[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 4, Chapters 15 - 17]
[Chapter 17. Committees]
[C. Committee Procedure]
[Â§ 17. Role of Chairman]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 2706-2713]
 
                               CHAPTER 17
 
                               Committees
 
                         C. COMMITTEE PROCEDURE
 
Sec. 17. Role of the Chairman

Duty to Report Approved Measure

Sec. 17.1 Under the rules, the chairman of a committee has the duty and 
    the responsibility to see that a measure approved by his committee 
    is reported to the House and called up for consideration; and his 
    obligations in these regards are not reduced by his personal 
    opposition to the measure.

    On June 14, 1967,(4) the House resolved itself into the 
Committee of the Whole for the consideration of a joint resolution 
(H.J. Res. 559), to provide for the settlement of a labor dispute 
involving certain railroad carriers. After the Committee agreed to 
dispense  with the first reading of the joint resolution, Chairman 
Wilbur D. Mills, of Arkansas, recognized Harley O. Staggers, of West 
Virginia, Chairman of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
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 4. 113 Cong. Rec. 15822, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
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    Mr. Staggers then made the following remarks:

        Mr. Chairman I am here today in a most unusual position. I was 
    requested by the President to introduce the bill we have before us 
    today, and because of my responsibilities as chairman of the 
    committee, I introduced the bill. If the House was to be given an 
    opportunity to work its will on this legislation, it was necessary 
    that hearings begin promptly and continue as expeditiously as 
    possible, and I think the record will bear me out, that the 
    hearings before our committee have been prompt, they have not been 
    delayed in any respect.
        In fact we interrupted consideration of a very important piece 
    of health legislation in order to take up this bill. We have heard 
    every witness who wanted to be heard on the legislation. I did this 
    because I felt it to be my responsibility to the House as chairman 
    of the committee.
        Following the conclusion of our hearings I promptly scheduled 
    executive sessions for consideration of the bill and we met as 
    promptly as possible both morning and afternoon and the committee 
    reported the bill to the House.
        Yesterday I went before the Rules Committee as chairman of the 
    com

[[Page 2707]]

    mittee to present the facts to the Rules Committee and attempt to 
    obtain a rule so that the bill would be considered by the House. I 
    have done these things because I felt it is my responsibility to do 
    so as chairman of the committee.
        Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, I was opposed to this bill when I 
    introduced it, and having heard all the witnesses and all the 
    testimony, I am still opposed to it. For that reason I have asked 
    the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Friedel] to handle the bill in 
    Committee of the Whole, so that I would be free to express my 
    opposition to it.

    Mr. Staggers then outlined the nature of his opposition to the 
proposal (5) and briefly commented upon certain of the 
amendments which had been considered by the committee. Thereafter, he 
requested Mr. Samuel N. Friedel, of Maryland, the ranking majority 
member on the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, to take charge 
of managing the bill on the floor.
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 5. Id. at pp. 15822, 15823.
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    Parliamentarian's Note: House Rule XI clause 26(d) (6) 
stated that:
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 6. H. Jour. 1487, 90th Cong. 1st Sess. (1967).
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        It shall be the duty of the chairman of each committee to 
    report or cause to be reported promptly to the House any measure 
    approved by his committee and to take or cause to be taken 
    necessary steps to bring the matter to a vote.

Impartiality

Sec. 17.2 The chairman of a special investigating committee tendered 
    his resignation from the committee after taking the floor to defend 
    himself against accusations that he had accepted fees for appearing 
    before the government agency which was under investigation.

    Parliamentarian's Note: In May 1943, Clifford Durr, a member of the 
Federal Communications Commission, filed certain papers with Speaker 
Sam Rayburn, of Texas, which alleged that Eugene E. (Cox, of Georgia, 
Chairman of the Select Committee to Investigate the Federal 
Communications Commission, was inspired by ``bias and personal 
interest'' in his conduct of the committee's inquiry. The Speaker 
referred these matters to the Committee on the Judiciary which 
concluded several months later that it had no power to intervene.
    On Sept. 30, 1943,(7) Speaker Rayburn recognized Mr. 
Cox, and the following exchange took place: (8)
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 7. 89 Cong. Rec. 7936, 78th Cong. 1st Sess.
 8. Id. at pp. 7936, 7937.
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        . . . Mr. Speaker, for more than a year, now, I have been the 
    object of bitter and scurrilous attacks. . . .

