
adversely by

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 7. 118 Cong. Rec. 28365, 92d Cong. 2d Sess.
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[[Page 2310]]

the Committee on Armed Services, directing the Secretary of Defense, to 
the extent not incompatible with the public interest, to furnish to the 
House not later than seven days after the adoption of the resolution: 
(1) maps showing all known or suspected prisoner of war camps in North 
Vietnam; (2) maps showing all bombing strikes and naval bombardments 
from Mar. 1, 1972, to date; and (3) rules of engagement promulgated for 
the bombing of North Vietnam for the same period, and a description of 
procedures, policies, and actions taken by American Armed Forces to 
prevent danger to American prisoners of war.

Laotian Operations

Sec. 2.9 The House laid on the table a privileged resolution of inquiry 
    directing the Secretary of State to furnish the House certain 
    information respecting bombing operations in northern Laos.

    On July 7, 1971,(8) the House by voice vote agreed to 
table a privileged resolution of inquiry reported adversely by the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Resolution 495, directing the 
Secretary of State, to the extent not incompatible with the public 
interest, to furnish, within 15 days after adoption of the resolution, 
any documents respecting the rules of engagement and targeting, and 
procedures followed by the U.S. Ambassador in Laos with respect to the 
direction and control of American bombing operations in northern Laos 
during the period from Jan. 1, 1965, through June 21, 1971, together 
with the most recent aerial photographs of 196 Laotian villages which 
were identified in the resolution.
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 8. 117 Cong. Rec. 23808-10, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
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Sec. 2.10 The House laid on the table a privileged resolution of 
    inquiry directing the Secretary of State to furnish information 
    regarding American, Thai, and other foreign nation military and 
    diplomatic operations in Laos.

    On July 7, 1971,(9) the House by a roll call vote of 
yeas 261 to nays 118, tabled a privileged resolution of inquiry 
reported adversely by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House 
Resolution 492, directing the Secretary of State, to the extent not 
incompatible with the public interest, to furnish to the House, not 
later than 15 days

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 9. 117 Cong. Rec. 23800, 23807, 23808, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 2311]]

after adoption of the resolution, any documents containing policy 
instructions or guidelines given to the American Ambassador in Laos for 
the purpose of his administration of certain operations in Laos, 
between Jan. 1, 1964, and June 21, 1971. Information was sought 
particularly with regard to: (1) covert Central Intelligence Agency 
operations in Laos; (2) Thai and other foreign armed forces operations 
in Laos; (3) American bombing operations other than along the Ho Chi 
Minh Trail; (4) American Armed Forces operations in Laos; and (5) 
United States Agency for International Development operations which 
have served to assist, directly or indirectly, military or Central 
Intelligence Agency operations in Laos, and details of such assistance.

American Bombing of Cambodia and Laos

Sec. 2.11 The House laid on the table a privileged resolution of 
    inquiry directing the Secretary of State to furnish information 
    relating to American bombing of Cambodia and Laos in 1973.

    On May 9, 1973,(10) the House by voice vote tabled a 
privileged resolution of inquiry reported adversely by the Committee on 
Armed Services, House Resolution 379, directing the Secretary of State 
to furnish within 10 days after adoption of the resolution information 
relating to American bombing of Cambodia and Laos from Jan. 27, 1973, 
through Apr. 30, 1973, including: (1) the number of sorties flown; (2) 
tonnage of bombs and shells fired and dropped; (3) number and 
nomenclature of American airplanes lost; (4) number of Americans 
killed, wounded, captured, or missing in action; (5) cost of all 
American bombing and shelling; (6) number of sorties flown by American 
military airplanes for purposes other than bombing; (7) cost of all 
actions other than bombing; (8) number, rank, location, and nature of 
activity of American ground personnel in Cambodia and Laos; (9) the 
order of battle of all forces, both combat and noncombat, in Cambodia 
and Laos, including North Vietnamese, ARVN (Army of the Republic of 
[South] Vietnam), Viet Cong, American, and indigenous; and, for the 
period from Oct. 30, 1972, through Jan. 27, 1973, certain related 
information, including the tonnage of bombs dropped and sorties flown 
by American airplanes emanating from Thailand.

