    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 105th Congress]
    [105th Congress]
    [House Document 104-272]
    [Rules of the House of Representatives]
    [Pages 694-702]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                   Rule XXII.

                of petitions, memorials, bills, and resolutions.

    Sec. 849a. Introduction and reference of
    petitions, memorials, and private bills.

      1. Members having  petitions or memorials or
    bills of a private nature to present may deliver them to the Clerk,
    endorsing their names and the reference or disposition to be made
    thereof; and said petitions and memorials and bills of a private nature,
    except such as, in the judgment of the Speaker, are of an obscene or
    insulting character, shall be entered on the Journal, with the names of
    the Members presenting them, and the Clerk shall furnish a transcript of
    such entry to the official reporters of debates for publication in the
    Record.

      At the first organization of the House in 1789 the rules then adopted
    provided for the presentation of petitions to the House by the Speaker
    and Members, and for the introduction of bills by motion for leave. In
    1842 it was found necessary, in order to save time, to provide that
    petitions and memorials should be filed with the Clerk. In 1870, 1879,
    and 1887 the practice as to petitions was extended to private bills, at
    first as to certain classes and later so that all should be filed with
    the Clerk (IV, 3312, 3365; VII, 1024).

    [[Page 695]]

    itself. A committee may receive a petition only through the House (IV,
    4557).

    Sec. 849b. Duties of Speaker and Members
    in presenting petitions.

      Petitions, memorials,  and other papers addressed to the House may
    be presented by the Speaker as well as by a Member (IV, 3312). Petitions
    from the country at large are presented by the Speaker in the manner
    prescribed by the rule (III, 2030; IV, 3318; VII, 1025). A Member may
    present a petition from people of a State other than his own (IV, 3315,
    3316). The House itself may refer one portion of a petition to one
    committee and another portion to another committee (IV, 3359, 3360), but
    ordinarily the reference of a petition does not come before the House

    Sec. 850. As to division of bills for
    reference.

      The parliamentary  law provides that the House may commit a portion of a bill,
    or a part to one committee and part to another (V, 5558), yet under the
    practice of the House until January 3, 1975, a bill or joint resolution
    could not be divided for reference, although it might contain matters
    properly within the jurisdiction of several committees (IV, 4372, 4376).
    On that date, the Speaker was given authority over referral of bills as
    prescribed in clause 5 of rule X.

    Sec. 851. Fraudulent introduction of a
    bill.

      The fraudulent  introduction of a bill involves a question of privilege, and a
    bill so introduced was ordered stricken from the files (IV, 3388). As
    the result of the unauthorized introduction of several bills without the
    knowledge of the Members listed as sponsors, the Speaker directed that
    all bills and resolutions must be signed by the prime sponsor thereof in
    order to be accepted for introduction (Speaker Albert, Feb. 3, 1972, p.
    2521).

    Sec. 852. Certain private and commemorative
    bills prohibited.

      2. (a) No private  bill or resolution (including so-called omnibus
    claims or pension bills), and no amendment to any bill or resolution,
    authorizing or directing (1) the payment of money for property damages,
    for personal injuries or death for which suit may be instituted under
    the Tort Claims Procedure as provided in Title 28, United States Code,
    or for a pension (other than to carry out a provision of law or treaty
    stipulation); (2) the construction of a bridge across a navigable
    stream; or (3) the correction of a military or naval record, shall be
    received or considered in the House.

      (b)(1) No bill or resolution, and no amendment to any bill or
    resolution, establishing or expressing any commemoration may be
    introduced or considered in the House.

    [[Page 696]]

    bration, or recognition for any purpose through the
    designation of a specified period of time.

      (2) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ``commemoration'' means
    any remembrance, cele-

      Paragraph (a) derives from section 131 of the Legislative
    Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812) and was made a part of the
    standing rules January 3, 1953 (p. 24). The 104th Congress added the
    prohibition against commemorative legislation and directed the Committee
    on Government Reform and Oversight to consider alternative means for
    establishing commemorations, including the creation of an independent or
    Executive branch commission for such purpose, and to report to the House
    any recommendations thereon (sec. 216, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----
    ). The prohibition in paragraph (a) relating to correction of a miltary
    record does not apply to a private bill that changes the computation of
    retired pay for a former member of the armed services (after exhaustion
    of administrative remedies) but does not directly correct his military
    record (Sept. 18, 1984, p. 25824).

    Sec. 853. Correction of errors in reference;
    and relation to jurisdiction.

      3. Any petition  or memorial or bill or resolution
    excluded under this rule shall be returned to the Member from whom it
    was received; and petitions and private bills which have been
    inappropriately referred may, by the direction of the committee having
    possession of the same, be properly referred in the manner originally
    presented; and an erroneous reference of a petition or private bill
    under this clause shall not confer jurisdiction upon the committee to
    consider or report the same.

