[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 4, Chapters 15 - 17]
[Chapter 17. Committees]
[B. Committee Chairmen, Members, and Employees]
[Â§ 10. Appointments to Select Committees]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 2643-2648]
 
                               CHAPTER 17
 
                               Committees
 
             B. COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN, MEMBERS, AND EMPLOYEES
 
Sec. 10. Appointments to Select Committees

Speaker Appoints Chairman and Members

Sec. 10.1 The Speaker appoints the chairmen and members of select 
    committees; such appointments are generally made by the Speaker 
    immediately after the adoption of the resolution creating the 
    committee.

    On July 10, 1969,(5) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, recognized Mr. Ray J. Madden, of Indiana, who, by 
direction of the Committee on Rules, called up a resolution (H. Res. 
472) and asked for its immediate consideration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5. 115 Cong. Rec. 19080, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The resolution read as follows:

        Resolved, That (a) there is hereby created a select committee 
    to be known as the ``Committee on the House Restaurant,'' which 
    shall be composed of five Members of the House of Representatives 
    to be appointed by the

[[Page 2644]]

    Speaker, not more than three of whom shall be of the majority 
    party, and one of whom shall be designated as chairman. Any vacancy 
    occurring in the membership of the committee shall be filled in the 
    same manner in which the original appointment was made.
        (b) On and after July 15, 1969, until otherwise ordered by the 
    House, the Architect of the Capitol shall perform the duties vested 
    in him by section 208 of Public Law 812, 76th Congress (40 U.S.C. 
    174k) under the direction of the select committee herein created.

    Mr. Madden then proceeded to explain that:

        The function of this committee will be to establish rules and 
    regulations for the management and the operation and control of all 
    food facilities under control of the House of Representatives, and 
    elective on July 15, 1969. The Architect of the Capitol shall 
    manage the House food facilities under the direction of this select 
    Committee.

    The resolution was agreed to by voice vote.(6)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. Id. at p. 19081.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Immediately thereafter, the Speaker made the following 
announcement:

        Pursuant to the provisions of House Resolution 472, 91st 
    Congress, the Chair appoints as members of the Committee on the 
    House Restaurant the following Members of the House: Mr. Kluczynski 
    of Illinois, chairman; Mr. Steed of Oklahoma, Mr. Cabell of Texas, 
    Mr. Collier of Illinois, Mr. Thomson of Wisconsin.(7)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 7. For similar instances, see 114 Cong. Rec. 25064, 90th Cong. 2d 
        Sess., Aug. 2, 1968 [appointments to Special Committee on 
        Campaign Expenditures]; 113 Cong. Rec. 17792, 90th Cong. 1st 
        Sess., June 28, 1967 [appointments to Select Committee on 
        Parking]; 112 Cong. Rec. 28112, 89th Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 20, 
        1966; [appointments to Select Committee on Standards and 
        Conduct]; and 109 Cong. Rec. 16754, 88th Cong. 1st Sess., Sept. 
        11, 1963 [appointments to a select committee to investigate 
        research programs].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Parliamentarian's Note: Pursuant to the rules of the 
House,(8) the Speaker ``shall appoint [Members to] all 
select and conference committees'' ordered by the House. This power 
extends to the appointment of Members to such committees when the House 
is in recess or during adjournment if such action has been authorized 
by the House.(9) Members appointed to select and conference 
committees have usually expressed their interest to the Speaker in 
advance. At some times the Member sponsoring the resolution creating a 
select committee has been appointed its chairman; (10) 
however, in modern practice, this is often disregarded.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 8. Rule X clause 2, House Rules and Manual Sec. 671A (1973). This 
        provision is contained in Rule X clause 6 (e) 701(d) in the 
        1979 House Rules and Manual.
 9. For examples of such authorization see Sec. Sec. 10.3, 10.4, infra.
10. Rule X clause 2, House Rules and Manual Sec. 671A (1973).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 2645]]

Appointments on Separate Days

Sec. 10.2 The majority and minority members of the Select Committee on 
    Small Business were appointed by the Speaker on separate days.

