[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 5, Chapters 18 - 20]
[Chapter 20. Calls of the House; Quorums]
[A. Calls of the House]
[Â§ 6. Closing or Locking the Doors]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 3566-3579]
 
                               CHAPTER 20
 
                      Calls of the House; Quorums
 
                         A. CALLS OF THE HOUSE
 
Sec. 6. Closing or Locking the Doors

    The rules of the House formerly provided for closing the doors to 
the Chamber to prohibit Members from leaving until a quorum was 
reached. The current provision, Rule XV clause 2(b), as amended in 
1972,(1~2) states that on a call of the House, ``the doors 
shall not be closed except when so ordered by the Speaker.'' It is 
within the Chair's discretion whether the doors are to be closed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. H. Res. 1123, 92d Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 13, 1972, 118 Cong. Rec. 
        36012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    An unusual illustration of the application of the rules relating to 
calls of the House occurred on Oct. 8, 1968. On that day, the House was 
scheduled to debate House Resolution 1315, to provide for consideration 
of Senate Joint Resolution 175, a measure suspending for the 1968 
campaign the equal-time requirements of section 315 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, for nominees for the offices of President 
and Vice President.(13) The first roll call (No. 375) took 
place immediately after the prayer.(14) After completion of 
this roll call, a full reading of the Journal was demanded.'' 
(15) Following three and one-half hours of roll call votes 
and quorum calls which interrupted reading of the Journal, Speaker John 
W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, after it was indicated that the Chair 
had authority to order the Doorkeeper to close or lock the 
doors,(16) issued such an order during the progress of 
quorum calls.(~17~)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. 114 Cong. Rec. 30217, 90th Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 9, 1968 (Calendar 
        Day).
14. 114 Cong. Rec. 30089, 30090, 90th Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 8, 1968.
15. 114 Cong. Rec. 30090, 90th Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 8, 1968.
16. See Sec. 6.2, infra. See also Sec. 6.1, infra, in which Speaker Sam 
        Rayburn (Tex.), while stating that the Speaker has authority to 
        order the doors closed, said he would not order doors locked 
        unless so directed by the House.
17. See Sec. 6.3, infra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The reading of the Journal was interrupted by 33 calls of the

[[Page 3567]]

House until about 5:00 a.m. on the calendar day of Oct. 9, 1968, when a 
majority of Members present ordered the doors to the Chamber locked and 
ordered ``those who are not present to be sent for and returned here on 
the condition that they shall not be allowed to leave the Chamber until 
the pending business shall have been completed.''(18) The 
authority for this motion and the condition that Members be confined to 
the Chamber rested on Rule XV clause 2(a),(1) which empowers 
15 Members, including the Speaker:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. Sec. 6.5, infra.
 1. See House Rules and Manual Sec. 768 (1979).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        . . . [T]o compel the attendance of absent Members; and those 
    for whom no sufficient excuse is made may, by order of a majority 
    of those present, be sent for and arrested . . . and their 
    attendance secured and retained; and the House shall determine upon 
    what condition they shall be discharged. . . .
Although neither the motion nor the rule appear on the surface to apply 
to Members who were present during passage of the motion to secure 
attendance, Speaker McCormack ruled that no Member could leave the 
Chamber until after reading and approval of the Journal.(2) 
After several parliamentary inquiries (3) and approval of 
the Journal, the Speaker ordered the doors opened.(4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2. Sec. 6.6, infra.
 3. Sec. Sec. 6.6-6.8, infra.
 4. Sec. 6.11, infra. The legislative day of Oct. 8, 1968, which 
        commenced at noon on Oct. 8 (114 Cong. Rec. 30089, 90th Cong. 
        2d Sess.) and adjourned at 8:17 p.m. on the Calendar Day of 
        Oct. 9, 1968 (Id. at p. 30304), lasted over 32 
        hours.                          -------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

In General

Sec. 6.1 The Speaker stated that the Chair has authority to order the 
    doors closed during a call of the House, but indicated that without 
    further direction from the House he would not assume authority to 
    lock the doors and keep Members from retiring from the Chamber.

