[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 750-761]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 

                               Rule XXXIV.


                      OFFICIAL AND OTHER REPORTERS.


[[Page 751]]
subject to the direction and control of the Speaker.



Sec. 923. Reporters of debates and 
committee stenographers.

  1. The appointment  and removal, for cause, of the official 
reporters of the House, including stenographers of committees, and the 
manner of the execution of their duties shall be vested in the Clerk, 


  From 1874 until March 1, 1978, the appointment and removal of the 
official reporters, and the manner of the execution of their duties, was 
vested in the Speaker (V, 6958); effective March 1, 1978 (H. Res. 959, 
Jan. 23, 1978, p. 431) those responsibilities were vested in the Clerk, 
subject to the direction and control of the Speaker.

  The reporters of debates have borne an important part in the evolution 
by which the House has built up the system of a daily verbatim report of 
its proceedings, made by its own corps of reporters (V, 6959). Since 
these reporters have become officers of the House a correction of the 
Congressional Record has been held a question of privilege (V, 7014-
7016).




Sec. 924. Rules relating to Congressional 
Record.

  The  arrangement, style, etc., of the Congressional Record is 
prescribed by the Joint Committee on Printing pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 901, 
904 (see also VIII, 3500). The rules of the Joint Committee on Printing 
governing publication of the Congressional Record are as follows:


  1. Arrangement of the daily Congressional Record.--The Public Printer 
shall arrange the contents of the daily Congressional Record as follows: 
The Senate proceedings shall alternate with the House proceedings in 
order of placement in consecutive issues insofar as such an arrangement 
is feasible, and Extensions of Remarks and Daily Digest shall follow: 
Provided, That the makeup of the Congressional Record shall proceed 
without regard to alternation whenever the Public Printer deems it 
necessary in order to meet production and delivery schedules.

  2. Type and style.--The Public Printer shall print the report of the 
proceedings and debates of the Senate and House of Representatives, as 
furnished by the official reporters of the Congressional Record, in 8-
point type; and all matter included in the remarks or speeches of 
Members of Congress, other than their own words, and all reports, 
documents, and other matter authorized to be inserted in the 
Congressional Record shall be printed in 7-point type; and all roll 
calls shall be printed in 6-point type. No italic or black type nor 
words in capitals or small capitals shall be used for emphasis or 
prominence; nor will unusual indentions be permitted. These restrictions 
do not apply to the printing of or quotations from historical, official, 
or legal documents or papers of which a literal reproduction is 
necessary.

  3. Only as an aid in distinguishing the manner of delivery in order to 
contribute to the historical accuracy of the Record, statements or 
insertions in the Record where no part of them was spoken will be 
preceded and followed by a ``bullet'' symbol, i.e.,  (now 
applicable only in Senate).


[[Page 752]]
not furnished at the time specified, the Public Printer is authorized 
to withhold it from the Congressional Record for 1 day. In no case will 
a speech be printed in the Congressional Record of the day of its 
delivery if the manuscript is furnished later than 12 o'clock midnight.
  4. Return of manuscript.--When manuscript is submitted to Members for 
revision it should be returned to the Government Printing Office not 
later than 9 o'clock p.m. in order to insure publication in the 
Congressional Record issued on the following morning; and if all of the 
manuscript is 

  5. Tabular matter.--The manuscript of speeches containing tabular 
statements to be published in the Congressional Record shall be in the 
hands of the Public Printer not later than 7 o'clock p.m. to insure 
publication the following morning. When possible, manuscript copy for 
tabular matter should be sent to the Government Printing Office 2 or 
more days in advance of the date of publication in the Congressional 
Record. Proof will be furnished promptly to the Member of Congress to be 
submitted by him instead of manuscript copy when he offers it for 
publication in the Congressional Record.