[[Page 2708]]

        In my judicial career when a case arose in which my own 
    personality was involved or my impartiality was questioned, it was 
    my practice to eliminate myself from the trial of the case. While 
    such a custom does not prevail in investigations by legislative 
    bodies, I have, nevertheless, reached the conclusion that in the 
    light of the circumstances and the nature of the controversy in 
    this instance, I may well follow that course. . . .
        . . . Mr. Speaker, the first duty of every Member of this House 
    is to consider the welfare and the effectiveness of the House 
    itself. Its interests are incomparably greater than the interests--
    even the right of justice--attaching to any individual Member. The 
    next duty of a Member of this body is the welfare of the various 
    instrumentalities it creates to carry out its will--whether those 
    instrumentalities be independent agencies or standing or select 
    committees. . . . Consequently, the action I take today is based 
    solely upon my conscientious and deep desire to live up to the most 
    sacred obligations of this body and to my oath as a Member of it.
        Mr. Speaker, moved by these considerations, and fortified by 
    the concurrence of friends in this House in whose friendship and 
    judgment I have the utmost confidence, I tender you my resignation 
    as chairman of the Select Committee to Investigate the Federal 
    Communications Commission. . . .
        The Speaker: The resignation of the gentleman from Georgia is 
    accepted. 

    Parliamentarian's Note: Had there been objection, the Speaker would 
have put the question of accepting the resignation to the House for a 
vote.
    Shortly thereafter, Mr. John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, 
observed:

        . . . It is apparent to all of us that unselfishness and a high 
    regard for the sensibilities of his colleagues in this House have 
    been the only motives which prompted the gentleman from Georgia to 
    follow the course that he has taken. The people of the district the 
    gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Cox] so ably represents, I know are 
    proud of his services. His unselfish act of today will make them 
    feel prouder of him, and of his high and noble character, and of 
    his courage.

    Speaker pro tempore R. Ewing Thomason, of Texas, having taken the 
Chair, Mr. McCormack yielded to Mr. Rayburn, who stated:

        Mr. Speaker, I join with my distinguished colleague in 
    applauding the unselfishness of our colleague from Georgia [Mr. 
    Cox]. He has the courage in a situation difficult to him personally 
    to be big enough in mind and in heart to efface himself, and to 
    leave a position because he thinks that the thing that is near to 
    his heart may be jeopardized by his presence upon his special 
    committee. And I say to this House, after 20 years of intimate 
    association with the gentleman from Georgia, Gene Cox, during which 
    he has had my friendship and my love and confidence, that today 
    that love and that confidence in his honor and in his integrity is 
    unshaken.

Appeal From Chairman's Decision

Sec. 17.3 Any member of a standing committee may appeal a

[[Page 2709]]

    ruling of the chairman of that committee [the rules of the House 
    being the rules of the standing committees so far as applicable].

    On Feb. 15, 1949,(9) shortly after the House met, the 
Speaker recognized Mr. Earl Chudoff, of Pennsylvania, who initiated the 
following exchange:
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 9. 95 Cong. Rec. 1212, 81st Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker: (10) The gentleman will state it.
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10. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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        Mr. Chudoff: Mr. Speaker, I should like to know whether the 
    committees of this House operate under the same rules as the House.
        The Speaker: The rules of the House so provide.
        Mr. Chudoff: Mr. Speaker, I should dike to know further whether 
    this House has a right to appeal from a ruling of the Chair.
        The Speaker: Any Member has the right to appeal from the ruling 
    of the Chair.

        Mr. Chudoff: I should like to know whether, under that ruling, 
    members of the committee can appeal from the ruling of the chairman 
    of the committee.
        The Speaker: They can.
        Mr. Chudoff: So that the chairman of a committee who had his 
    ruling appealed from would have no right other than to allow that 
    appeal to go before the entire committee; is that right, Mr. 
    Speaker?
        The Speaker: The rules of the House provide that the rules of 
    the House are made the rules of its standing committees so far as 
    applicable. The Members of the House have a right to appeal from a 
    decision of the Chair. That would also apply in a committee.