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10. 119 Cong. Rec. 14990, 14991, 14994, 93d Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 2312]]

The resolution also inquired as to the legal authority for American 
military activity in Cambodia and Laos since Jan. 27, 1973; and the 
extent of involvement of American Embassy personnel in military 
operations in or over Cambodia and Laos between Jan. 27, 1973, through 
Apr. 30, 1973.

    Answers to questions in this resolution of inquiry were provided by 
witnesses from the Department of Defense at a hearing of the Committee 
on Armed Services held on May 8, 1973. Following this hearing, 
committee members voted 36 yeas to 0 nays to report the resolution 
adversely.(11)
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11. See 119 Cong. Rec. 14991-93, 93d Cong. 1st Sess., for a transcript 
        of answers and remarks of F. Edward Hebert (La.), Chairman of 
        the Committee on Armed Services, explaining the hearing on May 
        8, 1973.
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    The motion to table was offered immediately after the resolution. 
was reported because the Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, 
F. Edward Hebert, of Louisiana, requested and obtained unanimous 
consent for immediate consideration of the resolution, thereby waiving 
the three-day availability requirement of Rule XI clause 27(d)(4).

Military Aid to Forward-defense and Mediterranean Nations

Sec. 2.12 The House laid on the table a privileged resolution of 
    inquiry directing the Secretary of Defense to furnish information 
    regarding the extent of military assistance to forward-defense and 
    Mediterranean nations.

    On Aug. 3, 1971,(12) the House by voice vote tabled a 
privileged resolution of inquiry reported adversely by the Committee on 
Armed Services, House Resolution 557, directing the Secretary of 
Defense, to the extent not incompatible with the public interest, to 
furnish to the House, not later than 15 days after adoption of the 
resolution, any documents regarding all forms of American military aid 
extended to the forward-defense nations of Greece, Turkey, Nationalist 
China, and South Korea as well as to Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Libya, 
Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, between Jan. 1, 1969, and 
July 21, 1971.(13)
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12. 117 Cong. Rec. 29063, 29064, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
13. See Ch. 24, infra, for a discussion of the proper time to call up a 
        resolution of inquiry.

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[[Page 2313]]

Presidential Agreements With British Prime Minister

Sec. 2.13 The House agreed to a privileged resolution of inquiry 
    directing the Secretary of State to transmit information regarding 
    any agreements made by the President and the Prime Minister of 
    Great Britain during conversations held in Jan. 1952, after 
    rejecting a motion to lay the resolution on the table.

    On Feb. 20, 1952,(14) after rejecting the motion to 
table by a roll call vote of yeas 150 to nays 184, the House by a roll 
call vote of yeas 189 to nays 143, approved a privileged resolution of 
inquiry reported adversely by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House 
Resolution 514, directing the Secretary of State, at the earliest 
practicable date, to transmit to the House information with respect to 
any agreements, commitments, or understandings entered into by the 
President and Prime Minister of Great Britain in the course of their 
conversations during Jan. 1952, which might require the shipment of 
additional members of the armed forces beyond the continental limits of 
the United States or involve American forces in armed conflict on 
foreign soil.(15)
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14. 98 Cong. Rec. 1205, 1207, 1208, 1215, 1216, 82d Cong. 2d Sess.
15. See Ch. 24. infra, for a discussion of the time to report a 
        resolution of inquiry.
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    The adverse report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the letter 
from the Assistant Secretary of State for the Secretary stating the 
position of the Department of State that sufficient information had 
been supplied, and communiques relating to the subject matter of the 
resolution were included in the Record.(16) On Mar. 5, 
1952,(17) a letter, dated Mar. 4, 1952, from the Secretary 
of State, Dean Acheson, citing the President's negative response to a 
question about such agreements at a press conference on Feb. 20, 1952, 
was laid before the House, referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, and ordered printed.
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16. See 98 Cong. Rec. 1205, 1206, 82d Cong. 2d Sess., for these 
        materials.
17. 98 Cong. Rec. 1892, 82d Cong. 2d Sess.
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Mexican-American Relations

Sec. 2.14 The House laid on the table a privileged resolution of 
    inquiry directing the Secretary of State to furnish information 
    relating to Mexican-American relations.

