    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 104th Congress]
    [104th Congress]
    [House Document 103-342]
    [Rules of the House of Representatives]
    [Pages 610-615]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 610]]

                                   Rule XVIII.

                                RECONSIDERATION.

    Sec. 812. The motion to reconsider.

      1.  When a motion has
    been made and carried or lost, it shall be in order for any member of
    the majority, on the same or succeeding day, to move for the
    reconsideration thereof, and such motion shall take precedence of all
    other questions except the consideration of a conference report or a
    motion to adjourn, and shall not be withdrawn after the said succeeding
    day without the consent of the House, and thereafter any Member may call
    it up for consideration: Provided, That such motion, if made during the
    last six days of a session, shall be disposed of when made.

      The motion to reconsider used in the Continental Congress and in the
    House of Representatives from its first organization, in 1789, was first
    made the subject of a rule in 1802; and at various times this rule has
    been perfected by amendments (V, 5605).

      The motion is not used in Committee of the Whole (IV, 4716-4718; VIII,
    2324, 2325), but is in order in the House as in Committee of the Whole
    (VIII, 2793). It is not in order in the House during the absence of a
    quorum when the vote proposed to be reconsidered requires a quorum (V,
    5606). But on votes incident to a call of the House the motion to
    reconsider may be entertained and also laid on the table, although a
    quorum may not be present (V, 5607, 5608).

    [[Page 611]]
    (V, 5619), or who was paired in favor of the majority contention and
    did not vote, may not make the motion (V, 5614; VIII, 2774). It has
    generally been held in committees that a Member who was not present at a
    vote but cast his vote by proxy does not qualify to make the motion to
    reconsider thereon. Any Member may object to the Chair's statement that
    by unanimous consent the motion to reconsider a vote is laid on the
    table, and the objecting Member need not have voted on the prevailing
    side, but if objection is made, the Chair's statement is ineffective and
    only a Member who voted on the prevailing side may offer the motion to
    reconsider the vote (Speaker pro tempore Wright, Aug. 15, 1986, p.
    22139).

    Sec. 813. Maker of the motion to reconsider.

      The  mover of a
    proposition is entitled to prior recognition to move to reconsider (II,
    1454). A Member may make the motion at any time without thereby
    abandoning a prior motion made by himself and pending (V, 5610). A
    Delegate or Resident Commissioner may not make the motion in the House
    (rule XII; II, 1292; VI, 240). The provision of the rule that the motion
    may be made ``by any member of the majority'' is construed, in case of a
    tie vote, to mean any member of the prevailing side (V, 5615, 5616), and
    the same construction applies in case of a two-thirds vote (II, 1656; V,
    5617, 5618; VIII, 2778-2780). Where the yeas and nays have not been
    ordered recorded in the Journal, any Member, irrespective of whether he
    voted with the majority or not, may make the motion to reconsider (V,
    5611-5613, 5689; VIII, 2775, 2785; Sept. 23, 1992, p. ----); but a
    Member who was absent

    [[Page 612]]
    made on the same day on which the action is taken to which it is
    proposed to be applied, or on the next day thereafter on which the
    committee convenes with a quorum present at a properly scheduled meeting
    at which business of that class is in order (VIII, 2213).

    Sec. 814. Precedence of the motion to
    reconsider.

      The  precedence given the motion by the rule permits it to be
    made even after the previous question has been demanded (V, 5656) or
    while it is operating (V, 5657-5662; VIII, 2784). The motion to
    reconsider the vote on the engrossment of a bill may be admitted after
    the previous question has been moved on a motion to postpone (V, 5663),
    and a motion to reconsider the vote on the third reading may be made and
    acted on after a motion for the previous question on the passage has
    been made (V, 5656). It also takes precedence of the motion to go into
    Committee of the Whole to consider an appropriation bill (VIII, 2785),
    or even of a demand that the House return to committee after the
    appearance of a quorum (IV, 3087). But in a case wherein the House had
    passed a bill and disposed of a motion to reconsider the vote on its
    passage, it was held to be too late to reconsider the vote sustaining
    the decision of the Chair which brought the bill before the House (V,
    5652), and that a motion to vacate those proceedings was not in order
    (Speaker O'Neill, Dec. 17, 1985, pp. 37472-74). After a conference has
    been agreed to and the managers for the House appointed, it is too late
    to move to reconsider the vote whereby the House acted on the amendments
    in disagreement (V, 5664). While the motion has high privilege for
    entry, it may not be considered while another question is before the
    House (V, 5673-5676; July 2, 1980, p. 18354), or while the House is
    dividing (VIII, 2791). A motion to reconsider a secondary motion to
    postpone which has previously been offered and rejected is highly
    privileged, even after the manager of the main proposition has yielded
    time to another Member and before that Member has begun his remarks (May
    29, 1980, pp. 12663-64). When it relates to a bill belonging to a
    particular class of business, consideration of the motion is in order
    only when that class of business is in order (V, 5677-5681; VIII, 2786).
    It may then be called up at any time; but is not the regular order until
    called up (V, 5682; VIII, 2785, 2786). When once entered it may remain
    pending indefinitely, even until a succeeding session of the same
    Congress (V, 5684). The motion to reconsider an action taken on a bill
    on Tuesday may be entered but may not be considered on Calendar
    Wednesday (VII, 905); is subject to the question of consideration (VIII,
    2437), and may be laid on the table (VIII, 2652, 2659). The motion to
    reconsider is in order in the procedure of standing committees, and may
    be

    Sec. 815. Application of the motion to reconsider.

