    [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 743-744]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                    Rule XXX.

                                USE OF EXHIBITS.

    Sec. 915. Objections to use of exhibits.

      When the  use of any
    exhibit in debate is objected to by any Member, it shall be determined
    without debate by a vote of the House.

      This rule was rewritten in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993,
    p. ----) to address the use of exhibits in debate rather than the
    reading from papers.

    [[Page 744]]

    Sec. 916. History of former rule on reading of
    papers.

      The earlier  form of the rule, originally adopted in 1794 and amended in
    1802 and 1880 (V, 5257), addressed reading from papers. It recognized
    the right of a Member under the general parliamentary law to have read
    the paper on which the House is to vote (V, 5258), but when that paper
    had been read once, the reading could not be repeated unless by order of
    the House (V, 5260). The right could be abrogated by suspension of the
    rules (V, 5278-5284; VIII, 3400); but was not abrogated simply by the
    fact that the current procedure was taking place under the rule for
    suspension (V, 5273-5277). On a motion to refer a report, the reading of
    it could be demanded as a matter of right, but the latest ruling left to
    the House to determine whether or not an accompanying record of
    testimony should be read (V, 5261, 5262). In general the reading of a
    report was held to be in the nature of debate (V, 5292); but where a
    report presents facts and conclusions but no legislative proposition it
    is read if submitted for action (IV, 4663). Where a paper is offered as
    involving a matter of privilege it may be read to the House (III, 2597;
    VI, 606; VIII, 2599), rather than by the Speaker privately (III, 2546),
    but a Member may not, as a matter of right, require the reading of a
    book or paper on suggestion that it contains matter infringing on the
    privileges of the House (V, 5258).

      The former rule prohibiting the reading of papers in debate was held
    to apply to the exhibition of articles as evidence or in exemplification
    in debate (VIII, 2452, 2453; June 2, 1937, pp. 6104-05; Aug. 5, 1949, p.
    10859), and the new form of the rule adopted in the 103d Congress (H.
    Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----) marks the modern relevance of that
    application. While Members may use exhibits such as charts during debate
    subject to this rule, the Speaker may, pursuant to his authority to
    preserve order and decorum under rule I (see Sec. 622, supra), direct
    the removal of a chart from the well of the House which is not being
    utilized during debate (Apr. 1, 1982, p. 6304), or which is otherwise
    disruptive of decorum.

    Sec. 917. Earlier practice.

      The reading  of papers other than
    the one on which the vote was about to be taken was usually permitted
    without question (V, 5258), and the Member in debate usually read such
    papers as he pleased, but this privilege was subject to the authority of
    the House if another Member objected (V, 5285-5288, 5289-5291; VIII,
    2597, 2602; Dec. 19, 1974, p. 41425; Dec. 10, 1987, p. 34669). This
    principle applied even to the Member's own written speech (V, 5258;
    VIII, 2598), to a report which he proposed to have read in his own time
    or to read in his place (V, 5293), and to excerpts from the
    Congressional Record (VIII, 2597). But, on a motion to lay on the table,
    a demand for the reading of a paper other than the one to which the
    motion applied was overruled (V, 5297); and after the previous question
    were ordered a Member could not ask the decision of the House as to the
    reading of a paper not before the House for action (V, 5296), even
    though it be the report of the committee (V, 5294, 5295). For further
    discussion, see Secs. 432-436, supra. The consent of the House
    pursuant to the former form of this rule for a Member to read a paper in
    debate only permitted the Member seeking such permission to read as much
    of the paper as possible in the time yielded or allotted to that Member,
    and did not necessarily grant permission to read or to insert the entire
    document (Mar. 1, 1979, p. 3748). Where a Member objected to another's
    reading from a paper the Chair put the question without debate, and it
    was not in order under the guise of parliamentary inquiry to debate that
    question by indicating that the objection was a dilatory tactic (Dec.
    10, 1987, p. 34672).