    On Feb. 7, 1937,(18) the House by voice vote tabled a 
privileged

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18. 84 Cong. Rec. 1181, 1182, 76th Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 2314]]

resolution of inquiry reported adversely by the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, House Resolution 78, directing the Secretary of State to 
transmit, within 15 days from receipt of the resolution answers to 
questions relating to whether: (1) Mexico bartered oil from 
expropriated American and British properties for German, Italian, and 
Japanese products; (2) American investments in Mexico were eliminated; 
(3) reported loss of American investments led to reductions in 
American-Mexican trade; (4) Mexico appointed a Minister to Berlin and 
Japanese experts participated in Mexican projects; (5) State Department 
officials sought to obtain adequate compensation for holders of 
American bonds in Mexican national railroads expropriated in 1937; (6) 
the State Department has evidence that Germany, Italy, and Japan had an 
agreement to absorb Mexican oil prior to expropriation of American and 
British properties; (7) Mexican real wages fell since 1937; (8) the 
Ambassador informed the State Department that railroads and oil 
properties would be expropriated or whether news of that development 
was a surprise; (9) the State Department possessed a full record of 
speeches and public remarks as well as reports to the Secretary of 
State relating to Mexican expropriation of American properties and 
Mexico's relations with Germany, Italy, and Japan (the resolution 
sought the full text of these documents); (10) the Department of State 
was satisfied that the American Ambassador in Mexico City took steps to 
protect remaining American investments; and (11) the Department of 
State agreed to expropriation of American-owned property in Mexico.

    Speaker William B. Bankhead, of Alabama, ruled out of order a 
question of consideration raised after the motion to table was made but 
prior to the vote.

Removal of German Industrial Plants

Sec. 2.15 The House agreed to a privileged resolution requesting the 
    Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense to transmit information 
    relating to the dismantlement and removal of industrial plants from 
    post-war Germany. The Under Secretary of State responded for the 
    Department of State and Department of Defense.

    On Dec. 18, 1947,(19) the House by voice vote approved a 
privi

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19. 93 Cong. Rec. 11636, 11640, 80th Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 2315]]

leged resolution of inquiry reported favorably from the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, House Resolution 365, requesting the Secretary of 
State and the Secretary of Defense to transmit information relating to: 
(1) the number of plants in Germany which were dismantled and removed 
from that country; (2) the character and capacity of plants removed and 
remaining to be dismantled; (3) the number of remaining plants which 
could be converted to peacetime production and were capable of 
contributing to German export trade; (4) the basis for the 
determination that a particular plant was surplus; (5) the amount of 
material and goods, and their cost needed to be sent from the United 
States to compensate for production of plants removed and scheduled for 
dismantling; (6) whether plants were removed from any of the German 
zones beyond the limits prescribed or contemplated in the Yalta 
agreement; (7) whether essential agricultural produce was removed from 
any zone for delivery outside Germany; (8) the extent of removal of 
harbor facilities and transportation equipment; and (9) whether the 
U.S. government had taken appropriate steps to delay temporarily 
further dismantling of plants in western Germany, in order to permit 
further congressional study to determine whether transfers prejudice a 
general recovery program for western Europe.

    A preamble was added by committee amendment, following voice vote 
approval of the resolution as amended.
    On Jan. 26, 1948,(20) a letter, dated Jan. 24, 1948, 
from the Under Secretary of State, Robert A. Lovett, responding for the 
Department of State and Department of Defense to the resolution of 
inquiry was laid before the House and referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs.
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20. 94 Cong. Rec. 541, 542, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
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American Policy on Formosa

Sec. 2.16 The House tabled a privileged resolution of inquiry 
    requesting the President to furnish information about American 
    policy on Formosa.