      A  motion
    to reconsider may be entertained, although the bill or resolution to
    which it applies may have gone to the other House or the President (V,
    5666-5668). The Senate may not reconsider the confirmation of a
    nomination after a commission has been issued by the President to a
    nominee and the latter has taken the oath and entered upon the duties of
    his office (U.S. v. Smith, 286 U.S., 6). The fact that the House had
    informed the Senate that it had agreed to a Senate amendment to a House
    bill was held not to prevent a motion to reconsider the vote on agreeing
    (V, 5672). When a motion is made to reconsider a vote on a bill that has
    gone to the Senate, a motion to recall the bill is privileged (V, 5669-
    5671). The motion to reconsider may be applied once only to a vote
    ordering the previous question (V, 5655; VIII, 2790), and may not be
    applied to a vote ordering the previous question that has been partially
    executed (V, 5653, 5654); but a vote agreeing to an order of the House
    has been reconsidered, although the execution of the order had begun
    (III, 2028; V, 5665). The vote ordering the previous question on a
    special order reported from the Committee on Rules may be reconsidered
    and is not dilatory under clause 4(b) of rule XI (Sept. 25, 1990, p. --
    --).

    [[Page 613]]
    to move to reconsider the vote on a motion disposing of one of the
    amendments; but laying on the table a motion to reconsider the vote
    whereby the House has amended a Senate amendment does not preclude the
    House from acting on a subsequent Senate amendment to that House
    amendment, or considering any other proper motion to dispose of an
    amendment that might remain in disagreement after further Senate action
    (Oct. 5, 1983, p. 27323). For a discussion of the application of the
    motion to reconsider in committees, see Sec. 416, supra.
      The motion may not be applied to negative votes on motions to adjourn
    (V, 5620-5622), or for a recess (V, 5625), or to go into Committee of
    the Whole (V, 5641). The motion to reconsider may be applied however to
    an affirmative vote on the motion to resolve into the Committee of the
    Whole while the Speaker is still in the chair (V, 5368; Apr. 20, 1978,
    pp. 10990-91). A motion to reconsider the vote by which the House had
    decided a question of parliamentary procedure was held not to be in
    order (VIII, 2776). Motions to reconsider negative votes on motions to
    fix the day to which the House shall adjourn have been the subject of
    conflicting rulings (V, 5623, 5624). It is in order to reconsider a vote
    postponing a bill to a day certain (V, 5643; May 29, 1980, p. 12663). It
    is not in order to reconsider a negative decision of the question of
    consideration (V, 5626, 5627), although it is in order to reconsider an
    affirmative vote on the question of consideration (Oct. 4, 1994, p. ----
    ). It is not in order to reconsider a negative vote on suspension of the
    rules (V, 5645, 5646; VIII, 2781) or a vote on reconsideration of a bill
    returned with the objections of the President (VIII, 2778). A vote
    whereby a second is ordered may be reconsidered (V, 5642). The motion to
    reconsider a vote on a proposition having been once agreed to, and the
    said vote having again been taken, a second motion to reconsider may not
    be made unless the nature of the proposition has been changed by
    amendment (V, 5685-5688; VIII, 2788; Sept. 20, 1979, pp. 25512-13).
    After disposition of a conference report and amendments reported from
    conference in disagreement, it is in order on the same day

    [[Page 614]]

    Sec. 816. Effect of the motion to reconsider.