      This clause of the rule was first adopted in 1880, although the
    portion relating to the return of certain petitions and bills was
    adapted from an older rule of 1842 (IV, 3312, 3365). In the 104th
    Congress it was amended to conform to the new prohibition against
    commemorative legislation (sec. 216, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

    [[Page 697]]

    order may not be raised as to jurisdiction
    (IV, 4390, 4391; VII, 2131). The Speaker may correct the erroneous
    referral of a bill as private by referring it to the appropriate (Union)
    calendar as a public bill when reported (June 1, 1988, p. 13184).

      Errors in reference of petitions, memorials, or private bills are
    corrected at the Clerk's table, without action by the House, at the
    suggestion of the committee holding possession (IV, 4379). As provided
    in the rule, the erroneous reference of a private House bill does not
    confer jurisdiction, and a point of order is good when the bill comes up
    for consideration either in the House or in Committee of the Whole (IV,
    4382-4389). But in cases wherein the House itself refers a private House
    or Senate bill a point of

    Sec. 854. Introduction, reference, and change of
    reference of public bills, memorials, and resolutions.

      4. (a) All  other bills,
    memorials, and resolutions may, in like manner, be delivered, endorsed
    with the names of Members introducing them, to the Speaker, to be by him
    referred, and the titles and references thereof and of all bills,
    resolutions, and documents referred under the rules shall be entered on
    the Journal and printed in the Record of the next day, and correction in
    case of error of reference may be made by the House, without debate, in
    accordance with rule X on any day immediately after the reading of the
    Journal, by unanimous consent, or on motion of a committee claiming
    jurisdiction, or on the report of the committee to which the bill has
    been erroneously referred. Two or more Members may introduce jointly any
    bill, or resolution to which this paragraph applies.

    [[Page 698]]

      (b)(1) The name of any Member shall be added as a sponsor of any bill
    or resolution to which paragraph (a) applies, and shall appear as a
    sponsor in the next printing of that bill or resolution: Provided, That
    a request signed by such Member is submitted by the first sponsor to the
    Speaker (in the same manner as provided in paragraph (a)) no later than
    the day on which the last committee authorized to consider and report
    such bill or resolution reports it to the House.

      (2) The name of any Member listed as a sponsor of any such bill or
    resolution may be deleted by unanimous consent, but only at the request
    of such Member, and such deletion shall be indicated in the next
    printing of the bill or resolution (together with the date on which such
    name was deleted). Such consent may be granted no later than the day on
    which the last committee authorized to consider and report such bill or
    resolution reports it to the House: Provided, however, That the Speaker
    shall not entertain a request to delete the name of the first sponsor of
    any bill or resolution.

      (3) The addition of the name of any Member, or the deletion of any
    name by unanimous consent, of a sponsor of any such bill or resolution
    shall be entered on the Journal and printed in the Record of that day.

      (4) Any such bill or resolution shall be reprinted (A) if the Member
    whose name is listed as the first sponsor submits to the Speaker a
    written request that it be reprinted, and (B) if twenty or more Members
    have been added as sponsors of that bill or resolution since it was last
    printed.

      The rule of 1789 provided that all bills should be introduced on
    report of a committee or by motion for leave. By various modifications
    it was first provided that all classes of private bills should be
    introduced by filing them with the Clerk, and in 1890 this system was by
    this rule extended to all public bills (IV, 3365). In the 105th Congress
    paragraph (a) was amended to effect a technical correction (H. Res. 5,
    Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).

    [[Page 699]]

    the rule if the original reference was not erroneous
    (VII, 2125). The motion may be amended, but the amendment, like the
    original motion, is subject to the requirement that it be authorized by
    the committee (VII, 2127). The motion must apply to a single bill and
    not to a class of bills (VII, 2125).
      The motion for a change of reference and subsidiary motions take
    precedence over motions to go into the Committee of the Whole for the
    consideration of appropriation bills and the consideration of conference
    reports (VII, 2124), and may not be debated (VII, 2126-2128). But the
    motion is not in order on Calendar Wednesday (VII, 2117), and is not
    privileged under

      According to the later practice the erroneous reference of a public
    bill, if it remain uncorrected, in effect gives jurisdiction to the
    committee receiving it (IV, 4365-4371; VII, 1489, 2108-2113; VIII,
    2312). And it is too late to move a change of reference after such
    committee has reported the bill (VII, 2110; VIII, 2312), but the Speaker
    may, pursuant to authority granted him by clause 5 of rule X effective
    January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), refer
    a bill sequentially to other committees. All bills and resolutions must
    be signed by the prime sponsor thereof (Speaker Albert, Feb. 3, 1972, p.
    2521).

