[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 317-877]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 317]]


    RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WITH NOTES AND ANNOTATIONS


 
                               __________


                                 Rule I.


                         duties of the speaker.




Sec. 621. Journal; 
Speaker's approval.

  1. The Speaker shall take the Chair on every legislative day precisely 
at the hour to which the House shall have adjourned at the last sitting 
and immediately call the Members to order.  The Speaker, having examined the Journal of the 
proceedings of the last day's sitting and approved the same, shall 
announce to the House his approval of the Journal, and the Speaker's 
approval of the Journal shall be deemed to be agreed to subject to a 
vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval on the demand of any Member, 
which vote, if decided in the affirmative, shall not be subject to a 
motion to reconsider. It shall be in order to offer one motion that the 
Journal be read only if the Speaker's approval of the Journal is not 
agreed to, and such motion shall be determined without debate and shall 
not be subject to a motion to reconsider.



[[Page 318]]

  This clause was adopted in 1789, amended in 1811, 1824 (II, 1310), 
1971 (Jan. 22, 1971, pp. 14-15, 140-44, with the implementation of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, 84 Stat. 1140) and 1979 (H. Res. 
5, 96th Cong., Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7, 16).

  The hour of meeting is fixed by standing order, and has traditionally 
been set at 12 m. (I, 104-109, 116, 117; IV, 4325); but beginning in the 
95th Congress, the House by standing order formalized the practice of 
varying its convening time to accommodate committee meetings on certain 
days of the week and to maximize time for floor action on other days. In 
the 100th through the 103d Congresses, the House adopted a resolution 
providing that it meet at noon on Mondays and Tuesdays, 2 p.m. on 
Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. on the balance of the week through May 14, after 
which the convening time for Wednesdays through Saturdays would advance 
to 10 a.m. for the remainder of the session (e.g., H. Res. 7, 100th 
Cong., Jan. 6, 1987, p. 19). In the 104th Congress the House adopted a 
resolution providing that it meet at 2 p.m. on Mondays, 11 a.m. on 
Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. on the balance of the week through 
May 13, after which the convening time would advance to noon on Mondays 
and 10 a.m. for the balance of the week for the remainder of the session 
(H. Res. 8, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the second session of the 104th 
Congress and the first session of the 105th Congress, the House adopted 
a resolution providing that it meet at 2 p.m. on Mondays, 11 a.m. on 
Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. on the balance of the week through 
May 12, after which the convening time would advance to noon on Mondays, 
10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 9 a.m. on the 
balance of the week for the remainder of the session (H. Res. 327, Jan. 
3, 1996, p. ----; H. Res. 9, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). The House retains 
the right to vary from this schedule by use of the motion to adjourn to 
a day or time certain as provided in clause 4 of rule XVI. By special 
order, the House may provide for a session of the House on a Sunday, 
traditionally a ``dies non'' under the precedents of the House (Dec. 17, 
1982, p. 31946; Dec. 18, 1987, p. 36352; Nov. 19, 1989, p. 30029; Aug. 
20, 1994, p. ----). Beginning in the second session of the 103d 
Congress, the House has by unanimous consent agreed to convene at an 
earlier hour on Mondays and Tuesdays for morning-hour debate and then 
recess to the hour established for convening under this clause (Feb. 11, 
1994, p. ----; May 23, 1994, p. ----; June 8, 1994, p. ----; June 10, 
1994, p. ----; Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----; Feb. 16, 1995, p. ----; May 12, 
1995, p. ----; see Sec. 753b, infra).


[[Page 319]]

(VI, 624). In the 96th Congress, 
the House eliminated the necessity for the appearance of a quorum before 
the Speaker's announcement of his approval of the Journal (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7, 16). The current rule specifies that it is not in 
order to make or entertain a point of order that a quorum is not present 
unless the Speaker has put the pending motion or proposition to a vote 
(clause 6(e) of rule XV, as added in the 95th Congress). If a quorum 
fails to respond on a motion incident to the approval, reading or 
amendment of the Journal, and there is an objection to the vote, a call 
of the House under clause 4 of rule XV is automatic (Feb. 2, 1977, pp. 
3342-43). Pursuant to clause 5(b)(1) of this rule as amended in the 98th 
Congress, the Speaker may postpone until a later time on the same 
legislative day a record vote on the Chair's approval of the Journal (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1983, p. 34). Where the House adjourns on consecutive 
days without having approved the Journal of the previous days' 
proceedings, the Speaker puts the question de novo in chronological 
order as the first order of business on the subsequent day (Nov. 3, 
1987, p. 30592).
  Immediately after the Members are called to order prayer is offered by 
the Chaplain (IV, 3056), and the Speaker declines to entertain a point 
of no quorum before prayer is offered (VI, 663; clause 6(a)(1) of rule 
XV). Pursuant to clause 1 of rule I, as in effect in the 95th Congress, 
directing the Speaker to announce his approval of the Journal ``on the 
appearance of a quorum'' after having called the House to order, a point 
of order of no quorum could be made after the prayer and before the 
approval of the Journal when the House convened, notwithstanding the 
provisions of clause 6(e) of rule XV, allowing such points of order in 
the House only when the Speaker had put the pending motion or 
proposition to a vote (Oct. 3, 1977, p. 31987); prior practice had 
permitted a point of no quorum prior to the reading of the Journal (IV, 
2733; VI, 625) or during its reading 

  Prior to the 92d Congress, the reading of the Journal was mandatory, 
could not be dispensed with except by unanimous consent (VI, 625; Sept. 
19, 1962, p. 19941), or by motion to suspend the rules (IV, 2747-2750). 
It had to be read in full when demanded by any Member (IV, 2739-2741; 
VI, 627, 628; Feb. 22, 1950, p. 2152), but the demand came too late 
after the Journal was approved (VI, 626). Under the rule as in effect 
before the 95th Congress, pending the Speaker's announcement of his 
approval of the Journal and prior to approval by the House, any Member 
could offer a privileged, non-debatable motion that the Journal be read 
(Apr. 23, 1975, p. 11482).

  The Journal of the last day of a session is not read on the first day 
of the next session (IV, 2742). No business is transacted before the 
reading (IV, 2751-2756; VI, 629, 630, 637); not even consideration of a 
conference report (VI, 630). However, the motion to adjourn (IV, 2757; 
Speaker Wright, Nov. 2, 1987, p. 30387) and the swearing in of a Member 
(I, 172) could take precedence, and a question of privilege relating to 
a breach of privilege (such as an assault) occurring during the reading 
or approval of the Journal may interrupt its reading or approval (II, 
1630).

  Once begun, the reading may not be interrupted, even by business so 
highly privileged as a conference report (V, 6443; rule XXVII); but a 
parliamentary inquiry (VI, 624), or an arraignment of impeachment may 
interrupt (VI, 469); and in cases of disorder the reading has been 
suspended (II, 1630; IV, 2759).


[[Page 320]]

is not admissible after the previous question is demanded 
on the motion to approve (IV, 2770; VI, 633; VIII, 2684; Sept. 13, 1965, 
p. 23600).

<>   2. He shall preserve order and decorum, and, in case of 
disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries, or in the lobby, may 
cause the same to be cleared.

  Under the prior rule, the Speaker's examination and approval of the 
Journal was preliminary to the reading and did not preclude subsequent 
amendment by the House itself (IV, 2734-2738). If the Speaker's approval 
of the Journal is rejected, a motion to amend takes precedence of a 
motion to approve (IV, 2760; VI, 633), and a Member offering an 
amendment is recognized under the hour rule (Mar. 19, 1990, p. 4488); 
but the motion 

  This clause was adopted in 1789 and amended in 1794 (II, 1343).

  The Speaker may name a Member who is disorderly, but may not, of his 
own authority, censure or punish him (II, 1344, 1345; VI, 237). In cases 
of extreme disorder in Committee of the Whole the Speaker has taken the 
chair and restored order without a formal rising of the committee (II, 
1348, 1648-1653, 1657); and the Speaker, as an exercise of his authority 
under this clause, has on his own initiative declared the House in 
recess in an emergency (83d Cong., p. 2324). A former Member must 
observe the rules of decorum while on the floor, and the Speaker may 
request the Sergeant-at-Arms to assist him in maintaining such decorum 
(Sept. 17, 1997, p. ----).

  The authority to have the galleries cleared has been exercised but 
rarely (II, 1352; Speaker Albert, Jan. 18, 1972, p. 9). On one occasion, 
acting on the basis of police reports and other evidence, the Speaker 
ordered the galleries cleared before the House convened (May 10, 1972, 
p. 16576) and then informed the House of his decision. In an early 
instance the Speaker ordered the arrest of a person in the gallery; but 
this exercise of power was questioned (II, 1605).


[[Page 321]]

  While Members are permitted to use exhibits such as charts during 
debate (subject to the permission of the House under rule XXX), the 
Speaker may direct the removal of a chart from the well of the House 
which is not being utilized during debate (Apr. 1, 1982, p. 6304; Apr. 
19, 1990, p. 7402). The Speaker's responsibility to preserve decorum 
requires that he disallow the use of exhibits in debate which would be 
demeaning to the House, or to any Member of the House, or which would be 
disruptive of the decorum thereof (Sept. 13, 1989, p. 20362; Oct. 16, 
1990, p. 29647; Oct. 1, 1991, p. 24828; Nov. 16, 1995, p. ----; Jan. 3, 
1996, p. ----). The Speaker has disallowed the use of a person on the 
floor as a guest of the House as an ``exhibit'' (Dec. 19, 1995, p. ----; 
Jan. 22, 1996, p. ----). The Speaker may inquire as to a Member's 
intentions, as to the use of exhibits, before conferring recognition to 
address the House (Mar. 21, 1984, p. 6187). In the 101st Congress both 
the Speaker and the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole reinforced 
the Chair's authority to control the use of exhibits in debate, 
distinguishing between the constitutional authority of the House to make 
its own rules and first amendment rights of free speech, and the use of 
all exhibits was prohibited during the consideration of a bill in the 
Committee of the Whole (Oct. 11, 1990, p. 28650).

  At the request of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, the 
Speaker announced that (1) all handouts distributed on or adjacent to 
the floor must bear the name of a Member authorizing the distribution; 
(2) the content of such handouts must comport with the standards 
applicable to words used in debate; (3) failure to comply with these 
standards may constitute a breach of decorum and thus give rise to a 
question of privilege; (4) staff are prohibited in the Chamber or rooms 
leading thereto from distributing handouts and from attempting to 
influence Members with regard to legislation; and (5) Members should 
minimize the use of handouts to enhance the quality of debate (Sept. 27, 
1995, p. ----; Mar. 20, 1996, p. ----).

  Questions having been raised concerning proper attire for Members in 
the Chamber (thermostat controls having been raised to comply with a 
Presidential directive conserving energy in the summer months), the 
Speaker announced he considered traditional attire for Members 
appropriate, including coats and ties for male Members and appropriate 
attire for female Members, but that he would recognize for a question of 
privileges of the House to relax such standards. The Speaker also 
requested a Member in violation of those standards to remove himself 
from the Chamber and appear in appropriate attire, and refused to 
recognize such Member until he did so (Speaker O'Neill, July 17, 1979, 
p. 11461). The House later agreed to a resolution (presented as a 
question of the privileges of the House) requiring Members to wear 
proper attire as determined by the Speaker (July 17, 1979, pp. 186-87).


[[Page 322]]

  Recognition is within the discretion of the Chair, and in order to 
uphold order and decorum in the House as required under clause 2 of rule 
I, the Speaker may deny a Member recognition to address the House under 
the ``one-minute rule'' (Aug. 27, 1980, p. 23456), and may deny further 
recognition to a Member proceeding out of order beyond the one-minute 
for which recognized (Mar. 16, 1988, p. 4081). It is a breach of decorum 
for a Member to continue to speak beyond the time for which the Member 
has been recognized or yielded to (Mar. 22, 1996, p. ----). Even prior 
to adoption of the rules, the Speaker may maintain decorum by directing 
a Member engaging in such breach of decorum to be removed from the well 
and by directing the Sergeant-at-Arms to present the mace as the 
traditional symbol of order (Jan. 3, 1991, p. 58). A Member's 
comportment may constitute a breach of decorum even though the content 
of that Member's speech is not, itself, unparliamentary (July 29, 1994, 
p. ----). Under this standard the Chair may deny further recognition to 
a Member engaged in unparliamentary debate who ignores repeated 
admonitions by the Chair to proceed in order (unless the Member is 
permitted to proceed by order of the House) (Sept. 18, 1996, p. ----).




Sec. 623. Speaker's control of the Hall, corridors, and 
rooms.

  3.  He shall have general control, except as provided by rule or 
law, of the Hall of the House, and of the corridors and passages and the 
disposal of the unappropriated rooms in that part of the Capitol 
assigned to the use of the House, until further order.


  This clause was adopted in 1811 and amended in 1824, 1885 (II, 1354), 
and April 5, 1911 (VI, 261).


  Control of the appropriated rooms in the House portion of the Capitol 
is exercised by the House itself (V, 7273-7279), but repairs and 
alterations have been authorized by statute (V, 7280-7281; 59 Stat. 
472). On January 15, 1979, the Speaker announced his directive 
concerning free access by Members in the corridors approaching the 
Chamber (p. 19). The Speaker has declined to recognize for a unanimous-
consent request to change the decor in the Chamber, stating that he 
would take the ``suggestion'' under advisement in exercising his 
authority under this clause (Mar. 2, 1989, p. 3220).




Sec. 624. Speaker's signature to acts, warrants, subpoenas, 
etc.; and decision of questions of order subject to appeal.

  4.  He shall 
sign all acts, addresses, joint resolutions, writs, warrants, and 
subpoenas of, or issued by order of, the House, and decide all questions 
of order, subject to an appeal by any Member, on which appeal no Member 
shall speak more than once, unless by permission of the House. The 
Speaker is authorized to sign enrolled bills whether or not the House is 
in session.


  The portion of this rule relating to decisions on points of order was 
adopted in 1789 and amended in 1811; and the portion relating to the 
signing of acts, etc., was adopted in 1794 (II, 1313). The last sentence 
of this clause, granting the Speaker standing authority to sign enrolled 
bills, even if the House is not in session, was added in the 97th 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 98-113).


[[Page 323]]

is first submitted, unless, as in rare instances only, the 
House by consent waives the requirement (IV, 3452). In cases of error 
the House has permitted the Speaker's signature to be vacated (IV, 3453, 
3455-3457; VII, 1077-1080). Under the modern practice, the Committee of 
the Whole may rise informally without motion to enable the Speaker to 
assume the Chair and to sign an enrolled bill and lay it before the 
House (Jan. 28, 1980, p. 888; Apr. 30, 1980, p. 9505).


Sec. 625. Signing of enrolled bills.

  Enrolled  bills are 
signed first by the Speaker (IV, 3429). He has declined to sign in the 
absence of a quorum (IV, 3458), or pending a motion to reconsider (V, 
5705); and the report of a committee as to the accuracy of the 
enrollment 




Sec. 626. Signing of warrants, subpoenas, 
etc.

  Warrants,  subpoenas, etc., during recesses of Congress are signed only by 
authority specially given (III, 1753, 1763, 1806). The issuing of 
warrants must be specially authorized by the House (I, 287) or pursuant 
to a standing rule (clause 4 of rule XV; Sec. 774a, infra). Instance 
wherein the House authorized the Speaker to warrant for the arrest of 
absentees (VI, 638). The Speaker also signs the articles, replications, 
etc., in impeachments (III, 2370, 2455); and certifies cases of 
contumacious witnesses for action by the courts (III, 1691, 1769; VI, 
385; 2 U.S.C. 194). A subpoena validly issued by a committee authorized 
by the House under clause 2(m) of rule XI to issue subpoenas need only 
be signed by the chairman of that committee, whereas when the House 
issues an order or warrant, the Speaker must issue the summons under his 
hand and seal, and it must be attested by the Clerk (III, 1668; see H. 
Rept. 96-1078, p. 22).




Sec. 627. Practice governing the Speaker in deciding 
points of order.

  The  Speaker may require that a question of order be 
presented in writing (V, 6865). When enough of a proposition has been 
read to show that it is out of order, the question of order may be 
raised without waiting for the reading to be completed (V, 6886-7; VIII, 
2912, 3378, 3437), though the Chair may decline to rule until the entire 
proposition has been read (Dec. 14, 1973, pp. 41716-18). Questions 
arising during a division are decided peremptorily (V, 5926), and when 
they arise out of any other question must be decided before that 
question (V, 6864). In rare instances the Speaker has declined to rule 
until he has taken time for examination of the question (III, 2725; VI, 
432; VII, 2106; VIII, 2174, 2396, 3475).



[[Page 324]]

rule on each question individually (Mar. 28, 1996, pp. ----, ----). 
Where a Member incorrectly demands the ``regular order,'' rather than 
making a point of order to assert that remarks are not confined to the 
question under debate, the Chair may treat the demand as a point of 
order and rule thereon (May 1, 1996, p. ----).
  Debate on a point of order, being for the Chair's information, is 
within the Chair's discretion (see, e.g., V, 6919, 6920; VIII, 3446-
3448; Jan. 24, 1996, p. ----; Sept. 12, 1996, p. ----). Debate is 
confined to the question of order and may not extend to the merits of 
the proposition against which it lies or to parliamentarily similar 
propositions permitted to remain in the pending bill by waivers of 
points of order (July 18, 1995, p. ----). Members must address the Chair 
and cannot engage in ``colloquies'' on the point of order (Sept. 18, 
1986, p. 24083). To ensure that the arguments recorded on a question of 
order are those actually heard by the Chair before ruling, the Chair 
will not entertain a unanimous consent request to permit a Member to 
revise and extend remarks on a point of order (Sept. 22, 1976, pp. 
31873-74; May 15, 1997, p ----). A Member may raise multiple points of 
order simultaneously, and the Chair may hear argument and 

  The Chair is constrained to give precedent its proper influence (II, 
1317; VI, 248). While the Chair will normally not disregard a decision 
of the Chair previously made on the same facts (IV, 4045), such 
precedents may be examined and reversed where shown to be erroneous (IV, 
4637; VI, 639; VII, 849; VIII, 2794, 3435; Sept. 12, 1986, p. 23178). 
The authoritative source for proper interpretations of the rules are 
statements made directly from the Chair and not comments made by the 
Speaker in other contexts (May 25, 1995, p. ----; Sept. 19, 1995, p. --
--). Preserving the authority and binding force of parliamentary law is 
as much the duty of each Member of the House as it is the duty of the 
Chair (VII, 1479). The Speaker's decisions are recorded in the Journal 
(IV, 2840, 2841), but responses to parliamentary inquiries are not so 
recorded (IV, 2842).


[[Page 325]]

instructions (II, 1338; IV, 
4404, 4689); or on matters arising in Committee of the Whole (V, 6927, 
6928, 6932-6937; Dec. 12, 1985, p. 36173); but he has decided as to the 
validity of the authorization of a report (IV, 4592, 4593) and has 
indicated that a point of order could be raised at a proper time where 
the content of a filed report varies from that approved by the committee 
(May 16, 1989, p. 9356). An objection to the use of an exhibit under 
rule XXX is not a point of order on which the Chair must rule but, 
instead, requires that the Chair put the question whether the exhibit 
may be used, on which no debate is in order (July 31, 1996, p. ----).
  The Chair does not decide on the legislative or legal effect of 
propositions (II, 1274, 1323, 1324; VI, 254; VII, 2112; VIII, 2280, 
2841; Mar. 16, 1983, p. 5669), on the consistency of proposed action 
with other acts of the House (II, 1327-1336; VII, 2112, 2136; VIII, 
3237, 3458), whether Members have abused leave to print (V, 6998-7000; 
VIII, 3475), on the constitutional powers of the House (II, 1255, 1318-
1320, 1490; IV, 3507; VI, 250, 251; VIII, 2225, 3031, 3071, 3427; July 
21, 1947, pp. 9522, 9551; May 13, 1948, p. 5817), or on the propriety or 
expediency of a proposed course of action (II, 1275, 1325, 1326, 1337; 
IV, 3091-3093, 3127). He is not required to decide a question not 
directly presented by the proceedings (II, 1314), and it is not his duty 
to decide a hypothetical question (VI, 249, 253; Nov. 20, 1989, p. 
30225), including: (1) the germaneness of an amendment not yet offered 
(Dec. 12, 1985, p. 36167; May 5, 1988, p. 9936; May 18, 1988, p. 11404) 
or previously offered and entertained without a point of order (June 6, 
1990, p. 13194); (2) the admissibility under existing Budget Act 
allocations of an amendment not yet offered, particularly where the 
Chair's response might depend on the disposition of a prior amendment on 
which proceedings had been postponed (June 27, 1994, p. ----); (3) the 
admissibility under clause 2 of rule XXI of an amendment already 
pending, against which all points of order had been waived (July 27, 
1995, p. ----); and (4) the admissibility of an amendment at a future 
date, pending a ruling of the Chair on its immediate admissibility (June 
25, 1997, p. ----). The Chair does not take cognizance of complaints 
relating to pairs (VIII, 3087). He passes on the validity of conference 
reports (V, 6409, 6410, 6414-6416; VIII, 3256, 3264), but not on the 
sufficiency of the accompanying statements as distinguished from the 
form (V, 6511-6513), or on the question of whether a conference report 
violates instructions of the House (V, 6395; VIII, 3246). As to reports 
of committees, he does not decide as to their sufficiency (II, 1339, IV, 
4653), or whether the committee has followed 

  Prior to the 104th Congress, precedents and applicable guidelines 
allowed the Chair to 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 Chair may make such 
technical or parliamentary corrections or insertions in transcript as 
may be 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. 37124]). However, the Chair ruled that the requirement of 
clause 9 of rule XIV, which was adopted in the 104th Congress, 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 326]]

  In interpreting the language of a special order adopted by the House, 
the Chair will not look behind the unambiguous language of the 
resolution itself (June 18, 1986, p. 14267). Questions concerning 
informal guidelines of the Committee on Rules for advance submission of 
amendments for possible inclusion under a ``modified closed'' rule may 
not be raised under the guise of parliamentary inquiry (May 5, 1988, p. 
9938). Because the Chair refrains from issuing advisory opinions on 
hypothetical or anticipatory questions of order, the Chair will not 
interpret a special order before it is adopted by the House (Oct. 14, 
1986, p. ----; Nov. 18, 1993, p. ----; July 27, 1995, p. ----; Jan. 5, 
1996, p. ----; Mar. 28, 1996, p. ----). Thus, the Chair has declined to 
identify provisions in a bill as ostensible objects of a waiver in the 
pending resolution providing a special order for that bill (Oct. 19, 
1995, pp. ----, ----; Oct. 26, 1995, p. ----; Mar. 28, 1996, p. ----); 
or to determine whether a bill, for which the pending resolution 
provides a special order waiving any requirement for a three-fifths vote 
on passage, actually ``carries'' a Federal income tax rate increase 
(Oct. 26, 1995, p. ----). The Chair will not compare the text made in 
order by a pending special order as original text for further amendment 
with the text reported by the committee of jurisdiction (Oct. 19, 1995, 
p. ----). Similarly, the Chair will not issue an advisory opinion on how 
debate on a pending resolution will bear on the Chair's ultimate 
interpretation of the resolution as an order of the House (Sept. 18, 
1997, p. ----).

  Recognition for parliamentary inquiry lies in the discretion of the 
Chair (VI, 541; Apr. 7, 1992, p. ----). The Speaker may recognize and 
respond to a parliamentary inquiry although the previous question may 
have been demanded (Speaker pro tempore Snell, Mar. 27, 1926, p. 6469). 
While the Chair may in his discretion recognize Members for 
parliamentary inquiries when no other Member is occupying the floor for 
debate, when another Member has the floor he must yield for a 
parliamentary inquiry (Oct. 1, 1986, p. 27465; July 13, 1989, p. 14633). 
The Chair may take a parliamentary inquiry under advisement, especially 
where not related to the pending proceedings (VIII, 2174; Apr. 7, 1992, 
p. ----). The Chair responds to parliamentary inquiries relating in a 
practical sense to the pending proceedings but does not respond to 
requests to place them in historical context (June 25, 1992, p. ----; 
Jan. 3, 1996, p. ----).

  A proper parliamentary inquiry relates to an interpretation of a House 
rule, not of a statute; the Chair has declined to anticipate whether 
bill language would trigger certain executive actions (Sept. 20, 1989, 
p. 20969). The Chair will neither respond to a parliamentary inquiry 
involving the propriety of words spoken in debate pending a demand under 
clause 4 of rule XIV that those words be ``taken down'' as 
unparliamentary (June 8, 1995, p. ----) nor respond to inquiry as to the 
veracity of remarks in debate (June 5, 1996, p. ----). The Chair has 
declined to answer parliamentary inquiries requiring the Chair to 
reexamine and explain the validity of a prior ruling (Oct. 26, 1995, p. 
----); requiring the Chair to judge the accuracy of the content of an 
exhibit (Nov. 10, 1995, p. ----); and requiring the Chair to indicate 
which side of the aisle has failed under the Speaker's guidelines to 
clear a unanimous-consent request (Feb. 1, 1996, p. ----). The Chair may 
clarify a prior response to a parliamentary inquiry (July 31, 1996, p. 
----).

  The Speaker rarely submits a question directly to the House for its 
decision (IV, 3173, 3282, 4930; V, 5014, 5323, 6701; VI, 49; Speaker 
Longworth, Apr. 8, 1926, p. 7148), and rarely raises and submits a 
question on his own initiative (II, 1277, 1315, 1316; VIII, 3405). Even 
as to questions of privilege he usually, in later practice, makes a 
preliminary decision instead of submitting the question directly to the 
House (III, 2648, 2649, 2650, 2654, 2678; Speaker Wright, Mar. 11, 1987, 
p. 5404).



Sec. 628. Practice, governing appeals.

  The  right of appeal 
insures the House against the arbitrary control of the Speaker and can 
not be taken away from the House (V, 6002). While a decision of the 
Chair on a point of order is subject to appeal on demand of any Member, 
a Member cannot secure a recorded vote on a point of order absent an 
appeal and the Chair's putting the question thereon (June 20, 1996, p. 
----).



[[Page 327]]

of motions (V, 5731); while another is pending 
(V, 6939-6941); on a question on which an appeal has just been decided 
(IV, 3036; V, 6877); between the motion to adjourn and vote thereon (V, 
5361); during a call of the yeas and nays (V, 6051); from the count by 
the Chair of the number rising to demand tellers (VIII, 3105) or a 
recorded vote (June 24, 1976, p. 20390) or the yeas and nays (Sept. 12, 
1978, p. 28950) or rising to object to a request under a former version 
of clause 2(i) of rule XI that a committee have permission to sit under 
the five-minute rule (Sept. 12, 1978, p. 28984); from the Chair's count 
of a quorum (July 24, 1974, p. 25012); from the Chair's call of a voice 
vote (July 13, 1994, p. ----; Aug. 10, 1994, p. ----); from decision 
refusing recapitulation of a vote (VIII, 3128); from the Speaker's 
refusal under clause 6(e) of rule XV to entertain a point of order of no 
quorum when a pending question has not been put to a vote (Sept. 16, 
1977, p. 29594); or from the Chair's determination that a Member's time 
in debate has expired (Mar. 22, 1996, p. ----).
  Appeals may not be entertained from: responses to parliamentary 
inquiries (V, 6955; VIII, 3457); when dilatory (V, 5715-5722; VIII, 
2822); from decisions on recognition (II, 1425-1428; VI, 292; VIII, 
2429, 2646, 2762; July 23, 1993, p. ----; Apr. 4, 1995, p. ----); from 
decisions on dilatoriness 

  An appeal may be entertained from a decision of the Chair on the 
propriety of an exhibit (Nov. 16, 1995, p. ----); that a Member has 
engaged in personalities in debate (Sept. 28, 1996, p. ----); or that an 
amendment proposes to change a portion of the bill already passed in the 
reading (Sept. 25, 1997, p. ----). The Speaker may vote to sustain his 
own decision (IV, 4569; V, 5686, 6956, 6957).


  The appeal may be debated (VII, 1608; VIII, 2347, 2375, 3453-3455); 
unless the motion is made to lay on the table (V, 5301; Mar. 16, 1988, 
p. 4086), or the previous question is ordered (V, 5448, 5449). An appeal 
from a decision relating to the priority of business (V, 6952), or 
irrelevancy of debate (V, 5056-5063) is not debatable. In practice in 
the House, a Member favorable to the ruling usually moves to lay the 
appeal on the table, thus shutting off debate (e.g., Oct. 8, 1968, p. 
30215; Apr. 6, 1995, p. ----). A motion to postpone an appeal has been 
held in order (VIII, 2613). Debate in the House is under the hour rule 
(V, 4978), but may be closed at any time by the adoption of a motion for 
the previous question (V, 6947); or to lay on the table (VIII, 3453). 
Debate on an appeal in the Committee of the Whole is under the five-
minute rule (VII, 1608; VIII, 2347, 2556a, 3454, 3455), and may be 
closed by motion to close debate or to rise and report (V, 6947, 6950; 
VIII, 3453).