    Parliamentarian's Note: The rules of the House are the rules of its 
committees and subcommittees so far as applicable, except that a motion 
to recess from day to day is a motion of high privilege in committees 
and subcommittees.(11) Accordingly, where a particular 
ruling of the Speaker is not subject to appeal, the same result holds 
with respect to a similar ruling by a committee chairman. In the 
instant case, for example, immediately after the Speaker answered Mr. 
Chudoff's parliamentary inquiry, Mr. John E. Rankin, of Mississippi, 
pointed out (l2) by way of his own parliamentary inquiry 
that certain decisions of the Chair may not be appealed at all-to wit, 
the Chair's determination that one-fifth of those present were in favor 
of a roll call.
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11. See Rule XI clause 1(a)(1), House Rules and Manual Sec. 703(a) 
        (1979).
12. 95 Cong. Rec. 1213, 81st Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 15, 1949.
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Chairman's Capacity to Act Independently

Sec. 17.4 The chairman of a committee to which a bill has

[[Page 2710]]

    been referred is not required to have the authorization of his 
    committee to move to suspend the rules and pass a bill in the 
    House, but may, at the Speaker's discretion, offer such a motion on 
    his own responsibility just as any other Member.

    On Aug. 5, 1948,(13) Speaker Joseph W. Martin, Jr., of 
Massachusetts, recognized Charles A. Eaton, of New Jersey, Chairman of 
the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the following exchange took 
place:
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13. 94 Cong. Rec. 9890, 9891, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
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        Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
    (S.J. Res. 212) to authorize the President, following appropriation 
    of the necessary funds by the Congress, to bring into effect on the 
    part of the United States the loan agreement of the United States 
    of America and the United Nations signed at Lake Success, N.Y., 
    March 23, 1948.
        Mr. [Frederick C.] Smith of Ohio: Mr. Speaker, I make a point 
    of order against the motion.
        The Speaker: The gentleman will state his point of order.
        Mr. Smith of Ohio: Mr. Speaker, I am informed by members of the 
    Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House that this motion has not 
    been formally and specifically authorized by the committee.
        The Speaker: The Chair may say, in order to clarify the 
    situation, that it is possible for the chairman of a committee to 
    offer the motion on his own responsibility and if he does the Chair 
    will recognize him.

Authority To Be Exercised in Chairman's Absence

Sec. 17.5 Instance where by unanimous consent the House agreed to a 
    resolution permitting the powers and duties conferred on the 
    chairman of a standing committee to be exercised during the absence 
    of the chairman by the next ranking majority member.

    On Mar. 18, 1954,(14~) Speaker Joseph W. Martin, Jr., of 
Massachusetts, recognized Mr. Charles A. Halleck, of Indiana, and the 
following events took place:
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14. 100 Cong. Rec. 3569, 83d Cong. 2d Sess.
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        Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the immediate 
    consideration of House Resolution 478.
        The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

            Resolved, That powers and duties conferred upon the 
        chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries by 
        House Resolution 197 and House Resolution 198 of the 83d 
        Congress may be exercised during the absence of the chairman of 
        that committee by the next ranking majority member thereof 
        until otherwise ordered by the House.

    Immediately thereafter, the resolution was agreed to.

[[Page 2711]]

    Parliamentarian's Note: This resolution may have been necessary 
because the Chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 
Alvain F. Weichel, of Ohio, was unable to perform the duties of signing 
subpenas, vouchers, and appointing subcommittees due to illness.
    Rule X clause 6(b) [House Rules and Manual Sec. 701(b) (1979)] 
provides that in the temporary absence of the chairman, the ranking 
majority member shall act as chairman. This has been part of the rules 
since 1911. Rule X clause 6(b) has been distinguished from the 
authority contained in Rule XI clause 2(d) [House Rules and Manual 
Sec. 705 (1979)] for the ranking majority member to preside at 
committee meetings in the absence of the chairman. The clause 6(b) Rule 
X designation when submitted in writing by the Chairman has been deemed 
by the Committee on House Administration sufficient authority for the 
acting chairman to sign vouchers.

Calling Committee Meeting Without Action by Chairman

Sec. 17.6 Where the chairman of a committee refuses or fails to call a 
    special meeting that a majority of committee members desire, that 
    majority may compel the call of such a meeting under a procedure 
    specified by the rules.