    On Feb. 9, 1950,1 the House by voice vote agreed to 
table a privileged resolution of inquiry reported adversely by the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Resolution 452, requesting the 
President, if not incompatible with the public interest, to furnish

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 1. 96 Cong. Rec. 175.3--55, 81st Cong. 2d Sess.
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[[Page 2316]]

within 15 days after adoption of the resolution, full and complete 
answers to questions relating to the President's statement of Jan. 5, 
1950, on policy toward Formosa and the current situation in China and 
the Far East.(2)

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 2. See Ch. 24, infra, for a discussion of the time to report back a 
        resolution of inquiry.
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Domestic Affairs--Evidence of Criminal Activity

Sec. 2.17 The House discharged a committee from further consideration 
    and laid on the table a privileged resolution of inquiry directing 
    the Acting Attorney General to furnish all documents and items of 
    evidence in the custody of the Watergate Special Prosecutor as of 
    Oct. 20, 1973.

    On Nov. 1, 1973,(3) the House discharged the Committee 
on the Judiciary from further consideration and tabled House Resolution 
634, directing the Acting Attorney General, to the extent not 
incompatible with the public interest, to furnish, not later than 15 
days after adoption of the resolution, true copies of all papers, 
documents, recordings, memoranda, and items of evidence in the custody 
of the Special Prosecutor and Director of the Special Prosecution 
Force, as of noon, Saturday, Oct. 20, 1973.(4)
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 3. 119 Cong. Rec. 35644, 93d Cong. 1st Sess.
 4. H. Res. 634 read as follows:
            Resolved, That the Acting Attorney General of the United 
        States, to the extent not incompatible with the public 
        interest, is directed to furnish to the House of 
        Representatives not later than fifteen days following the 
        adoption of this resolution, true copies of all papers, 
        documents, recordings, memorandums, and items of evidence in 
        the custody of the Special Prosecutor and Director, Watergate 
        Special Prosecution Force, Archibald Cox as of noon, Saturday, 
        October 20, 1973.
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    Parliamentarian's Note: President Richard M. Nixon dismissed the 
Special Prosecutor, Archibald Cox, on the evening of Oct. 20, 1973.
    When the Acting Attorney General subsequently turned the documents 
over to a federal court, thus assuring their preservation, the Member 
who introduced this resolution of inquiry, Mr. Paul M. McCloskey, of 
California, decided not to proceed further with it and sought and 
obtained unanimous consent to discharge the committee from further 
consideration and to table the resolution.

Sec. 2.18 The House discharged a committee from further consideration 
    and laid on the table a privileged resolution

[[Page 2317]]

    of inquiry directing the Attorney General to furnish all factual 
    information as to whether the Vice President may have accepted 
    bribes.

    On Oct. 10, 1973,(5) the House, pursuant to the 
unanimous-consent request of Mr. Paul Findley, of Illinois, discharged 
the Committee on the Judiciary from further consideration and tabled 
House Resolution 572, a privileged resolution of inquiry directing the 
Attorney General to inform the House of all facts within the knowledge 
of the Department of Justice relating to whether the Vice President, 
Spiro T. Agnew, accepted bribes or received consideration for services 
rendered or promised in the performance of his official 
responsibilities as a public official in Maryland or as Vice President 
or failed to declare his income for tax purposes.(6)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5. 119 Cong. Rec. 33687, 93d Cong. 1st Sess.
 6. H. Res. 572 read as follows:
            Resolved, That the Attorney General of the United States 
        be, and he is hereby directed to inform the House of all the 
        facts within the knowledge of the Department of Justice that 
        the Vice President of the United States, Spiro T. Agnew, 
        accepted bribes or received consideration for services rendered 
        or promised in the performance of his official responsibilities 
        as a public official in the State of Maryland or Vice President 
        of the United States, or failed to declare his income for tax 
        purposes.
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    Parliamentarian's Note: Vice President Agnew resigned his office, 
and entered a plea of nolo contendere to a count of failure to report 
certain income, on Oct. 10, 1973.