[[Page 328]]

tion shall first rise from their <> seats, and then those in 
the negative. If any Member requests a recorded vote and that request is 
supported by at least one-fifth of a quorum, such vote shall be taken by 
electronic device, unless the Speaker in his discretion orders clerks to 
tell the names of those voting on each side of the question, and such 
names shall be recorded by electronic device or by clerks, as the case 
may be, and shall be entered in the Journal, together with the names of 
those not voting. A recorded vote taken pursuant to this paragraph shall 
be considered a vote by the yeas and nays. Members shall have not less 
than fifteen minutes to be counted from the ordering of the recorded 
vote or the ordering of clerks to tell the vote.



Sec. 629. Putting of the question by the Speaker.

  5.  (a) He 
shall rise to put a question, but may state it sitting; and shall put 
questions in this form, to wit: ``As many as are in favor (as the 
question may be), say `Aye'.''; and after the affirmative voice is 
expressed, ``As many as are opposed, say `No'.''; if he doubts, or a 
division is called for, the House shall divide; those in the affirmative 
of the ques-


  This paragraph was first adopted in 1789 and its present form reflects 
the revisions and amendments of 1860, 1880 (II, 1311), 1972 (H. Res. 
1123, Oct. 13, 1972, pp. 36005-08), and 1993 (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, 
p. ----). From January 22, 1971 (when H. Res. 5 of the 92d Congress was 
adopted incorporating provisions in the Legislative Reorganization Act 
of 1970, 84 Stat. 1140), until October 13, 1972, this rule provided a 
two-step procedure for ordering ``tellers with clerks'' prior to 
installation of the electronic voting system, and for the first time 
permitted Members to be recorded on votes in Committee of the Whole. The 
last two sentences of this paragraph permitting a single-step ``recorded 
vote'' and voting by means of electronic device installed in the Chamber 
in 1972, were contained in House Resolution on October 13, 1972, and 
were made effective by adoption of the rules of the 93d Congress (H. 
Res. 6, Jan. 3, 1973, pp. 26-27). The general provision for demanding a 
vote by tellers was repealed in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 
1993, p. ----). The penultimate sentence of this paragraph, providing 
that a recorded vote taken pursuant thereto shall be considered a vote 
by the yeas and nays, was added in the 105th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
7, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 329]]

yeas and nays (Speaker Foley, Mar. 9, 1992, p. ----). It is 
not in order for a Member having the floor in debate to conduct a 
``straw vote'' or otherwise ask for a show of support for a proposition. 
See Procedure, ch. 30, sec. 3.1.
  The motion as stated by the Chair in putting the question and not as 
stated by the Member in offering the motion, is the proposition voted on 
(VI, 247). Under this paragraph the Speaker must put the pending 
question to a voice vote prior to entertaining a demand for a recorded 
vote or the 

  One of the suppositions on which parliamentary law is founded is that 
the Speaker will not betray his duty to make an honest count on a 
division (V, 6002) and the integrity of the Chair in counting a vote 
should not be questioned in the House (VIII, 3115; July 11, 1985, p. 
18550), and the Chair's count of Members demanding a recorded vote is 
not appealable (June 24, 1976, pp. 20390-91). A vote by division takes 
no cognizance of Members present but not voting, and consequently the 
number of votes counted by division has no tendency to establish a lack 
of a quorum (June 29, 1988, p. 16504).


[[Page 330]]

  In a full House (total membership of 435), a recorded vote is ordered 
by one-fifth of a quorum (44), but in Committee of the Whole a recorded 
vote is ordered by 25 (clause 2(b) of rule XXIII, as added in 96th Cong. 
by H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7, 16), rather than 20 in both cases as 
in prior practice (V, 5986; Dec. 20, 1974, p. 41793). The former right 
to demand tellers was not precluded by the fact that the yeas and nays 
had been refused (V. 5998; VIII, 3103), that a point of no quorum has 
been made against a division vote on the question on which tellers were 
requested (VIII, 3104, by a point of no quorum and a call of the House 
following a division vote on the question on which tellers were demanded 
(Sept. 25, 1969, pp. 27041-42), or by the intervention of a quorum call 
following the refusal of the Committee of the Whole to order a recorded 
vote (Feb. 27, 1974, p. 4447). But only one request for a recorded vote 
on a pending question is in order (Jan. 21, 1976, p. 508), and a demand 
for a recorded vote cannot interrupt a vote by division which is in 
progress (June 10, 1975, p. 18048). While a request for a recorded vote 
once denied may not be renewed, the request remains pending where the 
Chair interrupts the count of Members standing in favor of the request 
in order to count for a quorum pursuant to a point of order that a 
quorum is not present (Aug. 5, 1982, pp. 19658, 19659). Recognition by 
the Chair for a parliamentary inquiry immediately following the Chair's 
announcement of a voice vote on an amendment is not such intervening 
business as to prevent a demand for a recorded vote thereon where the 
Chair has not announced the final disposition of the amendment (May 23, 
1984, p. 13928; July 26, 1984, p. 21249). Where a division vote is 
demanded on a proposition in the House and the vote thereon is then 
postponed pursuant to paragraph (b) of this clause a division may again 
be demanded when the question is put de novo on the proposition as 
unfinished business (since a demand for a division may be made by any 
Member), whereas a demand for the yeas and nays if refused by the House 
may not be renewed (Mar. 18, 1980, pp. 5739-40). Ordinarily, however, 
only one demand for a vote by division on a pending question is in order 
(July 26, 1984, p. 21259; June 29, 1994, p. ----).

  In Committee of the Whole, a request for a recorded vote on an 
amendment once denied may not be renewed even where the absence of a 
quorum is disclosed immediately following the refusal to order a 
recorded vote (June 6, 1979, p. 13648; Oct. 25, 1983, p. 29227).




Sec. 630b. Former ordering of tellers and taking of the 
vote.

  Under  the precedents recorded before the abolition of tellers, it was 
the duty of the Member to serve as teller when appointed by the Chair 
(V, 5987); but when Members of one side had declined, the second teller 
was appointed from the other side (V, 5988) or the position was left 
vacant (V, 5989). A Delegate could have been appointed teller (II, 
1302). Where there was doubt as to the count by tellers, the Chair could 
have ordered the vote taken again (V, 5991; July 19, 1946, p. 9466), but 
this must have been done before the result was announced (V, 5993-5995; 
VIII, 3098). The Chair could have counted without passing between the 
tellers (V, 5996, 5997; VIII, 3100, 3101).




Sec. 631. Postponing rollcall votes on passage.

  (b)(1)  On 
any legislative day whenever a recorded vote is ordered or the yeas and 
nays are ordered, or a vote is objected to under clause 4 of rule XV on 
any of the following questions, the Speaker may, in his discretion, 
postpone further proceedings on each such question to a designated time 
or place in the legislative schedule on that legislative day in the case 
of the question of agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal, or 
within two legislative days, in the case of the other questions listed 
herein:


      (A) the question of adopting a resolution;

      (B) the question of passing a bill;

      (C) the question of agreeing to a motion to instruct conferees as 
provided in clause 1(c) of rule XXVIII: Provided, however, That 
proceedings shall not resume on said question if the conferees have 
filed a report in the House;


[[Page 331]]

      (D) the question of agreeing to a conference report;

      (E) the question of agreeing to a motion to recommit a bill 
considered pursuant to clause 4 of rule XIII;

      (F) the question of ordering the previous question on a question 
described in subdivision (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E);

      (G) the question of agreeing to an amendment to a bill considered 
pursuant to clause 4 of rule XIII; and

      (H) the question of agreeing to a motion to suspend the rules.

  (2) At the time designated by the Speaker for further consideration of 
proceedings postponed under subparagraph (1), the Speaker shall put each 
question on which further proceedings were postponed, in the order in 
which that question was considered.

  (3) At any time after the vote has been taken on the first question on 
which the Speaker has postponed further proceedings under this 
paragraph, the Speaker may, in his discretion, reduce to not less than 
five minutes the period of time within which a rollcall vote by 
electronic device on the question may be taken without any intervening 
business on any or all of the additional questions on which the Speaker 
has postponed further proceedings under this paragraph.


[[Page 332]]

disposition of all such questions, previously 
undisposed of, in the order in which the questions were considered.

  (4) If the House adjourns before all of the questions on which further 
proceedings were postponed under this paragraph have been put and 
determined, then, on the next following legislative day the unfinished 
business shall be the 

  Paragraph (b) was added in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 
1979, p. 7), and paragraph (b)(1) was amended in the 97th Congress (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 98-113) to place all authority for the 
postponing of further proceedings on certain questions into rule I. This 
consolidation was accomplished with the addition of the authority to 
postpone further proceedings on reports from the Committee on Rules 
(formerly clause 4(e) of rule XI) and the authority to postpone further 
proceedings on motions to suspend the rules and pass bills or 
resolutions (formerly clause 3(b) of rule XXVII). The authority for the 
Speaker to postpone further proceedings on agreeing to his approval of 
the Journal until later that legislative day was added to paragraph 
(b)(1) in the 98th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1983, p. 34). The 
authority for the Speaker to postpone further proceedings on motions to 
instruct conferees after 20 calendar days in conference was added to 
paragraph (b)(1) in the 101st Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1989, p. 72), 
along with the provision that a question so postponed not be put if the 
conferees sooner file their report. In the 104th Congress the list of 
questions susceptible of postponement was reordered and expanded to 
include a vote on ordering the previous question on another question 
that is, itself, susceptible of postponement (sec. 223(a), H. Res. 6, 
Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress paragraph (b)(1) was 
amended to enable postponement of certain questions during consideration 
of bills called from the Corrections Calendar, i.e., agreeing to an 
amendment, ordering the previous question on a motion to recommit, and 
agreeing to a motion to recommit (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).

  The Speaker first exercised his authority to postpone a rollcall vote 
on the approval of the Journal on November 10, 1983 (p. 32097). That 
authority includes the power to postpone a division vote on the approval 
of the Journal that is objected to under clause 4 of rule XV (Sept. 21, 
1993, p. ----). But on questions not enumerated in this paragraph, such 
as the initial motion to instruct conferees, unanimous consent is 
required to permit the Speaker to postpone such record votes (Oct. 6, 
1986, p. 28704).


[[Page 333]]

the order in which the motions had 
been entered (June 4, 1974, pp. 17521-47). Clause 5(b) does not require 
the Chair's customary announcement at the beginning of consideration of 
motions to suspend the rules that the Chair intends to postpone possible 
rollcall votes (Nov. 14, 1995, p. ----).
  Pursuant to clause 6(e) of rule XV, prohibiting a point of order of no 
quorum unless the Speaker has put the pending proposition to a vote, the 
Speaker announces, after postponing a vote on a motion to suspend the 
rules where objection has been made to the vote on the grounds that a 
quorum is not present, that the point of order is considered as 
withdrawn, since the Chair is no longer putting the question (May 16, 
1977, p. 14785). At the conclusion of debate on all motions to suspend 
the rules on a legislative day, the Speaker announces that he will put 
the question on each motion on which further proceedings have been 
postponed--either de novo if objection to the vote has been made under 
clause 4 of rule XV or for a ``yea and nay'' or recorded vote if 
previously ordered by the House in 

  Under the authority to postpone further proceedings on a specified 
question to a designated time within two legislative days, the Speaker 
may simultaneously designate separate times for the resumption of 
proceedings on separate postponed questions (Mar. 3, 1992, p. ----). 
Once the Speaker has postponed rollcall votes to a designated place in 
the legislative schedule, he may subsequently redesignate the time when 
the votes will be taken within the appropriate period (June 6, 1984, p. 
15080; Oct. 3, 1988, pp. 27782, 27878).


[[Page 334]]

consideration of a motion to suspend the rules (although 
that is customarily the courtesy) but may postpone further proceedings 
after a record vote is ordered or an objection is raised under clause 4 
of rule XV (Feb. 23, 1993, p. ----). When the House adjourns on the 
second legislative day after postponement of a question under this 
clause without resuming proceedings thereon, the question remains the 
unfinished business on the next legislative day (Oct. 1, 1997, p. ----).

  Following the first postponed vote on motions to suspend the rules, 
the Speaker may in his discretion reduce to not less than 5 minutes the 
time for taking votes on any or all of the subsequent motions on which 
votes have been postponed (June 4, 1974, p. 17547). Having clustered 
record votes on motions to suspend the rules and then having clustered 
record votes on passage of other measures considered immediately after 
debate on the suspension motions, the Speaker may, pursuant to this 
clause, conduct all the postponed votes in one sequence and reduce to 
five minutes the time for all electronic votes after the first 
suspension vote (May 17, 1983, p. 12508; Oct. 2, 1989, p. 22724). But 
the Chair may decline, in his discretion, to recognize for a unanimous-
consent request to reduce to five minutes the first vote in the series, 
since the bell and light system would not give adequate notice of the 
initial five-minute vote (Oct. 8, 1985, p. 26666). But where a series of 
votes has been postponed pursuant to this clause, to occur following a 
fifteen-minute vote on another measure not a part of that series, the 
vote on the first postponed measure may be reduced to five minutes only 
by unanimous consent (May 24, 1983, p. 13595; July 22, 1996, p. ----). 
By unanimous consent waiving the five-minute minimum set by paragraph 
(b)(3) of this clause, the House has authorized the Speaker to put 
remaining postponed questions to two-minute electronic votes (Oct. 4, 
1988, pp. 28126, 28148). The Speaker may ``cluster'' postponed votes on 
a motion to suspend the rules and on adoption of a resolution in the 
order in which those questions were considered on the preceding day 
(July 19, 1983, p. 19774). The requirement that the Speaker put each 
question on motions to suspend the rules in the order in which 
postponed, does not prevent the Speaker from entertaining a unanimous-
consent request for the consideration of a similar Senate measure 
following passage of a House bill and prior to the next postponed vote 
(Feb. 15, 1983, p. 2175). Since a resolution raising a question of the 
privileges of the House takes precedence over a motion to suspend the 
rules, it may be offered and voted on between motions to suspend the 
rules on which the Speaker has postponed record votes until after debate 
on all suspensions (May 17, 1983, p. 12486). Under this clause the 
Speaker is not required to announce his intention to postpone at the 
beginning of 




Sec. 632. The Speaker's vote. Tie vote.

  6.  He shall not be 
required to vote in ordinary legislative proceedings, except where his 
vote would be decisive, or where the House is engaged in voting by 
ballot; and in cases of a tie vote the question shall be lost.


  This clause was adopted in 1789, with amendment in 1850 (V, 5964), and 
1911.


  The Speaker's name is not on the roll from which the yeas and nays are 
called (V, 5970) and is not called unless on his request (V, 5965). It 
is then called at the end of the roll (V, 5965; VIII, 3075), the Clerk 
calling him by name. On an electronic vote, the Chair directs the Clerk 
to record him and verifies that instruction by submitting a vote card 
(Oct. 17, 1990, p. 30229). The Chair may vote to make a tie and so 
decide a question in the negative, as he may vote to break a tie and so 
decide a question in the affirmative (VIII, 3100; Aug. 14, 1957, p. 
14783). The duty of giving a decisive vote may be exercised after the 
intervention of other business, or after the announcement of the result 
or on another day, if a correction of the roll shows a condition wherein 
his vote would be decisive (V, 5969, 6061-6063; VIII, 3075); and he also 
exercises the right to withdraw his vote in case a correction shows it 
to have been unnecessary (V, 5971). The Speakers have the same right as 
other Members to vote (V, 5966, 5967) but rarely exercise it (V, 5964, 
footnote), and the Chair may not vote twice (V, 5964). The Chair may be 
counted on a vote by tellers (V, 5996, 5997; VIII, 3100, 3101).


[[Page 335]]

tions for a period of time specified in the designation, notwithstanding 
any other provision of this clause: Provided, however, That in case of his 
illness, he may make such appointment for a period not exceeding ten 
days, with the approval of the House at the time the same is made; and 
in his absence and omission to make such appointment, the House shall 
proceed to elect a Speaker pro tempore to act during his absence.-


Sec. 633. Speaker pro tempore.

  7.  (a) He shall have the 
right to name any Member to perform the duties of the Chair, but such 
substitution shall not extend beyond three legislative days, except that 
with the permission of the House he may name a Member to act as Speaker 
pro tempore only to sign enrolled bills and joint resolu-





Sec. 633a. Fourterm limit.

  (b)  No person may serve as 
Speaker for more than four consecutive Congresses, beginning with the 
One Hundred Fourth Congress (disregarding for this purpose any service 
for less than a full session in any Congress).


  This clause was adopted in 1811, and amended in 1876 (II, 1377) and in 
1920 (VI, 263). Paragraph (b) was added in the 104th Congress (sec. 
103(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).



Sec. 634a. Election, oath, and designation of Speaker pro 
tempore.

  The  right of the House to elect a Speaker pro tempore in the 
absence of the Speaker was exercised before the rule was adopted (II, 
1405), although the House sometimes preferred to adjourn (I, 179). An 
elected Speaker pro tempore in the earlier practice was not sworn (I, 
229; II, 1386); but the Senate and sometimes the President were notified 
of his election (II, 1386-1389, 1405-1412; VI, 275). On August 31, 1961, 
p. 17765, the House adopted House Resolution 445, electing Hon. John W. 
McCormack as Speaker pro tempore in the absence and terminal illness of 
Speaker Rayburn. The resolution provided that the Clerk notify the 
President and the Senate. The Chairman of the Democratic Caucus then 
administered the oath. Elected Speakers pro tempore have signed enrolled 
bills, appointed committees, etc., functions not exercised by a Speaker 
pro tempore by designation (II, 1399, 1400, 1404; VI, 274, 277, Sept. 
21, 1961, p. 20572; June 21, 1984, p. 17708), but the clause was amended 
in the 99th Congress (H. Res. 7, Jan. 3, 1985, p. 393) to authorize the 
Speaker, with House approval, to designate a Speaker pro tempore to sign 
enrolled bills.



[[Page 336]]

the Speaker is not present at the opening of a session, including 
morning-hour debates, he designates a Speaker pro tempore in writing 
(II, 1378, 1401); but he does not always name in open House the Member 
whom he calls to the chair temporarily during the day's sitting (II, 
1379, 1400). The presence of the Speaker either at the opening of 
morning-hour debates or at the opening of the regular session on a day 
satisfies the requirement that the Speaker be present to convene the 
House at least every fourth day. A Speaker pro tempore elected under 
clause 7 of rule I may in turn designate another Member to act as 
Speaker pro tempore on a day certain (II, 1384; VI, 275, Feb. 23, 1996, 
p. ----). Members of the minority have been called to the chair on 
occasions of ceremony (II, 1383; VI, 270; Jan. 31, 1951, p. 779), but in 
rare instances on other occasions (II, 1382, 1390; III, 2596; VI, 264).

  A call of the House may take place with a Speaker pro tempore in the 
chair (IV, 2989), and the Speaker pro tempore may issue his warrant for 
the arrest of absent members under a call of the House (VI, 688). When 




Sec. 634b. Travel authority.

  8.  He shall have the authority 
to designate any Member, officer or employee of the House of 
Representatives to travel on the business of the House of 
Representatives, as determined by him, within or without the United 
States, whether the House is meeting, has recessed or has adjourned, and 
all expenses for such travel may be paid for from the applicable 
accounts of the House described in clause 1(h)(1) of rule X on vouchers 
solely approved and signed by the Speaker. However, expenses may not be 
paid from the applicable accounts of the House described in clause 
1(h)(1) of rule X for travel of a Member after the date of the general 
election of Members in which the Member has not been elected to the 
succeeding Congress, or in the case of a Member who is not a candidate 
in such general election, the earlier of the date of such general 
election or the adjournment sine die of the last regular session of the 
Congress.



[[Page 337]]

to update archaic references to the ``contingent fund'' (H. Res. 
5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). See also Sec. 719b, infra, for discussion of 
the Speaker's authority under section 502(b) of the Mutual Security Act 
of 1954 (22 U.S.C. 1754) to authorize use of counterpart funds for 
Members and employees for foreign travel, except where authorized by the 
chairman of the committee for members and employees thereof.

  This clause was adopted in the 94th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 
1975, p. 20), and the last sentence was added in the 95th Congress (H. 
Res. 287, Mar. 2, 1977, p. 5941). In the 105th Congress this clause was 
amended 



Sec. 634c. Broadcasting of House proceedings.

  9.  (a) He 
shall devise and implement a system subject to his direction and control 
for closed circuit viewing of floor proceedings of the House of 
Representatives in the offices of all Members and committees and in such 
other places in the Capitol and the House Office Buildings as he deems 
appropriate. Such system may include other telecommunications functions 
as he deems appropriate. Any such telecommunications function shall be 
subject to rules and regulations issued by the Speaker.


  (b)(1) He shall devise and implement a system subject to his direction 
and control for complete and unedited audio and visual broadcasting and 
recording of the proceedings of the House of Representatives. He shall 
provide for the distribution of such broadcasts and recordings thereof 
to news media, the storage of audio and video recordings of the 
proceedings, and the closed captioning of the proceedings for hearing-
impaired individuals.


[[Page 338]]

Television Correspondents' Galleries shall be provided access to the 
live coverage of the House of Representatives.
  (2) All television and radio broadcasting stations, networks, 
services, and systems (including cable systems) which are accredited to 
the House Radio and Television Correspondents' Galleries, and all radio 
and television correspondents who are accredited to the Radio and 

  (3) No coverage made available under this clause nor any recording 
thereof shall be used for any political purpose.

  (4) Coverage made available under this clause shall not be broadcast 
with commercial sponsorship except as part of bona fide news programs 
and public affairs documentary programs. No part of such coverage or any 
recording thereof shall be used in any commercial advertisment.


  (c) He may delegate any of his responsibilities under this clause to 
such legislative entity as he deems appropriate.

  This clause was adopted in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 
1979, p. 7). The requirement that the televised broadcasts of the 
proceedings of the House be closed captioned for hearing-impaired 
individuals was added to the second sentence of paragraph (b)(1) in the 
101st Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1989, p. 72). The authority of the 
Speaker to make rules governing telecommunications functions within the 
House was added to paragraph (a) in the 102d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
3, 1991, p. 39).


[[Page 339]]

Speaker, after 
receipt of that report (H. Rept. 95-881, Feb. 15, 1978), directed 
implementation of full audio coverage, with distribution to the media, 
on June 8, 1978 (p. 16746). Public Law 95-391 (the Legislative Branch 
Appropriation Bill for fiscal year 1979) contained the following proviso 
in section 306 relating to the broadcasting of House proceedings: ``No 
funds in this bill may be used to implement a system for televising and 
broadcasting the proceedings of the House pursuant to House Resolution 
866, Ninety-Fifth Congress, under which the TV cameras in the Chamber 
purchased by the House are controlled and operated by persons not in the 
employ of the House.''
  In the 95th Congress the House considered as a question of the 
privileges of the House and adopted a resolution directing the Committee 
on Rules to investigate the impact on the safety, dignity, and integrity 
of House proceedings, of a test authorized by the Speaker under his 
general control over the Hall of the House for the audiovisual broadcast 
of House proceedings within the Capitol and House Office Buildings (H. 
Res. 404, Mar. 15, 1977, p. 7608). The resolution directed the Committee 
on Rules to report to the House at the earliest practicable date its 
findings and recommendations, including whether such coverage should be 
made available to the public. The Committee reported and the House 
adopted another resolution which: (1) authorized the Speaker to 
establish a closed-circuit system for in-House broadcasting of House 
proceedings; (2) directed the Committee on Rules to study methods for 
providing complete audio and visual broadcasting of House proceedings 
and to report to the House thereon; and (3) directed the Speaker after 
receipt of the committee's report to establish a system subject to his 
direction and control for audio and visual broadcast and recording of 
House proceedings and to provide for distribution and access to the news 
media (H. Res. 866, Oct. 27, 1977, pp. 35425-37). The 


  Pursuant to his authority under this clause, the Speaker directed the 
Clerk in the 98th Congress to immediately implement periodic wide-angle 
television coverage of all ``special-order'' speeches at the end of 
legislative business (with captions at the bottom of the screen 
indicating that legislative business has been completed) (May 10, 1984, 
p. 11894) but not during ``interim'' special orders (Dec. 19, 1985, p. 
38106). However, in the 103d and 104th Congresses, the Speaker 
prohibited wide-angle coverage but continued the caption at the bottom 
of the screen not only during special order speeches but also during 
morning-hour debates (Speaker Foley, Feb. 11, 1994, p. ----; Speaker 
Gingrich, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 99th Congress, the House 
adopted a resolution, raised as a question of the privileges of the 
House, authorizing and directing the Speaker to provide for the audio 
and visual broadcast coverage of the Chamber while Members are voting 
(H. Res. 150, Apr. 30, 1985, p. 9821). Although paragraph (b)(1) of this 
clause requires complete and unedited broadcast coverage of the 
proceedings of the House has held (by tabling an appeal of a ruling of 
the Chair) that it does not require in-House microphone amplification of 
disorderly conduct by a Member following expiration of his recognition 
for debate (Mar. 16, 1988, p. 4081).




Sec. 634d. Office of the Historian.

  10.  There is established 
in the House of Representatives an office to be known as the Office of 
the Historian of the House of Representatives.



[[Page 340]]

  This clause was added in the 101st Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1989, 
p. 72). An earlier form of this clause provided for the seven-year 
establishment of an Office for the Bicentennial to coordinate the 
commemoration of the two-hundredth anniversary of the House of 
Representatives (H. Res. 621, 97th Cong., Dec. 17, 1982, p. 31951). The 
management, supervision, and administration of the Office was under the 
direction of the Speaker and was staffed by a professional historian 
appointed by the Speaker on a non-partisan basis. In 1984 the Office of 
the Bicentennial was removed from the standing rules and established by 
law for the remainder of its existence in P.L. 98-367 (2 U.S.C. 29c).




Sec. 634e. Office of General Counsel.

  11.  There is 
established in the House of Representatives an office to be known as the 
Office of General Counsel for the purpose of providing legal assistance 
and representation to the House. Legal assistance and representation 
shall be provided without regard to political affiliation. The Office of 
General Counsel shall function pursuant to the direction of the Speaker, 
who shall consult with a Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, which shall 
include the majority and minority leaderships. The Speaker shall appoint 
and set the annual rate of pay for employees of the Office of General 
Counsel.



  This clause was added in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, 
p. ----). The previous year, in section 12 of the House Administrative 
Reform Resolution of 1992 (H. Res. 423, Apr. 9, 1992, p. ----), the 
House had directed the Committee on House Administration to provide for 
an Office of General Counsel in a manner ensuring appropriate 
coordination with and participation by both the majority and minority 
leaderships in matters of representation and litigation.




Sec. 634f. Authority to declare recesses.

  12.  To suspend the 
business of the House for a short time when no question is pending 
before the House, the Speaker may declare a recess subject to the call 
of the Chair.



  This clause was added in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, 
p. ----).


[[Page 341]]

employee of the House, and otherwise shall be 
comparable in scope to the system for drug testing in the executive 
branch pursuant to Executive Order 12564 (Sept. 15, 1986). The expenses 
of the system may be paid from applicable accounts of the House for 
official expenses.



Sec. 634g. Drug testing in the House.

  13.  The Speaker, in 
consultation with the Minority Leader, shall develop through an 
appropriate entity of the House a system for drug testing in the House 
of Representatives. The system may provide for the testing of any 
Member, officer, or 






[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[Pages 341-342]
[DOCID:hrmanual-62]                         
 
  This clause was added in the 105th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, 
p. ----).


                                Rule II.


                          election of officers.




Sec. 635. Election, oath, and removal of 
officers.

  There  shall be elected by a viva voce vote, at the commencement of 
each Congress, to continue in office until their successors are chosen 
and qualified, a Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Chief Administrative Officer, 
and Chaplain, each of whom shall take an oath to support the 
Constitution of the United States, and for the true and faithful 
discharge of the duties of his office to the best of his knowledge and 
ability, and to keep the secrets of the House; and each shall appoint 
all of the employees of his department provided for by law. The Clerk, 
Sergeant-at-Arms, and Chief Administrative Officer may be removed by the 
House or by the Speaker.



[[Page 342]]

a discussion of the former Office 
of the Doorkeeper, see Sec. 651d, infra; and for a discussion of the 
evolution of the Chief Administrative Officer (an elected officer) from 
the former Director of Non-legislative and Financial Services (an 
officer appointed jointly by the Speaker and the Majority and Minority 
Leaders under clause 1 of rule VI of the 103d Congress), see Sec. 651e, 
infra.
  A rudimentary form of this rule was adopted in 1789, and was amended 
several times prior to 1880, when it assumed the form it retained for 
more than a century (I, 187). During the 102d Congress, section 2 of the 
House Administrative Reform Resolution of 1992 amended the rule to 
abolish the office of the Postmaster (see Sec. 654a, infra) and to 
empower the Speaker to remove elected officers (H. Res. 423, Apr. 9, 
1992, p. ----). The 104th Congress made conforming changes to the rule 
to reflect the abolishment of the Office of the Doorkeeper and the 
establishment of an elected Chief Administrative Officer (sec. 201(a), 
H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). For 

  The House having discarded a theory that the rules might be imposed by 
one House on its successor (V, 6743-6745), it follows that this rule is 
not operative at the organization. The House, by order or usage, elects 
its Speaker viva voce on a roll call (I, 204, 208); but the officers 
mentioned in the rule are usually chosen by resolution, which is not a 
viva voce election (I, 193, 194). A majority vote is required for the 
election of officers of both Houses of Congress (VI, 23). The act of 
1789 provides that the oath of office shall be administered to the 
Speaker by any Member and by the Speaker to the Clerk (I, 130). The 
Speaker also at the same time administers the oath to the other elective 
officers (I, 81). The Member of longest continuous service has 
traditionally administered the oath to the Speaker (I, 131). However, on 
some occasions the Speaker has selected the Member to administer the 
oath (VI, 6, 7). The requirement that the officers be sworn to keep the 
secrets of the House had become obsolete (I, 187), but the 104th 
Congress adopted a requirement that Members, officers, and employees 
subscribe an oath of secrecy regarding classified information (clause 13 
of rule XLIII).