      Joint sponsorship of public bills by not more than 25 Members was
    authorized in the 90th Congress (H. Res. 42, Apr. 25, 1967, p. ----).
    Prior thereto a special committee had reported against this practice and
    the report had been adopted by the House (VII, 1029). Effective January
    3, 1979, (H. Res. 86, 95th Cong., Oct. 10, 1978, p. 34929) clause 4(b)
    was added to allow unlimited co-sponsorship and to provide a mechanism
    for Members to add their names as co-sponsors to bills or resolutions
    which have already been introduced, up until the bill is finally
    reported from committee, and on January 15, 1979, the Speaker announced
    his directive for the processing of lists of co-sponsors pursuant to the
    new clause (Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 15, 1979, p. 19).

    [[Page 700]]

    (Aug. 5, 1987, p.
    22458). A Member may request unanimous consent that his name be deleted
    as a co-sponsor of an unreported bill during its consideration under
    suspension of the rules and prior to a final vote thereon (June 9, 1986,
    p. 12979). An order of the House that no organizational or legislative
    business be conducted on certain days (first by provision of a
    concurrent resolution, but extended by unanimous consent) was considered
    not to deprive Members of the privilege of introducing bills and
    resolutions during pro forma sessions on those days, such measures being
    numbered on the day introduced but not noted in the Record or referred
    to committee until the day on which business was resumed (H. Con. Res.
    260, 102d Cong., Nov. 26, 1991, p. 35840; see Jan. 22 and 28, 1992, pp.
    ---- and ----).
      Although paragraph (b)(2) of this clause only permits a co-sponsoring
    Member himself to request unanimous consent for his deletion as a co-
    sponsor, the prime sponsor of a measure may be permitted to request
    unanimous consent to delete the name of a co-sponsor he has
    inadvertently or erroneously listed (Feb. 9, 1982). By unanimous consent
    a Member may add his own name as a co-sponsor of an unreported bill
    where the original sponsor is no longer a Member of the House (Aug. 4,
    1983, p. 23188), and a designated Member may be authorized to sign and
    submit lists of additional co-sponsors where the actual first sponsor is
    no longer a Member (June 23, 1989, p. 13271), but the Chair will not
    otherwise entertain a request to add co-sponsors by a Member other than
    the first sponsor, whether to include only himself (Mar. 5, 1991, p.
    5026; Oct. 25, 1995, p. ----) or to include all Members (Dec. 18, 1985,
    p. 37765). The Chair will not entertain a unanimous-consent request to
    list a Member as an additional original co-sponsor as of the date of
    original introduction where his name had been omitted by the original
    sponsor (Jan. 28, 1985, p. 1141; May 23, 1985, p. 13421). Unanimous
    consent requests to delete Members' names as co-sponsors are not
    entertained after the last committee authorized to consider the bill has
    reported to the House (Oct. 8, 1985, p. 26668), and the Speaker has
    vacated unanimous consent orders of the House to delete co-sponsors when
    advised that the bill had already been reported

      At its organization for the 104th Congress the House resolved that
    each of the first twenty bills and each of the first two joint
    resolutions introduced in the House in that Congress could have more
    than one Member reflected as a first sponsor (sec. 223(g), H. Res. 6,
    Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----); and the Speaker stated that all ``first''
    sponsors' signatures would be required on the bills (Speaker Gingrich,
    Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). A Member was subsequently added as a ``first''
    sponsor by unanimous consent (Jan. 18, 1995, p. ----).

    Sec. 855. Resolution of inquiry.

      5. All resolutions  of
    inquiry addressed to the heads of executive departments shall be
    reported to the House within fourteen legislative days after
    presentation.

      The House has exercised the right, from its earliest days, to call on
    the President and heads of departments for information. The first rule
    on the subject was adopted in 1820 for the purpose of securing greater
    care and deliberation in the making of requests. The present form of
    rule, in its essential features, dates from 1879 (III, 1856), while the
    time period for a committee to report was extended from one week to
    fourteen legislative days in the 98th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1983,
    p. 34).

    [[Page 701]]

    and are answered by subordinate officers of the Government either
    directly or through the President (III, 1908-1910).

    Sec. 856. Forms of resolutions of inquiry and
    delivery thereof.

      Resolutions of  inquiry are usually simple rather than concurrent in
    form (III, 1875), and are never joint resolutions (III, 1860). A
    resolution authorizing a committee to request information has been
    treated as a resolution of inquiry (III, 1860). It has been considered
    proper to use the word ``request'' in asking for information from the
    President and ``direct'' in addressing the heads of departments (III,
    1856, footnote, 1895). It is usual for the House in calling on the
    President for information, especially with relation to foreign affairs,
    to use the qualifying clause ``if not incompatible with the public
    interest'' (II, 1547; III, 1896-1901; V, 5759; VI, 436). But in some
    instances the House has made its inquiries of the President without
    condition, and has even made the inquiry imperative (III, 1896-1901).
    Resolutions of inquiry are delivered under direction of the Clerk (III,
    1879)

    Sec. 857. Privileged status of resolutions of
    inquiry.