    On Feb. 7, 1961,(11) Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, 
informed the House that:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. 107 Cong. Rec. 1820, 87th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Chair desires to make the following announcement.
        Pursuant to the provisions of House Resolution 46, 87th 
    Congress, the Chair appoints as members of the Select Committee To 
    Conduct Studies and Investigations of the Problems of Small 
    Business the following Members of the House:
        Mr. Patman, Texas, chairman; Mr. Evins, Tennessee; Mr. Multer, 
    New York; Mr. Yates, Illinois; Mr. Steed, Oklahoma; Mr. Roosevelt, 
    California; Mr. Alford, Arkansas.

    Ten days later, on Feb. 17, 1961,(12) the Speaker 
stated:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Id. at p. 2271.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Pursuant to the provisions of House Resolution 46, 87th 
    Congress, the Chair appoints as additional members of the Select 
    Committee To Conduct Studies and Investigations of the Problems of 
    Small Business the following Members of the House:
        Mr. McCulloch, Ohio; Mr. Moore, West Virginia; Mr. Avery, 
    Kansas; Mr. Smith, California; Mr. Robison, New York; and Mr. 
    Derwinski, Illinois.

    Parliamentarian's Note: All of those appointed on Feb. 7, 1961, 
were members of the Speaker's party inasmuch as minority party members 
had not yet acted on the recommendations of their Committee on 
Committees. The majority party members were appointed in order to 
enable the committee to organize and to permit its chairman the 
opportunity to certify the employment of staff personnel.

Authorizing Appointments During Recess

Sec. 10.3 The Speaker may be authorized by unanimous consent to appoint 
    commissions and committees authorized by law or by the House during 
    a recess.

    On Aug. 7, 1948,(13) Speaker Joseph W. Martin, Jr., of 
Massachusetts, recognized Majority Leader Charles A. Halleck, of 
Indiana, who initiated the following exchange:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. 94 Cong. Rec. 10248, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the 
    adjournment of the House until December 31, 1948, the Speaker be 
    authorized to appoint commissions, boards, and committees 
    authorized by law or by the House.
        The Speaker: Is there objection to the request of the gentleman 
    from Indiana?

[[Page 2646]]

        There was no objection.

    The Speaker, acting pursuant to this authority, made the following 
appointment, which was announced on Dec. 31, 1948: (14)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Id. at p. 10264.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Speaker: The Chair announces that pursuant to the 
    provisions of House Resolution 18, Eightieth Congress, and the 
    order of the House of August 7, 1948, empowering him to appoint 
    commissions, boards, and committees authorized by law or by the 
    House, he did, on August 14, 1948, appoint as a member of the 
    Select Committee to Conduct a Study and Investigation of the 
    Problems of Small Business the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Hardy] 
    to fill the existing vacancy thereon caused by the resignation of 
    the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Kefauver].

Authorizing Appointments After Adjournment Sine Die

Sec. 10.4 The House may authorize the Speaker to appoint committees and 
    commissions authorized by law or by the House following the 
    adjournment of a session.

    On Aug. 21, 1937,(15) Mr. Sam Rayburn, of Texas, was 
recognized by Speaker William B. Bankhead, of Alabama, and the 
following exchange took place:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. 81 Cong. Rec. 9640, 75th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. Rayburn: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
    notwithstanding the adjournment of the first session of the 
    Seventy-fifth Congress the Speaker be authorized to appoint 
    commissions and committees authorized by law or by the House.
        The Speaker: Is there objection to the request of the gentleman 
    from Texas?
        There was no objection.

Speaker Announces Appointments

Sec. 10.5 The Speaker announced his appointments to the special 
    committee to report to the House on the right of Adam C. Powell to 
    be sworn in as a Representative from New York.

    On Jan. 19, 1967,(16) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, made the following announcement:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. 113 Cong. Rec. 1037, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Pursuant to the provisions of House Resolution 1, 90th 
    Congress, providing for a special committee to report to the House 
    upon the question of the right of Adam Clayton Powell to be sworn 
    in as a Representative from the State of New York in the 90th 
    Congress, as well as to his final right to a seat therein, the 
    Chair appoints the following members: Mr. Celler, of New York, 
    chairman; Mr. Corman, of California; Mr. Pepper, of Florida; Mr. 
    Conyers, of Michigan; Mr. Jacobs, of Indiana; Mr. Moore, of West 
    Virginia; Mr. Teague, of California; Mr.