[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[Pages 343-348]
[DOCID:hrmanual-63]                         

[[Page 343]]
 
  The House has declined to interfere with the Clerk's power of removing 
his subordinates (I, 249). Employees under the clerk and other officers 
are to be assigned only to the duties for which they are appointed (V, 
7232). The Sergeant-at-Arms having died, the Clerk was elected by the 
House to serve temporarily also as Sergeant-at-Arms without additional 
compensation (July 8, 1953, p. 8242). The Legislative Reorganization Act 
of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 75a-1) authorizes the Speaker to fill temporary 
vacancies in the offices of Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Chief 
Administrative Officer, and Chaplain. A former version of the Act also 
permitted temporary appointments to the former offices of Doorkeeper and 
Postmaster. The Speaker has exercised his authority to fill temporary 
vacancies in the offices of Sergeant-at-Arms (Jan. 6, 1954, p. 8; June 
30, 1972, p. 23665; Feb. 28, 1980, p. 4350; and Mar. 12, 1992, p. ----), 
Clerk (Nov. 15, 1975, p. 36901), Chaplain (Mar. 14, 1966, p. 5712), 
Doorkeeper (Dec. 20, 1974, p. 41855), and Chief Administrative Officer 
(Jan. 9, 1997, p. ----). A resolution electing a House officer is 
presented as a question of privilege (July 31, 1997, p. ----).


                                Rule III.


                          duties of the clerk.




Sec. 637. Clerk's duties at organization.

  1.  The Clerk 
shall, at the commencement of the first session of each Congress, call 
the Members to order, proceed to call the roll of Members by States in 
alphabetical order, and, pending the election of a Speaker or Speaker 
pro tempore, preserve order and decorum, and decide all questions of 
order subject to appeal by any Member.


  This portion of the rule was framed in 1880, on a basis furnished by a 
rule of 1860 (I, 64), and amended in 1911.

  As rules are not usually adopted until after the election of Speaker, 
this rule is not in force at the time of organization of a new House. 
The procedure at organization does, however, follow a practice 
conforming to the terms of the rule (I, 81), although the House may 
depart from it. Since the 97th Congress, for example, the House has 
permitted by unanimous consent the alphabetical roll call of Members by 
States to be conducted by electronic device to establish a quorum (Jan. 
5, 1981, pp. 93-96). For a discussion of procedure in the House before 
the adoption of rules, including the procedure by which the Clerk 
conducts the election of the Speaker, see Sec. Sec. 27 and 60, supra. 

  While the Speaker ceases to be an officer of the House with the 
expiration of a Congress, the Clerk, by old usage, continues in a new 
Congress (I, 187, 188, 235, 244).-



Sec. 638. The roll of Memberselect.

  The  roll of Members is 
made up by the Clerk from the credentials, in accordance with a 
provision of law (I, 14-62; VI, 2; 2 U.S.C. 26). A certificate of 
election in due form having been filed, the Clerk placed the name of the 
Member-elect on the roll, although he was subsequently advised that a 
State Supreme Court had issued a writ restraining the Secretary of State 
from issuing such certificate (Jan. 3, 1949, p. 8). The call of the roll 
may not be interrupted, especially by one not on that roll (I, 84), and 
a person not on the roll may not be recognized (I, 86). A motion to 
proceed to the election of Speaker is of higher privilege than a motion 
to correct the roll (I, 19-24). The House has declined to permit 
enrollment by the Clerk to be final as to prima facie right (I, 376, 
589, 592).


  The Clerk, in presiding before the election of Speaker, recognizes 
Members (I, 74).


[[Page 344]]

serve order (I, 101); but usually such action has not been taken, 
although an occasion might arise to make it necessary (I, 76, 77).
  The Members-elect have, before the election of Speaker or adoption of 
rules, authorized the Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms of the last House to pre-




Sec. 639. Clerk as presiding officer at 
organizations.

  In  early years the authority of the Clerk to decide 
questions of order pending the election of a Speaker was questioned (I, 
65), and the Clerks often declined to make decisions (I, 68-72; V, 
5325), although in 1855 occur exceptions to this theory (I, 91). But in 
1860 the provisions of the present rule were adopted (I, 64), with a 
further rule that the rules of one House should apply in the 
organization of its successor (V, 6743-6747); and under this arrangement 
the Clerks have made rulings (I, 76, 77; VI, 623). In 1890 the theory 
that the rules of one House may be made binding on its successor was 
overthrown (V, 6747). In a case of vacancy arising after the adoption of 
rules, this rule would be operative and conclude questions as to the 
Clerk's authority. The Clerk having died, and in the absence of the 
Sergeant-at-Arms, the Doorkeeper of the 79th Congress presided at 
organization of the 80th Congress (Jan. 3, 1947, p. 33).





Sec. 640. Clerk furnishes a list of reports.

  2.  He shall 
make and cause to be printed and delivered to each Member, or mailed to 
his address, at the commencement of every regular session of Congress, a 
list of the reports which it is the duty of any officer or Department to 
make to Congress, referring to the act or resolution and page of the 
volume of the laws or Journal in which it may be contained, and placing 
under the name of each officer the list of reports required of him to be 
made.



  This rule was adopted in 1822 (I, 252).


[[Page 345]]

index; retain in the library at 
his office, for the use of the Members, Delegates, the Resident 
Commissioner from Puerto Rico and officers of the House, and not to be 
withdrawn therefrom, two copies of all the books and printed documents 
deposited there; send, at the end of each session, a printed copy of the 
Journal thereof to the executive and to each branch of the legislature 
of every State as may be requested by such State officials; deliver or 
mail to any Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner from Puerto 
Rico an extra copy, in binding of good quality, of each document 
requested by that Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner which 
has been printed, by order of either House <> of the Congress, in any 
Congress in which he served; attest and affix the seal of the House to 
all writs, warrants, and subpoenas issued by order of the House; and 
certify to the passage of all bills and joint resolutions.



Sec. 641. Clerk's duty as to Journal and documents.

  3.  He 
shall note all questions of order, with the decisions thereon, the 
record of which shall be printed as an appendix to the Journal of each 
session; and complete, as soon after the close of the session as 
possible, the printing and distribution to Members, Delegates, and the 
Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico of the Journal of the House, 
together with an accurate and complete 


  Former provisions of this clause directing the Clerk to make all 
contracts, keep contingent and stationery accounts, and pay officers and 
employees were stricken by section 3 of the House Administrative Reform 
Resolution of 1992 (H. Res. 423, 102d Cong., Apr. 9, 1992, p. ----), to 
relieve the Clerk of functions to be transferred to the Director of Non-
legislative and Financial Services pursuant to section 7 of that 
resolution (see Sec. 651e, infra). A clerical correction was effected at 
the beginning of the 104th Congress (sec. 223(f), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 
1995, p. ----). Later in the 104th Congress the requirement to send a 
printed copy of the Journal to each branch of every State legislature 
was changed to an authorization to send such copies on request (H. Res. 
254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 346]]

  When the House issues an order or warrant, the Speaker must issue the 
summons under his hand and seal, and it must be attested by the Clerk; 
but when the power is granted to a committee to send for persons and 
papers under clause 2(m) of rule XI, a summons signed by the chairman of 
the committee is sufficient (III, 1668).


  The Clerk is required to make certain reports on receipts and 
expenditures (2 U.S.C. 102, 103, 113), which are available to the 
public. But members of the public have no statutory or constitutional 
right to examine the actual financial records which are used in 
preparing such reports (Trimble v. Johnston, 173 F. Supp. 651, D.C. 
Cir., 1959).




Sec. 647a. Official to act as Clerk upon designation.

  4.  He 
shall, in case of temporary absence or disability, designate an official 
in his office to sign all papers that may require the official signature 
of the Clerk of the House, and to do all other acts, except such as are 
provided for by statute, that may be required under the rules and 
practices of the House to be done by the Clerk. Such official acts, when 
so done by the designated official, shall be under the name of the Clerk 
of the House. The said designation shall be in writing, and shall be 
laid before the House and entered on the Journal.


  In 1880 several rules, adopted at different periods from 1794 to 1846, 
were consolidated into this rule; which was amended in 1892 (I, 251) and 
January 3, 1953, p. 16. Section 3 was amended January 22, 1971 (H. Res. 
5, pp. 140-44) to make it clear that the Delegate from the District of 
Columbia and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, as well as 
Members, are entitled to the services rendered the House by the Clerk. 
It was again revised in 1972 (H. Res. 1153, Oct. 13, 1972, pp. 36013-
15), effective at the beginning of the 93d Congress, to extend the 
services of the Clerk to all Delegates, including those provided for the 
Territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands by a law enacted in the 92d 
Congress. Section 4 was adopted January 18, 1912 (VI, 25) and was 
amended January 3, 1953, p. 16.


[[Page 347]]

designation of a Clerk pro tempore 
(VI, 26). Instance of Clerk serving temporarily also as Sergeant-at-Arms 
(July 8, 1953, p. 8242).

<>   5. The Clerk is 
authorized to receive messages from the President and from the Senate at 
any time that the House is not in session.

  Various other administrative duties, similar to those specified in 
this rule, are imposed on the Clerk by law (I, 253; Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946, 60 Stat. 812); and the law also makes it his 
duty to furnish stationery, blank books, etc., to the committees and 
officers of the House (V, 7322); to exercise discretionary authority as 
to reprinting of bills and documents (V, 7319); to receive the testimony 
taken in election contests (I, 703, 705; see also Federal Contested 
Election Act, P.L. 91-138, 83 Stat. 284), and to serve as an ex officio 
member of the Federal Election Commission established pursuant to Public 
Law 94-283; 2 U.S.C. 437c. Form of 


  Clause 5, providing standing authority for the Clerk to receive 
messages, was added in the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 
98-113). In the case of Kennedy v. Sampson, 511 F.2d 430 (D.C. Cir. 
1974) (see Sec. 113, supra, accompanying Const., art. I, sec. 7, cl. 2) 
a United States Court of Appeals held that a bill could not be pocket-
vetoed by the President during an ``intrasession'' adjournment of 
Congress to a day certain for more than three days, where the House of 
origin has made appropriate arrangements for the receipt of presidential 
messages during the adjournment. Under this clause the Clerk may receive 
messages during recesses as well as during adjournments (Dec. 22, 1987, 
p. 37966).


[[Page 348]]



Sec. 647c. Administration of vacant Member's office.

  6.  He 
shall supervise the staff and manage any office of a Member who is 
deceased, has resigned, or been expelled until a successor is elected 
and shall perform similar duties in the event that a vacancy is declared 
by the House in any congressional district because of the incapacity of 
the Member representing such district or other reason. Whenever the 
Clerk is acting as a supervisory authority over such staff, he shall 
have authority to terminate employees; and he may appoint, with the 
approval of the Committee on House Oversight, such staff as is required 
to operate the office until a successor is elected. He shall maintain on 
the House payroll and supervise in the same manner staff appointed 
pursuant to section 800 of Public Law 91-665 (2 U.S.C. 31b-5) for sixty 
days following the death of a former Speaker.



-  7. <> In addition to any other 
reports required by the Speaker or the Committee on House Oversight, the 
Clerk shall report to the Committee on House Oversight not later than 
forty-five days following the close of each semiannual period ending on 
June 30 or on December 31 on the financial and operational status of 
each function under the jurisdiction of the Clerk. Each report shall 
include financial statements, a description or explanation of current 
operations, the implementation of new policies and procedures, and 
future plans for each function.
  This clause was added in the 98th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1983, 
p. 34). It was amended in the 104th Congress to reflect the new name of 
the Committee on House Oversight (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, 
p. ----).




Sec. 647e. Cooperation with others.

  8.  The Clerk shall fully 
cooperate with the appropriate offices and persons in the performance of 
reviews and audits of financial records and administrative operations.






[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[DOCID:hrmanual-64]                         
 
  Clauses 7 and 8 were added in the 104th Congress (sec. 201(b), H. Res. 
6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).


                                Rule IV.


                     duties of the sergeant-at-arms.


[[Page 349]]

House, and all processes issued by authority thereof, directed to 
him by the Speaker.



Sec. 648. SergeantatArms enforces authority of House.

  1.  It 
shall be the duty of the Sergeant-at-Arms to attend the House during its 
sittings, to maintain order under the direction of the Speaker or 
Chairman, and, pending the election of a Speaker or Speaker pro tempore, 
under the direction of the Clerk, execute the commands of the 


  This clause was adopted in 1789, with additions and amendments in 
1838, 1877, 1890 (I, 257), April 5, 1911 (VI, 29) and 1971. Amendments 
adopted in the 92d Congress clarified the responsibility of the 
Sergeant-at-Arms to keep the accounts for the pay and mileage of the 
Delegates from the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands 
and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico as well as for Members 
(H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144; H. Res. 1153, Oct. 13, 1972, pp. 
36013-15). In the 94th Congress, the provisions of House Resolution 732, 
directing the Sergeant-at-Arms to enter into agreements with State 
officials, with the approval of the Committee on House Administration 
(now House Oversight), to withhold State income taxes from the pay of 
each Member subject to such State income tax and requesting such 
withholding, were enacted into permanent law (90 Stat. 1448; 2 U.S.C. 
60e-1b). Former provisions of this clause directing the Sergeant-at-Arms 
to keep the accounts for the pay and mileage of Members and Delegates 
and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico were stricken by section 
4 of the House Administrative Reform Resolution of 1992 (H. Res. 423, 
102d Cong., Apr. 9, 1992, p. ----), to relieve the Sergeant-at-Arms of 
functions to be transferred to the Director of Non-legislative and 
Financial Services pursuant to section 7 of that resolution (see 
Sec. 651e, infra). During the 102d Congress, the House adopted a 
resolution presented by the Majority Leader as a question of the 
privileges of the House to terminate all bank and check-cashing 
operations in the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms and direct the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to review GAO audits of such 
operations (Oct. 3, 1991, p. 25435). When rule IV was rewritten entirely 
in the 104th Congress, clause 1 was restated without change (sec. 
201(c), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

  The Sergeant-at-Arms is authorized to make payments from the 
contingent fund of the House (now referred to as ``applicable accounts 
of the House described in clause 1(h)(1) of rule X''), under rules 
prescribed by the Committee on House Oversight, to defray the expenses 
of the funeral of a deceased Member of the House and the expenses of any 
delegation of Members of Congress duly appointed to attend (76 Stat. 
686; 2 U.S.C. 124).

  At the organization of the House in a new Congress the election of 
Speaker occurs before the adoption of rules. Therefore this rule is not 
in force at that time, and in case of necessity a special rule may be 
adopted conferring the authority, as was done in 1849 and 1859 (I, 101, 
102).


[[Page 350]]

appropriate resolutions and adjourned as a mark of respect (VI, 
32; July 8, 1953, p. 8263). The Clerk having died, and in the absence of 
the Sergeant-at-Arms, the Doorkeeper of the 79th Congress presided at 
organization of the 80th Congress (Jan. 3, 1947, p. 33). In the 83d 
Congress the Sergeant-at-Arms having died, the Clerk was elected to 
serve temporarily both as Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms (July 8, 1953, p. 
8242), and upon resignation by the Clerk from his additional position of 
Sergeant-at-Arms, the Speaker, pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 75a-1, appointed a 
temporary Sergeant-at-Arms (Jan. 6, 1954, p. 8). The Sergeant-at-Arms 
having resigned in the 96th Congress, the Speaker appointed a temporary 
Sergeant-at-Arms pursuant to the statute (Feb. 28, 1980, pp. 4349-50); 
and the same occurred in the 102d Congress (Mar. 12, 1992, p. ----). 
Instance where the Senate by resolution removed its Sergeant-at-Arms 
(VI, 37).

-- <>   2. The symbol of his office shall be the mace, which shall 
be borne by him while enforcing order on the floor.

  Duties are imposed on the Sergeant-at-Arms by law (I, 258): Control of 
Capitol police; and the making up of the roll of Members-elect and 
presiding over the organization of a new Congress in case of vacancy in 
the office of Clerk, or the absence or disability of that officer (2 
U.S.C. 26). The death of the Sergeant-at-Arms being announced, the House 
passed 


  This clause was adopted in 1789 (II, 1346). When rule IV was rewritten 
entirely in the 104th Congress, the clause was restated without change 
(sec. 201(c), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). An attempt to enforce 
order without the mace gave rise to a question of privilege (II, 1347). 
Extreme disorder arising on the floor, the Speaker directed the 
Sergeant-at-Arms to enforce order with the mace (VI, 258; VIII, 2530).



Sec. 650a. Doorkeeping.

  3.  He shall enforce strictly the 
rules relating to the privileges of the Hall and be responsible to the 
House for the official conduct of his employees.



  4. He shall allow no person to enter the room over the Hall of the 
House during its sittings; and fifteen minutes before the hour of the 
meeting of the House each day he shall see that the floor is cleared of 
all persons except those privileged to remain, and kept so until ten 
minutes after adjournment.


[[Page 351]]

  Clauses 3 and 4 were added in the 104th Congress to transfer functions 
incident to the abolishment of the Office of the Doorkeeper (sec. 
201(c), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). For the history of the Office 
of the Doorkeeper, see Sec. 651d, infra.



Sec. 650b. Semiannual reports.

  5. In  addition to any other 
reports required by the Speaker or the Committee on House Oversight, the 
Sergeant-at-Arms shall report to the Committee on House Oversight not 
later than forty-five days following the close of each semiannual period 
ending June 30 or on December 31 on the financial and operational status 
of each function under the jurisdiction of the Sergeant-at-Arms. Each 
report shall include financial statements, a description or explanation 
of current operations, the implementation of new policies and 
procedures, and future plans for each function.





Sec. 650c. Cooperation with others.

  6. The  Sergeant-at-Arms 
shall fully cooperate with the appropriate offices and persons in the 
performance of reviews and audits of financial records and 
administrative operations.






[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[Pages 351-353]
[DOCID:hrmanual-65]                         
 
  Clauses 5 and 6 were added in the 104th Congress (sec. 201(c), H. Res. 
6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).


                                 Rule V.


                      chief administrative officer.



Sec. 651a. Duties.

  1.  The Chief Administrative Officer of 
the House shall have operational and financial responsibility for 
functions as assigned by the Committee on House Oversight, and shall be 
subject to the policy direction and oversight of the Committee on House 
Oversight.-



[[Page 352]]

mittee on House Oversight not later than forty-five 
days following the close of each semiannual period ending on June 30 or 
December 31 on the financial and operational status of each function 
under the jurisdiction of the Chief. Each report shall include financial 
statements, a description or explanation of current operations, the 
implementation of new policies and procedures, and future plans for each 
function.


Sec. 651b. Semiannual reports.

  2.  In addition to any other 
reports required by the Committee on House Oversight, the Chief shall 
report to the Com-





Sec. 651c. Cooperation with others.

  3.  The Chief shall fully 
cooperate with the appropriate offices and persons in the performance of 
reviews and audits of financial records and administrative operations.


  This form of rule V was adopted in the 104th Congress (sec. 201(c), H. 
Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). It was amended in the 105th Congress to 
eliminate the supervisory role of the Speaker over the Chief 
Administrative Officer (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). The earlier 
form of the rule enumerated the duties of the Doorkeeper, which were 
transferred to the Sergeant-at-Arms incident to the abolishment of the 
Office of the Doorkeeper (id.).


[[Page 353]]



Sec. 651d. Former Office of Doorkeeper.

  Before  the 104th 
Congress (sec. 201(c), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----), rule V 
enumerated the duties of the Doorkeeper, who enforced the rules relating 
to the privileges of the Hall of the House. The earlier form of the rule 
was adopted in 1838 and amended in 1869, 1880 (I, 260), and 1890 (V, 
7295). By law the Doorkeeper was assigned certain administrative duties 
(I, 262), including certain housekeeping functions. Through his 
employees and appointees, the Doorkeeper also discharged various duties 
not enumerated in the law or in the rules, such as announcing at the 
door of the Hall of the House all messengers from the President and the 
Senate (V, 6591). The Clerk having died, and the Sergeant-at-Arms having 
been absent, the Doorkeeper of the 79th Congress presided at the 
organization of the 80th Congress (Jan. 3, 1947, p. 33). In the 78th 
Congress, the House adopted a resolution on the death of the Doorkeeper 
and appointed a committee to attend his funeral (Jan. 28, 1943, pp. 421-
22).






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Sec. 651e. Former Director of Nonlegislative and 
Financial Services.

  The Chief  Administrative Officer supplanted the Director of 
Non-legislative and Financial Services formerly provided for under 
clause 1 of rule VI in the 103d Congress, which corresponded to an 
erstwhile rule LII of the 102d Congress (see Sec. 654, infra). Certain 
functions and entities formerly within the purview of elected officers 
were transferred to the Director of Non-legislative and Financial 
Services pursuant to section 7 of the House Administrative Reform 
Resolution of 1992 (H. Res. 423, Apr. 9, 1992, p. ----). Section 7(b) of 
that resolution vested the Committee on House Administration (now House 
Oversight) with authority to prescribe regulations providing for the 
orderly transfer of such functions and entities and any other transfers 
necessary for the improvement of non-legislative and financial services 
in the House, so long as not transferring a function or entity within 
the jurisdiction of the Committee under rule X. Section 13 of the 
resolution provided that previous responsibility for a function or 
entity would remain fixed until such function or entity were 
transferred. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule VI of the 103d Congress (then 
still designated as rule LII of the 102d Congress), the Speaker, the 
Majority Leader, and the Minority Leader jointly appointed the first 
Director of Non-legislative and Financial Services of the House on 
October 23, 1992 (Oct. 29, 1992, p. ----).



                                Rule VI.


                      office of inspector general.



Sec. 654. Inspector General.

  1.  There is established an 
Office of Inspector General.


  2. The Inspector General shall be appointed for a Congress by the 
Speaker, the Majority Leader, and the Minority Leader, acting jointly.

  3. Subject to the policy direction and oversight of the Committee on 
House Oversight, the Inspector General shall be responsible only for--

          (a) conducting periodic audits of the financial and 
administrative functions of the House and joint entities;


[[Page 354]]

sults of that audit and suggesting 
appropriate curative actions;
          (b) informing the Officers or other officials who are the 
subject of an audit of the re-

          (c) simultaneously notifying the Speaker, the Majority Leader, 
the Minority Leader, and the chairman and ranking minority party member 
of the Committee on House Oversight in the case of any financial 
irregularity discovered in the course of carrying out responsibilities 
under this rule;

          (d) simultaneously submitting to the Speaker, the Majority 
Leader, the Minority Leader, and the chairman and ranking minority party 
member of the Committee on House Oversight a report of each audit 
conducted under this rule; and


          (e) reporting to the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct information involving possible violations by any Member, 
officer, or employee of the House of any rule of the House or of any law 
applicable to the performance of official duties or the discharge of 
official responsibilities which may require referral to the appropriate 
Federal or State authorities pursuant to clause 4(e)(1)(C) of rule X.

  This form of rule VI was adopted at the beginning of the 104th 
Congress (sec. 201(c), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). Later in the 
104th Congress it was amended to effect a technical correction (H. Res. 
254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----). Its predecessor form was composed in the 
103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----) by combining two rules 
adopted in the House Administrative Reform Resolution of 1992 (H. Res. 
423, 102d Cong., Apr. 9, 1992, p. ----). For the history of rule VI 
before 1992, see Sec. 654a, infra.


[[Page 355]]

Sec. Sec. 651a-e, supra), and clause 2 corresponded to an erstwhile rule 
LIII of the 102d Congress (relating to the Inspector General). In 
converting clause 2 of the former rule VI into the present rule VI, the 
104th Congress: broadened the auditing responsibilities beyond the 
offices of the elected officers (paragraph (a), formerly clause 
2(c)(1)); added requirements for simultaneous reporting (paragraphs (c) 
and (d), formerly clauses 2(c)(3) and (4)); deleted a provision relating 
to classification of employees (formerly clause 2(d)); and added the 
responsibility to report certain information to the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct (paragraph (e)) (sec. 201, H. Res. 6, 
104th Congress, p. ----). The 104th Congress also mandated that the 
Inspector General, in consultation with the Speaker and the Committee on 
House Oversight, procure an independent and comprehensive audit of House 
financial records and administrative operations and report the results 
thereof in accord with this rule (sec. 107, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 
----).
  In the form of the rule adopted in the 103d Congress, clause 1 
corresponded to an erstwhile rule LII of the 102d Congress (relating to 
the Director of Non-legislative and Financial Services, who in the 104th 
Congress was supplanted by the Chief Administrative Officer; see rule V, 


  Pursuant to clause 2(b) of the form of the rule adopted in the 103d 
Congress, the Speaker, the Majority Leader, and the Minority Leader 
jointly appointed the first Inspector General of the House of 
Representatives (Nov. 10, 1993, p. ----).





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Sec. 654a. Former Office of the Postmaster.

  Until  the 102d 
Congress, rule VI provided for an Office of the Postmaster, who 
superintended the post offices of the House and the delivery of its 
mail. The earlier form of the rule was adopted in 1838 and amended in 
1880 (I, 270), 1911 (VI, 34), 1971 (H. Res. 5, 92d Cong., p. 144), and 
1972 (H. Res. 1153, 92d Cong., pp. 36013-15). The Office of the 
Postmaster was abolished during the 102d Congress by sections 2 and 5 of 
the House Administrative Reform Resolution of 1992 (H. Res. 423, Apr. 9, 
1992, p. ----).



                                Rule VII.


                         duties of the chaplain.




Sec. 655. Duties of the Chaplain.

  The  Chaplain shall attend 
at the commencement of each day's sitting of the House and open the same 
with prayer.



[[Page 356]]

session of the House, absent an adjournment or recess 
(compare Apr. 22 and 23, 1985, pp. 8753 and 8959). Form of resignation 
of the Chaplain (Feb. 28, 1921, p. 4075; Jan. 30, 1950, p. 1097). The 
election of a Chaplain emeritus (VI, 31; Jan. 30, 1950, p. 1095).
  This rule was adopted in 1880 (I, 272), but the sessions of the House 
were opened with prayer from the first, and the Chaplain was an officer 
of the House before the adoption of the rule (I, 273-282). The Chaplain 
takes the oath prescribed for the officers of the House (VI, 31; Feb. 1, 
1950, p. 1311). Prayer by the Chaplain is not business requiring the 
presence of a quorum and the Speaker declines to entertain a point of no 
quorum before prayer is offered (VI, 663; clause 6(a) (1) of rule XV). 
There is no precedent for prayer to be offered by the Chaplain during a 
continuous 





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  In the 97th Congress, the House adopted a privileged resolution 
asserting the constitutional prerogative of the House to establish the 
office of Chaplain and directing counsel for the Speaker and Chaplain to 
seek judicial review of a United States Court of Appeals decision 
(Murray v. Buchanan, 729 F.2d 689) holding that no constitutional 
provision precluded judicial determination whether establishment of the 
Chaplain violated the establishment clause of the First amendment to the 
Constitution (H. Res. 413, Mar. 30, 1982, p. 5890).


                               Rule VIII.


                         duties of the members.




Sec. 656. Members required to be present and vote.

  1.  Every 
Member shall be present within the Hall of the House during its 
sittings, unless excused or necessarily prevented; and shall vote on 
each question put, unless he has a direct <> personal or pecuniary interest in the event of such 
question.


  This clause was adopted in 1789, with amendment in 1890 (V, 5941).

  Leaves of absence are presented pending the motion to adjourn (IV, 
3151), and are usually granted by general consent, but sometimes are 
opposed or even refused (II, 1142-1145). Application for leave of 
absence is properly presented by filing with the Clerk the printed form 
to be secured at the desk rather than by oral request from the floor 
(VI, 199). Whether or not they are privileged is a matter of doubt (II, 
1146, 1147). Excuses for absence, as distinguished from leaves of 
absence, may be granted by less than a quorum (IV, 3000-3002). The 
statutes provide that deductions may be made from the salaries of 
Members who are absent without sufficient excuse (II, 1149, 1150); and 
while this law has been enforced (IV, 3011, footnote; VI, 30, 198), its 
general application is not practical under modern conditions. Form of 
resolution for the arrest of Members absent without leave (VI, 686).