      A  bill is not
    considered passed or an amendment agreed to if a motion to reconsider is
    pending, the effect of the motion being to suspend the original
    proposition (V, 5704); and the Speaker declines to sign an enrolled bill
    until a pending motion to reconsider has been disposed of (V, 5705). But
    when the Congress expires leaving unacted on a motion to reconsider the
    vote whereby a simple resolution of the House has been agreed to, it is
    probable that the resolution would be operative; and where a bill has
    been enrolled, signed by the Speaker, and approved by the President, it
    is undoubtedly a law, although a motion to reconsider may not have been
    disposed of (V, 5704, footnote). A Member-elect may not take the oath
    until a motion to reconsider the vote determining his title is disposed
    of (I, 335); but when, in such a case, the motion is disposed of, the
    right to be sworn is complete (I, 622). When the motion to reconsider is
    decided in the affirmative the question immediately recurs on the
    question reconsidered (V, 5703). When a vote whereby an amendment has
    been agreed to is reconsidered the amendment becomes simply a pending
    amendment (V, 5704). When the vote ordering the previous question is
    reconsidered it is in order to withdraw the motion for the previous
    question, the ``decision'' having been nullified (V, 5357). When the
    previous question has been ordered on a series of motions and its force
    has not been exhausted the reconsideration of the vote on one of the
    motions does not throw it open to debate (V, 5493); under the earlier
    practice, when a vote taken under the operation of the previous question
    was reconsidered, the main question stood divested of the previous
    question, and was debatable and amendable without reconsideration
    separately of the motion for the previous question (V, 5491-5492, 5700),
    but under the modern practice, where the House adopts a motion to
    reconsider a vote on a question on which the previous question has been
    ordered, the question to be reconsidered is neither debatable nor
    amendable (unless the vote on the previous question is separately
    reconsidered) (July 2, 1980, p. 18355). It is in order to move to
    reconsider the ordering of the yeas and nays on a question before the
    question has been finally decided (V, 5689-5691, 6029; VIII, 2790); but
    where the House had voted to reconsider the vote whereby it had rejected
    a bill but had not separately reconsidered the ordering of a recorded
    vote, the Speaker put the question de novo and entertained a new demand
    for a recorded vote (Sept. 20, 1979, pp. 25512-13).

    Sec. 817. The vote on the motion to reconsider.

      The  motion
    to reconsider is agreed to by majority vote, even when the vote
    reconsidered requires two-thirds for affirmative action (II, 1656; V,
    5617, 5618; VIII, 2795), or when only one-fifth is required for
    affirmative action, as in votes ordering the yeas and nays (V, 5689-
    5692, 6029; VIII, 2790). But one motion to reconsider the yeas and nays
    having been acted on, another motion to reconsider is not in order (V,
    6037).

    Sec. 818. Relation of the motion to reconsider to the motion
    to lay on the table.

      A  vote on the motion to lay on the table may be
    reconsidered whether the decision be in the affirmative (V, 5628, 5695,
    6288; VIII, 2785) or in the negative (V, 5629). It is in order to
    reconsider the vote laying an appeal on the table (V, 5630), although
    during proceedings under a call of the House this motion was once ruled
    out (V, 5631). The motion to reconsider may not be applied to the vote
    whereby the House has laid another motion to reconsider on the table (V,
    5632-5640; June 20, 1967, pp. 16497-98); and a motion to reconsider may
    be laid on the table only before the Chair has put the question on the
    motion to a vote (Sept. 20, 1979, p. 25512).

    Sec. 819. Debate on the motion to reconsider.

      A  motion to
    reconsider is debatable only if the motion proposed to be reconsidered
    was debatable (V, 5694-5699; VIII, 2437, 2792; Sept. 13, 1965, p.
    23608); so the motion to reconsider a vote ordering the previous
    question is not debatable (Sept. 25, 1990, p. ----) and the application
    of the previous question makes a motion to reconsider undebatable (V,
    5701; VIII, 2792; Sept. 20, 1979, p. 25512; July 2, 1980, p. 18355).
    Where a resolution providing for the order of business was agreed to
    without adoption of the previous question, the Speaker advised that a
    motion to reconsider would be debatable and that the Member moving the
    reconsideration would be recognized to control the one hour of debate
    (Speaker McCormack, Sept. 13, 1965, p. 23608).

    Sec. 820. Application of motion to reconsider to bills in
    committees.

      2.  No bill, petition, memorial, or resolution referred to a
    committee, or reported therefrom for printing and recommitment, shall be
    brought back into the House on a motion to reconsider; * * *

    [[Page 615]]

    <>   2. * * * and all bills, petitions, memorials, or
    resolutions reported from a committee shall be accompanied by reports in
    writing, which shall be printed.

      This clause was first adopted in 1860, and amended in 1872, to prevent
    a practice of using the privilege of the motion to reconsider to secure
    consideration of bills otherwise not in order (V, 5647). There is a
    question as to whether or not the rule applies to a case wherein the
    House, after considering a bill, recommits it (V, 5648-5650). After a
    committee has reported a bill it is too late to reconsider the vote by
    which it was referred (V, 5651).

      This clause was adopted in 1880 (V, 5647).

      The House insists on observance of this rule (IV, 4655) and does not
    receive verbal reports as to bills (IV, 4654). But the sufficiency of a
    report is passed on by the House and not by the Speaker (II, 1339; IV,
    4653). A report is not necessarily signed by all those concurring (II,
    1274) or even by any of those concurring, but minority, supplemental and
    additional views are signed by those submitting them (IV, 4671; VIII,
    2229; see clause 2(l)(5) of rule XI). Under this rule, the printing
    requirement is not a condition precedent to consideration of the matter
    reported (VIII, 2307-2309), but see clause 7 of rule XXI, which states
    that no general appropriation bill shall be considered until printed
    hearings and report thereon have been available for three calendar days,
    and clause 2(l) of rule XI, pertaining to the consideration of matters
    reported by committees, and clause 2 of rule XXVIII, pertaining to the
    requirement that conference reports and amendments reported in
    disagreement from conference be available before consideration.