    On May 27, 1946,(15) by previous order of the House, Mr. 
Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, was speaking about certain war-related 
labor legislation when he yielded to Mr. Howard W. Smith, of Virginia, 
for a parliamentary inquiry.
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15. 92 Cong. Rec. 5863, 79th Cong. 2d Sess.
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    After explaining that it would not be possible to carry out a 
previously agreed upon schedule of the House unless the Committee on 
Rules was able to meet that very afternoon, Mr. Smith asked the 
following question:

        My parliamentary inquiry is whether when the chairman of the 
    Committee on Rules absents himself from the floor of the House and 
    from the office of the committee and declines to call a meeting of 
    the committee to transact important business for the country it is 
    within the province of a majority of the members of the committee 
    to themselves call a meeting and report whatever legislation they 
    desire to the floor of the House.

    In response thereto, Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, stated:

        The Chair will read clause 48 of rule XI: (l6)
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16. See Rule XI clauses 2(b), 2(c), House Rules and Manual Sec. 705 
        (1979).
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            A standing committee of the House shall meet to consider 
        any bill or res

[[Page 2712]]

        olution pending before it: (1) on all regular meeting days 
        selected by the committee; (2) upon the call of the chairman of 
        the committee; (3) if the chairman of the committee, after 3 
        days' consideration, refuses or fails, upon the request of at 
        least three members of the committee, to call a special meeting 
        of the committee within 7 calendar days from the date of said 
        request, then, upon the filing with the clerk of the committee 
        of the written and signed request of a majority of the 
        committee for a called special meeting of the committee, the 
        committee shall meet on the day and hour specified in said 
        written request. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the 
        committee to notify all members of the committee in the usual 
        way of such called special meeting.

        That is the answer of the Chair to the parliamentary inquiry of 
    the gentleman from Virginia.

    Mr. Smith then sought to ask an additional question and the 
following exchange took place: (17)
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17. 92 Cong. Rec. 5863, 5864, 79th Cong. 2d Sess.
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        Mr. Speaker, may I submit a further inquiry?
        Under those circumstances, is it possible for the chairman of 
    the committee of his own volition to prevent the House from taking 
    action on legislation vital to the Nation until the time set forth 
    in the rule has elapsed?
        The Speaker: Under the rules of the House, the chairman of a 
    committee does not have to call a meeting of the committee. The 
    answer to the question as to how the committee can get together if 
    the chairman does not desire to call the committee together or 
    refuses to call them together is contained in the rule just read.

Removal of Chairman by House Action

Sec. 17.7 A resolution was introduced and referred by the Speaker to 
    the Committee on Rules, calling for the removal of the Chairman of 
    the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

    On Mar. 11, 1953,(18) a resolution (H. Res. 175), was 
introduced calling for the removal of Harold H. Velde, of Illinois, as 
Chairman of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, based on 
allegations that he exercised excessive zeal in the performance of his 
duties. This resolution provided:
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18. 99 Cong. Rec. 1888, 83d Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Whereas the admittedly false, erroneous, and careless 
    accusations of the chairman of the Committee on Un-American 
    Activities against Mrs. Agnes Meyer, a respected and patriotic 
    American, have reflected on the responsibility and integrity of the 
    House of Representatives and consequently upon each of the Members 
    thereof; and
        Whereas the chairman of the Committee on Un-American Activities 
    has publicly stated his intention to investigate the churches of 
    our Nation which could lead to the control of the freedom of 
    thought and expression of the reverend clergy of our religious 
    institutions; and

[[Page 2713]]

        Whereas any interference with the freedom of religion and the 
    freedom of religious thought and expression or with the autonomy of 
    any of our churches, synagogues, or other religious institutions 
    would not only constitute a violation of one of the fundamental 
    precepts of the Constitution of the United States, but would 
    threaten to destroy the time honored guaranties of religious 
    freedom which attracted our forebears to America's shores; and
        Whereas the charges and statements heretofore referred to were 
    made without prior consultation with or the approval of any of the 
    other members of the Committee on Un-American Activities; and
        Whereas the other members of the Committee on Un-American 
    Activities, regardless of political affiliation, have found it 
    necessary publicly to repudiate the unauthorized and reckless 
    statements and charges of the chairman of the said committee: 
    Therefore be it
        Resolved, That Representative Harold H. Velde be, and hereby 
    is, removed from the position of chairman of the Committee on Un-
    American Activities.

    The resolution was referred to the Committee on Rules, but never 
reported.