[[Page 357]]

a Member of the right to vote (V, 5937, 5952, 5959, 5966, 5967; VIII, 
3072). In one or two early instances the Speaker has decided that 
because of personal interest, a Member should not vote (V, 5955, 5958); 
but on all other occasions and in the later practice the Speaker has 
held that the Member himself and not the Chair should determine this 
question (V, 5950, 5951; VIII, 3071; Speaker Albert, Dec. 2, 1975, p. 
38135; Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 1, 1979, p. 3748; July 30, 1996, p. ----), 
and the Speaker has denied his own power to deprive a Member of the 
constitutional right to vote (V, 5956; Speaker Albert, Dec. 2, 1975, p. 
38135; Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 1, 1979, p. 3748). Members may not vote in 
the House by proxy (VII, 1014). Instance where a Member submitted his 
resignation from a committee on grounds of disqualifying personal 
interest (VIII, 3074).


Sec. 658. Member's control of his own vote.

  It  has been 
found impracticable to enforce the provision requiring every Member to 
vote (V, 5942-5948), and such question, even if entertained, may not 
interrupt a pending rollcall vote (V, 5947). The weight of authority 
also favors the idea that there is no authority in the House to deprive 


  The House has frequently excused Members from voting in cases of 
personal interest (III, 2294; V, 5962; Aug. 2, 1949, pp. 10591, 10592; 
Oct. 20, 1951, p. 13746; July 21, 1954, p. 11262; July 28, 1955, p. 
11930; July 12, 1956, p. 12566).




Sec. 659. Nature of disqualifying personal interest.

  It  is a 
principle of ``immemorial observance'' that a Member should withdraw 
when a question concerning himself arises (V, 5949); but it has been 
held that the disqualifying interest must be such as affects the Member 
directly (V, 5954, 5955, 5963), and not as one of a class (V, 5952; 
VIII, 3071, 3072; Speaker Bankhead, May 31, 1939, pp. 6359-60; Speaker 
Albert, Dec. 2, 1975, p. 38135). In a case where question affected the 
titles of several Members to their seats, each refrained from voting in 
his own case, but did vote on the identical cases of his associates (V, 
5957, 5958). And while a Member should not vote on the direct questions 
affecting himself, he has sometimes voted on incidental questions (V, 
5960, 5961).





Sec. 660a. Pairs.

  2.  Pairs shall be announced by the Clerk 
immediately before the announcement by the Chair of the result of the 
vote, by the House or Committee of the Whole from a written list 
furnished him, and signed by the Member making the statement to the 
Clerk, which list shall be published in the Record as a part of the 
proceedings, immediately following the names of those not voting. 
However, pairs shall be announced but once during the same legislative 
day.



[[Page 358]]

of electronic voting in the 93d Congress (H. Res. 1123, 
Oct. 13, 1972, pp. 36005-12). This clause was amended in the 94th 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20) to permit pairs to be 
announced in the Committee of the Whole.
  This clause was adopted in 1880, although the practice of pairing had 
then existed in the House for many years (V, 5981). The language of the 
clause was slightly altered by amendment in 1972 to reflect the 
installation 


  Pairs may not be announced at a time other than that prescribed by the 
rule (V, 6046), and the voting intentions of an absent Member may not 
otherwise be announced by a colleague (VIII, 3151). Prior to the 94th 
Congress pairs were not permitted in Committee of the Whole (V, 5984; 
Speaker Albert, Jan. 15, 1973, p. 1054). The House does not consider 
questions arising out of the breaking of a pair (V, 5982, 5983, 6095; 
VIII, 3082, 3085, 3087-3089, 3093), or permit a Member to vote after the 
call on the plea that he had refrained because of misunderstanding as to 
a pair (V, 6080, 6081). Discussion of the origin of the practice of 
pairing in the House and Senate (VIII, 3076). On questions requiring a 
two-thirds majority Members are paired two in the affirmative against 
one in the negative (VIII, 3088; Nov. 15, 1983, p. 32685). For Speaker 
Clark's interpretation of the rule and practice of the House of 
Representatives as to pairs, see VIII, 3089.



Sec. 660b. Voting.

  3.  (a) A Member may not authorize any 
other individual to cast his vote or record his presence in the House or 
Committee of the Whole.


  (b) No individual other than a Member may cast a vote or record a 
Member's presence in the House or Committee of the Whole.


  (c) A Member may not cast a vote for any other Member or record 
another Member's presence in the House or Committee of the Whole.





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[[Page 359]]
 
  Clause 3 was added in the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 
98-113). The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct recommended this 
addition to the rules in its May 15, 1980, report (H. Rept. 96-991) on 
voting anomalies which had occurred in the House. Even prior to the 
addition of this clause, however, ``ghost voting'' was considered 
unethical (VII, 1014; Dec. 18, 1987, p. 36274).


                                Rule IX.


                         questions of privilege.




Sec. 661. Definition of questions of privilege.

  1.  Questions 
of privilege shall be, first, those affecting the rights of the House 
collectively, its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings; 
and second, those affecting the rights, reputation, and conduct of 
Members, individually, in their representative capacity only.




Sec. 661a. Precedence of questions of privilege.

  2.  (a)(1) A 
resolution reported as a question of the privileges of the House, or 
offered from the floor by the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader as 
a question of the privileges of the House, or offered as privileged 
under article I, section 7, clause 1 of the Constitution, shall have 
precedence of all other questions except motions to adjourn. A 
resolution offered from the floor by a Member other than the Majority 
Leader or the Minority Leader as a question of the privileges of the 
House shall have precedence of all other questions except motions to 
adjourn only at a time or place, designated by the Speaker, in the 
legislative schedule within two legislative days after the day on which 
the proponent announces to the House his intention to offer the 
resolution and the form of the resolution.



[[Page 360]]

(B) the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader or a designee, as determined 
by the Speaker.
  (2) The time allotted for debate on a resolution offered from the 
floor as a question of the privileges of the House shall be equally 
divided between (A) the proponent of the resolution, and 


  (b) A question of personal privilege shall have precedence of all 
other questions except motions to adjourn.


  This rule was adopted in 1880 (III, 2521). It merely put in form of 
definition what had been long established in the practice of the House 
but what the House had hitherto been unwilling to define (II, 1603). It 
was amended in the 103d Congress to authorize the Speaker to designate a 
time within a period of two legislative days for the consideration of a 
resolution to be offered from the floor by a Member other than the 
Majority Leader or the Minority Leader as a question of the privileges 
of the House after that Member has announced to the House his intention 
to do so and the content of the resolution, and to divide the time for 
debate on a resolution offered from the floor as a question of the 
privileges of the House (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----).



Sec. 662. Questions of privileges of the House.

  The  body of 
precedent relating to questions of privilege includes rulings that span 
the adoption of standing rule IX in 1880.



[[Page 361]]

resolution declaring vacant the office of Speaker is presented as a 
matter of high constitutional privilege (VI, 35). For further discussion 
with respect to the organization of the House and the title of its 
Members to seats, see Sec. Sec. 18-30, 46-51, 56, and 58-60, supra.


Sec. 662a. Questions relating to 
organization.

  The  privileges of the House also include questions relating 
to its organization (I, 22-24, 189, 212, 290), and the title of its 
Members to their seats (III, 2579-2587), which may be raised as 
questions of the privileges of the House even though the subject has 
been previously referred to committee (I, 742; III, 2584; VIII, 2307), 
such as resolutions to declare prima facie right to a seat, or to 
declare a vacancy, where the House has referred the questions of prima 
facie and final rights to an elections committee for investigation (H. 
Res. 1, Jan. 3, 1985, p. 381; H. Res. 52, Feb. 7, 1985, p. 2220; H. Res. 
97, Mar. 4, 1985, p. 4277; H. Res. 121, Apr. 2, 1985, p. 7118; H. Res. 
148, Apr. 30, 1985, p. 9801); various questions incidental to the right 
to a seat (I, 322, 328, 673, 742; II, 1207; III, 2588; VII, 2316), such 
as a resolution declaring a vacancy in the House because a Member-elect 
is unable to take the oath of office and to serve as a Member or to 
expressly resign the office due to an incapacitating illness (H. Res. 
80, Feb. 24, 1981, p. 2916); a resolution declaring neither of two 
claimants seated pending a committee report and decision of final right 
to the seat by the House (Jan. 3, 1961, pp. 23-25; Jan. 3, 1985, p. 
381), including incidental provisions providing compensation for both 
claimants and office staffing by the Clerk (Jan. 3, 1985, p. 381), and 
resolutions directing temporary seating of a certified Member-elect 
pending determination of final right notwithstanding prior House action 
declining to seat either claimant (Feb. 7, 1985, p. 2220; Mar. 4, 1985, 
p. 4277). A resolution electing a House officer is presented as a 
question of privilege (July 31, 1997, p. ----). A 




Sec. 662b. Questions relating to constitutional 
prerogatives.

  The  privileges of the House, as distinguished from that of 
the individual Member, include questions relating to its constitutional 
prerogatives in respect to revenue legislation and appropriations (see, 
e.g., II, 1480-1501; VI, 315; Nov. 8, 1979, pp. 31517-18; Oct. 1, 1985, 
p. 25418; June 16, 1988, p. 14780; June 21, 1988, p. 15425; Aug. 12, 
1994, p. ----). For a more thorough record of revenue bills returned to 
the Senate, see Sec. 102, supra. Such a question of privilege may be 
raised at any time when the House is in possession of the papers (June 
20, 1968, Deschler's Precedents, vol. 3, ch. 13, sec. 14.2; Aug. 19, 
1982, p. 22127), but not otherwise (Apr. 6, 1995, p. ----). The 
constitutional prerogatives of the House also include its function with 
respect to treaties (II, 1502-1537); impeachments and matters incidental 
thereto (see Sec. 604, supra); bills ``pocket vetoed'' during an 
intersession adjournment (Nov. 21, 1989, p. 31156); its power to punish 
for contempt, whether of its own Members (II, 1641-1665), of witnesses 
who are summoned to give information (II, 1608, 1612; III, 1666-1724), 
or of other persons (II, 1597-1640); and questions relating to legal 
challenges involving the prerogatives of the House (Jan. 29, 1981, p. 
1304; Mar. 30, 1982, p. 5890), including a resolution responding to a 
court challenge to the prerogative of the House to establish a Chaplain 
(Mar. 30, 1982, p. 5890). For a discussion of the relationship of the 
House and its Members to the courts, see Sec. Sec. 290-291b, supra.



[[Page 362]]

  The ordinary rights and functions of the House under the Constitution 
are exercised in accordance with the rules without precedence as matters 
of privilege (III, 2567). For example, a legislative proposition 
presented as a question of constitutional privilege under the provisions 
of the 14th amendment was held not to involve a question of privilege 
(VI, 48). Similarly, neither the enumeration of legislative powers in 
article I of the Constitution nor the prohibition in the seventh clause 
of section 9 of that article against any withdrawal from the Treasury 
except by enactment of an appropriation renders a measure purporting to 
exercise or limit the exercise of those powers a question of the 
privileges of the House, because rule IX is concerned not with the 
privileges of the Congress, as a legislative branch, but only with the 
privileges of the House, as a House (Speaker Gingrich, Feb. 7, 1995, p. 
----; Dec. 22, 1995, p. ----; Jan. 3, 1996, p. ----; Jan. 24, 1996, p. 
----; Feb. 1, 1996, p. ----). On the other hand, an extraordinary 
question relating to the House vote required by the Constitution to pass 
a joint resolution extending the ratification period of a proposed 
Constitutional amendment was raised as a question of privilege where the 
House had not otherwise made a separate determination on that procedural 
question and where consideration of the joint resolution had been made 
in order (Speaker O'Neill, Aug. 15, 1978, pp. 26203-04).



Sec. 662c. Questions relating to official 
conduct.

  The  privileges of the House include certain questions relating to 
the conduct of Members, officers, and employees (see, e.g., I, 284, 285; 
III, 2628, 2645-2647). Under that standard, the following resolutions 
have been held to constitute questions of the privileges of the House: 
(1) a resolution directing the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct to investigate illegal solicitation of political contributions 
in the House Office Building by unnamed sitting Members (July 10, 1985, 
p. 18397); (2) a resolution establishing an ad hoc committee to 
investigate allegations of ``ghost'' employment in the House (Apr. 9, 
1992, p. ----); (3) a resolution to further investigate the conduct of a 
Member on which it has reported to the House (Aug. 5, 1987, p. 22458); 
(4) a resolution directing the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct to report to the House the status of an investigation pending 
before the committee (Nov. 17, 1995, p. ----; Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----); 
(5) a resolution appointing an outside counsel (Sept. 19, 1996, p. ----; 
Sept. 24, 1996, p. ----); (6) a resolution to commit other matters to an 
outside counsel already appointed by the committee (June 27, 1996, p. --
--); (7) a resolution directing the committee to release the report of 
an outside counsel (Sept. 19, 1996, p. ----; Sept. 24, 1996, p. ----); 
(8) a resolution making allegations concerning the propriety of 
responses by officers of the House to court subpoenas for papers of the 
House without notice to the House, and directions to a committee to 
investigate such allegations (Feb. 13, 1980, pp. 2768-69); (9) a 
resolution making allegations of improper representation by counsel of 
the legal position of Members in a brief filed in the Court and 
directions for withdrawal of the brief (Mar. 22, 1990, p. 4996); (10) a 
resolution making allegations of unauthorized actions by a committee 
employee to intervene in judicial proceedings (Feb. 5, 1992, p. ----); 
(11) a resolution directing the Clerk to notify interested parties that 
the House regretted the use of official resources to present to the 
Supreme Court of Florida a legal brief arguing the unconstitutionality 
of Congressional term limits, and that the House had no position on that 
question (Nov. 4, 1991, p. 29968); and (12) a resolution alleging a 
chronology of litigation relating to the immunity of a Member from civil 
liability for bona fide official acts and expressing the views of the 
House thereon (May 12, 1988, p. 10574). For a discussion of disciplinary 
resolutions meting out punishment for violations of standards of 
official conduct, which constitute questions of the privileges of the 
House, see Sec. Sec. 62-66, supra.



[[Page 363]]

the names and pertinent 
account information of Members and former Members found to have abused 
the privileges of the ``bank'' in the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms 
(Mar. 12, 1992, p. ----); instructing the Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct to disclose further account information respecting 
Members and former Members having checks held by that entity (Mar. 12, 
1992, p. ----); mandating full and accurate disclosure of pertinent 
information concerning the operation of that entity (Mar. 12, 1992, p. 
----); responding to a subpoena for records of that entity (Apr. 29, 
1992, p. ----); responding to a contemporaneous ``request'' for such 
records from a Special Counsel (Apr. 29, 1992, p. ----); and authorizing 
an officer of the House to release certain documents in response to 
another such request from the Special Counsel (May 28, 1992, p. ----). 
The latter category included resolutions: directing the Committee on 
House Administration to conduct a thorough investigation of the 
operation and management of the Office of the Postmaster in light of 
recent press allegations of wrongdoing (Feb. 5, 1992, p. ----); to 
create a select committee to investigate the same matter (Feb. 5, 1992, 
p. ----); requiring an explanation of a reported interference with 
authorized access to a committee investigation of that matter (Apr. 9, 
1992, p. ----); to redress a perception of obstruction of justice by 
recusing the General Counsel to the Clerk from matters relating to the 
investigation of that matter (Apr. 9, 1992, p. ----); directing the 
Speaker to explain the lapse of time before the House received notice 
that several Members and an officer of the House had received subpoenas 
to testify before a Federal grand jury investigating that matter (May 
14, 1992, p. ----); directing the Committee on House Administration to 
transmit to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and to the 
Department of Justice all records obtained by its task force to 
investigate that matter (July 22, 1992, p. ----); directing the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to investigate violations of 
confidentiality by staff engaged in the investigation of that matter 
(July 22, 1992, p. ----); directing the Committee on House 
Administration to release transcripts of the proceedings of its task 
force to investigate that matter, where the investigation was ordered as 
a question of privilege and its results had been ordered reported to the 
House (July 22, 1992, p. ----; July 23, 1992, p. ----); directing the 
Committee on House Administration to redress the inaccurate naming of a 
Member in minority views accompanying a report on that matter (July 23, 
1992, p. ----); directing the public release of official papers of the 
House relating to an investigation by the Committee on House 
Administration's Task Force to investigate the operation and management 
of the Office of the Postmaster (July 22, 1993, p. ----); directing the 
public release of transcripts and other relevant documents relating to 
an investigation by the Committee on House Administration's Task Force 
to investigate the operation and management of the Office of the 
Postmaster unless two designees of the bipartisan leadership agree to 
the contrary (June 9, 1994, p. ----); and directing the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct to defer any investigation relating to the 
operation of the former Post Office until 

[[Page 364]]

assured that its inquiry would not interfere with an ongoing criminal 
investigation, as well as a resolution directing the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct to proceed with the investigation 
(Mar. 2, 1994, p. ----).
  In the 102d and 103d Congresses, a large number of resolutions 
relating to the operation of the ``bank'' in the Office of the Sergeant-
at-Arms and the management of the Office of the Postmaster were 
presented as questions of the privileges of the House. The former 
category included resolutions: terminating all bank and check-cashing 
operations in the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms and directing the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to review GAO audits of such 
operations (Oct. 3, 1991, p. 25435); instructing the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct to disclose 

  In the 105th Congress a 12-member bipartisan task force appointed by 
the Majority and Minority Leaders conducted a comprehensive review of 
the House ethics process. During the deliberations of the task force, 
the House imposed a moratorium on raising certain questions of privilege 
under this rule with respect to official conduct and on the filing or 
processing of ethics complaints. The moratorium was imposed in the 
expectation that the recommendations of the task force would include 
rules changes relating to establishment and enforcement of standards of 
official conduct for Members, officers, and employees of the House (Feb. 
12, 1997, p. ----). The moratorium was extended through September 10, 
1997 (July 30, 1997, p. ----). The task force recommendations ultimately 
were adopted with certain amendments (H. Res. 168, Sept. 18, 1997, p. --
--).



Sec. 662d. Questions relating to integrity of 
proceedings.

  The  privileges of the House include questions relating to the 
integrity of its proceedings, including the processes by which bills are 
considered (III, 2597-2601, 2614; IV, 3383, 3388, 3478), such as the 
constitutional question of the vote required to pass a joint resolution 
extending the State ratification period of a proposed Constitutional 
Amendment (Speaker O'Neill, Aug. 15, 1978, pp. 26203-04). Privileges of 
the House also include: (1) resignation of a Member from a select or 
standing committee (Speaker Albert, June 16, 1975, p. 19054; Speaker 
O'Neill, Mar. 8, 1977, pp. 6579-82); (2) newspaper charges affecting the 
honor and dignity of the House (VII, 911); and (3) the conduct of 
representatives of the press (II, 1630, 1631; III, 2627; VI, 553).


  Admission to the floor of the House constitutes a question of 
privilege (III, 2624-2626), including a resolution alleging indecorous 
behavior of a former Member and instructing the Sergeant-at-Arms to ban 
the former Member from the floor, and rooms leading thereto, until the 
resolution of a contested election to which he was party (H. Res. 233, 
Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 365]]

be raised as a question of privilege, mere 
typographical errors or ordinary revisions of a Member's remarks do not 
form the basis for privileged motions to correct the Record (Apr. 25, 
1985, p. 9419; see Sec. 927, infra).
  The accuracy and propriety of reports in the Congressional Record also 
constitute a question of privileges of the House (V, 7005-7023; VIII, 
3163, 3461, 3463, 3464, 3491, 3499; Apr. 20, 1936, p. 5704; May 11, 
1936, p. 7019; May 7, 1979, pp. 10099-100), including: (1) a resolution 
asserting that a Member's remarks spoken in debate were omitted from the 
printed Record, directing that the Record be corrected and requiring the 
Clerk to report on the circumstances and possible corrective action 
(July 29, 1983, p. 21685); (2) resolutions directing the Committee on 
Rules to investigate and report to the House within a time certain on 
alleged alterations of the Congressional Record (Jan. 24, 1984, p. 250); 
and (3) resolutions addressing whether the Record should constitute a 
verbatim transcript (May 8, 1985, p. 11072; Feb. 7, 1990, p. 1515). 
Although a motion to correct the Congressional Record based on improper 
alterations or insertions may 

  The protection of House records constitutes a question of the 
privileges of the House, especially when records are demanded by the 
courts (III, 2604, 2659, 2660-2664; VI, 587; Sept. 18, 1992, p. ----; 
see also Sec. 291, supra). Privileges of the House involving records 
also include: (1) a resolution furnishing certain requested information 
to an Independent Counsel investigating covert arms transactions with 
Iran (June 4, 1992, p. ----); (2) a resolution responding to a request 
of a law enforcement official regarding the timing of the public release 
of official papers of the House (July 22, 1993, p. ----); (3) a 
resolution directing a committee to investigate press publication of a 
report that the House had ordered not to be released (Speaker Albert, 
Feb. 19, 1976, p. 3914); and (4) a resolution directing the public 
release of transcripts and other relevant documents relating to an 
investigation by the Committee on House Administration's Task Force to 
investigate the operation and management of the Office of the Postmaster 
unless two designees of the bipartisan leadership agreed to the contrary 
(June 9, 1994, p. ----).

  A question regarding the accuracy of House documents constitutes a 
question of privileges of the House (V, 7329), including: (1) a 
resolution asserting that a printed transcript of joint subcommittee 
hearings contained unauthorized alterations of the statements of 
subcommittee members in the prior Congress and that unauthorized 
alterations may have occurred in other committee hearing transcripts, 
and proposing the creation of a select committee to investigate and 
report back by a date certain (June 29, 1983, p. 18279); (2) a 
resolution alleging the unauthorized creation and falsification of 
documents distributed to the general public at a committee hearing and 
resolving that the Speaker take appropriate measures to ensure the 
integrity of the legislative process and report his actions and 
recommendations to the House (Oct. 25, 1995, p. ----); and (3) a 
resolution requesting the Senate to return a House-passed bill and 
accompanying papers to the House if an error had been made by the Clerk 
in preparing the message to the Senate (Oct. 1, 1982, p. 27172). The 
privileges of the House also include: (1) the integrity of its Journal 
(II, 1363; III, 2620) and messages (III, 2613); (2) unreasonable delay 
in transmitting an enrolled bill to the President (Oct. 8, 1991, p. 
25761); and (3) a concurrent resolution directing the Clerk of the House 
and the Secretary of the Senate to produce official duplicates of 
certain legislative papers (Oct. 5, 1992, p. ----).


[[Page 366]]

for the audio and visual broadcast 
coverage of the Chamber while Members are voting has been held to 
present a question of the privileges of the House, because clause 9 of 
rule I requires complete and unedited audio and visual coverage of House 
proceedings and coverage of rollcall votes had not been implemented 
(Apr. 30, 1985, p. 9821).
  A resolution alleging that the Chair had improperly ordered the 
interruption of audio broadcast coverage of certain House proceedings 
constitutes a question of privileges of the House (Mar. 17, 1988, p. 
4180), as does a resolution providing for an experiment in the 
telecasting and broadcasting of House proceedings (Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 
15, 1977, pp. 7607-08). Similarly, a resolution authorizing and 
directing the Speaker to provide 

  Alleged improprieties in committee procedures, including charges of 
committee inaction (III, 2610), secret committee conferences (VI, 578), 
refusal to make staff study available to certain Members and to the 
public (Feb. 14, 1939, p. 1370), refusal to give hearings or allow 
petitions to be read (III, 2607), refusal to permit committee member to 
take photostatic copies of committee files (Aug. 14, 1957, p. 14739), 
and a determination whether a committee violated House rules by voting 
to take allegedly defamatory testimony in open session (June 30, 1958, 
pp. 12690-91), were all held not to give rise to a question of the 
privileges of the House.



Sec. 662e. Questions relating to comfort and 
convenience.

  The  privileges of the House include questions relating to the 
comfort and convenience of Members and employees (III, 2629-2636), such 
as resolutions concerning the proper attire for Members in the Chamber 
when the temperature is uncomfortably warm (July 17, 1979, p. 19008); as 
well as questions relating to safety, such as resolutions requiring an 
investigation into the safety of Members in view of alleged structural 
deficiencies in the West Front of the Capitol (July 25, 1980, pp. 19762-
64); and directing the appointment of a select committee to inquire into 
alleged fire safety deficiencies in the environs of the House (May 10, 
1988, p. 10286).



[[Page 367]]

frain from similar invitations, was held not to present 
a question of the privileges of the House because it proposed a 
collateral change in an order of the House previously adopted (that the 
House recess for the purpose of receiving the President of France) and a 
new rule for future cases (Jan. 31, 1996, p. ----). A resolution 
collaterally challenging the validity or fairness of an adopted rule of 
the House by delaying its implementation was held not to give rise to a 
question of the privileges of the House (Speaker Foley, sustained by 
tabling of appeal, Feb. 3, 1993, p. ----). A resolution directing that 
the party ratios of all standing committees, subcommittees, and staffs 
thereof be changed within a time certain to reflect overall party ratios 
in the House was held to constitute a change in the rules of the House 
and not to constitute a proper question of the privileges of the House 
(the standing rules already providing mechanisms for selecting committee 
members and staff) (Jan. 23, 1984, p. 78). On the other hand, although 
the rules of the House establish a procedure for fixing the ratio of 
majority to minority members on full committees and also provide that 
subcommittees are subject to the direction and control of the full 
committee (clause 1(b) of rule XI), a question of the privileges of the 
House is raised where it is alleged that subcommittee ratios should 
reflect full committee ratios established by the House and failure to do 
so denies representational rights at the subcommittee level (Oct. 4, 
1984, p. 30042). A resolution alleging that a recitation of the pledge 
of allegiance at the start of each legislative day would enhance the 
dignity and integrity of the proceedings of the House and directing that 
the Speaker implement such a recitation as the practice of the House was 
held to propose a change in the rules and therefore not to give rise to 
a question of the privileges of the House (Sept. 9, 1988, p. 23298). A 
resolution directing that the reprogramming process established in law 
for Legislative Branch appropriations be subjected to third-party review 
for conformity with external standards of accounting but alleging no 
deviation from duly constituted procedure was held not to give rise to a 
question of the privileges of the House (Speaker Foley, sustained by 
tabling of appeal, May 20, 1992, p. ----).


Sec. 662f. May not effect change in rules.

  A motion  to amend 
the rules of the House does not present a question of privilege [Speaker 
Cannon sustained by the House by a vote of 235 to 53, thereby overruling 
the decision of March 19, 1910 (VIII, 3376), which held such motion 
privileged (VIII, 3377)], and a question of the privileges of the House 
may not be invoked to effect a change in the rules or standing orders of 
the House or their interpretation (Speaker O'Neill, Dec. 6, 1977, pp. 
38470-73; Sept. 9, 1988, p. 23298; July 30, 1992, p. ----; Jan. 31, 
1996, p. ----), including directions to the Speaker infringing upon his 
discretionary power of recognition under clause 2 of rule XIV (July 25, 
1980, pp. 19762-64), for example, by requiring that he give priority in 
recognition to any Member seeking to call up a matter highly privileged 
pursuant to a statutory provision, over a member from the Committee on 
Rules seeking to call up a privileged report from that committee 
(Speaker Wright, Mar. 11, 1987, p. 5403), or by requiring that he state 
the question on overriding a veto before recognizing for a motion to 
refer (thereby overruling prior decisions of the Chair to change the 
order of precedence of motions) (Speaker Wright, Aug. 3, 1988, p. 
20281). Similarly, a resolution alleging that, in light of an 
internationally objectionable French program of nuclear test 
detonations, for the House to receive the President of France in a Joint 
Meeting would be injurious to its dignity and to the integrity of its 
proceedings, and resolving that the Speaker withdraw the pending 
invitation and re-



[[Page 368]]

See also Sec. 662a, supra, for a discussion of legislative propositions 
purporting to present questions of the privileges of the House.
  A question of the privileges of the House may not be invoked to 
prescribe a special order of business for the House, because otherwise 
any Member would be able to attach privilege to a legislative measure 
merely by alleging impact on the dignity of the House based upon House 
action or inaction (Speaker Albert, June 27, 1974, p. 21596; July 31, 
1975, p. 26250; Dec. 22, 1996, p. ----; Jan. 3, 1996, p. ----; Jan. 24, 
1996, p. ----). For example, a resolution alleging that the inability of 
the House to enact certain legislation constituted an impairment of the 
dignity of the House, the integrity of its proceedings, and its place in 
public esteem, and resolving that the House be considered to have passed 
such legislation, does not give rise to a question of the privileges of 
the House (Jan. 3, 1996, p. ----; Jan. 24, 1996, p. ----). Similarly, a 
resolution precluding an adjournment of the House until a specified 
legislative measure is considered does not constitute a question of the 
privileges of the House (Feb. 1, 1996, p. ----). 



Sec. 662g. As distinct from privileged questions.