    On Aug. 1, 1946,(5) Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, 
answered a parliamentary inquiry regarding the Chair's authority to 
order doors closed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5. 92 Cong. Rec. 10639, 10640, 79th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Earl C.] Michener [of Michigan]: Mr. Speaker, under the 
    rules of the House, when the House finds itself without a quorum 
    the Presiding Officer must direct the Sergeant at Arms to notify 
    absentees, the Doorkeeper to close the doors, and the Clerk to call 
    the roll. These two officials are elected by the House of 
    Representatives, and among their other duties they are to

[[Page 3568]]

    assist the Speaker in enforcing the rules of the House.
        In the present case, for instance, the Speaker determined that 
    a quorum was not present and directed the Sergeant at Arms to 
    notify the absentees. He directed the Doorkeeper to close the 
    doors, the Clerk called the roll, and a quorum was found present. . 
    . .
        Pursuing my inquiry, Mr. Speaker, is not the Speaker clothed 
    with adequate power and can he not direct that the rules be 
    complied with and that all of the doors be actually locked during 
    the roll call, and that all of the doors to the Chamber remain 
    locked until the House votes to dispense with further proceedings 
    under the call? . . .
        The Speaker: It is an interesting question, and it has been 
    passed on many times. The Chair certainly has the authority to 
    order the doors closed without further authority from the House. 
    The Chair would not hold that without authority or direction of the 
    House he should assume the authority of locking the doors and 
    keeping the Members from retiring from the Chamber. There is a way 
    that the Chair can be clothed with proper authority.
        The Chair will count to determine whether there is a quorum 
    present. [After counting.] Two hundred Members are present, not a 
    quorum.

Sec. 6.2 Following over three hours of delay caused by quorum calls 
    during the reading of the Journal, the Chair, in response to a 
    parliamentary inquiry, stated that the rules of the House provided 
    for locking the doors to the Chamber to prohibit Members from 
    leaving until a quorum is procured.

    On Oct. 8, 1968,(6) the Speaker pro tempore, Wilbur D. 
Mills, of Arkansas, stated that the rules permit locking doors during a 
call of the House.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. 114 Cong. Rec. 30092, 30093, 90th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Ray J.] Madden [of Indiana]: Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary 
    inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman from Indiana will state 
    it.
        Mr. Madden: Mr. Speaker, owing to the fact that the chairman of 
    the Rules Committee has asked me to take up House Resolution 1315, 
    which provides an open rule and 1 hour of general debate for 
    consideration of Senate Joint Resolution 175, to suspend for the 
    1968 campaign the equal-time requirements of section 315 of the 
    Communications Act of 1934 for nominees for the offices of 
    President and Vice President, my inquiry is this: I know, owing to 
    the fact that we came in at 12 o'clock and it is now 3:30, the 
    minority side has carried on a system of quorum calls which have 
    taken 3\1/2\ hours of the time of Members. . . .
        Mr. Speaker, I will state my parliamentary inquiry. Mr. 
    Speaker, a number of State legislatures over the Nation have a 
    rule--and I do not know whether this body has a similar rule--that 
    where an organized agreement, we might say, on the part of the 
    minority side----
        Mr. Gerald R. Ford [of Michigan]: Mr. Speaker, regular order.

[[Page 3569]]

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman from Indiana will state 
    his parliamentary inquiry.
        Mr. Madden: Mr. Speaker, since a group has decided to impede 
    the progress of legislation, and a number of State legislatures 
    have a rule to the effect I have indicated, I am inquiring as to 
    whether a similar rule exists in the House of Representatives, that 
    the guards can lock the doors and prevent Members from leaving 
    during the progress of or after a quorum call has taken place? . . 
    .
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: Yes. The Chair advises the gentleman 
    there is such a rule. And it may become necessary to enforce that 
    rule. . . .
        Mr. Madden: Mr. Speaker, how long will it be before the time 
    should come to enforce that rule?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: It depends upon the patience of the 
    Chair.
        The Clerk will continue the reading of the Journal.
        The Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of the proceedings of 
    yesterday.