[[Page 2647]]

    MacGregor, of Minnesota; and Mr. Thomson, of Wisconsin.

Announcing Appointments Made During Recess

Sec. 10.6 Following a recess, the Speaker announces to the House the 
    fact that he has, pursuant to law, made an appointment during the 
    recess to fill a vacancy on a select committee.

    On Feb. 2, 1960,(17) Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, laid 
before the House an announcement which the Clerk read, as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. 106 Cong. Rec. 1822, 86th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Pursuant to the provisions of section 5, Public Law 115, 78th 
    Congress, and House Resolution 165, 86th Congress, the Chair 
    appoints as a member of the Committee on the Disposition of 
    Executive Papers the gentleman from Iowa, Mr. Kyl, to fill the 
    existing vacancy thereon.

Sec. 10.7 The Record generally discloses the Speaker's appointments to 
    a select committee or commission during an adjournment to a day 
    certain.

    Under date of July 26, 1948,(18) the Record discloses 
the following information:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. 94 Cong. Rec. 9362, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                    Appointments Made After Adjournment

             investigation of federal communications commission

        The Speaker, pursuant to the authority conferred upon him by 
    House Resolution 691, Eightieth Congress, and the order of the 
    House of June 19, 1948, empowering him to appoint commissions, 
    boards, and committees authorized by law or by the House, did on 
    June 29, 1948, appoint as members of the select committee to 
    conduct a study and investigation of the organization, personnel 
    and activities of the Federal Communications Commission the 
    following Members of the House: Hon. Forest A. Harness, Indiana, 
    chairman; Hon. Leonard W. Hall, New York; Hon. Charles H. Elston, 
    Ohio; Hon. J. Percy Priest, Tennessee; Hon. Oren Harris, Arkansas.

           washington and lee university bicentennial commission

        The Speaker, pursuant to the authority conferred upon him by 
    Public Law 636, Eightieth Congress, and the order of the House of 
    June 19, 1948, empowering him to appoint commissions, boards, and 
    committees authorized by law or by the House, did on July 9, 1948, 
    appoint as members of the United States-Washington and Lee 
    University Bicentennial Commission the following members on the 
    part of the House to serve with himself: Hon. Clarence J. Brown, 
    Ohio; Hon. James W. Wadsworth, New York; Hon. John W. Flannagan, 
    Jr., Virginia; Hon. Fadjo Cravens, Arkansas.

Announcing Appointments Prior to Effective Date

Sec. 10.8 The Speaker has announced the appointments of

[[Page 2648]]

    Members to a commission, established by law, prior to the effective 
    date of the appointments.

    On Dec. 13, 1971,(1) Speaker Carl Albert, of Oklahoma, 
made the following announcement:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. 117 Cong. Rec. 46530, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Pursuant to the provisions of section 1202, Public Law 91-452, 
    the Chair appoints the following Members on the part of the House 
    to be members of the National Commission on Individual Rights, 
    effective January 1, 1972: Mr. Celler, Mr. Mikva, Mr. McCulloch, 
    and Mr. Sandman.

Appointment of Speaker and Leaders

Sec. 10.9 The Speaker appoints himself and the Majority and Minority 
    Leaders as members of the Joint Committee on Inauguration.

    On June 4, 1968,(2) immediately after the House had 
concurred in a Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 73), 
establishing a joint committee to make arrangements for the upcoming 
inauguration, Speaker John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, made the 
following announcement:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2. 114 Cong. Rec. 15870, 90th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Pursuant to the provisions of Senate Concurrent Resolution 73, 
    90th Congress, the Chair appoints as Members of the Joint Committee 
    to make the necessary arrangements for the inauguration of the 
    President-elect and the Vice-President-elect of the United States 
    on the 20th day of January 1969 the following Members on the part 
    of the House: Mr. McCormack, Mr. Albert, and Mr. Gerald R. Ford.