  The  clause 
of the rule giving questions of privilege precedence of all other 
questions except a motion to adjourn is a recognition of a principle 
always well understood in the House, for it is an axiom of the 
parliamentary law that such a question ``supersedes the consideration of 
the original question, and must be first disposed of'' (III, 2522, 2523; 
VI, 595). As the business of the House began to increase it was found 
necessary to give certain important matters a precedence by rule, and 
such matters are called ``privileged questions.'' But as they relate 
merely to the order of business under the rules, they are to be 
distinguished from ``questions of privilege'' which relate to the safety 
or efficiency of the House itself as an organ for action (III, 2718). It 
is evident, therefore, that a question of privilege takes precedence 
over a matter merely privileged under the rules (III, 2526-2530; V, 
6454; VIII, 3465). Certain matters of business, arising under provisions 
of the Constitution mandatory in nature, have been held to have a 
privilege which superseded the rules establishing the order of business, 
as bills providing for census or apportionment (I, 305-308), bills 
returned with the objections of the President (IV, 3530-3536), 
propositions of impeachment (III, 2045-2048, 2051, 2398; July 22, 1986, 
p. 17294), and questions incidental thereto (III, 2401, 2418; V, 7261; 
July 22, 1986, p. 17306; Dec. 2, 1987, p. 33720; Jan. 3, 1989, p. 84; 
Feb. 7, 1989, p. 1726), matters relating to the count of the electoral 
vote (III, 2573-2578), resolutions relating to adjournment and recess of 
Congress (V, 6698, 6701-6706), and a resolution declaring the office of 
Speaker vacant (VI, 35); but under later decisions certain of these 
matters which have no other basis in the Constitution or in the rules 
for privileged status, such as bills relating to census and 
apportionment, have been held not to present questions of privilege, and 
the effect of such decisions is to require all questions of privilege to 
come within the specific provisions of this rule (VI, 48; VII, 889; Apr. 
8, 1926, p. 7147) (see Sec. 662b, supra).


  A resolution that presents a proper question of the privileges of the 
House (alteration of subcommittee hearing transcripts) may propose the 
creation of a select investigatory committee with subpoena authority to 
report back to the House by a date certain (June 29, 1983, p. 18104), 
but may not appropriate funds for the investigating committee from the 
contingent fund (now referred to as ``applicable accounts of the House 
described in clause 1(h)(1) of rule X'') (VI, 395).


[[Page 369]]

connected with the Member's representative 
capacity, was also held to involve a question of privilege (II, 1624). 
But there has been doubt as to the right of the House to interfere for 
the protection of Members, who outside the Hall, get into difficulties 
not connected with their official duties (II, 1277; III, 2678; 
footnote). Charges against the conduct of a Member are held to involve 
privilege when they relate to his representative capacity (III, 1828-
1830, 2716; VI, 604, 612; VIII, 2479); but when they relate to conduct 
at a time before he became a Member they have not been entertained as of 
privilege (II, 1287; III, 2691, 2723, 2725). While questions of personal 
privilege normally involve matters touching on a Member's reputation, a 
Member may be recognized for a question of personal privilege based on a 
violation of his rights as a Member, such as unauthorized printed 
alterations in his statements made during a subcommittee hearing in a 
prior Congress (since the second phrase of this clause speaks to the 
``rights, reputation, and conduct of Members, individually'') (June 28, 
1983, p. 17674). A printed characterization by an Officer of the House 
of a Member's proposed amendments as ``dilatory and frivolous'' may give 
rise to a question of personal privilege (Aug. 1, 1985, p. 22542) as may 
the fraudulent use of a Member's official stationery as a ``dear 
colleague'' letter (Sept. 17, 1986, p. 23605). While a Member may be 
recognized on a question of personal privilege to complain about an 
abuse of House rules as applied to debate in which he was properly 
participating, he may not raise a question of personal privilege merely 
to complain that microphones had been turned off during disorderly 
conduct following expiration of his recognition for debate (Mar. 16, 
1988, p. 4085).


Sec. 663. Questions of personal privilege.

  The  privilege of 
the Member rests primarily on the Constitution, which gives to him a 
conditional immunity from arrest (Sec. 90, supra) and an unconditional 
freedom of debate in the House (III, 2670, Sec. 92, supra). A menace to 
the personal safety of Members from an insecure ceiling in the Hall was 
held to involve a question of the highest privilege (III, 2685); and an 
assault on a Member within the Capitol when the House was not in 
session, from a cause not 


  Speaker Wright rose to a question of personal privilege to respond to 
a ``statement of alleged violations'' pending in the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct; and, pending the committee's disposition 
of his motion to dismiss, announced his intention to resign as Speaker 
and as a Member (May 31, 1989, p. 10440). Speaker Gingrich rose to a 
question of personal privilege to discuss his own official conduct 
previously resolved by the House, which question was based upon press 
accounts (Apr. 17, 1997, p. ----). A Member rose to a question of 
personal privilege to discuss his own official conduct relative to his 
account with the ``bank'' operated by the Sergeant-at-Arms, which 
question was based on press accounts (Mar. 19, 1992, p. ----).


[[Page 370]]

sponses in an interview (III, 2707, 2708; Aug. 3, 
1990, p. 22135), have not been entertained. A question of personal 
privilege may not ordinarily be based merely on words spoken in debate 
(July 23, 1987, p. 20861; Mar. 16, 1988, p. 4085; Nov. 16, 1989, p. 
29569; Sept. 25, 1996, p. ----). However, a Member may raise a question 
of personal privilege based upon press accounts of another Member's 
remarks, in debate or off the floor, which impugn his character or 
motives (May 15, 1984, pp. 12207 and 12211; May 31, 1984, p. 14620), or 
based upon newspaper accounts of televised press coverage of a committee 
hearing at which he was criticized derogatorily (Mar. 3, 1988, p. 3196).

  A distinction has been drawn between charges made by one Member 
against another in a newspaper or in a press release (July 28, 1970, p. 
26002) or in a ``Dear Colleague'' letter (Aug. 4, 1989, p. 19139; May 
14, 1996, p. ----), and the same when made on the floor (III, 1827, 
2691, 2717). Charges made in newspapers against Members in their 
representative capacities involve privilege (III, 1832, 2694, 2696-2699, 
2703, 2704; VI, 576, 621; VIII, 2479), even though the names of 
individual Members are not given (III, 1831, 2705, 2709; VI, 616, 617). 
But vague charges in newspaper articles (III, 2711; VI, 570), criticisms 
(III, 2712-2714; VIII, 2465), or even misrepresentations of the Member's 
speeches or acts or re-



Sec. 665. Precedence of privileges of the House.

  The  body of 
precedent relating to the precedence of questions of privilege spans 
both the adoption of standing rule IX in 1880 and its amendment to 
require notice in certain cases in 1993.



[[Page 371]]

subject to disposition by the ordinary motions permitted under clause 4 
of rule XVI, and by the motion to refer under clause 1 of rule XVII (Speaker 
Albert, Feb. 19, 1976, p. 3914; Apr. 28, 1983, p. 10423; Mar. 22, 1990, 
p. 4996). While under rule IX a question of the privileges of the House 
takes precedence over all other questions except the motion to adjourn, 
the Speaker may, pursuant to his power of recognition under clause 2 of 
rule XIV, entertain unanimous-consent requests for ``one-minute 
speeches'' pending recognition for a question of privilege, since such 
unanimous-consent requests, if granted, temporarily waive the standing 
rules of the House relating to the order of business (Speaker O'Neill, 
July 10, 1985, p. 18394; Feb. 6, 1989, pp. 1676-82).



Sec. 665a. Precedence of questions of privileges of 
House.

  A  question of privilege which relates to a breach of privilege 
(an assault) occurring during the reading of the Journal may interrupt 
its reading (II, 1630). A question of privilege may interrupt the 
reading of the Journal (II, 1630; VI, 637), the consideration of a bill 
under a special order (III, 2524, 2525), a rule providing for a vote 
``without intervening motion'' (VI, 560), a proposition to suspend the 
rules (III, 2553; VI, 553, 565), the consideration of certain matters on 
which the previous question has been ordered (III, 2532; VI, 561; VIII, 
2688), business in order on Calendar Wednesday (VI, 394; VII, 908-910), 
reports from the Rules Committee before debate has begun (VIII, 3491; 
Mar. 11, 1987, p. 5403), call of the Consent Calendar on Monday (VI, 
553), before that Calendar was repealed in the 104th Congress (H. Res. 
168, June 20, 1995, p. ----), and motions to resolve into Committee of 
the Whole (VI, 554; VIII, 3461). A question of the privileges of the 
House takes precedence over unfinished business, privileged under 
clauses 1 and 3 of rule XXIV (Speaker Albert, June 4, 1975, p. 16860). 
Since a resolution raising a question of the privileges of the House 
takes precedence over a motion to suspend the rules, it may be offered 
and voted on between motions to suspend the rules on which the Speaker 
has postponed record votes until after debate on all suspensions (May 
17, 1983, p. 12486). While a question of privilege is pending, a message 
of the President is received (V, 6640-6642), but is read only by 
unanimous consent (V, 6639). A motion to reconsider may also be entered 
but may not be considered (V, 5673-5676). It has been held that only one 
question of privilege may be pending at a time (III, 2533), but having 
presented one question of privilege, a Member, before discussing it, may 
submit a second question of privilege related to the first and discuss 
both on one recognition (VI, 562). In general one question of privilege 
may not take precedence over another (III, 2534, 2552, 2581), and the 
Chair's power of recognition determines which of two matters of equal 
privilege is considered first (July 24, 1990, p. 18916). While a 
resolution raising a question of the privileges of the House has 
precedence over all other questions, it is nevertheless 





Sec. 665b. Precedence of questions of personal 
privilege.

  When  a Member proposes merely to address the House on a question 
of personal privilege, and does not bring up a resolution affecting the 
dignity or integrity of the House for action, the practice as to 
precedence is somewhat different. Thus, a Member rising to a question of 
personal privilege may not interrupt a call of the yeas and nays (V, 
6051, 6052, 6058, 6059; VI, 554, 564), or take from the floor another 
Member who has been recognized for debate (V, 5002; VIII, 2459, 2528; 
Sept. 29, 1983, p. 26508; July 23, 1987, p. 20861), but he may interrupt 
the ordinary legislative business (III, 2531). A Member may address the 
House on a question of personal privilege even after the previous 
question has been ordered on a pending bill (VI, 561; VIII, 2688). Under 
modern practice, a question of personal privilege may not be raised in 
Committee of the Whole (Sept. 4, 1969, p. 24372; Dec. 13, 1973, p. 
41270), the proper remedy being that a demand that words uttered in the 
Committee of the Whole be taken down pursuant to clause 5 of rule XIV; 
yet a breach of privilege occurring in Committee of the Whole relates to 
the dignity of the House and is so treated (II, 1657). A question of 
personal privilege may not be raised while a question of the privileges 
of the House is pending (Apr. 30, 1985, p. 9808; May 1, 1985, p. 10003).



<>   Whenever 
it is asserted on the floor that the privileges of the House are 
invaded, the Speaker entertains the question (II, 1501), and may then 
refuse recognition if the resolution is not admissible as a question of 
privilege under the rule. A proper question of privilege may be renewed 
(Nov. 17, 1995, p. ----). Although the early custom was for the Speaker 
to submit to the House the question whether a resolution involved the 
privileges of the House (III, 2718), the modern practice is for the 
Speaker to rule directly on the question (VI, 604; Speaker Wright, Mar. 
11, 1987, p. 5404; Feb. 3, 1995, p. ----; Feb. 7, 1995, p. ----), 
subject to appeal where appropriate (Speaker Albert, June 27, 1974, p. 
21596).

[[Page 372]]



Sec. 665c. Questions of privilege in relation to 
quorum.

    During a call of the House in the absence of a quorum, only 
such questions of privilege as relate immediately to those proceedings 
may be presented (III, 2545). See also Sec. 771a, infra.


  Under the form of the rule adopted in the 103d Congress, the Speaker 
may in his discretion recognize a Member other than the Majority or 
Minority Leader to proceed immediately on a resolution offered as a 
question of the privileges of the House without first designating a 
subsequent time or place in the legislative schedule within two 
legislative days (Speaker Foley, Feb. 3, 1993, p. ----); and he is not 
required to announce the time designated to consider a resolution at the 
time the resolution is noticed but may announce his designation at a 
later time (Feb. 11, 1994, p. ----). The Speaker does not rule on the 
privileged status of a resolution at the time that resolution is 
noticed, but only when the resolution is called up within two 
legislative days (Feb. 11, 1994, p. ----; Sept. 13, 1994, p. ----; Feb. 
3, 1995, p. ----).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 373-473]
[DOCID:hrmanual-70]                         

[[Page 373]]
 
  Common fame has been held sufficient basis for raising a question 
(III, 2538, 2701); a telegraphic dispatch may also furnish a basis (III, 
2539). A report relating to the contemptuous conduct of a witness before 
a committee gives rise to a question of the privileges of the House and 
may, under this rule, be considered on the same day reported 
notwithstanding the requirement of clause 2(l)(6) of rule XI that 
reports from committees be available to Members for at least three 
calendar days prior to their consideration (Speaker Albert, July 13, 
1971, pp. 24720-23). But a Member may not, as matter of right, require 
the reading of a book or paper on suggesting that it contains matter 
infringing on the privileges of the House (V, 5258). In presenting a 
question of personal privilege the Member is not required in the first 
instance to offer a motion or resolution, but he must take this 
preliminary step in raising a question of general privileges (III, 2546, 
2547; VI, 565-569; VII, 3464). A proposition of privilege may lose its 
precedence by association with a matter not of privilege (III, 2551; V, 
5890; VI, 395). Debate on a question of privilege is under the hour rule 
(V, 4990; VIII, 2448), but the previous question may be moved (II, 1256; 
V, 5459, 5460; VIII, 2672); since the 103d Congress, however, the rule 
has provided for divided control of the hour in the case of a resolution 
offered from the floor. Consideration of a resolution as a question of 
the privileges of the House has included an hour of debate on a motion 
to refer under clause 4 of rule XVI; a separate hour of debate on the 
resolution, itself, under clause 2 of rule XIV; and a motion to commit 
(not debatable after the ordering of the previous question) under clause 
1 of rule XVII (Mar. 12, 1992, p. ----). Debate on a letter of 
resignation is controlled by the Member moving the acceptance of the 
resignation (Mar. 8, 1977, pp. 6579-82) if the resigning Member does not 
seek recognition (June 16, 1975, p. 19054). Debate on a question of 
personal privilege must be confined to the statements or issues which 
gave rise to the question of privilege (V, 5075-77; VI, 576, 608; VIII, 
2448, 2481; May 31, 1984, p. 14623).


                                 Rule X.


         establishment and jurisdiction of standing committees.


                  The Committees and Their Jurisdiction




Sec. 669. Number and jurisdiction of standing 
committees.

  1.  There shall be in the House the following standing 
committees, each of which shall have the jurisdiction and related 
functions assigned to it by this clause and clauses 2, 3, and 4; and all 
bills, resolutions, and other matters relating to subjects within the 
jurisdiction of any standing committee as listed in this clause shall 
(in accordance with and subject to clause 5) be referred to such 
committees, as follows:


  Under the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), the 
44 committees of the 79th Congress were consolidated into 19, effective 
January 2, 1947. The total number of standing committees grew over time 
with the creation of the Committee on Science and Astronautics (now the 
Committee on Science), established on July 21, 1958 (p. 14513); the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, established on April 13, 
1967 (p. 9425); the Committee on the Budget, established on July 12, 
1974, by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 297); and the 
Committee on Small Business, established as a standing committee 
effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 
34470). The Committee on Internal Security was abolished in the 94th 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20) thereby setting the total 
number of standing committees at 22.


[[Page 374]]

merly Armed Services), and Science (formerly Science, 
Space, and Technology (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).
  The 104th Congress reduced the total number to 19 by abolishing the 
Committees on the District of Columbia, Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 
and Post Office and Civil Service (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, 
p. ----). Matters formerly in the jurisdiction of the Committees on the 
District of Columbia and Post Office and Civil Service were transferred 
to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight (formerly Government 
Operations); and matters formerly in the jurisdiction of the Committee 
on Merchant Marine and Fisheries were transferred to the Committees on 
Resources (formerly Natural Resources), Transportation and 
Infrastructure (formerly Public Works and Transportation), National 
Security (for-

  A Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence was established on July 
14, 1977, and is now carried in rule XLVIII. A permanent Select 
Committee on Aging was added to clause 6 of this rule effective January 
3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470) until stricken 
in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----).

  Although earlier forms of the rule specified the number of Members 
comprising each of the standing committees, those specifications were 
eliminated in the 93d Congress, leaving to the House the authority to 
establish the sizes of committees by the numbers elected to each 
standing committee pursuant to clause 6(a)(1) of rule X. The rules still 
specify part of the composition of the Committee on the Budget (clause 
1(d)(1) of rule X) as well as the overall size and preferred composition 
of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (clause 1(a) of rule 
XLVIII).

  The rule is mandatory on the Speaker in referring public bills and on 
Members in referring private bills and petitions under rule XXII, but 
when the House itself refers a bill it may send it to any committee 
without regard to the rules of jurisdiction (IV, 4375; V, 5527; VII, 
2131) and jurisdiction is thereby conferred (IV, 4362-4364; VII, 2105). 
Motions for change of reference of public bills and resolutions must be 
authorized either by the committee claiming jurisdiction (clause 4 of 
rule XXII; VII, 2121; Feb. 13, 1918, p. 2070; Jan. 10, 1941, p. 100) or 
by report of the committee to which the erroneous reference was made 
(clause 4 of rule XXII), must be made immediately following the reading 
of the Journal (VII, 1809, 2119, 2120), must apply to a single bill and 
not to a class of bills (VII, 2125), must apply to a bill erroneously 
referred (VII, 2125), may be amended (VII, 2127), may not be divided 
(VII, 2125); and may not be debated (VII, 2126, 2128), but are not in 
order on Calendar Wednesday (VII, 2117), and are not privileged if the 
original reference was not erroneous (VII, 2125). The re-referral of 
most bills is accomplished by unanimous consent (see Procedure, ch. 17, 
sec. 17-38).

  Prior to the 94th Congress, a bill could not be divided among two or 
more committees, even though it might contain matters properly within 
the jurisdiction of several committees (IV, 4372). The Committee Reform 
Amendments of 1974 added clause 5 of rule X, permitting the Speaker to 
refer any matter to more than one committee (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., 
Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). Clause 5 was amended in the 104th Congress to 
require the Speaker to designate a primary committee among those to 
which a matter is initially referred (sec. 205, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, 
p. ----).


[[Page 375]]

the Senate with a substitute amendment relating to a new 
and different subject, the reference could nevertheless be to the 
committee having jurisdiction of the original bill (IV, 4373, 4374); 
normally, however such amended measures are held at the Speaker's table 
until disposed of by the House. The erroneous reference of a public bill 
under this rule, if it remain uncorrected, gives jurisdiction (IV, 4365-
4371; VII, 2108), but such is not the case with a private bill or 
petition (IV, 3364, 4382-4389) unless the reference be made by action of 
the House itself (IV, 4390, 4391; VII 2131). A point of order as to the 
reference of a private bill is good when the bill comes up for 
consideration, either in the House or in Committee of the Whole (IV, 
4382-4389; VII, 2116, 2132; VIII, 2262) or at any time prior to passage 
(VII, 2116). The reference of a bill to a committee involving the same 
subject matter as a bill previously reported confers jurisdiction anew 
upon the committee to consider and report the bill subsequently 
introduced (VIII, 2311).
  A committee having jurisdiction of a subject by means of a petition 
(IV, 3365) properly referred (IV, 4361) can report on the subject 
thereof. It has generally been held that a committee may not report a 
bill whereof the subject matter has not been referred to it by the House 
(IV, 4355-4360, 4372; VII, 1029, 2101, 2102). Where a House bill is 
returned from 


  Clause 2 of rule XXII prohibits the reception or consideration of 
certain private bills relating to claims, pensions, construction of 
bridges, correction of military or naval records, etc. The clause was 
expanded in the 104th Congress to prohibit introduction or consideration 
of any bill or resolution expressing a commemoration by designation of a 
specified period of time (sec. 216, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

  (a) Committee on Agriculture.



Sec. 670. Agriculture.

      (1)  Adulteration of seeds, insect 
pests, and protection of birds and animals in forest reserves.


      (2) Agriculture generally.

      (3) Agricultural and industrial chemistry.

      (4) Agricultural colleges and experiment stations.

      (5) Agricultural economics and research.

      (6) Agricultural education extension services.

      (7) Agricultural production and marketing and stabilization of 
prices of agricultural products, and commodities (not including 
distribution outside of the United States).

      (8) Animal industry and diseases of animals.

      (9) Commodities exchanges.


[[Page 376]]

      (10) Crop insurance and soil conservation.

      (11) Dairy industry.

      (12) Entomology and plant quarantine.

      (13) Extension of farm credit and farm security.

      (14) Inspection of livestock, and poultry, and meat products, and 
seafood and seafood products.

      (15) Forestry in general, and forest reserves other than those 
created from the public domain.

      (16) Human nutrition and home economics.

      (17) Plant industry, soils, and agricultural engineering.

      (18) Rural electrification.

      (19) Rural development.


      (20) Water conservation related to activities of the Department of 
Agriculture.

  This Committee was established in 1820 (IV, 4149). In 1880 the subject 
of forestry was added to its jurisdiction, and the Committee was 
conferred authority to receive estimates of and to report appropriations 
(IV, 4149). However, on July 1, 1920, authority to report appropriations 
for the Department of Agriculture was transferred to the Committee on 
Appropriations (VII, 1860).

  The basic form of the present jurisdictional statement was made 
effective January 2, 1947, as a part of the Legislative Reorganization 
Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812). Subparagraph (7) was altered by the 93d 
Congress, effective January 3, 1975, to include jurisdiction over 
agricultural commodities (including the Commodity Credit Corporation) 
while transferring jurisdiction over foreign distribution and 
nondomestic production of commodities to the Committee on International 
Relations (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). 
Nevertheless, the Committee has retained a limited jurisdiction over 
measures to release CCC stocks for such foreign distribution (Sept. 14, 
1989, p. 20428). Previously unstated jurisdictions over commodities 
exchanges and rural development were codified effective January 3, 1975.


[[Page 377]]

  The 104th Congress consolidated the Committee's jurisdiction over 
inspection of livestock and meat products to include inspection of 
poultry, seafood, and seafood products, and added subparagraph (20) 
relating to water conservation (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 
----).

  The Committee has had jurisdiction of bills for establishing and 
regulating the Department of Agriculture (IV, 4150), for inspection of 
livestock and meat products, regulation of animal industry, diseases of 
animals (IV, 4154; VII, 1862), adulteration of seeds, insect pests, 
protection of birds and animals in forest reserves (IV, 4157; VII, 
1870), the improvement of the breed of horses, even with the cavalry 
service in view (IV, 4158; VII, 1865).

  The Committee, having charge of the general subject of forestry, has 
reported bills relating to timber, and forest reserves other than those 
created from the public domain (IV, 4160). It has also exercised 
jurisdiction of bills: relating to agricultural colleges and experiment 
stations (IV, 4152), incorporation of agricultural societies (IV, 4159), 
and establishment of a highway commission (IV, 4153); to discourage 
fictitious and gambling transactions in farm products (IV, 4161; VII, 
1861); to regulate the transportation, sale, and handling of dogs and 
cats intended for use in research and the licensing of animal research 
facilities (July 29, 1965, p. 18691); and to designate an agricultural 
research center (May 14, 1996, p. ----). The Committee shares with the 
Committee on the Judiciary original jurisdiction over a bill 
comprehensively amending the Immigration and Nationality Act and 
including food stamp eligibility requirements for aliens (Sept. 19, 
1995, p. ----).

  The House referred the President's message dealing with the 
refinancing of farm-mortgage indebtedness to the Committee, thus 
conferring jurisdiction (Apr. 4, 1933, p. 1209).


  The Committee has jurisdiction over a bill relating solely to 
executive level positions in the Department of Agriculture (Mar. 2, 
1976, p. 4958) and has jurisdiction over bills to develop land and water 
conservation programs on private and non-Federal lands (June 7, 1976, p. 
16768).

  (b) Committee on Appropriations.



Sec. 671a. Appropriations.

      (1)    Appropriation of the 
revenue for the support of the Government.


      (2) Rescissions of appropriations contained in appropriation Acts.

      (3) Transfers of unexpended balances.


[[Page 378]]

debtedness (other than indebtedness 
[in]\1\ incurred under chapter 31 of title 31 of the United States 
Code) for the repayment of which the United States is liable, the budget 
authority for which is not provided in advance by appropriation Acts; 
new entitlement authority as defined in section 3(9) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, including bills and resolutions 
(reported by other committees) which provide new entitlement authority 
as defined in section 3(9) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and 
are referred to the committee under clause 4(a); authority to forego the 
collection by the United States of proprietary offsetting receipts, the 
budget authority for which is not provided in advance by appropriation 
Acts to offset such foregone receipts; and authority to make payments by 
the United States (including loans, grants, and payments from revolving 
funds) other than those covered by this subparagraph, the budget 
authority for which is not provided in advance by appropriation Acts.
The committee shall include separate headings for ``Rescissions'' and 
``Transfers of Unexpended Balances'' in any bill or resolution as 
reported from the committee under its jurisdiction specified in 
subparagraph (2) or (3), with all proposed rescissions and proposed 
transfers listed therein; and shall include a separate section with 
respect 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
      (4) The amount of new authority to enter into contracts under 
which the United States is obligated to make outlays, the budget 
authority for which is not provided in advance by appropriation Acts; 
new authority to incur in-


[[Page 379]]

to such rescissions or transfers in the accompanying committee 
report. In addition to its jurisdiction under the preceding provisions 
of this paragraph, the committee shall have the fiscal oversight 
function provided for in clause 2(b)(3) and the budget hearing function 
provided for in clause 4(a).
  \1\ Section 10116(a)(6) of Public Law 105-33 amended this 
provision as shown above. However, the word ``in'' probably should not 
have appeared in the matter proposed to be inserted by that public law.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This Committee was established in 1865, when all the general 
appropriation bills were confided to its care. In 1885 a portion of the 
bills were distributed to other committees. On July 1, 1920, the 
Committee again was given jurisdiction over all appropriations by an 
amendment to the rules adopted June 1, 1920 (VII, 1741).



Sec. 671b. Responsibilities under Budget Act.

  Effective  July 
12, 1974, special Presidential messages on rescissions and deferrals of 
budget authority submitted pursuant to sections 1012 and 1013 of the 
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 683-4), as well as rescission 
bills and impoundment resolutions defined in section 1011 (2 U.S.C. 682) 
and required in section 1017 (2 U.S.C. 688) to be referred to the 
``appropriate'' committee, are referred to the Committee on 
Appropriations if the proposed rescissions or deferrals involve funds 
already appropriated or obligated. Also effective July 12, 1974, the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (sec. 404(a); 88 Stat. 320) added to 
the Committee's jurisdiction, and later perfected by the Committee 
Reform Amendments of 1974 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 
34470), subparagraphs (2), (3), and (4).


  In the 95th Congress this paragraph was amended to correct a 
typographical error (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, p. 53). Subparagraph (4) 
was amended in the 105th Congress to conform to changes made by the 
Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (sec. 10116, P.L. 105-33).

  While this Committee has authority to report appropriations, the power 
to report legislation relating thereto belongs to other committees (IV, 
4033; clause 2 of rule XXI), and a general appropriation bill reported 
from this Committee may not contain items of appropriation not 
authorized by law or provisions amending existing law (except 
retrenchments and rescissions of appropriations) (clause 2 of rule XXI), 
and may not contain reappropriations of unexpended balances except 
within agencies (clause 6 of rule XXI). General appropriation bills may 
not be considered in the House until reports and hearings have been 
available for three days (clause 7 of rule XXI), and other reports from 
the Committee likewise may not be considered until available for the 
time prescribed in clause 2(l)(6) of rule XI.


[[Page 380]]

of January 9, 1945 (p. 135); and incorporated into permanent law in section 
202(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812). 
This authority was first made part of the standing rules on January 3, 
1953 (pp. 17, 24), and is now listed as a general oversight 
responsibility of the Committee in clause 2(b)(3) of rule X, effective 
January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). The 
Committee is also authorized and directed to hold hearings on the budget 
as a whole in open session within 30 days of its submission (clause 
4(a)(1)(A) of rule X), and to study on a continuing basis provisions of 
law providing spending authority or permanent budget authority and to 
report to the House recommendations for terminating or modifying such 
provisions (clause 4(a)(3) of rule X). The requirement of section 139 of 
the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812) that the 
Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate develop a standard 
appropriation classification schedule was superseded by section 202(a) 
of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1167), which now 
imposes that responsibility upon the Secretary of the Treasury and the 
Office of Management and Budget. The further requirement of section 139 
of the 1946 Act that the Appropriations Committees study existing 
permanent appropriations and recommend which, if any, should be 
discontinued was made the responsibility of all standing committees of 
the House by clauses 4(f)(1) and (2) of rule XI, through enactment of 
section 253 of the 1970 Act (84 Stat. 1175).

  The authority to conduct studies and examinations of the organization 
and operation of executive departments and agencies was first given to 
this Committee on February 11, 1943 (p. 884); continued by resolution 

  (c) Committee on Banking and Financial Services.