    Parliamentarian's Note: While Rule XV clause 2,(7) 
stated that on a call of the House ``the doors shall be closed,'' it 
was within the Chair's discretion whether the doors were merely closed 
[as was the custom] or actually locked.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 7. See House Rules and Manual Sec. 768 (1967).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sec. 6.3 The Speaker ordered the doors to the Chamber closed and locked 
    during a call of the House under Rule XV clause 2,(8) 
    and instructed the Doorkeeper to enforce the rule and let no 
    Members leave the Hall.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 8. See House Rules and Manual Sec. 768 (1967).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On Oct. 8, 1968,(9~) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, ordered the doors locked.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 9. 114 Cong. Rec. 30093, 90th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Donald] Rumsfeld [of Illinois]: Mr. Speaker, I make the 
    point of order that a quorum is not present.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore:(10) The Chair will count.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Wilbur D. Mills (Ark.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        One hundred sixty-seven Members are present, not a quorum.
        Mr. [John H.] Dent [of Pennsylvania]: Mr. Speaker, a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: A parliamentary inquiry cannot be 
    asked at this time.
        Mr. [John J.] McFall [of California]: Mr. Speaker, I move a 
    call of the House.
        A call of the House was ordered.
        The Speaker: The Doorkeeper will close the doors, the Sergeant 
    at Arms will notify absent Members, and the Clerk will call the 
    roll.
        Mr. Dent: Mr. Speaker, a point of order, which relates to the 
    call of the roll.
        The Speaker: The House will be in order. The Clerk will proceed 
    with the call of the roll.
        Mr. Dent: Mr. Speaker, the point of order relates to the proper 
    calling of the roll.

[[Page 3570]]

        The Speaker: The gentleman will state his point of order.
        Mr. Dent: The point of order is the doors were ordered closed, 
    and the doors to the outside of the Chamber are open in the 
    cloakrooms.
        The Speaker: The Chair has given instructions to close all 
    doors and allow no Members out.
        The Clerk called the roll, and the following Members failed to 
    answer to their names: . . .
        The Speaker: On this rollcall 277 Members have answered to 
    their names, a quorum.
        By unanimous consent, further proceedings under the call were 
    dispensed with.

    Parliamentarian's Note: The Chair personally instructed the 
Doorkeepers to lock all exits from the House Chamber and to prohibit 
Members from leaving during the call of the House. Doors leading from 
the Chamber to the Speaker's lobby, as well as those opening from the 
cloakrooms to the north corridor in the House wing were locked.
    The Speaker ordered the doors locked during roll calls numbered 382 
and 383. When this remedy did not prove effective because Members 
continued to leave the Chamber immediately after the calls were 
dispensed with, he did not continue to enforce the rule. See 
Sec. Sec. 6.10, 6.11, infra, which relate to opening the doors.

Sec. 6.4 Because the Chair had no inherent authority to order the doors 
    to the Chamber locked except during a call of the House, he could 
    not lock the doors to prevent Members from leaving after a motion 
    to dispense with further proceedings under a call was agreed to.

    On Oct. 8, 1968,(11) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, made a ruling with respect to reopening doors after 
dispensation of further proceedings under the call.(12)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. 114 Cong. Rec. 30093, 90th Cong. 2d Sess.
12. See Sec. 6.5, infra, in which the doors remained locked until 
        disposition of the ``pending business,'' the reading and 
        approval of the Journal. In that instance, as distinguished 
        from this one, the doors were locked and kept locked by order 
        of the House pursuant to motion rather than by order of the 
        Speaker.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Craig] Hosmer [of California]: Mr. Speaker, a point of 
    order having been made of no quorum, a quorum having been called, 
    and a quorum having been found present, and the further proceedings 
    under the call having been dispensed with, does that mean that the 
    doors of the House are now unlocked?
        The Speaker: The gentleman is correct.
        The Clerk will continue to read the Journal of the proceedings 
    of yesterday.
        The Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of the proceedings of 
    yesterday.