  6. Proof furnished.--Proofs or ``leave to print'' and advance speeches 
will not be furnished the day the manuscript is received but will be 
submitted the following day, whenever possible to do so without causing 
delay in the publication of the regular proceedings of Congress. Advance 
speeches shall be set in the Congressional Record style of type, and not 
more than six sets of proofs may be furnished to Members without charge.

  7. Notation of withheld remarks.--If manuscript or proofs have not 
been returned in time for publication in the proceedings, the Public 
Printer will insert the words ``Mr. ---- addressed the Senate (House or 
Committee). His remarks will appear hereafter in Extensions of Remarks'' 
and proceed with the printing of the Congressional Record.

  8. Thirty-day limit.--The Public Printer shall not publish in the 
Congressional Record any speech or extension of remarks which has been 
withheld for a period exceeding 30 calendar days from the date when its 
printing was authorized: Provided, That at the expiration of each 
session of Congress the time limit herein fixed shall be 10 days, unless 
otherwise ordered by the committee.

  9. Corrections.--The permanent Congressional Record is made up for 
printing and binding 30 days after each daily publication is issued; 
therefore all corrections must be sent to the Public Printer within that 
time: Provided, That upon the final adjournment of each session of 
Congress the time limit shall be 10 days, unless otherwise ordered by 
the committee: Provided further, That no Member of Congress shall be 
entitled to make more than one revision. Any revision shall consist only 
of corrections of the original copy and shall not include deletions of 
correct material, substitutions for correct material, or additions of 
new subject matter.


[[Page 753]]

  10. The Public Printer shall not publish in the Congressional Record 
the full report or print of any committee or subcommittee when the 
report or print has been previously printed. This rule shall not be 
construed to apply to conference reports. However, inasmuch as [rule 
XXVIII; see Sec. 912, supra] provides that conference reports be printed 
in the daily edition of the Congressional Record, they shall not be 
printed therein a second time. 

  11. Makeup of the Extensions of Remarks.--Extensions of Remarks in the 
Congressional Record shall be made up by successively taking first an 
extension from the copy submitted by the official reporters of one House 
and then an extension from the copy of the other House, so that Senate 
and House extensions appear alternately as far as possible. The sequence 
for each House shall follow as closely as possible the order or 
arrangement in which the copy comes from the official reporters of the 
respective Houses.

  The official reporters of each House shall designate and distinctly 
mark the lead item among their extensions. When both Houses are in 
session and submit extensions, the lead item shall be changed from one 
House to the other in alternate issues, with the indicated lead item of 
the other House appearing in second place. When only one House is in 
session, the lead item shall be an extension submitted by a Member of 
the House in session. This rule shall not apply to Congressional Records 
printed after the sine die adjournment of the Congress.

  12. Official reporters.--The official reporters of each House shall 
indicate on the manuscript and prepare headings for all matter to be 
printed in Extensions of Remarks and shall make suitable reference 
thereto at the proper place in the proceedings.


  13. Two-page rule--Cost estimate from Public Printer.--(1) No 
extraneous matter in excess of two printed Record pages, whether printed 
in its entirety in one daily issue or in two or more parts in one or 
more issues, shall be printed in the Congressional Record unless the 
Member announces, coincident with the request for leave to print or 
extend, the estimate in writing from the Public Printer of the probable 
cost of publishing the same. (2) No extraneous matter shall be printed 
in the House proceedings or the Senate proceedings, with the following 
exceptions: (a) Excerpts from letters, telegrams, or articles presented 
in connection with a speech delivered in the course of debate; (b) 
communications from State legislatures; (c) addresses or articles by the 
President and the Members of his Cabinet, the Vice President, or a 
Member of Congress. (3) The official reporters of the House or Senate or 
the Public Printer shall return to the Member of the respective House 
any matter submitted for the Congressional Record which is in 
contravention of these provisions.