Sec. 672. Banking and Financial Services.

      (1)  Banks and 
banking, including deposit insurance and Federal monetary policy.


      (2) Bank capital markets activities generally.

      (3) Depository institution securities activities generally, 
including the activities of any affiliates, except for functional 
regulation under applicable securities laws not involving safety and 
soundness.

      (4) Economic stabilization, defense production, renegotiation, and 
control of the price of commodities, rents, and services.


[[Page 381]]

      (5) Financial aid to commerce and industry (other than 
transportation).

      (6) International finance.

      (7) International financial and monetary organizations.

      (8) Money and credit, including currency and the issuance of notes 
and redemption thereof; gold and silver, including the coinage thereof; 
valuation and revaluation of the dollar.

      (9) Public and private housing.


      (10) Urban development.

  This Committee was established in 1865 as the Committee on Banking and 
Currency (IV, 4082). In the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, 
effective January 3, 1975, its name was changed to Banking, Currency and 
Housing (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In the 95th 
Congress its name was changed to Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70). In the 104th Congress its name was 
changed to Banking and Financial Services (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 
4, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 382]]

jurisdiction over the Commodity Credit Corporation was transferred to 
the Committee on Agriculture, jurisdiction over export controls and 
international economic policy to the Committee on International 
Relations, jurisdiction over construction of nursing home facilities to 
what is now the Committee on Commerce, and jurisdiction over urban mass 
transportation to what is now the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In the 
104th Congress subparagraphs (2) and (3) were added (sec. 202(a), H. 
Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).
  The Committee was given much of its present jurisdiction in the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), by which it 
absorbed the jurisdiction of the former Committee on Coinage, Weights, 
and Measures (created in 1864; IV, 4090), except jurisdiction over 
matters relating to the standardization of weights and measures and the 
metric system was given to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign 
Commerce and was later transferred to the Committee on Science and 
Astronautics (now Science) in the 85th Congress (H. Res. 580, July 21, 
1958, p. 14513). In the 92d Congress jurisdiction over the impact on the 
economy of tax-exempt foundations and charitable trusts was transferred 
from the Subcommittee on Foundations of the Select Committee on Small 
Business, along with all that subcommittee's files, to this Committee 
(H. Res. 320, Apr. 27, 1971, p. 12081). Prior to the end of the 93d 
Congress, the Committee had legislative jurisdiction over the problems 
of small business under its general jurisdiction over financial aid to 
commerce and industry; but with the adoption of the Committee Reform 
Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975, that jurisdiction was 
transferred to the standing Committee on Small Business, the permanent 
Select Committee on Small Business was abolished, and this Committee was 
specifically given jurisdiction over Federal monetary policy, money and 
credit, urban development, economic stabilization, defense production, 
and renegotiation (the latter matter formerly within the jurisdiction of 
the Committee on Ways and Means), international finance, and 
International Financial and Monetary organizations (formerly within the 
jurisdiction of the Committee on International Relations), while 


  The Committee has reported on subjects relating to the strengthening 
of public credit, issues of notes, and state taxation and redemption 
thereof (IV, 4084), propositions to maintain the parity of the money of 
the United States (IV, 4089; VII, 1792), the issue of silver 
certificates as currency (IV, 4087, 4088), national banks and current 
deposits of public money (IV, 4083; VII, 1790), the incorporation of an 
international bank (IV, 4086), subjects relating to the Freedman's Bank 
(IV, 4085), and Federal Reserve system, farm loan act, home loan bills, 
stabilization of the dollar, War Finance Corporation, Federal Reserve 
Bank buildings (VII, 1793, 1795). The Committee has jurisdiction of 
bills providing consolidation of grant-in-aid programs for urban 
development (Mar. 18, 1970, p. 7887), bills providing for U.S. 
participation in the International Development Association (Mar. 9, 
1960, p. 5046), bills to authorize GSA to acquire land in D.C. for 
transfer to the International Monetary Fund (May 1, 1962, p. 7428), 
bills relating to flood insurance (Dec. 4, 1975, p. 38701), and over an 
executive communication proposing regulations for college housing 
programs (notwithstanding that the requirement for such regulations was 
contained in higher education legislation reported from the Committee on 
Education and Labor) (June 15, 1982, p. 13638).

  (d)(1) Committee on the Budget, consisting of the following Members:



Sec. 673a. Budget, Composition of.

       (A) Members who are 
members of other standing committees, including five Members who are 
members of the Committee on Appropriations, and five Members who are 
members of the Committee on Ways and Means;


      (B) one Member from the leadership of the majority party; and


[[Page 383]]

No Member other than a representative from the leadership of a party may 
serve as a member of the Committee on the Budget during more than four 
Congresses in any period of six successive Congresses (disregarding for 
this purpose any service performed as a member of such committee for 
less than a full session in any Congress), except that an incumbent 
chairman or ranking minority member having served on the committee for 
four Congresses and having served as chairman or ranking minority member 
of the committee for not more than one Congress shall be eligible for 
reelection to the committee as chairman or ranking minority member for 
one additional Congress.

      (C) one Member from the leadership of the minority party.



Sec. 673b. Jurisdiction and duties.

      (2)  All concurrent 
resolutions on the budget (as defined in section 3 of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974), other matters required to be referred to the 
committee under titles III and IV of that Act, and other measures 
setting forth appropriate levels of budget totals for the United States 
Government.


      (3) Measures relating to the budget process, generally.


[[Page 384]]

      (4) Measures relating to the establishment, extension, and 
enforcement of special controls over the Federal budget, including the 
budgetary treatment of off-budget Federal agencies and measures 
providing exemption from reduction under any order issued under part C 
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

      (5) The committee shall have the duty--

          (A) to report the matters required to be reported by it under 
titles III and IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974;

          (B) to make continuing studies of the effect on budget outlays 
of relevant existing and proposed legislation and to report the results 
of such studies to the House on a recurring basis;

          (C) to request and evaluate continuing studies of tax 
expenditures; to devise methods of coordinating tax expenditures, 
policies, and programs with direct budget outlays, and to report the 
results of such studies to the House on a recurring basis; and


          (D) to review, on a continuing basis, the conduct by the 
Congressional Budget Office of its functions and duties.

  This Committee was established in the 93d Congress, effective July 12, 
1974, by section 101 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 
299). The separate subpoena authority conferred upon the Committee by 
section 101(b) of that Act has been superseded by the general grant of 
subpoena authority to all committees in clause 2(m) of rule XI (H. Res. 
988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In addition to the duties 
contained in clause 1(d)(5), the Committee is also charged with the 
special oversight function of studying the effect of budget outlays on 
existing and proposed legislation, and of studying tax policies and 
coordinating them with budget outlays, and reporting to the House 
thereon (clause 3(b) of rule X); as well as the additional function set 
forth in clause 4(b) of rule X of studying programs exempt from 
inclusion in the budget and recommending termination or modification of 
such programs.


[[Page 385]]

amended this paragraph to remove any numerical limitation 
on the membership of the Committee (H. Res. 7, Jan. 3, 1985, p. 393).
  In the 94th Congress the membership of the Committee was increased to 
25 (from 23), with 13 (rather than 11) members elected from committees 
other than Appropriations and Ways and Means (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, 
p. 20). The membership was increased again in the 97th Congress to 30, 
with 28 from other standing committees and two from the respective 
leaderships (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 98-113), and again in the 98th 
Congress to 31 (unanimous consent order, Feb. 7, 1983, p. 1791). The 
99th Congress 

  This paragraph was amended in the 96th Congress to relax the 
limitation on Members' service on the Committee to three Congresses 
(from two) in any period of five successive Congresses, to exempt 
representatives from the party leaderships from the limitation, and to 
permit an incumbent chairman who had served on the Committee for three 
Congresses and as chairman for not more than one Congress to be eligible 
for reelection as chairman for one additional Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
15, 1979, p. 8). It was again amended in the 100th Congress to eliminate 
as obsolete the words ``beginning after 1974'' following ``any period of 
five successive Congresses'' as a measure of permissible terms of 
service on the Committee (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1987, p. 6). It was further 
amended in the 101st Congress to permit, in that Congress only, a 
minority Member who had served on the Committee for three terms to run 
within his party's caucus for the position of ranking minority Member 
and thus be able to serve on the Committee for one additional Congress, 
and to permit a Member elected as ranking minority Member during his 
third term on the Committee to serve one additional term on the 
Committee should he be re-elected as the ranking minority Member (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1989, p. 72). It was again amended in the 102d Congress 
to extend the waiver of the tenure restriction for the ranking minority 
member of the Committee (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39), but in the 
103d Congress that provision was stricken as obsolete (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
5, 1993, p. ----). In the 104th Congress the limitation on a Member's 
service on the Committee was relaxed to four Congresses (from three) in 
any period of six successive Congresses, with the exception that a 
Member who has served as chairman or as ranking minority member during a 
fourth such Congress may serve in either capacity during a fifth, so 
long as he would not thereby exceed two consecutive terms as chairman or 
as ranking minority member (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. --
--).


[[Page 386]]

ernment Reform and Oversight) jurisdiction 
over budgetary treatment of off-budget Federal agencies and measures 
providing exemption from sequestration orders issued under the Balanced 
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 
4, 1995, p. ----). Three re-referrals from the Committee on Government 
Reform and Oversight to the Committee on the Budget marked this 
migration of off-budget treatment jurisdiction: (1) the Committee on the 
Budget has primary jurisdiction over a bill excluding from the budget 
the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (although the Committee 
on Government Reform and Oversight retains programmatic jurisdiction 
over that Fund); (2) the Committee on the Budget has primary 
jurisdiction over a bill excluding from the budget the Highway Trust 
Fund, the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, the Inland Waterways Trust 
Fund, and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (although the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure retains programmatic jurisdiction); 
and (3) the Committee on the Budget has secondary jurisdiction over a 
bill amending title 49 of the United States Code and providing off-
budget treatment for the Highway Trust Fund, the Airport and Airway 
Trust Fund, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, and the Harbor Maintenance 
Trust Fund (Dec. 6, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress the 
jurisdictional statement in subparagraph (3), previously confined to the 
congressional budget process, was broadened to encompass also the 
executive budget process formerly included in the jurisdiction of the 
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, 
p. ----).

  In the 99th Congress this paragraph was again amended by section 
232(h) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, 
to confer jurisdiction over Senate joint or concurrent resolutions 
constituting congressional responses to a Presidential sequestration 
order issued pursuant to a report of the Comptroller General under 
section 252(b) of that Act (P.L. 99-177, Dec. 12, 1985). It was again 
amended by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 to conform subparagraph 
(2) to changes in the congressional budget laws (tit. XIII, P.L. 101-
508). The 104th Congress amended the paragraph to expand the limited 
legislative jurisdiction of the Committee by: (1) adding other measures 
setting forth appropriate levels of budget totals to subparagraph (2); 
(2) granting the Committee jurisdiction over the congressional budget 
process generally in a new subparagraph (3); and (3) granting the 
Committee jurisdiction over special controls over the federal budget in 
a new subparagraph (4), including receiving from the former Committee on 
Government Operations (now Gov-

   (e) Committee on Commerce.

      (1) Biomedical research and development.



Sec. 674. Commerce.

        (2) Consumer affairs and consumer 
protection.


      (3) Health and health facilities, except health care supported by 
payroll deductions.

      (4) Interstate energy compacts.

      (5) Interstate and foreign commerce generally.


[[Page 387]]

      (6) Measures relating to the exploration, production, storage, 
supply, marketing, pricing, and regulation of energy resources, 
including all fossil fuels, solar energy, and other unconventional or 
renewable energy resources.

      (7) Measures relating to the conservation of energy resources.

      (8) Measures relating to energy information generally.

      (9) Measures relating to (A) the generation and marketing of power 
(except by federally chartered or Federal regional power marketing 
authorities), (B) the reliability and interstate transmission of, and 
ratemaking for, all power, and (C) the siting of generation facilities; 
except the installation of interconnections between Government 
waterpower projects.

      (10) Measures relating to general management of the Department of 
Energy, and the management and all functions of the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission.

      (11) National energy policy generally.

      (12) Public health and quarantine.

      (13) Regulation of the domestic nuclear energy industry, including 
regulation of research and development reactors and nuclear regulatory 
research.

      (14) Regulation of interstate and foreign communications.

      (15) Securities and exchanges.


The committee shall have the same jurisdiction with respect to 
regulation of nuclear facilities and of use of nuclear energy as it has 
with respect to regulation of nonnuclear facilities and of use of 
nonnuclear energy. In addition to its legislative jurisdiction under the 
preceding provisions of this paragraph (and its general over-

[[Page 388]]

sight functions under clause 2(b)(1)), such committee shall have the special 
oversight functions provided for in clause (3)(h) with respect to all 
laws, programs, and Government activities affecting nuclear and other 
energy, and nonmilitary nuclear energy and research and development 
including the disposal of nuclear waste.

      (16) Travel and tourism.

  The Committee dates from 1795 (IV, 4096). Effective January 3, 1975 
(H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), the name of the 
Committee was changed from Interstate and Foreign Commerce to Commerce 
and Health. Effective January 14, 1975, it was redesignated as 
Interstate and Foreign Commerce (H. Res. 5, 94th Cong., p. 20). In the 
96th Congress it was redesignated again as Energy and Commerce and given 
much of its present jurisdiction, effective January 3, 1981 (H. Res. 
549, Mar. 25, 1980, pp. 6405-10; note publication of inter-committee 
memoranda of understanding). In the 104th Congress it was redesignated 
again as the Committee on Commerce (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 
1995, p. ----).


[[Page 389]]

Science), and jurisdiction over trading with 
the enemy to the Committee on Foreign Affairs (now International 
Relations) (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In the 95th 
Congress, when the legislative jurisdiction of the Joint Committee on 
Atomic Energy in the House was transferred to various standing 
committees, this Committee was given the same jurisdiction over nuclear 
energy as it had over non-nuclear energy and facilities by the addition 
of the penultimate sentence to this paragraph (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, 
pp. 53-70). In the 96th Congress the Committee obtained specific 
jurisdiction over national energy policy generally (subpara. (11)), 
measures relating to exploration, production, storage, supply, 
marketing, pricing, and regulation of energy resources (subpara. (6)), 
measures relating to conservation of energy resources (subpara. (7)), 
measures relating to energy information generally (subpara. (8)), 
measures relating to the generation, marketing, interstate transmission 
of, and ratemaking for power as well as the siting of generation 
facilities, with certain exceptions (subpara. (9)), interstate energy 
compacts (subpara. (4)), and measures relating to general management of 
the Department of Energy and all functions of the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (subpara. (10)) (H. Res. 549, Mar. 25, 1980, pp. 
6405-10). In the 104th Congress the Committee's jurisdiction over inland 
waterways and railroads (including railroad labor, retirement, and 
unemployment) was transferred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, and jurisdiction over measures relating to the 
commercial application of energy technology was transferred to the 
Committee on Science, while the Committee on Commerce obtained exclusive 
jurisdiction over regulation of the domestic nuclear energy industry 
(subpara. (13)) from the former Committee on Natural Resources (now 
Resources) (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).
  In the 74th Congress the jurisdictional statement of the Committee was 
amended to include jurisdiction over bills relating to radio; to deprive 
the Committee jurisdiction over bills relating to water transportation, 
Coast Guard, life-saving service, lighthouses, lightships, ocean 
derelicts, Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the Panama Canal; and to vest 
jurisdiction over those subjects in the former Committee on Merchant 
Marine and Fisheries (VII, 1814, 1847), but with the demise of the 
latter Committee in the 104th Congress, the latter subjects now reside 
in the jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, except that the Committee on National Security has 
jurisdiction over the Panama Canal (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 
1995, p. ----). In the 85th Congress matters relating to the Bureau of 
Standards, standardization of weights and measures, and the metric 
system (conferred on the Committee by the Legislative Reorganization Act 
of 1946, 60 Stat. 812), were transferred to the Committee on Science and 
Astronautics (now Science) (July 21, 1958, p. 14513). In the Committee 
Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975, the Committee 
obtained specific jurisdiction over consumer affairs and consumer 
protection (subpara. (2)), travel and tourism (subpara. (16)), health 
and health facilities, except health care supported by payroll 
deductions (subpara. (3)) (a matter formerly within the jurisdiction of 
the Committee on Ways and Means), and biomedical research and 
development (subpara. (1)), and was released of jurisdiction over civil 
aeronautics to the Committee on Public Works and Transportation (now 
Transportation and Infrastructure), jurisdiction over civil aviation 
research and development, energy and environmental research and 
development, and the National Weather Service to the Committee on 
Science and Technology (now 

  The Committee has the special oversight responsibility under clause 
3(h) of rule X as well as the general oversight responsibility required 
by clause 2(b). This special oversight responsibility was expanded in 
the 96th Congress to include all energy, effective January 3, 1981 (H. 
Res. 549, Mar. 25, 1980, pp. 6405-10). In the 104th Congress it was 
again expanded to include nonmilitary nuclear energy and research and 
development including the disposal of nuclear waste (sec. 202(a), H. 
Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----), though a conforming change in clause 
3(h) was inadvertently omitted.

  The Committee formerly reported the river and harbor appropriation 
bill, but in 1883 a Committee on Rivers and Harbors was created for that 
role (IV, 4096), and since the 66th Congress such appropriations have 
been reported by the Committee on Appropriations.


[[Page 390]]

national congress of hygiene, etc. (IV, 4111), bills 
declaring as to whether or not streams are navigable and for preventing 
or regulating hindrances to navigation (IV, 4101; VII, 1810), such as 
bridges (IV, 4099; VII, 1812) and dams, except such bridges and dams as 
are a part of river improvements (IV, 4100; VII, 1810). This Committee 
formerly had jurisdiction of bills proposing construction of bridges 
across navigable streams which are now banned (Sec. 852; see also 
General Bridge Act, 33 U.S.C. 525, 533).
  The Committee has general jurisdiction of bills affecting domestic and 
foreign commerce, except such as may affect the revenue (IV, 4097). It 
also has jurisdiction of bills authorizing the construction of marine 
hospitals and the acquisition of sites therefor (IV, 4110; VII, 1816), 
the general subjects of quarantine and the establishment of quarantine 
stations (IV, 4109), health, spread of leprosy and other contagious 
diseases, inter-


  Before the 104th Congress the Committee considered bills regulating 
railroads in their interstate commerce relations (IV, 414) and exercised 
jurisdiction with the Committees on Education and Labor (now Education 
and the Workforce) and Public Works and Transportation (now 
Transportation and Infrastructure) over bills providing labor 
protections to workers in the transportation industry, including 
railroad employees (Feb. 24, 1993, p. ----). The Committee considers 
bills relating to commercial travelers as agents of interstate commerce 
and the branding of articles going into such commerce (IV, 4115), the 
prevention of the carriage of indecent and harmful pictures or 
literature (IV, 4116), the adulteration and misbranding of foods and 
drugs (IV, 4112), and protection of game through prohibition of 
interstate transportation (IV, 4117). The Committee has jurisdiction 
over bills imposing safety standards on motor vehicles purchased by the 
U.S. Government (Feb. 16, 1959, p. 2420), bills creating civil remedies 
for false advertising or other violations of commercial ethics (June 4, 
1962, p. 9601), and bills to assist financing of the Arctic Winter Games 
in Alaska (June 7, 1972, p. 19935). The Committee has exercised 
jurisdiction, with the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs 
(now Banking and Financial Services), over a bill to amend the Federal 
Reserve Act to impose reserve requirements on the assets of ``open-end 
investment companies'' that offer their depositors accounts transacted 
by negotiable instrument (Mar. 18, 1981, p. 4610), as well as over a 
Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act that 
focused on health matters rather than job training (June 1, 1981, p. 
11028, Nov. 3, 1993, p. ----). In the 94th Congress, the Committee 
gained jurisdiction over bills amending the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning 
Prevention Act and bills dealing with nursing home construction as 
public health matters (June 10, 1975, p. 18009).

  (f) Committee on Education and the Workforce.

      (1) Child labor.



Sec. 675. Education and the Workforce.

        (2) Columbia 
Institution for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind; Howard University; Freedmen's 
Hospital.



[[Page 391]]

      (3) Convict labor and the entry of goods made by convicts into 
interstate commerce.

      (4) Food programs for children in schools.

      (5) Labor standards and statistics.

      (6) Measures relating to education or labor generally.

      (7) Mediation and arbitration of labor disputes.

      (8) Regulation or prevention of importation of foreign laborers 
under contract.

      (9) United States Employees' Compensation Commission.

      (10) Vocational rehabilitation.

      (11) Wages and hours of labor.

      (12) Welfare of miners.


In addition to its legislative jurisdiction under the preceding 
provisions of this paragraph (and its general oversight function under 
clause 2(b)(1)), the committee shall have the special oversight function 
provided for in clause 3(c) with respect to domestic educational 
programs and institutions, and programs of student assistance, which are 
within the jurisdiction of other committees.

      (13) Work incentive programs.

  This Committee was established as the Committee on Education and Labor 
on January 2, 1947, as part of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 
1946 (60 Stat. 812), combining the Committee on Education (created in 
1867, IV, 4242) and the Committee on Labor (created in 1883, IV, 4244). 
When it was redesignated as the Committee on Economic and Educational 
Opportunities in the 104th Congress, the jurisdictional statement 
remained unchanged except by the combination of labor standards and 
labor statistics in a single subparagraph (5) (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, 
Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress the Committee was again 
redesignated as the Committee on Education and the Workforce (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 392]]

in schools, an expansion of earlier jurisdiction over school-lunch programs 
(subpara. (4)), work incentive programs (subpara. (13)), and Indian 
education, a matter formerly within the specific jurisdiction of the 
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (now Resources); jurisdiction 
of the Committee over international education matters was specifically 
transferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs (now International 
Relations); and its special oversight function was inserted in clause 
3(c) of rule X (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470).
  By the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975, 
the Committee gained jurisdiction over food programs for children 

  The Columbia Institute for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind was renamed 
``Gallaudet College'' (68 Stat. 265), and Freedmen's Hospital is now a 
part of Howard University. The jurisdiction of this Committee over 
education and vocational rehabilitation does not include those subjects 
as they relate to veterans, which fall under the jurisdiction of the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs.


  The Committee has jurisdiction over bills dealing with juvenile 
delinquency (Jan. 22, 1959, p. 1027), runaway youth (July 12, 1973, p. 
23633; Sept. 10, 1973, p. 28970), human services programs administered 
by HEW (June 21, 1972, p. 21733), education of Indians (Apr. 15, 1975, 
p. 10247; June 10, 1991, p. 14049), and compensation for work injuries 
to Federal employees (Apr. 16, 1975, p. 10339); over bills amending the 
Community Services Block Grant Act to continue anti-poverty programs 
originally authorized by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (Nov. 4, 
1993, p. ----); and over an executive communication proposing draft 
legislation to amend the Labor Management Relations Act and the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act (Mar. 24, 1983, p. 7402). The Committee 
shares with the Committee on the Judiciary original jurisdiction over a 
bill comprehensively amending the Immigration and Nationality Act and 
including provisions addressing the enforcement of labor laws (Sept. 19, 
1995, p. ----).

  (g) Committee on Government Reform and Oversight.



Sec. 676. Government Reform and Oversight.

      (1)  The 
Federal Civil Service, including intergovernmental personnel; the status 
of officers and employees of the United States, including their 
compensation, classification, and retirement.


      (2) Measures relating to the municipal affairs of the District of 
Columbia in general, other than appropriations.

      (3) Federal paperwork reduction.


[[Page 393]]

      (4) Government management and accounting measures, generally.

      (5) Holidays and celebrations.

      (6) The overall economy, efficiency and management of Government 
operations and activities, including Federal procurement.

      (7) National archives.

      (8) Population and demography generally, including the Census.

      (9) Postal service generally, including the transportation of the 
mails.

      (10) Public information and records.

      (11) Relationship of the Federal Government to the States and 
municipalities generally.


In addition to its legislative jurisdiction under the preceding 
provisions of this paragraph (and its oversight functions under clause 
2(b)(1) and (2)), the committee shall have the function of performing 
the duties and conducting the studies which are provided for in clause 
4(c).

      (12) Reorganizations in the executive branch of the Government.

  In the 82d Congress the name of this Committee was changed from 
Expenditures in the Executive Departments to Government Operations (July 
3, 1952, p. 9217). In the 104th Congress it was again changed to 
Government Reform and Oversight (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, 
p. ----). The former Committee on Expenditures in the Executive 
Departments was established December 5, 1927 (VII, 2041), and took the 
place of 11 separate committees on expenditures in the several executive 
departments. The first of these committees was established in 1816, and 
others were added as new departments were created (IV, 4315). They 
reported bills relating to the efficiency and integrity of the public 
service (IV, 4320), and creation and abolition of offices (IV, 4318).


[[Page 394]]

former Committee on Post Office and Civil 
Service) (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In the 104th 
Congress (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----), the Committee 
assumed the jurisdictions of the former Committee on the District of 
Columbia (subpara. (2)) and the former Committee on Post Office and 
Civil Service except that relating to the Franking Commission (subparas. 
(1), (5), (8), and (9)); and subparagraphs (3) and (10) were added to 
clarify existing jurisdiction. At the same time the Committee's 
jurisdiction over measures relating to off-budget treatment of agencies 
or programs, which had been added by the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
Deficit Control Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-177, Dec. 12, 1985), was 
transferred to the Committee on the Budget. Three re-referrals from the 
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight to the Committee on the 
Budget marked this migration of off-budget treatment jurisdiction: (1) 
the Committee on the Budget has primary jurisdiction over a bill 
excluding from the budget the Civil Service Retirement and Disability 
Fund (although the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight retains 
programmatic jurisdiction over that Fund); (2) the Committee on the 
Budget has primary jurisdiction over a bill excluding from the budget 
the Highway Trust Fund, the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, the Inland 
Waterways Trust Fund, and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (although 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure retains programmatic 
jurisdiction); and (3) the Committee on the Budget has secondary 
jurisdiction over a bill amending title 49 of the United States Code and 
providing off-budget treatment for the Highway Trust Fund, the Airport 
and Airway Trust Fund, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, and the Harbor 
Maintenance Trust Fund (Dec. 6, 1995, p. ----). The Committee was also 
released from jurisdiction over measures relating to exemptions from 
executive orders sequestering budget authority, which had been added by 
the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (tit. XIII, P.L. 101-508). In the 
105th Congress any residual jurisdiction over budget process was 
transferred to the Committee on the Budget (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. 
----). The 104th Congress assigned the Committee its responsibilities to 
coordinate committee oversight plans under clause 2(d)(3) (sec. 203(a), 
H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 104th Congress the Committee 
was also given the responsibility to consider and report recommendations 
concerning alternatives to commemorative legislation, although no such 
report was made to the House (sec. 216(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 
----).
  In addition to the jurisdiction vested in the Committee by the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), the Committee 
Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975, assigned the 
Committee jurisdiction over measures relating to the overall economy and 
efficiency of Government operations and activities, including Federal 
procurement, intergovernmental relationships, and general revenue 
sharing (the latter from the Committee on Ways and Means), and the 
National Archives (from the 


[[Page 395]]

a measure redesignating a general-
purpose federal building as a post office (Apr. 24, 1997, p. ----). The 
Committee has exercised jurisdiction over countercyclical programs of 
revenue-sharing grants to State and local governments, such as that 
contained in Title II of the Public Works Employment Act of 1976 (Feb. 
1, 1977, p. 3057). The Committee shares jurisdiction over a bill to 
facilitate the reorganization of an agency by instituting a separation 
pay program to encourage eligible employees to voluntarily resign or 
retire (Aug. 2, 1993, p. ----).
  The Committee has exercised jurisdiction of bills: establishing the 
Rural Electrification Administration as an independent agency and 
transferring certain functions thereto (Mar. 19, 1959, p. 4692); 
establishing a Commission on Population Growth (Sept. 23, 1969, p. 
26568); establishing a Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for Spanish-
Speaking Americans (Nov. 24, 1969, p. 35509); providing payment of 
travel costs for Federal employment applicants (Feb. 15, 1967, p. 3466); 
and a bill to rename an existing post office building (Aug. 4, 1995, p. 
----). The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and not this 
Committee, has jurisdiction over 


  The specific subpoena authority conferred upon the Committee in the 
standing rules on February 10, 1947 (p. 942) was superseded by the 
general conferral of subpoena authority on all committees in clause 2(m) 
of rule XI. By the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective 
January 3, 1975, the Committee was given the general function under 
clause 4(c)(1) of examining and reporting upon reports of the 
Comptroller General, evaluating laws reorganizing the legislative and 
executive branches, and studying intergovernmental relationships 
domestically and with international organizations to which the United 
States belongs (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470).

  (h) Committee on House Oversight.



Sec. 677a. House Oversight.

      (1)  Appropriations from 
accounts for committee salaries and expenses (except for the Committee 
on Appropriations), House Information Resources, and allowances and 
expenses of Members, House officers and administrative offices of the 
House.


      (2) Auditing and settling of all accounts described in 
subparagraph (1).

      (3) Employment of persons by the House, including clerks for 
Members and committees, and reporters of debates.