[[Page 3571]]

        Mr. [Ray J.] Madden [of Indiana]: Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary 
    inquiry.
        The Speaker: The gentleman will state his parliamentary 
    inquiry.
        Mr. Madden: Mr. Speaker, observing the commotion over on the 
    minority side, I inquire would it be in order to again order that 
    the doors be closed?
        The Speaker: At this point the answer is, No.
        The Clerk will read.
        The Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of the proceedings of 
    yesterday.

Sec. 6.5 The Speaker, in the absence of a quorum and pursuant to a 
    motion from the floor, ordered the doors to the Chamber locked to 
    prevent Members from leaving until completion of the pending 
    business--reading and approval of the Journal.

    On the legislative day of Oct. 8, 1968,(l3) the House 
ordered the doors locked.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. 114 Cong. Rec. 30212, 30213, 90th Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 9, 1968 
        (Calendar Day).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Carl] Albert [of Oklahoma]: Mr. Speaker, I move a call of 
    the House.
        Mr. [Brock] Adams [of Washington]: Mr. Speaker, as a part of 
    the motion of a call of the House, I further move under rule 
    II,(14) under which a call of the House is in order, 
    that a motion be made for the majority here that those who are not 
    present be sent for wherever they are found and returned here on 
    the condition that they shall not be allowed to leave the Chamber 
    until such time as the pending business before this Chamber on this 
    legislative day shall have been completed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Parliamentarian's Note: A call of the House by motion is in order 
        under Rule XV clause 2 [see House Rules and Manual Sec. 768 
        (1979)].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Speaker:(15) The question is on the motion 
    offered by the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Adams].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. John W. McCormack (Mass.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The motion was agreed to.
        The Clerk proceeded to call the roll.

        Mr. [Lester L.] Wolff [of New York]: Mr. Speaker, a point of 
    order.
        The Speaker: The Chair will state to the gentleman from New 
    York that there is a quorum call underway and it cannot be 
    interfered with.
        Mr. Wolff: Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order on the quorum 
    call.
        The Speaker: The gentleman makes a point of order?
        Mr. Wolff: Yes, Mr. Speaker. The doors are not locked.
        The Speaker: The Sergeant at Arms will lock the doors, and the 
    Clerk will call the roll.
        The Clerk called the roll, and the following Members failed to 
    answer to their names: . . .
        The Speaker: On this rollcall 222 Members have answered to 
    their names, a quorum.
        Mr. Albert: Mr. Speaker, I move that further proceedings under 
    the call be dispensed with.
        The Speaker: The question is on the motion offered by the 
    gentleman from Oklahoma.
        The motion was agreed to.

[[Page 3572]]

        Mr. [James C.] Cleveland [of New Hampshire]: Mr. Speaker.
        The Speaker: Does the gentleman from New Hampshire desire to 
    make a parliamentary inquiry?
        Mr. Cleveland: No, Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order. I 
    object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present.
        The Speaker: A quorum has just been established.
        Mr. [William E.] Brock [3d, of Tennessee]: Mr. Speaker, a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker: The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. Brock: Am I to understand, if further proceedings under the 
    call have been dispensed with, according to the last motion, it is 
    correct that the doors of the House are now open?
        The Speaker: The Chair is awfully glad the gentleman made that 
    parliamentary inquiry, because the Chair intended to read for the 
    benefit of the Members the motion made by the gentleman from 
    Washington [Mr. Adams]:

            Mr. Speaker, as a part of the motion of a call of the 
        House, I further move under rule II, under which a call of the 
        House is in order, that a motion be made for the majority here 
        that those who are not present be sent for wherever they are 
        found and returned here on the condition that they shall not be 
        allowed to leave the Chamber until such time as the pending 
        business before this Chamber on this legislative day shall have 
        been completed.