Sec. 2.19 The House laid on the table a privileged resolution of 
    inquiry directing the Attorney General to transmit information 
    relating to the kidnapping of David Levinson and Robert Minor.

    On May 16, 1935,(7) the House by a vote of yeas 276, to 
nays 40, tabled a privileged resolution of inquiry reported by the 
Committee on the Judiciary, House Resolution 219, directing the 
Attorney General to transmit to the House at the earliest practical 
moment: (1) copies of all official information on file in the 
Department of Justice or in possession of its agents concerning the 
kidnapping of David Levinson and Robert Minor, in Gallup, New Mexico, 
on May 2, 1935; (2) information as to whether a person or persons had 
been apprehended or taken into custody and charged with kidnapping and, 
if not, whether

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 7. 79 Cong. Rec. 7687, 7688, 74th Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 2318]]

the Department of Justice had instituted and prosecuted an 
investigation with a view to bringing to justice those guilty of 
violating 18 USC Sec. 408a, as amended by Public Law No. 232 of the 73d 
Congress (May 18, 1934); (3) name or names of all persons questioned in 
connection with this investigation and statements made by them; (4) 
information as to whether the crime was completed within Navajo Indian 
Reservation, western New Mexico; and (5) whether the reservation was 
under the jurisdiction of the U.S. government and whether the Attorney 
General had authority to prosecute crimes committed within the 
reservation.

    Speaker Joseph W. Byrns, of Tennessee, overruled a point of order 
raised against the resolution because it sought information (testimony 
of witnesses given to New Mexico law enforcement officials) that was 
not in the possession of the Attorney General.

Security Files on Government Officials

Sec. 2.20 The House agreed to a resolution of inquiry directing the 
    Secretary of Commerce to transmit a letter from the Director of the 
    Federal Bureau of Investigation to the Secretary regarding the 
    Director of the National Bureau of Standards.

    On Apr. 22, 1948,(8) the House by a roll call vote of 
yeas 302 to nays 29, approved a privileged resolution of inquiry, House 
Resolution 522, reported favorably by the Committee on Interstate and 
Foreign Commerce, directing the Secretary of Commerce to transmit 
forthwith the full text of a letter dated May 15, 1947, written by the 
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and addressed to the 
Secretary, relating to Dr. Edward U. Condon, Director of the National 
Bureau of Standards, about whom allegations of disloyal conduct had 
been made.(9)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 8. 94 Cong. Rec. 4777, 4786, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
 9. See 94 Cong. Rec. A2458-A2461, 80th Cong. 2d Sess., Apr. 22, 1948, 
        for letters from former Attorney General Robert H. Jackson and 
        Special Assistant to the Attorney General Peyton Ford and a 
        legal memorandum relating to this incident and the broader 
        issue of executive privilege.
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    On Apr. 26, 1948,(10) a communication dated Apr. 23, 
1948, from the Acting Secretary of Commerce, William C. Foster, 
refusing to transmit the 1947 letter and citing a directive of 
President Harry S. Truman dated Mar. 13, 1948, ordering all executive

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10. 94 Cong. Rec. 4879, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
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[[Page 2319]]

branch officials to decline to disclose Loyalty Board files to any 
person or agency was referred to the Committee on Interstate and 
Foreign Commerce and ordered to be printed.(11)

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11. See Sec. 5.3, infra, for a discussion of House approval, and the 
        text, of H.J. Res. 342, directing officers and employees of the 
        executive branch to provide information to Congress. See also 
        the minority report to H. Rept. No. 1595, pp. 8-10 which 
        accompanies the joint resolution and contains a Mar. 15, 1948, 
        memorandum from President Truman stating precedents of 
        Presidential refusals to respond to requests for information.
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Fish Imports

Sec. 2.21 The House agreed to a resolution requesting the Secretary of 
    State to study the effect of increased imports on the domestic 
    fishing industry. The Assistant Secretary responded for the 
    Secretary.

