[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).