        The motion was adopted; and in accordance with that motion no 
    Member can leave the Chamber until the pending business before the 
    House has been disposed of; and the pending business is the reading 
    and approval of the Journal of the preceding session.

    Parliamentarian's Note: Where a motion which might have been 
subject to a point of order (if a point of order had been raised in a 
timely fashion) is, in the absence of a point of order, agreed to, it 
represents the will of the House and governs its procedure until the 
House orders otherwise. See Sec. 6.7, infra, for detailed discussion.
    The motion was adopted after 33 quorum calls had delayed pending 
business, the reading and approval of the Journal.

Effects of Closing or Locking the Doors

Sec. 6.6 Where the House in the absence of a quorum and pursuant to 
    motion had ordered that ``those who are not present be sent for 
    wherever found and returned here on the condition that they shall 
    not be allowed to leave the Chamber until the pending business 
    shall have been completed'' and then ordered a call of the House, 
    the Speaker interpreted the motion as requiring the retention in 
    the Chamber of all Members responding on the call--not merely the 
    retention of those Members who

[[Page 3573]]

    were absent when the order was entered into.

    On the legislative day of Oct. 8, 1968,(16) Speaker John 
W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, to achieve a quorum most expediently 
interpreted a motion as not to allow Members to leave the Chamber.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. 114 Cong. Rec. 30213, 90th Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 9, 1968 (Calendar 
        Day).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. Gerald R. Ford [of Michigan]: Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary 
    inquiry.
        The Speaker: The gentleman will state his parliamentary 
    inquiry.
        Mr. Gerald R. Ford: Let me repeat the language of the motion of 
    the gentleman from Washington:

            That a motion be made for the majority here that those who 
        are not present be sent for wherever they are found and 
        returned here on the condition that they shall not be allowed 
        to leave the Chamber until such time as the pending business 
        before this Chamber on this legislative day shall have been 
        completed.

        Mr. Speaker, I respectfully argue that in the language used by 
    the gentleman from Washington in the motion that he made, he says 
    very specifically and very categorically that those who are not 
    here are the ones who must be kept in the Chamber.
        Mr. [John D.] Dingell [of Michigan]: Mr. Speaker, I demand the 
    regular order.
        The Speaker: The regular order is that the gentleman is making 
    a parliamentary inquiry.
        Mr. Gerald R. Ford: And I am indicating, Mr. Speaker, in my 
    parliamentary inquiry, that the doors to the Chamber shall not be 
    closed to those Members who were here at the time of the call for 
    the quorum.
        The Speaker: The Chair, in response to the parliamentary 
    inquiry of the distinguished minority leader, feels, in construing 
    the motion, that a part of the construction is the happenings of 
    the last 10 or 12 or more hours and the intent and purpose of the 
    gentleman from Washington in making the motion.
        It seems to the Chair, in response to the parliamentary 
    inquiry--and the Chair makes such a response--that the motion 
    offered by the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Adams] meant that any 
    Member who answered the last quorum call cannot leave the Chamber 
    until the pending business has been disposed of; and the doors will 
    be kept closed.
        The Chair might observe in relation to any future points of 
    order that a quorum is not present that apparently a quorum is 
    present because the last one disclosed 222 Members and the Chair is 
    justified in assuming that the 222 Members are still here. The 
    doors will remain locked until the present business is disposed of.

    Parliamentarian's Note: Where the doors to the Chamber were, by 
order of the House, locked until disposition of pending business, and a 
quorum had been established, the Chair stated that further points of no 
quorum would be considered dilatory until the business was completed 
and the doors opened.

Sec. 6.7 Where the House had ordered the doors to the Cham

[[Page 3574]]

    ber locked pending the disposition of pending business, it was not 
    in order by way of a point of personal privilege or by raising a 
    question of the privilege of the House to collaterally attack such 
    order, since it had been adopted by the House at a previous time 
    without challenge.