    On Apr. 4, 1949,(12) the House by voice vote approved a 
resolution reported favorably by the Committee on Merchant Marine and 
Fisheries and called from the Consent Calendar.(13) House 
Resolution 147 requested the Secretary of State to make an immediate 
study on the effect on the domestic fishing industry of increasing 
imports of fresh and frozen fish, especially ground fish fillets, into 
the United States; and, with the advice of and in coordination with 
appropriate executive departments and independent agencies of 
government, to recommend means by which the American fishing industry 
may survive; and to report not later than May 15, 1949.
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12. 95 Cong. Rec. 3820-22, 81st Cong. 1st Sess.
13. Parliamentarian's Note: This measure would have been subject to 
        points of order that it was not privileged if the committee 
        chairman had sought to call it up as privileged business 
        because it required an investigation (see 3 Hinds' Precedents 
        Sec. Sec. 1872-74 and 6 Cannon's Precedents Sec. Sec. 422, 427, 
        429, and 432) and contained a preamble (see 3 Hinds' Precedents 
        Sec. Sec. 1877, 1878 and 6 Cannon's Precedents Sec. Sec. 422, 
        427). See also Rule XXII clause 5, House Rules and Manual 
        Sec. 857 (1973).
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    The resolution contained a preamble.
    On May 17, 1949,(14) a letter and report of findings 
from the Assistant Secretary of State, Ernest A. Gross, responding for 
the Secretary and Department to the resolution of inquiry, was laid 
before the House, referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine

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14. 95 Cong. Rec. 6372, 81st Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 2320]]

and Fisheries, and ordered printed.

Foreign Sales of Short Supply Goods

Sec. 2.22 The House agreed to a privileged resolution of inquiry 
    requesting the Secretary of Commerce to furnish information 
    regarding sales to foreign countries of supplies, shortages of 
    which might endanger national defense and security.

    On Dec. 5, 1947,(15) the House by voice vote approved a 
privileged resolution of inquiry, House Resolution 366, reported 
favorably and unanimously by the Committee on Interstate and Foreign 
Commerce, with a committee amendment requesting (16) the 
Secretary of Commerce to furnish the House with information concerning 
shipments of heavy machinery, farm and railroad equipment, motor 
vehicles, metals and metal products, coal, petroleum and petroleum 
products, building materials, meats and grains, and all other supplies 
shortages of which might endanger national defense or security, which 
were made to each foreign country since Jan. 1, 1947, including the 
most recent date for which figures were obtainable; names of firms or 
individuals making these sales, dates orders were received and supplies 
were delivered, and the nature of payments made in return for supplies; 
and information revealing the extent of unfilled orders for the above-
listed supplies which each foreign country has on record with firms or 
individuals in the United States as of the date of adoption of the 
resolution.
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15. 93 Cong. Rec. 11075, 11076, 80th Cong. 1st Sess.
16. Parliamentarian's Note: To ``request'' the Secretary of Commerce to 
        furnish information deviates from the standard practice which 
        is to ``request'' the President and ``direct'' a head of an 
        executive department to furnish information. See 3 Hinds' 
        Precedents Sec. Sec. 1856, 1895 and Rule XXII clause 5, House 
        Rules and Manual Sec. 856 (1973).
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    On Jan. 8, 1948,(17) a letter in response dated Jan. 7, 
1948, accompanied by reports of study findings from the Acting 
Secretary of Commerce, William C. Foster, were laid before the House 
and referred to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
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17. 94 Cong. Rec. 39, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
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Domestic Energy Sources

Sec. 2.23 The House agreed to a resolution of inquiry requesting the 
    Secretary of the Interior to furnish information

[[Page 2321]]

    relating to domestic availability of petroleum and coal. The 
    Secretary responded by providing reports.