      The practice of  the House gives to resolution of inquiry a privileged status.
    Thus, they are privileged for report and consideration at any time after
    their reference to a committee (III, 1870; VI, 413, 414), but not before
    (III, 1857), and are in order for consideration only on motion directed
    to be made by the committee reporting the same (VI, 413; VIII, 2310).
    They are privileged for consideration on ``Suspension days'' and took
    precedence of the former Consent Calendar (VI, 409) before its
    abolishment in the 104th Congress (H. Res. 168, June 20, 1995, p. ----),
    but are not in order on Calendar Wednesday (VII, 896-898). And only
    resolutions addressed to the President and the heads of the executive
    departments have the privilege (III, 1861-1864; VI, 406). To enjoy the
    privilege a resolution should call for facts rather than opinions (III,
    1872, 1873; VI, 413, 418-432; July 7, 1971, pp. 23810-11), should not
    require investigations (III, 1872-1874; VI, 422, 427, 429, 432), and
    should not present a preamble (III, 1877, 1878; VI, 422, 427); but if a
    resolution on its face calls for facts, the Chair will not investigate
    the probability of the existence of the facts called for (VI, 422).
    However, a resolution inquiring for such facts as would inevitably
    require the statement of an opinion to answer such inquiry is not
    privileged (Speaker Longworth, Feb. 11, 1926, p. 3805).

      Questions of privilege (as distinguished from privileged questions)
    have sometimes arisen in cases wherein the head of a department has
    declined to respond to an inquiry and the House has desired to demand a
    further answer (III, 1891; VI, 435); but a demand for a more complete
    reply (III, 1892) or a proposition to investigate as to whether or not
    there has been a failure to respond may not be presented as involving
    the privileges of the House (III, 1893).

    [[Page 702]]

    House (VI, 413; VIII, 2310). The Member calling up a privileged resolution of
    inquiry reported from committee is recognized to control one hour of
    debate and may move to lay the resolution on the table during that time
    (July 7, 1971, pp. 23807-10; Oct. 20, 1971, pp. 37055-57).

    Sec. 858. Discharge of a committee from a
    resolution of inquiry.

      Committees are  required to report resolutions of inquiry back
    to the House within one week (now fourteen days) of the reference, and
    this time is construed to be legislative days (VIII, 3368; Speaker
    Rayburn, Feb. 9, 1950, p. 1755) exclusive of either the first or last
    day (III, 1858, 1859). If a committee refuses or neglects to report the
    resolution back, the House may reach the resolution only by a motion to
    discharge the committee (III, 1865). The ordinary motion to discharge a
    committee is not privileged (VIII, 2316); but the practice of the House
    has given privilege to the motion in cases of resolutions of inquiry
    (III, 1866-1870). And this motion to discharge is privileged at the end
    of the time period, though the resolution may have been delayed in
    reaching the committee (III, 1871). The motion to discharge is not
    debatable (III, 1868; VI, 415). However, if the motion is agreed to, the
    resolution is debatable under the hour rule unless the previous question
    is ordered (VI, 416, 417). If a committee reports a privileged
    resolution of inquiry, it may then be called up only by an authorized
    member of the reporting committee and not by another Member of the

    Sec. 859. Resolutions of inquiry as related to
    the Executive.

      The President  having failed to respond to a resolution of inquiry,
    the House respectfully reminded him of the fact (III, 1890). In 1796 the
    House declared that its constitutional requests of the Executive for
    information need not be accompanied by a statement of purposes (II,
    1509). As to the kind of information which may be required, especially
    as to the papers that may be demanded, there has been much discussion
    (III, 1700, 1738, 1888, 1902, 1903; VI, 402, 435). There have been
    several conflicts with the Executive (II, 1534, 1561; III, 1884, 1885-
    1889, 1894) over demands for papers and information, especially when the
    resolutions have called for papers relating to foreign affairs (II,
    1509-1513, 1518, 1519).

    Sec. 860. Introduction of bills, resolutions, or
    memorials by request.

      6. When a  bill, resolution, or memorial is introduced ``by
    request'', these words shall be entered upon the Journal and printed in
    the Record.

      This rule was adopted in 1888 (IV, 3366).

      It has never been the practice of the House to permit the names of the
    persons requesting the introduction of the bill to be printed in the
    Record.