      house supplement to ``laws and rules for publication of the 


            congressional record''--effective august 12, 1986


[[Page 754]]
words. Statements exceeding this will be printed following the business 
of the day.
  1. Extensions of Remarks in the daily Congressional Record.--When the 
House has granted leave to print (1) a newspaper or magazine article, or 
(2) any other matter not germane to the proceedings, it shall be 
published under Extensions of Remarks. This rule shall not apply to 
quotations which form part of a speech of a Member, or to an authorized 
extension of his own remarks: Provided, That no address, speech, or 
article delivered or released subsequently to the sine die adjournment 
of a session of Congress may be printed in the Congressional Record. 
One-minute speeches delivered during the morning business of Congress 
shall not exceed 300 

  2. Any extraneous matter included in any statement by a Member, either 
under the 1-minute rule or permission granted to extend at this point, 
will be printed in the ``Extensions of Remarks'' section, and that such 
material will be duly noted in the Member's statement as appearing 
therein.

  3. Under the general leave request by the floor manager of specific 
legislation only matter pertaining to such legislation will be included 
as per the request. This, of course, will include tables and charts 
pertinent to the same, but not newspaper clippings and editorials.

  4. In the makeup of the portion of the Record entitled ``Extensions of 
Remarks,'' the Public Printer shall withhold any Extensions of Remarks 
which exceed economical press fill or exceed production limitations. 
Extensions withheld for such reasons will be printed in succeeding 
issues, at the direction of the Public Printer, so that more uniform 
daily issues may be the end result and, in this way, when both Houses 
have a short session the makeup would be in a sense made easier so as to 
comply with daily proceedings, which might run extremely heavy at times.

  5. The request for a Member to extend his or her remarks in the body 
of the Record must be granted to the individual whose remarks are to be 
inserted.

  6. All statements for ``Extensions of Remarks,'' as well as copy for 
the body of the Congressional Record must be submitted on the Floor of 
the House to the Official Reporters of Debates and must carry the actual 
signature of the Member. Extensions of Remarks will be accepted up to 15 
minutes after adjournment of the House. To insure printing in that day's 
proceedings, debate transcripts still out for revision must be returned 
to the Office of Official Reporters of Debates, Room HT-60, the Capitol, 
(1) by 5 p.m., or 2 hours following adjournment, whichever occurs later; 
or (2) within 30 minutes following adjournment when the House adjourns 
at 11 p.m., or later.


  7. The Congressional Record shall contain a substantially verbatim 
account of remarks actually made during proceedings of the House, 
subject to technical, grammatical, and typographical corrections 
authorized by the Member making the remarks involved. The substantially 
verbatim account shall be clearly distinguishable, by different 
typeface, from material inserted under permission to extend remarks.


[[Page 755]]
strictly to the requirement of rule 7 of the supplemental rules (Mar. 
2, 1988, p. 2963; Feb. 3, 1993, p. ----). Because the Record is 
maintained as a substantially verbatim account of the proceedings of the 
House (44 U.S.C. 901), the Speaker will not entertain a unanimous 
consent request to give a special-order speech ``off the Record'' (June 
24, 1992, p. ----).


Sec. 924a. Substantially verbatim 
account.

  The requirement  of rule 7 of the supplemental rules outlined above that the 
Congressional Record be a substantially verbatim account of remarks 
actually rendered was included as a new clause 9 of rule XIV in the 
104th Congress, with the prescription that that rule constitute a 
standard of conduct under clause 4(e)(1)(B) of rule X (sec. 213, H. Res. 
6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). Under clause 9 of rule XIV, remarks actually 
delivered may not be deleted and remarks inserted must appear in 
distinctive type (Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). The Speaker has instructed the 
Official Reporters of Debates to adhere 


  The Record is for the proceedings of the House and Senate only, and 
matters not connected therewith are rigidly excluded (V, 6962). It is 
not, however, the official record, that function being fulfilled by the 
Journal (IV, 2727). As a general principle the Speaker has no control 
over the Record (V, 6984, 7017), but words spoken by a Member after he 
has been called to order may be excluded by direction of the Speaker (V, 
6975-6978; VIII, 3466, 3471; July 29, 1994, p. ----). But the House, and 
not the Speaker, determines what liberty shall be allowed to a Member 
who has leave to extend his remarks (V, 6997-7000; VIII, 3475), whether 
or not a copyrighted article shall be printed therein (V, 6985), as to 
an alleged abuse of the leave to print (V, 7012; VIII, 3474), or as to a 
proposed amendment (V, 6983).