    On the legislative day of Oct. 8, 1968,(17) Speaker John 
W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, refused to recognize a Member to 
collaterally raise an issue relating to restraint of Members under the 
guise of a question of privilege.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. 114 Cong. Rec. 30214-16, 90th Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 9, 1968 
        (Calendar Day).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of the proceedings of 
    yesterday.
        Mr. [Robert J.] Dole [of Kansas]: Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary 
    inquiry.
        The Speaker: The Chair will not entertain any more 
    parliamentary inquiries at this particular time.
        Mr. [Carl] Albert [of Oklahoma]: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
    consent that the further reading of the Journal be dispensed with.
        The Speaker: Is there objection to the request of the gentleman 
    from Oklahoma?
        Mr. [Robert] Taft [Jr., of Ohio]: Mr. Speaker, I object.
        The Speaker: Objection is heard.
        The Clerk will continue with the reading of the Journal of the 
    proceedings of yesterday.
        The Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of the proceedings of 
    yesterday.
        Mr. Taft: Mr. Speaker----
        The Speaker: For what purpose does the gentleman from Ohio 
    rise?
        Mr. Taft: Mr. Speaker, I have a privileged motion.
        Mr. [Sidney R.] Yates [of Illinois]: A point of order, Mr. 
    Speaker. That is not in order until the reading of the Journal has 
    been completed.

        The Speaker: Will the gentleman from Ohio state his privileged 
    motion?
        Mr. Taft: Mr. Speaker, my motion is on a point of personal 
    privilege.
        The Speaker: Will the gentleman from Ohio state whether it is a 
    point of personal privilege or a privileged motion?
        Mr. Taft: It is a privileged motion, and a motion of personal 
    privilege.
        Under rule IX (I8) questions of personal privilege 
    are privileged motions, ahead of the reading of the Journal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. See House Rules and Manual Sec. 661 (1979).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Speaker: The Chair will advise the gentleman that a 
    question of personal privilege should be made later after the 
    Journal has been disposed of.
        If the gentleman has a matter of privilege of the House, that 
    is an entirely different situation.
        Mr. Taft: I believe, Mr. Speaker, this involves not only 
    personal privilege as an individual, but also as a Member of the 
    House and also the privileges of all Members of the House.
        The Speaker: The Chair does not recognize the gentleman at this 
    time on a matter of personal privilege.
        But the Chair will, after the pending matter, the reading of 
    the Journal has

[[Page 3575]]

    been disposed of, recognize the gentleman if the gentleman seeks 
    recognition.
        Mr. Taft: Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker: The gentleman will state the parliamentary 
    inquiry.
        Mr. Taft: Mr. Speaker, is it not true in rule IX relating to 
    questions of privilege it is stated that such questions shall have 
    precedence over all other questions except motions to adjourn?
        The Speaker: Will the gentleman state the question of 
    privilege.
        Mr. Taft: Mr. Speaker, my motion is that I and all other 
    Members in the Chamber who were here at the time of the last quorum 
    call and answered ``present'' be permitted to leave the Chamber at 
    their desire.
        Mr. Speaker, this is a matter of privilege of the Members of 
    the House because there is no right under the rules of the House or 
    under the statutes, or the Constitution of the United States to 
    interfere with the liberty of a Member to leave the House under 
    these circumstances.
        The Speaker: The Chair will state in response to the 
    parliamentary inquiry that the action of the House has deprived--
    has caused the doors to be closed and has deprived temporarily the 
    privilege that the gentleman refers to. That has been done by the 
    action of the House.
        Mr. Taft: Mr. Speaker, I was recognized to make a privileged 
    motion and it was not a matter of a parliamentary inquiry. I have 
    made that motion and I ask that the Chair rule on the motion.
        The Speaker: What is the motion?
        Mr. Taft: I request that I be given time to discuss the motion 
    as a matter of privilege.
        The Speaker: The gentleman will state his motion.
        Mr. Taft: Mr. Speaker, my motion is that I and all other 
    Members present on the floor who answered ``present'' at the time 
    of the last quorum call shall be permitted to leave the House 
    freely at their own desire.
        The basis of my motion is under the rules of the House and the 
    Constitution and statutes of the United States there is no basis 
    for restricting the freedom of Members who were here at the time 
    there is a quorum call, regardless of the action of the House.
        The Speaker: The Chair does not recognize the gentleman for the 
    purpose of making such a motion because the Chair has already 
    clearly indicated the House has already taken action and it is 
    within the power of the House to take the action that it did. 
    Therefore, the Chair does not recognize the gentleman to make such 
    a motion.
        Mr. Gerald R. Ford [of Michigan]: Mr. Speaker, it was my 
    understanding that the gentleman from Ohio had been recognized for 
    the purpose of offering the motion.
        The Speaker: The gentleman from Michigan is well aware of the 
    fact that the question of recognition rests with the Chair. The 
    gentleman did not make a motion which was in order by reason of the 
    action heretofore taken by the House.
        The Clerk will continue to read the Journal.
        The Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of the proceedings of 
    yesterday.