[[Page 396]]

      (4) Except as provided in clause 1(q)(11), matters relating to the 
Library of Congress and the House Library; statuary and pictures; 
acceptance or purchase of works of art for the Capitol; the Botanic 
Gardens; management of the Library of Congress; purchase of books and 
manuscripts.

      (5) Except as provided in clause 1(q)(11), matters relating to the 
Smithsonian Institution and the incorporation of similar institutions.

      (6) Expenditure of accounts described in subparagraph (1).

      (7) Franking Commission.

      (8) Matters relating to printing and correction of the 
Congressional Record.

      (9) Measures relating to accounts of the House generally.

      (10) Measures relating to assignment of office space for Members 
and committees.

      (11) Measures relating to the disposition of useless executive 
papers.

      (12) Measures relating to the election of the President, Vice 
President, or Members of Congress; corrupt practices; contested 
elections; credentials and qualifications; and Federal elections 
generally.

      (13) Measures relating to services to the House, including the 
House Restaurant, parking facilities and administration of the House 
office buildings and of the House wing of the Capitol.

      (14) Measures relating to the travel of Members of the House.


[[Page 397]]

      (15) Measures relating to the raising, reporting and use of 
campaign contributions for candidates for office of Representative in 
the House of Representatives, of Delegate, and of Resident Commissioner 
to the United States from Puerto Rico.


In addition to its legislative jurisdiction under the preceding 
provisions of this paragraph (and its general oversight function under 
clause 2(b)(1)), the committee shall have the function of performing the 
duties which are provided for in clause 4(d).

      (16) Measures relating to the compensation, retirement and other 
benefits of the Members, officers, and employees of the Congress.

  This Committee was created as the Committee on House Administration on 
January 2, 1947, as a part of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 
(60 Stat. 812), combining the Committees on Accounts (created in 1803, 
IV, 4328), Enrolled Bills (created in 1789, IV, 4350), Disposition of 
Executive Papers (created in 1889, IV, 4419), Printing (created in 
1846), Elections (created in 1794 and divided into three committees in 
1895, IV, 4019), Election of President, Vice President, and 
Representatives in Congress (created in 1893, IV, 4299), and Memorials 
(created January 3, 1929, VII, 2080).


  The Committee was redesignated as the Committee on House Oversight in 
the 104th Congress, obtaining from the former Committee on Post Office 
and Civil Service jurisdiction over the Franking Commission (also known 
as the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards) in 
subparagraph (7), while transferring to the Committee on Resources 
jurisdiction over erection of monuments to the memory of individuals 
(sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). References in 
subparagraphs (1) and (2) to the ``contingent fund'' were eliminated 
without changing the Committee's jurisdiction over the accounts that the 
fund comprised. In the 105th Congress subparagraph (1) was amended to 
effect a technical correction (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).



Sec. 677b. House facilities.

  The  Committee has jurisdiction 
over measures relating to the House Restaurant, which was first under 
the jurisdiction of the former Committee on Accounts, then under the 
supervision of the Architect of the Capitol (H. Res. 590, 76th Cong., 
Sept. 5, 1940, p. 11552, as made permanent law by P.L. 76-812, 40 U.S.C. 
174k), and then under the supervision of the Select Committee on the 
House Restaurant (H. Res. 472, 91st Cong., July 10, 1969, p. 19080; H. 
Res. 111, 93d Cong., Feb. 7, 1973), which was not re-established after 
the 93d Congress.



[[Page 398]]

the Committee was given jurisdiction over campaign contributions to 
candidates for the House, a matter formerly within the jurisdiction of 
the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (subpara. (15)), and over 
compensation, retirement, and other benefits of Members, officers, and 
employees of Congress (subpara. (16)) (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20).
  By the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975, 
the Committee obtained jurisdiction over parking facilities of the 
House, a matter formerly assigned to a select committee (subpara. (13)) 
(H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In the 94th Congress 


  The Committee has jurisdiction over resolutions authorizing committees 
to employ additional professional and clerical personnel (Feb. 7, 1966, 
p. 2373). The Committee has supervisory authority over the House barber 
shops, beauty shops, House Information Resources, and the Office of 
Placement and Management (the latter formerly within the jurisdiction of 
the former Joint Committee on Congressional Operations and of the former 
Select Committee on Congressional Operations).




Sec. 677c. Enrolled bills.

  The  Committee has absorbed the 
Committee on Enrolled Bills which was established in 1789 by a joint 
rule of the two Houses. This rule lapsed in 1876 with the other joint 
rules; but in 1880 the rules of the House were amended to recognize the 
joint committee (IV, 4350, 4416; VII, 2099). The Committee and the 
Secretary of the Senate make comparisons of bills of their respective 
Houses for enrollment, and the two cooperate in the interchange of bills 
for signature.





Sec. 677d. Library.

  Under  the Reorganization Act the 
Committee has jurisdiction of some of the subjects formerly within the 
jurisdiction of the Joint Committee on the Library, such as matters 
relating to the Library of Congress and the House Library, statuary and 
pictures, acceptance or purchase of works of art for the Capitol, the 
Botanic Gardens, management of the Library of Congress, purchase of 
books and manuscripts, matters relating to the Smithsonian Institution, 
and the incorporation of similar institutions. Excepted are measures 
relating to the construction or reconstruction, maintenance, and care of 
the buildings and grounds of the Botanic Gardens, the Library of 
Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution, which fall under the 
jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation (now Transportation and 
Infrastructure). The House Members of the Joint Committee on the 
Library, provided for by law (2 U.S.C. 132b), are elected by resolution 
each Congress.




Sec. 677e. Congressional Record.

  The  Committee has 
jurisdiction of matters relating to printing and correction of the 
Congressional Record, formerly within the jurisdiction of the Committee 
on Printing. The House Members of the Joint Committee on Printing, 
provided for by law (44 U.S.C. 1), are elected by resolution each 
Congress.



[[Page 399]]

  The Committee has jurisdiction of measures relating to the election of 
the President, Vice President, or Members of Congress; corrupt 
practices; contested elections; credentials and qualifications; Federal 
elections generally, and the Electoral count, which formerly was within 
the jurisdiction of a Committee on Election of the President, Vice 
President, and Representatives in Congress (IV, 4303).


  The special oversight function in clause 4(d)(1) of examining enrolled 
bills was assigned to the Committee by the Committee Reform amendments 
of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 
1974, p. 34470), but its former responsibility to report on Members' 
travel has been supplanted by the function of providing policy direction 
to and oversight of the Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Chief Administrative 
Officer, and Inspector General (sec. 201(e), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 
----; see rules III, IV, V, and VI and Sec. 697c, infra).

  (i) Committee on International Relations.



Sec. 678. International Relations.

      (1)  Relations of the 
United States with foreign nations generally.


      (2) Acquisition of land and buildings for embassies and legations 
in foreign countries.

      (3) Establishment of boundary lines between the United States and 
foreign nations.

      (4) Export controls, including nonproliferation of nuclear 
technology and nuclear hardware.

      (5) Foreign loans.

      (6) International commodity agreements (other than those involving 
sugar), including all agreements for cooperation in the export of 
nuclear technology and nuclear hardware.

      (7) International conferences and congresses.

      (8) International education.

      (9) Intervention abroad and declarations of war.

      (10) Measures relating to the diplomatic service.


[[Page 400]]

      (11) Measures to foster commercial intercourse with foreign 
nations and to safeguard American business interests abroad.

      (12) Measures relating to international economic policy.

      (13) Neutrality.

      (14) Protection of American citizens abroad and expatriation.

      (15) The American National Red Cross.

      (16) Trading with the enemy.


In addition to its legislative jurisdiction under the preceding 
provisions of this paragraph (and its general oversight function under 
clause 2(b)(1)), the committee shall have the special oversight 
functions provided for in clause 3(d) with respect to customs 
administration, intelligence activities relating to foreign policy, 
international financial and monetary organizations, and international 
fishing agreements.

      (17) United Nations organizations.

  This Committee was established in 1822 (IV, 4162), and from 1885 to 
1920 had authority to report appropriations. In the 94th Congress the 
name of the Committee was changed from Foreign Affairs to International 
Relations (H. Res. 163, Mar. 19, 1975, p. 7343). In the 96th Congress it 
was changed back to Foreign Affairs (H. Res. 89, Feb. 5, 1979, pp. 1848-
49). In the 104th Congress the name was again changed to International 
Relations (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 401]]

1974, p. 34470). When 
the legislative jurisdiction in the House of the Joint Committee on 
Atomic Energy was abolished in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 
1977, pp. 53-70), the Committee was given jurisdiction over 
nonproliferation of nuclear technology and hardware (subpara. (4)), and 
over international agreements on nuclear exports (subpara. (6)).
  In addition to the jurisdiction vested in the Committee by the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), the Committee 
Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975, gave the Committee 
jurisdiction over measures relating to: international economic policy 
(subpara. (12)) and export controls (subpara. (4)), matters formerly 
within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Banking and Currency (now 
Banking and Financial Services); international commodity agreements 
other than sugar (subpara. (6)), formerly within the jurisdiction of the 
Committee on Agriculture; trading with the enemy (subpara. (16)), 
formerly within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Interstate and 
Foreign Commerce (now Commerce); and international education (subpara. 
(8)); while transferring jurisdiction over international financial and 
monetary organizations to the Committee on Banking and Currency (now 
Banking and Financial Services), and jurisdiction over international 
fishing agreements to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries 
(now Resources) (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 

  It has a broad jurisdiction over foreign relations, including bills to 
establish boundary lines between the United States and foreign nations, 
to determine naval strengths, and to regulate bridges and dams on 
international waters (IV, 4166; see also the ``General Bridge Act,'' 33 
U.S.C. 525, 533), for the protection of American citizens abroad and 
expatriation (IV, 4169; VII, 1883), for extradition with foreign 
nations, for international arbitration, relating to violations of 
neutrality (IV, 4178a), international conferences and congresses (IV, 
4177; VII, 1884), the incorporation of the American National Red Cross 
and protection of its insignia (IV, 4173), intervention abroad and 
declarations of war (IV, 4164; VII 1880), affairs of the consular 
service, including acquisition of land and buildings for legations in 
foreign capitals (IV, 4163; VII, 1879), creation of courts of the United 
States in foreign countries (IV, 4167), treaty regulations as to 
protection of fur seals (IV, 4170), matters relating to the Philippines 
(see 60 Stat. 315), and measures establishing a District of Columbia 
corporation to support private American organizations engaged in 
communications with foreign nations (June 21, 1971, p. 21062).

  The Committee has also considered measures for fostering commercial 
intercourse with foreign nations and for safeguarding American business 
interests abroad (IV, 4175), and even the subjects of commercial 
treaties and reciprocal arrangements (IV, 4174), although in later 
practice the Committee on Ways and Means has considered such matters 
(IV, 4021). The Committee has exercised a general but not exclusive 
jurisdiction over legislation relating to claims having international 
relations (IV, 4168; VII, 1882). Pursuant to its jurisdiction over 
international education, the Committee (and not former Committee on 
Education and Labor) has exercised jurisdiction over bills establishing 
scholarship programs for foreign students (May 10, 1988, p. 10305). The 
Committee has jurisdiction over a communication from the President 
notifying the House, consistent with the War Powers Resolution, of the 
deployment abroad of U.S. armed forces to participate in an embargo 
against another nation (Nov. 4, 1993, p. ----).


  The special oversight function of the Committee set forth in clause 
3(d) of rule X was made effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d 
Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470).

  (j) Committee on the Judiciary.



Sec. 679a. Judiciary.

      (1)   The judiciary and judicial 
proceedings, civil and criminal.


      (2) Administrative practice and procedure.


[[Page 402]]

      (3) Apportionment of Representatives.

      (4) Bankruptcy, mutiny, espionage, and counterfeiting.

      (5) Civil liberties.

      (6) Constitutional amendments.

      (7) Federal courts and judges, and local courts in the Territories 
and possessions.

      (8) Immigration and naturalization.

      (9) Interstate compacts, generally.

      (10) Measures relating to claims against the United States.

      (11) Meetings of Congress, attendance of Members and their 
acceptance of incompatible offices.

      (12) National penitentiaries.

      (13) Patents, the Patent Office, copyrights, and trademarks.

      (14) Presidential succession.

      (15) Protection of trade and commerce against unlawful restraints 
and monopolies.

      (16) Revision and codification of the Statutes of the United 
States.

      (17) State and territorial boundaries.




Sec. 679b. Internal Security.

      (18)   Subversive 
activities affecting the internal security of the United States.



[[Page 403]]

the Committee on Internal Security was abolished and 
jurisdiction over communist and other subversive activities affecting 
the internal security of the United States was transferred to this 
Committee (subpara. (18)) (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20), though an 
accompanying provision for the transfer of records and staff of the 
Internal Security Committee to the Judiciary Committee was deleted as 
obsolete in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70), and 
the specific reference to communism was deleted as unnecessary in the 
104th Congress (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). The 
104th Congress also inserted ``the judiciary'' in subparagraph (1); 
added subparagraph (2) for clarification; combined former subparagraphs 
(6) and (9) in a new subparagraph (7); and combined former subparagraphs 
(13) and (14) in a new subparagraph (13) (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 
4, 1995, p. ----).
  This Committee dates from 1813 (IV, 4054). The essential jurisdiction 
defined in the rule was made effective January 2, 1947, as a part of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), and combined the 
Committees on Revision of Laws (created 1868, IV, 4293), Patents 
(created in 1837, IV, 4254), Immigration and Naturalization (created in 
1893, IV, 4309), Claims (created in 1794, IV, 4262), and War Claims 
(created in 1883, IV, 4269). By the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, 
effective January 3, 1975, the Committee's jurisdiction over holidays 
and celebrations was transferred to the former Committee on Post Office 
and Civil Service (now under the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight) (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In the 94th 
Congress 

  Under subparagraph (14) the Committee has jurisdiction over 
Presidential nominations to fill vacancies in the office of Vice 
President, submitted pursuant to the 25th amendment to the Constitution 
(Oct. 13, 1973, p. 34032; Aug. 20, 1974, p. 29366). The Committee has 
reported Articles of Impeachment of the President (Aug. 20, 1974, pp. 
29219-81). Where the House has voted impeachment, members of the 
Committee have been appointed as managers on the part of the House in 
presenting the charges to the Senate for trial (H. Res. 501, 99th Cong., 
July 22, 1986, p. 17306; H. Res. 511, 100th Cong., Aug. 3, 1988, p. 
20223; H. Res. 12, 101st Cong., Jan. 3, 1989, p. 84).

  The Committee on the Judiciary considers charges against judges of the 
Federal courts (IV, 4062), legislative propositions relating to the 
service of the Department of Justice (IV, 4067), bills relating to local 
courts in the District of Columbia, Alaska, and the Territories (IV, 
4068), the establishment of a court of patent appeals (IV, 4075), 
relations of labor to courts and corporations (IV, 4072), crimes, 
penalties, extradition (IV, 4069; VII, 1747), construction and 
management of national penitentiaries (IV, 4070), matters relating to 
trusts and corporations (IV, 4057, 4059, 4060; VII, 1764), claims of 
States against the United States (IV, 4080), general legislation 
relating to international and other claims (IV, 4078, 4079, 4081), 
including measures extending the terms of members of the Foreign Claims 
Settlement Commission (Nov. 14, 1991, p. 32130), bills relating to the 
office of President (IV, 4077), to the flag (IV, 4055), bankruptcy (IV, 
4065), removal of political disabilities (IV, 4058), prohibition of 
traffic in intoxicating liquors (IV, 4061; VII, 1773), mutiny and 
willful destruction of vessels (IV, 4145), counterfeiting (IV, 4071; 
VII, 1753), settlement of State and Territorial boundary lines (IV, 
4060; VII, 1768), meeting of Congress and attendance of Members and 
their acceptance of incompatible offices (IV, 4077, VI, 65).


[[Page 404]]

cally exercised jurisdiction over lobbying activities, the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct was assigned such 
jurisdiction during a brief period (H. Res. 1031, 91st Cong., July 8, 
1970, p. 23141; H. Res. 5, 94th Cong., Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20).
  The Committee also has jurisdiction over joint resolutions proposing 
amendments to the Constitution (IV, 4056; VII, 1779). It also reports on 
important questions of law relating to subjects naturally within the 
jurisdiction of other committees (IV, 4063). Although the Committee has 
histori-

  The Committee also has jurisdiction over bills regulating the 
authority of States to impose taxes on interstate commerce (June 18, 
1959, p. 11317), imposing conflict of interest standards and civil and 
criminal penalties relating thereto on government employees (Feb. 25, 
1960, p. 3484), establishing an Academy of Criminal Justice (Apr. 5, 
1965, p. 6822), to eliminate racketeering in the interstate sale of 
cigarettes (Feb. 9, 1972, p. 3429), providing workmen's compensation for 
non-Federal firemen killed during civil disorder (May 6, 1968, p. 
11798), authorizing the Attorney General to consent to a modification of 
a certain trust on behalf of the Library of Congress (Aug. 17, 1959, p. 
16051), amending an omnibus pension act to increase the amount of 
pension granted a certain class of persons (Feb. 15, 1960, p. 2523), and 
imposing criminal sanctions under the Controlled Substances Act (Nov. 
14, 1983, p. 32457). The Committee has exclusive jurisdiction over the 
Legal Services Corporation (Nov. 19, 1975, p. 37288) and over the 
extension of workmen's benefits to non-Federal policemen and firemen 
(Dec. 12, 1975, p. 40204). The Committee has exercised jurisdiction, 
with the Committee on Education and Labor (now Education and the 
Workforce), over bills to amend the Walsh-Healey Act regarding hours of 
work under government contracts (May 15, 1985, p. 11946). This 
Committee, and not the Committee on Public Works and Transportation (now 
Transportation and Infrastructure), exercised jurisdiction over a bill 
extending the authority for the Marshal of the Supreme Court and the 
Supreme Court Police to protect the Chief Justice, Associate Justices, 
officers, and employees of the Supreme Court beyond its building and 
grounds (Nov. 22, 1993, p. ----).


  The Committee has the general oversight responsibility set forth in 
clause 2(b).

  (k) Committee on National Security.



Sec. 680. National Security.

      (1)  Ammunition depots; 
forts; arsenals; Army, Navy, and Air Force reservations and 
establishments.


      (2) Common defense generally.

      (3) Conservation, development, and use of naval petroleum and oil 
shale reserves.


[[Page 405]]

      (4) The Department of Defense generally, including the Departments 
of the Army, Navy, and Air Force generally.

      (5) Interoceanic canals generally, including measures relating to 
the maintenance, operation, and administration of interoceanic canals.

      (6) Merchant Marine Academy, and State Maritime Academies.

      (7) Military applications of nuclear energy.

      (8) Tactical intelligence and intelligence related activities of 
the Department of Defense.

      (9) National security aspects of merchant marine, including 
financial assistance for the construction and operation of vessels, the 
maintenance of the U.S. shipbuilding and ship repair industrial base, 
cabotage, cargo preference and merchant marine officers and seamen as 
these matters relate to the national security.

      (10) Pay, promotion, retirement, and other benefits and privileges 
of members of the armed forces.

      (11) Scientific research and development in support of the armed 
services.

      (12) Selective service.

      (13) Size and composition of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air 
Force.

      (14) Soldiers' and sailors' homes.


In addition to its legislative jurisdiction under the preceding 
provisions of this paragraph (and its general oversight function under 
clause 2(b)(1)), the committee shall have the special oversight function 
provided for in clause 3(a) 

[[Page 406]]

with respect to international arms control 
and disarmament, and military dependents education.

      (15) Strategic and critical materials necessary for the common 
defense.

  This Committee was established January 2, 1947, as a part of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), combining the 
Committee on Military Affairs with the Committee on Naval Affairs, both 
of which had been created in 1822 (IV, 4179, 4189) and had had 
jurisdiction over appropriations from 1885 to 1920 (IV, 4179, 4189; VII, 
1741). The Committee was redesignated the Committee on National Security 
in the 104th Congress (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

  Much of the present legislative jurisdiction in this paragraph was 
adopted on January 3, 1953 (p. 17), to reflect jurisdiction over the 
Department of Defense, which was created in the National Security Act of 
1947 (61 Stat. 495). In the 95th Congress, when the Joint Committee on 
Atomic Energy was abolished, this Committee gained jurisdiction over 
military applications of nuclear energy (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, p. 
53). The special oversight function of the Committee in clause 3(a) and 
the general oversight function in clause 2(b)(1) were assigned by the 
Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 
988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). The 104th Congress added 
subparagraph (8) for clarification and subparagraphs (5), (6), and (9) 
to reflect the transfer of those matters from the former Committee on 
Merchant Marine and Fisheries (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 
----), and later amended subparagraph (8) to effect a technical 
correction (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----).

  The Committee has jurisdiction over bills: relating to military 
housing construction (Apr. 18, 1967, p. 9981; Feb. 21, 1962, p. 2684); 
amending title 10 of the United States Code to permit suits against the 
United States for damage to reputation of members of Armed Forces 
acquitted of charges of crimes against civilians in combat zones (July 
15, 1970, p. 24451); for construction of facilities at Walter Reed 
Medical Center (Oct. 3, 1966, p. 24859); to require military commissary, 
post exchange and medical care privileges for veterans with sufficient 
service-connected disabilities (Feb. 3, 1976, p. 1972); of a private 
character to waive the statutory time limit on the award of the 
Congressional Medal of Honor on individuals (Feb. 22, 1982, p. 1812); 
including authorization of appropriations to the Department of Energy 
for resource applications for naval petroleum and oil shale reserves 
(May 1, 1978, p. 11946); and effecting the transfer of military property 
to a state to be designated by the state as a wilderness area (Nov. 15, 
1995, p. ----).


[[Page 407]]

  The Committee exercised jurisdiction with the Committee on Interior 
and Insular Affairs (now Resources) over a resolution expressing the 
sense of Congress regarding continued operation of the Hanford Nuclear 
Reactor to produce power for the Bonneville Power Administration (July 
17, 1986, p. 16888).

  (l) Committee on Resources.



Sec. 681. Resources.

      (1)  Fisheries and wildlife, 
including research, restoration, refuges, and conservation.


      (2) Forest reserves and national parks created from the public 
domain.

      (3) Forfeiture of land grants and alien ownership, including alien 
ownership of mineral lands.

      (4) Geological Survey.

      (5) International fishing agreements.

      (6) Interstate compacts relating to apportionment of waters for 
irrigation purposes.

      (7) Irrigation and reclamation, including water supply for 
reclamation projects, and easements of public lands for irrigation 
projects, and acquisition of private lands when necessary to complete 
irrigation projects.

      (8) Measures relating to the care and management of Indians, 
including the care and allotment of Indian lands and general and special 
measures relating to claims which are paid out of Indian funds.

      (9) Measures relating generally to the insular possessions of the 
United States, except those affecting the revenue and appropriations.


[[Page 408]]

      (10) Military parks and battlefields, national cemeteries 
administered by the Secretary of the Interior, parks within the District 
of Columbia, and the erection of monuments to the memory of individuals.

      (11) Mineral land laws and claims and entries thereunder.

      (12) Mineral resources of the public lands.

      (13) Mining interests generally.

      (14) Mining schools and experimental stations.

      (15) Marine affairs (including coastal zone management), except 
for measures relating to oil and other pollution of navigable waters.

      (16) Oceanography.

      (17) Petroleum conservation on the public lands and conservation 
of the radium supply in the United States.

      (18) Preservation of prehistoric ruins and objects of interest on 
the public domain.

      (19) Public lands generally, including entry, easements, and 
grazing thereon.

      (20) Relations of the United States with the Indians and the 
Indian tribes.


In addition to its legislative jurisdiction under the preceding 
provisions of this paragraph (and its general oversight function under 
clause 2(b)(1)), the committee shall have the special oversight 
functions provided for in clause 3(e) with respect to all programs 
affecting Indians.

      (21) Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline (except ratemaking).

  The Committee on Public Lands was created in 1805 (IV, 4194). Its name 
has since been changed to Interior and Insular Affairs (Feb. 2, 1951, p. 
883); to Natural Resources (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----); and to 
Resources (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 409]]

(created in 1865, IV, 4223), Insular Affairs (created in 1899, IV, 
4213), Irrigation and Reclamation (created in 1893, IV, 4307), Indian 
Affairs (created in 1821, IV, 4204), and Territories (created in 1825, 
IV, 4208), though vesting the subject of welfare of men working in 
mines, formerly under the jurisdiction of a Committee on Mines and 
Mining, in the Committee on Education and Labor (now Education and the 
Workforce). Until the Reorganization Act, military parks, battlefields, 
and national cemeteries were under jurisdiction of a Committee on 
Military Affairs. Jurisdiction over cemeteries of the United States in 
which veterans may be buried, except those administered by the Secretary 
of the Interior, was transferred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
in the 90th Congress (H. Res. 241, Oct. 20, 1967).
  The core of the jurisdiction reflected in this paragraph was assigned 
to the Committee effective January 2, 1947, as a part of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), which consolidated in this 
Committee the jurisdictions of the former Committees on Mines and Mining 

  In Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975, the 
Committee gained jurisdiction over parks within the District of 
Columbia, formerly within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Public 
Works and Transportation, now Transportation and Infrastructure 
(subpara. (10)), and lost specific jurisdiction over Indian education 
and over Hawaii and Alaska, generally (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 
1974, p. 34470). By that same resolution, the Committee was given 
special oversight functions in clause 3(e).

  The 104th Congress expanded the jurisdiction of the Committee by: 
adding subparagraphs (1), (5), (15), and (16) to reflect the transfer of 
those matters from the former Committee on Merchant Marine and 
Fisheries; inserting the subject of monuments in memory of individuals 
in subparagraph (10) to reflect the transfer of that matter from the 
Committee on House Administration (now House Oversight); adding 
subparagraph (21), an exceptional treatment of pipeline jurisdiction 
otherwise vested in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; 
and deleting the subject of regulation of the domestic nuclear energy 
industry to reflect the transfer of that jurisdiction, which this 
Committee had acquired when the 95th Congress abolished the Joint 
Committee on Atomic Energy (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70) and 
which it shared with the Committee on Commerce, to the Committee on 
Commerce (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). At the same 
time, the statements of special oversight functions in this paragraph 
and in paragraph (e) of this clause were adjusted to reflect the 
transfer of nonmilitary nuclear energy and research and development 
including disposal of nuclear waste from this Committee to the Committee 
on Commerce, though conforming changes in paragraphs (e) and (h) of 
clause 3 were inadvertently omitted.


[[Page 410]]

the public domain (July 18, 1977, p. 
23434); to admission of States (IV, 4208); to preservation of 
prehistoric ruins and objects of interest on the public domain (IV, 
4199); and sometimes to projects of general legislation relating to 
various classes of land claims (IV, 4203). The Committee also has 
jurisdiction over bills relating to proceeds from disposal of oil shale 
on public lands (other than Naval Oil Shale Reserves) (Aug. 3, 1967, p. 
21179); bills to exclude certain lands in the outer continental shelf 
from mineral leasing provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 
(May 16, 1963, p. 8777); bills reinstating a U.S. oil and gas lease 
(Aug. 5, 1959, p. 15190); bills addressing U.S. claims to lands along 
the Colorado River forming state boundaries (June 28, 1967, p. 17738); 
bills designating national forest lands created from the public domain 
as wilderness (May 6, 1969, p. 11459); bills including additional units 
in the Missouri River Basin project (Sept. 8, 1959, p. 18587); bills 
establishing a commission on development of Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C. 
as a national historic site (Oct. 21, 1965, p. 27803); bills authorizing 
the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a feasibility investigation of 
potential water resource development (May 1, 1975, p. 12764); bills to 
establish a commission to consider the creation of a (Hudson) River 
Compact (July 21, 1975, p. 23653); bills to name a building constructed 
as part of a federal recreation area (June 8, 1988, p. 13803); bills 
addressing the siting on Federal parkland of an established national 
memorial (Sept. 24, 1991, p. 23731); and (with the Committee on 
Agriculture) bills exchanging a Federal tree nursery for certain State 
mining patents touching a western forest (Sept. 17, 1991, p. 23193). The 
Committee on National Security, and not this Committee, has jurisdiction 
over the transfer of military property to a state to be designated by 
the state as a wilderness area (Nov. 15, 1995, p. ----). The Committee 
on Agriculture, and not this Committee, has jurisdiction over the 
designation of an agricultural research center (May 14, 1996, p. ----).
  The Committee reports on subjects relating to the mineral resources of 
the public lands (IV, 4202), forfeiture of land grants and alien 
ownership (IV, 4201), validation of certain conveyances of erstwhile 
public lands by a railway company (July 11, 1995, p. ----), public lands 
of Alaska (IV, 4196), forest reserves (IV, 4197), and national parks 
created out of the public domain (IV, 4199; VII, 1925), including 
measures relating to criminal trespass provisions applying only within 
national forests created from 


  The authority of the Committee to report as privileged bills for the 
forfeiture of land grants to railroad and other corporations, bills 
preventing speculation in the public lands, bills for the preservation 
of the public lands for the benefit of actual and bona fide settlers, 
and bills for the admission of new States was eliminated in the 
Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 
988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470; see clause 4(a) of rule XI).