Sec. 925. Relations of the Committee of the Whole 
to the Congressional Record.

  As a general  rule the Committee of the Whole has no 
control over the Congressional Record (V, 6986); but the Chairman in the 
preservation of order, may direct the exclusion of disorderly words 
spoken by a Member after he has been called to order (V, 6987). In a 
case wherein the committee conceived that a letter read in committee 
involved a breach of privilege, it reported the matter to the House for 
action, and the House struck the letter from the Record (V, 6986). The 
Chairman of the Committee of the Whole does not determine the privileges 
of a Member under a general leave to print in the record, that being for 
the House alone (V, 6988). Neither may the Committee of the Whole grant 
a general leave to print, although for convenience it does permit 
individual Members to extend their remarks (V, 7009, 7010; VIII, 3488-
3490; Aug. 31, 1965, p. 22385), nor may the Committee of the Whole 
permit the inclusion of extraneous material (Jan. 23, 1936, p. 950; Feb. 
1, 1937, pp. 656-57; Sept. 19, 1967, p. 26032).



[[Page 756]]
from action when the words, after being withheld for revision, appeared 
in the Record, and struck them out (V, 6979, 6981; VI, 582; VIII, 2538, 
3463, 3472).


Sec. 926. Correction of the Congressional 
Record.

  While the  House controls the Congressional Record, the Speaker with the 
assent of the House laid down the principle that words spoken by a 
Member in order might not be changed by the House, as this would be 
determining what a Member should utter on the floor (V, 6974; VI, 583; 
VIII, 3469, 3498). Neither should one House strike out matter placed in 
the Record by permission of the other House (V, 6966). But the House may 
correct the speech of one of its Members so that it may record 
faithfully what he actually said (V, 6972). Where a Member interrupts 
another during debate without being yielded or otherwise recognized (as 
on a point of order) his remarks are not printed in the Record (Speaker 
O'Neill, Feb. 7, 1985, p. 2229). Where a Member had uttered disorderly 
words on the floor without objection, the House yet decided that it was 
not precluded 


  The House has also ordered stricken from the Record printed speeches 
condemned as unparliamentary for reflections on Members, committees of 
the House, the House itself (V, 7017), and the Senate (V, 5129). In the 
101st Congress a resolution presented as a question of privilege was 
adopted which directed the Committee on House Administration to report 
with respect to certain unauthorized deletions from the Record. A task 
force of that Committee recommended that deletion of unparliamentary 
remarks be permitted only by consent of the House, and not by the Member 
uttering the words under authority to revise and extend (Oct. 27, 1990, 
p. ----). Through the 103d Congress, under applicable precedents and 
guidelines, the Chair could refine a ruling on a point of order in the 
Record in order to clarify the ruling without changing its substance, 
including one sustained by the House on appeal (Feb. 19, 1992, p. ----; 
see H. Res. 230, 99th Cong., July 31, 1985, p. 21783, and H. Rept. 99-
228). In accordance with existing accepted practices, the Speaker 
customarily made such technical or parliamentary corrections or 
insertions in the transcript of a ruling or statement by the Chair as 
may have been necessary to conform to rule, custom, or precedent (see 
also H. Res. 330, 101st Cong., Feb. 7, 1990, p. 1515, and report of 
House Administration Task Force on Record inserted by Speaker Foley, 
Oct. 27, 1990, p. ----). However, in the 104th Congress the Speaker 
ruled that the requirement of a new clause 9 of rule XIV that the Record 
be a substantially verbatim account of remarks made during House 
proceedings extended to statements and rulings of the Chair (Jan. 20, 
1995, p. ----).