[[Page 3576]]

                        Appeal From Ruling of Chair

        Mr. Taft: Mr. Speaker, I appeal the ruling of the Chair.
        Mr. Albert: Mr. Speaker, I move that the appeal be laid on the 
    table.
        The Speaker: The gentleman from Oklahoma moves that the appeal 
    be laid on the table.
        The question was taken.
        Mr. Taft: Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
        The yeas and nays were ordered.
        The question was taken; and there were--yeas 136, nays 102, 
    answered ``present'' 1, not voting 192, as follows: . . .
        So the motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

    Parliamentarian's Note: While the Speaker declined to entertain the 
motion as a question of privilege based upon Mr. Taft's contention that 
under the Constitution and rules the freedom of Members who were 
present should not be restricted, the specific argument was not made 
that the order had been agreed to by less than a quorum or that it was 
directed only to the attendance of absentees and not to those present 
in the Chamber. This precedent does not, then, stand for the 
proposition that an improper order of the House or the manner of 
execution of an order of the House can never be collaterally attacked 
as a matter of the privilege of the House--it merely suggests that the 
proper contention was not made when the question of privilege was 
raised. Under the precedent in 5 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 5665, the 
motion to reconsider the vote whereby the order of the House had been 
agreed to would have been in order, although the execution of that 
order had begun. In that case, the order was to arrest absent Members.

Sec. 6.8 Where the doors were closed during a call of the House under 
    Rule XV clause 2,(19) all Members were restrained from 
    leaving the Chamber [unless special permission was granted by the 
    Speaker or the House] notwithstanding the fact that official 
    business of the House, such as their attendance at a meeting of a 
    committee of conference, might normally have required their 
    presence elsewhere.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. See House Rules and Manual Sec. 768 (1967).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On Oct. 8, 1968,(20) the Speaker pro tempore, Wilbur D. 
Mills, of Arkansas, made a ruling with respect to restraining Members 
during a call of the House.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
20. 114 Cong. Rec. 30092, 30093, 90th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Clark] MacGregor [of Minnesota]: Mr. Speaker, a 
    parliamentary inquiry.

[[Page 3577]]

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman from Minnesota will 
    state it.
        Mr. MacGregor: Mr. Speaker, should the time come when the Chair 
    is constrained to invoke the rule referred to by the gentleman from 
    Indiana [Mr. Madden], would that mean those Members who are 
    conferees and who are here from the committee of conference would 
    be prevented from returning to that conference committee for the 
    conference on the Senate side, so as to discharge our 
    responsibilities with respect to the gun control legislation?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: Yes. If the doors should be closed, 
    they will remain closed until a quorum is present.
        Mr. MacGregor: And the Members would then be prevented from 
    proceeding with the gun control conference.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Clerk will proceed with the 
    further reading of the Journal of the proceedings of yesterday.
        The Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of the proceedings of 
    yesterday.