    On Feb. 16, 1948,(18) the House by voice vote approved a 
resolution of inquiry (H. Res. 385) reported favorably by the Committee 
on Public Lands and called from the Consent Calendar requesting the 
Secretary of the Interior to furnish the House full information in his 
possession concerning domestic availability of fuel oil, gasoline, 
petroleum products, and coal, as well as information on the steps the 
government should take to make the proper and necessary supply 
available.
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18. 94 Cong. Rec. 1328, 1329, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On Apr. 30, 1948,(19) a letter dated Apr. 30, 1948, and 
reports from Secretary of the Interior J. A. Krug, responding to the 
resolution of inquiry, were laid before the House and referred to the 
Committee on Public Lands.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Id. at p. 5163.
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Busing

Sec. 2.24 After discharging a committee from further consideration of 
    the measure, the House agreed to a resolution of inquiry directing 
    the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to furnish a list 
    of public school systems which receive federal funds and engage in 
    busing of schoolchildren to achieve racial balance, and any 
    departmental rules and regulations regarding busing. The Secretary 
    responded that he was unable to provide the information.

    On Aug. 2, 1971,(20) the House by a roll call vote of 
yeas 252 to nays 129 discharged the Committee on Education and Labor 
from further consideration and then by a roll call vote of yeas 351 to 
nays 36, agreed to House Resolution 539, directing the Secretary of 
Health, Education, and Welfare, to the extent not incompatible with the 
public interest, to furnish to the House, not later than 60 days after 
adoption of the resolution, any documents containing a list of public 
school systems which, during the period between Aug. 1, 1971 through 
June 30, 1972, would be receiving federal funds and busing 
schoolchildren to achieve racial balance; and any documents respecting 
departmental rules and regulations regarding use of federal funds ad

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20. 117 Cong. Rec. 28863, 28869, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 2322]]

ministered by the department for busing.

    On Aug. 3, 1971,(1) the Secretary of Health, Education, 
and Welfare, Elliot L. Richardson, in a letter of the same date stated 
that because the department did not administer busing programs, it did 
not have a reason either to compile a list of school districts which 
bus schoolchildren or to draft rules or regulations respecting busing. 
He enclosed a memorandum from the Associate Commissioner, Equal 
Educational Opportunity, Office of Education, regarding the policy on 
funding transportation costs for the Emergency School Assistance 
Program, and a proposed amendment to a pending bill, H.R. 2266, the 
Emergency School Aid Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. 117 Cong. Rec. 29137, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The letter, memorandum, and proposed amendment were laid before the 
House and referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.

Postal Temporaries

Sec. 2.25 The House laid on the table a privileged resolution of 
    inquiry directing the Postmaster General to furnish the names of 
    persons employed temporarily during the summer of 1965.

    On Sept. 16, 1965,(2) the House by a roll call vote of 
yeas 185 to nays 181, tabled a privileged resolution of inquiry 
reported adversely by the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, 
House Resolution 574, directing the Postmaster General to furnish to 
the House the names of all persons employed by the Post Office 
Department as temporary employees at any time during the period 
beginning on May 23, 1965, and ending on Sept. 6, 1965.(3)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2. 111 Cong. Rec. 24030, 24034, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
 3. See Ch. 24, infra, for a discussion of the privileged status of 
        resolutions of inquiry.
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Information Furnished to Committee

Sec. 2.26 Two resolutions of inquiry directing the Secretary of State 
    to furnish information to a committee rather than to the House were 
    called up and considered as privileged business.

    On Oct. 20, 1971,(4) two identically worded resolutions 
of inquiry, House Resolution 632 and House Resolution 638, directing 
the Secretary of State to furnish information to a committee relating 
to the South Vietnamese elec

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 4. 117 Cong. Rec. 37055, 37057, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 2323]]

tion of Oct. 3, 1971,(5) were called up and considered as 
privileged business. The privileged status was not questioned when 
these resolutions were called up.(6)

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 5. See Sec. 2.4, supra, for the content of these resolutions.
 6. See Sec. 2.4, supra, for the disposition of the resolutions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Parliamentarian's Note: The privileged status of these resolutions 
could have been questioned because they directed the Secretary to 
furnish information to the committee rather than directly to the House. 
The only precedent on this point is 3 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 1860, in 
which Speaker Joseph G. Cannon, of Illinois, ruled that a resolution 
authorizing a committee to request information from the Postmaster 
General and requesting him to send certain papers to the committee was 
privileged as a resolution of inquiry.