[[Page 757]]

  It is improper for a Member to have published in the Record the 
individual votes of Members on a question of which the yeas and nays 
have not been entered on the Journal (V, 6982). A correction of the 
Record which involves a motion and a vote is recorded in the Journal 
(IV, 2877). Propositions to make corrections are sometimes considered by 
the Committee on House Oversight. In debating a resolution to strike 
from the Record disorderly language a Member may not read the language 
(V, 7004); but it was held that as part of a personal explanation 
relating to matter excluded as out of order a Member might read the 
matter, subject to a point of order if the reading should develop 
anything in violation of the rules of debate (V, 5079). It has also been 
held that a Member may not, in a controversy over a proposed correction 
of the Record as to a matter of business, demand as a matter of right 
the reading of the reporter's notes (V, 6967; VIII, 3460). The Speaker 
declines to entertain unanimous consent requests to correct the Record 
on a vote taken by electronic device, based upon the presumed accuracy 
of the electronic system and the ability and responsibility of each 
Member to verify his vote (Feb. 6, 1973, p. 3558; Apr. 18, 1973, p. 
13081; Dec. 3, 1974, p. 37897).



Sec. 927. Privileges of propositions to correct 
the Congressional Record.

  A motion or  resolution for the correction of the 
Congressional Record which involves a question of privilege may be made 
properly after the reading and approval of the Journal (V, 7013; VIII, 
3496), and is not in order pending the approval of the Journal (V, 
6989), but is privileged after that (V, 7014-7019; VIII, 3461, 3463).


  A question of privilege as to an alleged error in the Record may not 
be raised until the Record has appeared (V, 7020), and a resolution to 
omit from the manuscript copy certain remarks declared out of order is 
not privileged (V, 7021). Offensive words having been stricken from the 
Record by the Member, a question of privilege may not arise therefrom 
(V, 7023; VI, 596). Privileged motions to correct the Congressional 
Record involve cases where the integrity of House proceedings is in 
question, such as where unparliamentary words have been spoken in debate 
(see Sec. 761, supra) or inserted in the Record (Deschler's Precedents, 
vol. 1, ch. 5, sec. 17), where the remarks of one Member have been 
attributed to another (sec. 18.1-18.2), or where a Member has improperly 
altered his remarks during an exchange of colloquoy with another Member 
(sec. 18.9). Mere typographical errors in the Congressional Record or 
ordinary revisions of a Member's remarks do not give rise to privileged 
motions for the correction of the Record (Apr. 25, 1985, p. 9419), since 
such changes for the permanent edition of the Record may be made without 
the permission of the House (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 1, ch. 5, sec. 
19) and the House does not change the Record merely to show what a 
Member should have said during debate (sec. 18).

  A motion to correct the Record has been entertained to allow a Member 
to print in subsequent edition of the daily Record the correct text of 
an amendment which he had offered on a previous day and which had been 
substantially misprinted in the daily Record for the day on which it was 
offered (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 1, ch. 5, sec. 18.6).


[[Page 758]]
the House corrected the Record (V, 6973). The Joint Committee on 
Printing prescribes the conditions under which Members may revise their 
remarks (V, 7024; VIII, 3500).


Sec. 928. Privilege of Member to revise his 
remarks in the Congressional Record.

  It has been  the practice to allow a Member, 
with the approval of the House, to revise his remarks before publication 
in the Congressional Record (V, 6971); but he should not change the 
notes of his own speech in such a way as to affect the remarks of an 
opponent in controversy without bringing the correction to the attention 
of that Member (V, 6972; VIII, 3461). Where the remarks of another are 
not affected, a Member in revising a speech for the Record should abide 
by rule 9 of the rules adopted by the Joint Committee on Printing to 
govern the publication of the Congressional Record and should not delete 
correct material (see Secs. 924, 924a supra), but alterations which 
place a different aspect on the remarks of a colleague require 
authorization by the House (VIII, 3463, 3497). A Member is not entitled 
to inspect the Reporter's notes of remarks which do not contain 
reflections on himself, delivered by another Member and withheld for 
revision (V, 6964). Where a Member so revised his remarks as to affect 
the import of words uttered by another Member, 



[[Page 759]]
leave to revise and extend to be printed in distinctive type and 
precludes deletion under such permission of words actually uttered (Jan. 
4, 1995, p. ----).