Sec. 6.9 Where the doors to the Chamber were locked by order of the 
    House to prevent Members from leaving until the pending business 
    was completed, employees of the House could still enter and exit 
    from the Chamber in the performance of their duties.

    On the legislative day of Oct. 8, 1968,(21) the Speaker, 
John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, interpreted a motion to lock the 
doors to the Chamber as restraining only Members, not House employees.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
21. 114 Cong. Rec. 30216, 30217, 90th Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 9, 1968 
        (Calendar Day).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Speaker: The Clerk will continue with the reading of the 
    Journal of the proceedings of yesterday.
        The Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of the proceedings of 
    yesterday.
        Mr. [Frank] Horton [of New York]: Mr. Speaker, I offer a 
    preferential motion.
        The Speaker: The gentleman will state his preferential motion.
        Mr. Horton: Mr. Speaker, this preferential motion is on Rule 
    IX.(1) I understand the doors are closed to the House 
    Chamber, and this affects the employees of the House and therefore 
    the employees in the cloakrooms and the employees of the House are 
    locked in with the rest of the Members.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. See House Rules and Manual Sec. 661 (1979).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I move that the doors be opened insofar 
    as the employees of the House are concerned.
        The Speaker: The Chair will state to the gentleman that the 
    employees have the right to leave, and to come back. Only the 
    Members are affected by the motion.

Reopening Doors

Sec. 6.10 Where the doors to the Chamber were closed and

[[Page 3578]]

    locked during a call of the House pursuant to Rule XV clause 
    2,(2) and the order of the Speaker, they were reopened 
    without further instructions from the Chair when further 
    proceedings under the call were dispensed with.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2. See House Rules and Manual Sec. 768 (1967).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On Oct. 8, 1968,(3) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, made a ruling with respect to reopening doors after 
dispensing with further proceedings under the call.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. 114 Cong. Rec. 30093, 90th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Craig] Hosmer [of California]: Mr. Speaker, a point of 
    order having been made of no quorum, a quorum having been called, 
    and a quorum having been found present, and the further proceedings 
    under the call having been dispensed with, does that mean that the 
    doors of the House are now unlocked?
        The Speaker: The gentleman is correct.

Sec. 6.11 Doors to the House Chamber which had been locked by order of 
    the House pending disposition of certain business, were reopened, 
    pursuant to instructions from the Speaker, as soon as that business 
    was completed.

    On the legislative day of Oct. 8, 1968,(4) the doors to 
the Chamber were reopened after completion of the business pending at 
the time the motion was made, the reading and approval of the Journal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. 114 Cong. Rec. 30217, 90th Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 9, 1968 (Calendar 
        Day).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. Gerald R. Ford [of Michigan]: Mr. Speaker, I ask the 
    parliamentary inquiry. Are the doors to the Chamber now locked?
        The Speaker: (~5~) In response to the inquiry, the 
    Chair will state that the pertinent part of the motion made by the 
    gentleman from Washington [Mr. Adams], which relates to the inquiry 
    made by the gentleman from Michigan, is:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5. John W. McCormack (Mass.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

            That they shall not be allowed to leave the chamber until 
        such time as the pending business--

        The pending business--
        before this chamber on this legislative day shall have been 
        completed.

        As the Chair stated previously in response to a parliamentary 
    inquiry, the pending business was the reading and approval of the 
    Journal of the House. And the Chair, in response to the 
    parliamentary inquiry, reiterates that reply, that the business 
    before the House at that time which was pending was the Journal of 
    the preceding session.
        Accordingly, the doors will be opened.
        Mr. Gerald R. Ford: I thank the distinguished Speaker.

[[Page 3579]]

    Parliamentarian's Note: The doors were reopened after a member of 
the Committee on Rules, Ray J. Madden, of Indiana, called up House 
Resolution 1315, which provided for consideration of a joint resolution 
to suspend for the 1968 campaign the equal-time requirements of section 
315 of the Communications Act of 1934 for President and Vice President.