Sec. 929. ``Leave to print'' in the Congressional 
Record.

  The practice  of inserting in the Congressional Record speeches not actually 
delivered on the floor has grown up by consent of the House as the 
membership has increased and it has become difficult at times for every 
Member to express at length on the floor his reasons for his attitude on 
public questions (V, 6990-6996, 6998-7000). The House quite generally 
stipulates, in granting leave to print, that it shall be exercised 
without unreasonable freedom (V, 7002, 7003). General leave to print may 
be granted only by the House, although in Committee of the Whole a 
Member, by unanimous consent, may be given leave to extend his remarks 
(V, 7009, 7010; VIII, 3488-3490). When a Member under leave to print 
places in the Record that which would not have been in order if uttered 
on the floor, the House may exclude the speech in whole or in part (V, 
7005-7008; VIII, 3495; Oct. 2, 1992, p. ----). Thus, where a Member, 
under leave to print, made charges against another Member, the House 
ordered the speech stricken out (V, 7004). The principle that a Member 
shall not be called to order for words spoken in debate if business has 
intervened does not apply to a case where leave to print has been 
violated (V, 7005). Where a Member gets leave to insert one matter he 
may not print another (V, 7001; VIII, 3462, 3479, 3480). Leave to extend 
remarks does not permit a Member to insert in the Record statements and 
letters of others unless the leave granted specifies such matter (VIII, 
3475, 3481) whether the extension be under general leave for all Members 
or individually. In Committee of the Whole leave for an extension of 
remarks should not be granted except in connection with remarks actually 
delivered and, if under the five-minute rule, relevant to the bill; and 
the extension under such circumstances should be brief (Speaker 
Longworth, Mar. 18, 1926, p. 5854). Neither the House nor the Committee 
of the Whole permit the insertion of an entire colloquy between two or 
more Members not actually delivered (Aug. 10, 1982, pp. 20266, 20267; 
Oct. 3, 1985, p. 26028). The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole has 
declined to entertain a request for an extension of remarks actually 
delivered under the five-minute rule but not relevant to the bill under 
consideration (Chairman Lehlbach, Mar. 18, 1926, p. 5861). Where a 
Member abused a leave to print on the last day of the session, the House 
at the next session condemned the abuse and declared the matter not a 
legitimate part of the official debates (V, 7017). An abuse of the leave 
to print gives rise to a question of privilege (V, 7005-7008, 7011; 
VIII, 3163, 3491, 3495), and a resolution or motion to expunge from the 
Record in such a case is offered as a question of privilege (V, 7012; 
VIII, 3475, 3491). An inquiry by the House as to an alleged abuse of the 
leave to print does not necessarily entitle the Member implicated to the 
floor on a question of privilege (V, 7012). Clause 9 of rule XIV, added 
in the 104th Congress, requires substantive remarks inserted under 


  A motion that a Member be permitted to extend his remarks in the 
Record is not privileged (Feb. 8, 1950, p. 1661), and under the rules of 
the Joint Committee on Printing, one Member cannot obtain permission for 
other individual Members to extend their remarks.

  Where extraneous material proposed to be inserted in the body or in 
the Extension of Remarks portion of the Record exceeds two Record pages, 
the rules of the Joint Committee on Printing require that the Member 
state an estimate of printing cost when permission is requested to make 
the insertion (Feb. 12, 1962, p. 2207; May 24, 1972, p. 18653), and it 
is the Member's responsibility and not that of the Chair to ascertain 
the cost of printing extraneous material and obtaining consent of the 
House when necessary (Feb. 11, 1994, p. ----). The Joint Committee on 
Printing amended the rules for publication of the Record, effective 
March 1, 1978, to require the identification in the Record by ``bullet'' 
symbols of statements or insertions no part of which were actually 
delivered in debate (Feb. 20, 1978, p. 3676). Where the House permitted 
all members leave to revise and extend their remarks on a certain 
subject, those Members who actually spoke during the debate could revise 
their remarks to appear as if actually delivered, but Members' 
statements no part of which were spoken were preceded and followed by a 
``bullet'' symbol (Nov. 15, 1983, p. 32729). Then in the 99th Congress, 
the House adopted a resolution requesting the Joint Committee on 
Printing to adopt temporary rules to require distinctive type styles 
rather than bulleting of remarks not actually spoken in debate (H. Res. 
230, July 31, 1985, p. 21783), and also adopted a resolution requesting 
that those rules be made permanent (H. Res. 514, Aug. 12, 1986, p. 
20980). Under regulations of the Joint Committee on Printing, remarks 
delivered or inserted under leave to revise and extend in connection 
with a ``one-minute speech'' made before legislative business are 
printed after legislative business if exceeding 300 words (Speaker 
O'Neill, Apr. 5, 1978, p. 8846). See Sec. 924, supra.


  Based upon several unauthorized insertions of extensions of remarks in 
the Record, the Speaker announced that henceforth all extensions of 
remarks must be signed by the Member submitting them (Aug. 15, 1974, p. 
28385).


[[Page 760]]
admitted thereto under such regulations as the Speaker may from time to 
time prescribe; and the supervision of such gallery, including the 
designation of its employees, shall be vested in the standing committee 
of correspondents, subject to the direction and control of the Speaker; 
and the Speaker may assign one seat on the floor to Associated Press 
reporters and one to United Press International, and regulate the 
occupation of the same. And the Speaker may admit to the floor, under 
such regulations as he may prescribe, one additional representative of 
each press association.



Sec. 930a. Unofficial reporters in the press gallery 
and on the floor.

  2. Such  portion of the gallery over the Speaker's chair as 
may be necessary to accommodate representatives of the press wishing to 
report debates and proceedings shall be set aside for their use, and 
reputable reporters and correspondents shall be 



  This clause was first adopted in 1857, and has been amended from time 
to time as the occasion demanded (V, 7304; VIII, 3642). It was again 
amended January 3, 1953, p. 24 and most recently on January 22, 1971, p. 
144. See also Consumers Union v. Periodical Correspondents' Association, 
515 F.2d 1341 (D.C. Cir. 1975), cert. den. 423 U.S. 1051 (1976) (action 
in enforcing correspondents' association regulations is within 
legislative immunity granted by the Speech or Debate Clause).


[[Page 761]]
trol of the Speaker; and the Speaker may admit to the floor, under such 
regulations as he may prescribe, one representative of the National 
Broadcasting Company, one of the Columbia Broadcasting System, one of 
the Mutual Broadcasting System, and one of the American Broadcasting 
Company.



Sec. 930b. Unofficial reporters in the radio gallery 
and on the floor.

  3. Such  portion of the gallery of the House of 
Representatives as may be necessary to accommodate reporters of news to 
be disseminated by radio, television, and similar means of transmission, 
wishing to report debates and proceedings, shall be set aside for their 
use, and reputable reporters thus engaged shall be admitted thereto 
under such regulations as the Speaker may from time to time prescribe; 
and the supervision of such gallery, including the designation of its 
employees, shall be vested in the Executive Committee of the Radio and 
Television Correspondents' Galleries, subject to the direction and con





  This clause was adopted on April 20, 1939, p. 4561, and was amended on 
May 30, 1940, p. 7208 and on January 22, 1971, p. 144.