  (m) Committee on Rules.



Sec. 682a. Rules.

      (1)  The rules and joint rules (other 
than rules or joint rules relating to the Code of Official Conduct), and 
order of business of the House.



[[Page 411]]

The Committee on Rules is authorized to sit and act whether or not the 
House is in session.

      (2) Recesses and final adjournments of Congress.

  This Committee, which had existed as a select committee from 1789, 
became a standing committee in 1880 (IV, 4321; VII, 2047). The Speaker 
was first made a member of the Committee in 1858 (IV, 4321), and ceased 
to be a member on March 19, 1910 (VII, 2047). However, the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 deleted from the former rule the prohibition 
against the Speaker serving on the Committee. The size of the Committee 
was increased from 12 to 15 members for the 87th Congress (Jan. 31, 
1961, p. 1589), and the increase in the Committee's size was 
incorporated as a part of the rules in the 88th Congress (Jan. 9, 1963). 
Effective January 3, 1975, however, the rules were amended to eliminate 
prescriptions of committee sizes (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, 
p. 34470), and in the 94th through the 98th Congresses 16 members were 
named to the Committee on nominations from the respective party caucuses 
(see, e.g., H. Res. 76, Jan. 20, 1975, p. 803; H. Res. 101, Jan. 28, 
1975, p. 1611), and in the 99th through 101st Congresses, 13 members 
were named to the Committee on nominations from the respective party 
caucuses (see, e.g., H. Res. 34, 35, Jan. 30, 1985, p. 1271, 1273).

  The jurisdiction defined in this paragraph became effective January 2, 
1947, as a part of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 
812). The last sentence, formerly designated as subparagraph (3) (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----), is from section 134(c) of the 1946 Act, 
but the Committee has had authority to sit during sessions of the House 
since 1893 (IV, 4546), even during the five-minute rule under clause 
2(i) of rule XI. The subject of recesses and adjournments was formerly 
under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. In section 
402(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-344, July 12, 
1974), the Committee was given specific authority to report emergency 
waivers of the required reporting date for bills and resolutions 
authorizing new budget authority. That authority was incorporated into 
this rule, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 
1974, p. 34470), but was repealed as obsolete in the 102d Congress (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). Jurisdiction over rules relating to 
official conduct and financial disclosure was transferred to the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct on April 3, 1968 (H. Res. 
1099, 90th Cong.), but in the 95th Congress, jurisdiction over rules 
relating to financial disclosure by Members, officers, and employees of 
the House was returned to this Committee (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 
53-70).


[[Page 412]]

all committees to sit and act whether the House 
is in session or has adjourned, and authority to issue subpoenas (clause 
2(m) of rule XI) (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). The 
Committee also reports resolutions relating to the hour of daily meeting 
and the days on which the House shall sit (IV, 4325), and orders 
relating to the use of the galleries during the electoral count (IV, 
4327).

  The jurisdiction of this Committee is primarily over propositions to 
make or change the rules (V, 6770, 6776; VII, 2047), for the creation of 
committees (IV, 4322; VII, 2048), and directing them to make 
investigations (IV, 4322-4324; VII, 2048). Effective January 3, 1975, 
however, the authority for all committees to conduct investigations and 
studies was made a part of the standing rules (clause 1(b) of rule XI), 
as was the authority for 



Sec. 682b. Special orders.

  Since  1883 the Committee on Rules 
has reported special orders providing times and methods for 
consideration of special bills or classes of bills, thereby enabling the 
House by majority vote to forward particular legislation, instead of 
being forced to use for the purpose the motion to suspend the rules, 
which requires a two-thirds vote (IV, 3152; V, 6870; for forms of, IV, 
3238-3263).


  Special orders may still be made by suspension of the rules (IV, 3154) 
or by unanimous consent (IV, 3165, 3166; VII, 758); but it is not in 
order, by motion in the House, to provide that a subject be made a 
special order by a motion to postpone to a day certain (IV, 3164). But 
before the adoption of rules, and consequently before there is a rule as 
to the order of business, a Member may offer a special order for 
immediate consideration (V, 4971, 5450). A special order reported by the 
Committee on Rules must be agreed to by a majority vote of the House 
(IV, 3169).

  It is not in order to move to postpone a special order providing for 
the consideration of a class of bills (V, 4958), but a bill which comes 
before the House by the terms of a special order merely assigning the 
day for its consideration may be postponed by a majority vote (IV, 3177-
3182). A motion to rescind a special order is not privileged under the 
rules regulating the order of business (IV, 3173, 3174; V, 5323).

  A motion to amend the rules of House does not present a question of 
privilege (VIII, 3377, overruling VIII, 3376; see also rule IX and 
Sec. 664, supra), and it is not in order by raising a question of the 
privileges of the House under rule IX to move to direct the Committee on 
Rules to consider a request to report a special order of business 
(Speaker Albert, June 27, 1974, p. 21599), or to direct the Committee on 
Rules to meet, to elect a temporary chairman (in the temporary absence 
of the chairman) and consider special orders of business (Speaker 
Albert, July 31, 1975, p. 26250).


  For further discussion of the Committee on Rules, see Sec. Sec. 729a-
731, infra.

  (n) Committee on Science.


[[Page 413]]



Sec. 683. Science.

      (1)  All energy research, development, 
and demonstration, and projects therefor, and all federally owned or 
operated nonmilitary energy laboratories.


      (2) Astronautical research and development, including resources, 
personnel, equipment, and facilities.

      (3) Civil aviation research and development.

      (4) Environmental research and development.

      (5) Marine research.

      (6) Measures relating to the commercial application of energy 
technology.

      (7) National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
standardization of weights and measures and the metric system.

      (8) National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

      (9) National Space Council.

      (10) National Science Foundation.

      (11) National Weather Service.

      (12) Outer space, including exploration and control thereof.

      (13) Science Scholarships.


In addition to its legislative jurisdiction under the preceding 
provisions of this paragraph (and its general oversight function under 
clause 2(b)(1)), the committee shall have the special oversight function 
provided for in clause 3(f) with respect to all nonmilitary research and 
development.

      (14) Scientific research, development, and demonstration, and 
projects therefor.


[[Page 414]]

over the Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology) and science scholarships (July 21, 1958, p. 14513). By the 
Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975, the 
Committee was redesignated as the Committee on Science and Technology 
and given additional jurisdiction over civil aviation research and 
development, environmental research and development, non-nuclear energy 
research and development, and the National Weather Service (now part of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) (H. Res. 988, 93d 
Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). At the same time the Committee was given 
the general and special oversight functions set forth in clause 2(b) and 
clause 3(f). When the House abolished the Joint Committee on Atomic 
Energy in the 95th Congress, this Committee was given jurisdiction over 
nuclear research and development, as well (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 
53-70). Its jurisdiction over energy research and development (now 
subpara. (1)) was amended in the 96th Congress, effective January 3, 
1981, to specifically include energy demonstration projects and 
federally owned nonmilitary energy laboratories (H. Res. 549, Mar. 25, 
1980, pp. 6405-10). In the 100th Congress, the Committee was 
redesignated as the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (H. Res. 
5, Jan. 6, 1987, p. 6). In the 103d Congress the jurisdictional 
statement of the Committee was updated to reflect the renaming of 
Executive Branch entities (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----). The 104th 
Congress again renamed the Committee as the Committee on Science and 
expanded its jurisdiction by adding subparagraph (5), from the former 
Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, and subparagraph (6), from 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce (now Commerce) (sec. 202(a), H. 
Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).
  The standing Committee on Science and Astronautics was established in 
the 85th Congress and given jurisdiction formerly vested in a Select 
Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration established a few months 
earlier (Mar. 5, 1958, p. 3443), as well as the former jurisdiction of 
the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (now Commerce) 


  The Committee has jurisdiction over proposals dealing with U.S. 
participation in the World Science Pan-Pacific Exposition (June 24, 
1959, p. 11810); over a resolution condemning Soviet Union internal 
exile of an individual, and recommending that government agencies 
including NASA, the National Bureau of Standards and the National 
Science Foundation defer official travel to that country (Jan. 30, 1980, 
p. 1320); with the Committees on Armed Services (now National Security) 
and Interior and Insular Affairs (now Resources), over bills to test the 
commercial viability of oil shale technologies within the naval oil 
shale reserves or on other public lands (Sept. 26, 1978, p. 31623); and 
with four other committees over a bill coordinating Federal agencies' 
research into ground water contamination, including that done by the 
Environmental Protection Agency (Mar. 15, 1989, p. 4163).

  (o) Committee on Small Business.


[[Page 415]]



Sec. 684. Small Business.

      (1)  Assistance to and 
protection of small business, including financial aid, regulatory 
flexibility and paperwork reduction.



In addition to its legislative jurisdiction under the preceding 
provisions of this paragraph (and its general oversight function under 
clause 2(b)(1)), the committee shall have the special oversight function 
provided for in clause 3(g) with respect to the problems of small 
business.

      (2) Participation of small-business enterprises in Federal 
procurement and Government contracts.

  A Select Committee on Small Business was first established in the 77th 
Congress (H. Res. 294, pp. 9418-28) and was reconstituted each Congress 
thereafter by resolution reported from the Committee on Rules until made 
permanent in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144).

  The Committee Reform Amendments of 1974 established a standing 
Committee on Small Business, effective January 3, 1975, and vested it 
with legislative jurisdiction formerly held by the Committee on Banking 
and Currency (subpara. (1)) and the Committee on the Judiciary (subpara. 
(2)) (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). At the same time 
the general and special oversight functions were set forth in clause 
2(b) and in clause 3(g).


  The 104th Congress expanded the jurisdiction of the Committee over 
assistance to and protection of small business by inserting the 
references to regulatory flexibility and paperwork reduction in 
subparagraph (1) (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----; see 
also Feb. 9, 1995, p. ----) and later effected a technical correction 
(H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----).

  (p) Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.


In addition to its legislative jurisdiction under the preceding 
provision of this paragraph (and its general oversight function under 
clause 2(b)(1)), the committee shall have the functions with respect to 
recommendations, studies, investigations, and reports which are provided 
for in 

[[Page 416]]

clause 4(e), and the functions designated in titles I and V of 
the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and sections 7342, 7351, and 7353 
of title 5, United States Code.



Sec. 685a. Standards of Official Conduct.

      (1)  Measures 
relating to the Code of Official Conduct.


  In the 90th Congress the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 
was established as a standing committee (H. Res. 418, Apr. 13, 1967, p. 
----). Its precursor was the Select Committee on Standards and Conduct, 
created in the 89th Congress (H. Res. 1013, Oct. 19, 1966, pp. 27713-
30).

  At various times in its history, the legislative jurisdiction of the 
Committee has included jurisdiction over measures relating to (1) 
financial disclosure by Members, officers, and employees of the House 
(H. Res. 1099, 90th Cong., Apr. 3, 1968); (2) the raising, reporting, 
and use of campaign contributions for candidates for the House (H. Res. 
988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470); and (3) lobbying activities (H. 
Res. 1031, 91st Cong., July 8, 1970, p. 23141). However, legislative 
jurisdiction over measures relating to financial disclosure was 
transferred to the Committee on Rules in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70); legislative jurisdiction over measures 
relating to campaign contributions for candidates for the House was 
transferred to House Administration (now House Oversight), and 
legislative jurisdiction over measures relating to lobbying activities 
was removed from the Committee (thereby devolving on the Committee on 
the Judiciary) in the 94th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20).

  In the 95th Congress, several rules relating to the official conduct 
of Members were adopted outside the confines of rule XLIII, the ``Code 
of Official Conduct,'' as follows: rule XLV, prohibiting unofficial 
office accounts; rule XLVI, limiting the use of the frank; and rule 
XLVII, limiting outside earned income (H. Res. 287, Mar. 2, 1977, pp. 
5933-53).

  Under clause 4(a) of rule XI, the Committee is empowered to report as 
privileged resolutions recommending action by the House of 
Representatives with respect to the official conduct of an individual 
Member, officer, or employee of the House.

  In addition to its legislative jurisdiction, the Committee has the 
general oversight responsibility set forth in clause 2(b) and the 
additional functions of conducting the investigations and making the 
reports and recommendations required by clause 4(e) or by resolution of 
the House (see, e.g., H. Res. 252, 95th Cong., Feb. 9, 1977, pp. 3966-
75, directing investigation of gifts from Korean government; H. Res. 
1042, 94th Cong., Feb. 16, 1976, pp. 3158-61, directing investigation of 
unauthorized publication of report of Select Committee on Intelligence; 
and H. Res. 608, 96th Cong., Mar. 27, 1980, pp. 6995-98, relating to 
``Abscam'').


[[Page 417]]

515 of Public Law 95-105 to act as the ``employing agency'' for the 
House of Representatives under the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, 
and the Committee promulgated regulations under that statute concerning 
acceptance of foreign gifts and decorations by Members and employees 
(Jan. 23, 1978, p. 452). In the 96th Congress the Committee was assigned 
as additional responsibilities the functions designated in title I of 
the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521) relating to the 
administration of government ethics laws as they apply to Members, 
officers, and employees of the House (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, p. 7). 
In the 102d Congress those responsibilities were enlarged to include 
also the functions designated in title V of the Act and the specified 
sections of title 5, United States Code (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 
39).
  The Committee has investigated rollcall procedures in the House and 
recommended installation of a modernized voting system (June 19, 1969, 
p. 16629). In the 95th Congress the Committee was authorized by section 

  The Committee has compiled statutory and rule-based ethical standards 
in the House Ethics Manual (102d Cong., 2d Sess.). In the Manual, the 
Committee incorporates its advisory opinions issued under clause 
4(e)(1)(D) of rule X, together with advisory opinions issued by the 
former Select Committee on Ethics, in its discussions of various ethical 
issues, including gifts, outside income, financial disclosure, staff 
rights and duties, official allowances and franking, casework 
considerations, campaign financing and practices, and involvement with 
official and unofficial organizations.



Sec. 685b. Former Select Committees on 
Ethics.

  In the 95th  Congress, the House established a Select Committee on Ethics 
and granted it exclusive legislative jurisdiction over bills that 
incorporated into permanent law provisions of House rules addressing 
financial ethics of Members, officers, and employees (H. Res. 383, Mar. 
9, 1977, pp. 6811-16). The Select Committee was also granted 
jurisdiction to promulgate implementing regulations and to issue 
advisory opinions. The resolution creating the Select Committee provided 
that it would expire on December 31, 1977, but the Committee and its 
functions ultimately were extended through the ``completion of its 
official business'' (H. Res. 871, Oct. 31, 1977, p. 35957). The advisory 
opinions compiled by the former Select Committee on Ethics have been 
incorporated in the House Ethics Manual (102d Cong., 2d Sess.).



[[Page 418]]

  In the 105th Congress a new subparagraph (3) was added at the end of 
clause 4(e) of rule X to establish a Select Committee on Ethics only to 
resolve an inquiry originally undertaken by the standing Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct in the 104th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 
1997, p. ----). The Select Committee filed one report to the House (H. 
Rept. 105-1, H. Res. 31, Jan. 21, 1997, p. ----).

  (q) Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.



Sec. 686. Transportation and Infrastructure.

      (1)  Coast 
Guard, including lifesaving service, lighthouses, lightships, ocean 
derelicts, and the Coast Guard Academy.


      (2) Federal management of emergencies and natural disasters.

      (3) Flood control and improvement of rivers and harbors.

      (4) Inland waterways.

      (5) Inspection of merchant marine vessels, lights and signals, 
lifesaving equipment, and fire protection on such vessels.

      (6) Navigation and the laws relating thereto, including pilotage.

      (7) Registering and licensing of vessels and small boats.

      (8) Rules and international arrangements to prevent collisions at 
sea.

      (9) Measures relating to the Capitol Building and the Senate and 
House office buildings.

      (10) Measures relating to the construction or maintenance of roads 
and post roads, other than appropriations therefor; but it shall not be 
in order for any bill providing general legislation in relation to roads 
to contain any provision for any specific road, nor for any bill in 
relation to a specific road to embrace a provision in relation to any 
other specific road.


[[Page 419]]

the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution.
      (11) Measures relating to the construction or reconstruction, 
maintenance, and care of the buildings and grounds of the Botanic 
Gardens, 

      (12) Measures relating to merchant marine, except for national 
security aspects of merchant marine.

      (13) Measures relating to the purchase of sites and construction 
of post offices, customhouses, Federal courthouses, and Government 
buildings within the District of Columbia.

      (14) Oil and other pollution of navigable waters, including 
inland, coastal, and ocean waters.

      (15) Marine affairs (including coastal zone management) as they 
relate to oil and other pollution of navigable waters.

      (16) Public buildings and occupied or improved grounds of the 
United States generally.

      (17) Public works for the benefit of navigation, including bridges 
and dams (other than international bridges and dams).

      (18) Related transportation regulatory agencies.

      (19) Roads and the safety thereof.

      (20) Transportation, including civil aviation, railroads, water 
transportation, transportation safety (except automobile safety), 
transportation infrastructure, transportation labor, and railroad 
retirement and unemployment (except revenue measures related thereto).


      (21) Water power.


[[Page 420]]

in 1883 (IV, 4118)), and Roads (created in 1913 (VII, 2065)). 
The authority of the Committee to report as privileged bills authorizing 
the improvement of rivers and harbors was eliminated by the Committee 
Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d 
Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470; see clause 4(a) of rule XI). At the same 
time the Committee's jurisdiction over parks in the District of Columbia 
was transferred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (now 
Resources); and it gained jurisdiction over transportation, including 
civil aviation (except railroads, railroad labor, and railroad 
pensions), over roads and the safety thereof, over water transportation 
subject to the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and 
over related transportation regulatory agencies with certain exceptions. 
The 104th Congress changed the name of the Committee from Public Works 
and Transportation to Transportation and Infrastructure and expanded its 
jurisdiction by: adding subparagraphs (1), (6)-(8), (12), and (15) to 
reflect the transfer of those matters from the former Committee on 
Merchant Marine and Fisheries; adding subparagraph (4) and enlarging 
subparagraph (20) to reflect the transfer of those matters from the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce (now Commerce); and adding subparagraph 
(2) and inserting the reference to inland, coastal, and ocean waters in 
subparagraph (14), as clarifying consolidations of formerly 
fractionalized subjects (sec. 202(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).
  The Committee was created effective January 2, 1947, as a part of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), combining the 
Committees on Flood Control (created in 1916 (VII, 2069)), Public 
Buildings and Grounds (created in 1837 (IV, 4231)), Rivers and Harbors 
(created 


[[Page 421]]

on Government Reform 
and Oversight, and not this Committee, has jurisdiction over a bill 
renaming an existing post office building (Aug. 4, 1995, p. ----), but 
this Committee, and not the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight, has jurisdiction over a bill redesignating a general-purpose 
federal building as a post office (Apr. 24, 1997, p. ----). This 
Committee, and not the Committee on Ways and Means, has jurisdiction 
over a bill designating a customs building (Dec. 12, 1995, p. ----). The 
Committee on Resources, and not this Committee, has jurisdiction over a 
bill to validate certain conveyances of erstwhile public lands by a 
railway company (July 11, 1995, p. ----).
  The Committee has jurisdiction over proposals establishing Treasury 
revolving funds for the Southeastern and Southwestern Power 
Administrations (July 2, 1959, p. 12629); directing the Secretary of the 
Army to provide school facilities for dependents of Corps of Engineers 
construction workers (June 17, 1968, p. 17429); conveying Corps of 
Engineers flood-control project lands (July 15, 1965, p. 17002) or 
naming reservoirs within such projects (Oct. 3, 1989, p. 22770) or 
allocating or limiting water use therefrom (Feb. 28, 1990, p. 2893); 
directing the Secretary of the Army to renew the license of an American 
Legion Post to use a parcel of land on a Corps of Engineer project (May 
10, 1988, p. 10282); authorizing construction of an annex to the 
National Gallery of Art by the Smithsonian Institution (Apr. 10, 1968, 
p. 9553); addressing the location and development of the J. F. Kennedy 
Center for the Performing Arts (Sept. 15, 1965, p. 23927; Oct. 21, 1965, 
p. 27803); transferring land under the control of the Corps of Engineers 
to Indian tribes (Jan. 29, 1976, p. 1577); amending the Interstate 
Commerce Act to regulate truck transportation (Feb. 24, 1976, p. 4109; 
Mar. 1, 1979, p. 3754); concerning the treatment of a U.S. air freight 
carrier by the Japanese Ministry of Transport pursuant to an 
understanding negotiated under the International Air Transportation 
Competition Act of 1979 (not a Trade Act matter) (July 28, 1988, p. 
19536); and over an executive communication amending Public Law 90-553, 
reported by the Committee, to authorize the transfer, conveyance, lease 
and improvement of, and construction on, certain property in the 
District of Columbia, for use as a headquarters site for an 
international organization, as sites for governments of foreign 
countries (Sept. 10, 1981, p. 20598). The Committee 

  The Committee has shared jurisdiction: with the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce (now Commerce) over a bill amending the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act to provide for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites or 
discharges presenting a threat to human health and the environment, 
including navigable waters (Mar. 21, 1984, p. 6186); with the Committee 
on Government Operations (now Government Reform and Oversight) over a 
bill to require the Administrator of General Services to convey certain 
real property (a federal building) to the Museum for the American Indian 
and providing for renovation and alteration of the property (Oct. 28, 
1987, p. 29685); with the Committee on House Administration (now House 
Oversight) over a bill authorizing the Smithsonian Institution to 
construct, expand, and renovate facilities at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum 
in New York (July 21, 1987, p. 20309), and over a bill authorizing 
appropriations to plan, design, construct, and equip museum space for 
the Smithsonian (July 18, 1991, p. 18830); with several other committees 
over bills to convert from a defense economy by, inter alia,  
authorizing economic assistance for public works and economic 
development (June 24, 1991, p. 16021; June 11, 1992, p. ----); and with 
the Committee on Education and Labor (now Education and the Workforce) 
over bills providing labor protections to workers, including airline 
employees, in the transportation industry (June 24, 1991, p. 16020; Feb. 
24, 1993, p. ----).

  In the 101st Congress, the Committee reported a bill requiring a 
cooling-off period in a labor-management dispute between an airline and 
its unions under the Railway Labor Act (H.R. 1231, Mar. 13, 1989, p. 
4032).


  The general oversight responsibility of the Committee is set forth in 
clause 2(b) of rule X.

  (r) Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

      (1) Veterans' measures generally.


[[Page 422]]



Sec. 687. Veterans' Affairs.

      (2) Cemeteries of the  United 
States in which veterans of any war or conflict are or may be 
buried, whether in the United States or abroad, except cemeteries 
administered by the Secretary of the Interior.


      (3) Compensation, vocational rehabilitation, and education of 
veterans.

      (4) Life insurance issued by the Government on account of service 
in the Armed Forces.

      (5) Pensions of all the wars of the United States, general and 
special.

      (6) Readjustment of servicemen to civil life.

      (7) Soldiers' and sailors' civil relief.


      (8) Veterans' hospitals, medical care, and treatment of veterans.


  This Committee was established January 2, 1947, as a part of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), and was vested 
with jurisdiction formerly exercised by the Committees on World War 
Veterans' Legislation (VII, 2077); Invalid Pensions (IV, 4258); and 
Pensions (IV, 4260). Jurisdiction over veterans' cemeteries administered 
by the Department of Defense was transferred from the Committee on 
Interior and Insular Affairs in the 90th Congress (H. Res. 241, Oct. 20, 
1967, p. 29560). Vocational rehabilitation, except that pertaining to 
veterans, is under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Education and 
the Workforce. The Committee has jurisdiction over bills to amend the 
Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act of 1940 to permit certain 
declarations of fact in lieu of affidavits (Feb. 4, 1959, p. 1812), and 
over bills to amend the Servicemen's and Veterans' Survivor Benefits Act 
relating to service-connected deaths of retired members of the uniformed 
services (May 18, 1959, p. 8273).

  (s) Committee on Ways and Means.



Sec. 688. Ways and Means.

      (1)  Customs, collection 
districts, and ports of entry and delivery.


      (2) Reciprocal trade agreements.

      (3) Revenue measures generally.

      (4) Revenue measures relating to the insular possessions.

      (5) The bonded debt of the United States (subject to the last 
sentence of clause 4(g) of this rule).

      (6) The deposit of public moneys.


[[Page 423]]

      (7) Transportation of dutiable goods.

      (8) Tax exempt foundations and charitable trusts.


      (9) National social security, except (A) health care and 
facilities programs that are supported from general revenues as opposed 
to payroll deductions and (B) work incentive programs.

  A select Committee on Ways and Means dates from 1789. It was made a 
standing committee in 1802. Originally it considered both revenue and 
appropriations, but in 1865 the appropriation bills were given to the 
Committee on Appropriations and certain other bills to the Committee on 
Banking and Currency (now Banking and Financial Services) (IV, 4020). 
Its jurisdiction was also amended on April 5, 1911 (p. 58), and further 
defined in the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), 
which transferred the subject of recesses and final adjournments from 
this Committee to the Committee on Rules.

  By the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975, 
the Committee gained legislative jurisdiction over tax exempt 
foundations and charitable trusts (subpara. (8)), formerly within the 
jurisdiction of the Committee on Banking and Currency, because of their 
impact on the economy, while it was released from: jurisdiction over 
health care and facilities programs supported from general revenues to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce (now Commerce); jurisdiction over 
work incentive programs to the Committee on Education and Labor (now 
Education and the Workforce); jurisdiction over general revenue sharing 
to the Committee on Government Operations (now Government Reform and 
Oversight); and jurisdiction over renegotiation to the Committee on 
Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs (now Banking and Financial Services) 
(H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470).

  The Committee's jurisdiction over the bonded debt of the United States 
(subpara. (5)) was made subject to the last sentence of clause 4(g) of 
rule X in the 96th Congress by Public Law 96-78 (93 Stat. 589).


[[Page 424]]

trust funds in the Treasury, 
funded by assessments on all quantities of oil, petrochemical 
feedstocks, and other hazardous substances sold for sale, where the 
scope and size of the funds and the method of assessment (similar to an 
excise tax) represented the collection of general revenue to fund 
particular Federal activities, a type of financing mechanism over which 
the Ways and Means Committee has traditionally exercised jurisdiction 
(May 20, 1980, p. 11862).
  The revenue jurisdiction of the Committee extends to such subjects as 
transportation of dutiable goods, collection districts, ports of entry 
and delivery (IV, 4026), customs unions, reciprocity treaties (IV, 
4021), revenue relations of the United States with Puerto Rico (IV, 
4025), the revenue bills relating to agricultural products generally, 
excepting oleomargarine (IV, 4022), and tax on cotton and grain futures. 
The Committee formerly had jurisdiction as to seal herds and other 
revenue producing animals in Alaska but this jurisdiction was changed in 
the 68th Congress to the former Committee on Merchant Marine and 
Fisheries (VII, 1725, 1851). As exemplified by sequential referrals in 
the 96th Congress, the Committee has jurisdiction of reported bills 
creating major oilspill and hazardous waste 

  The Committee has jurisdiction over subjects relating to the Treasury 
of the United States and the deposit of the public moneys (IV, 4028), 
but it failed to make good a claim to the subjects of ``national 
finances'' and ``preservation of the Government credit'' (IV, 4023). The 
Committee has jurisdiction over bills providing tax incentives for 
persons investing in Indian property (Feb. 1, 1964, p. 1582), providing 
unemployment compensation to individuals with military or Federal 
service (Apr. 28, 1976, p. 11590), providing extended and increased 
unemployment compensation (Apr. 16, 1975, p. 10346), and over private 
bills waiving provisions of the Tariff Act to require reliquidation of 
certain imported materials as duty-free (July 13, 1982, p. 16014). The 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and not this Committee, 
has jurisdiction over a bill to designate a customs administrative 
building (Dec. 12, 1995, p. ----).

  The Committee has exercised jurisdiction, with the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce (now Commerce), over 
executive communications reporting on inpatient hospital services under 
title XVIII (medicare) and under title XIX (medicaid) of the Social 
Security Act (Dec. 21, 1982, p. 33261); with the Committee on Public 
Works and Transportation (now Transportation and Infrastructure) over 
executive communications proposing draft legislation reauthorizing the 
Surface Transportation Act but also containing a revenue title raising 
taxes to fund surface transportation programs (Mar. 20, 1986, p. 5804); 
with the former Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries (succeeded by 
the Committee on Resources) over a bill amending the Fishermen's 
Protective Act to authorize the President to prohibit the importation of 
any product from a country violating an international fishery 
conservation program (Mar. 21, 1989, p. 5077); and with three other 
committees over a bill imposing certain international economic sanctions 
including tariffs (May 27, 1992, p. ----).

  The Committee in the earlier practice reported resolutions 
distributing the President's annual message (IV, 4030), but since the 
first session of the 64th Congress this practice has been discontinued 
(VIII, 3350).


  The general oversight responsibility set forth in clause 2(b) was 
assigned to the Committee by the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, 
effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 
34470).


                   General Oversight Responsibilities



[[Page 425]]

  2. (a) In order to assist the House in--



Sec. 692a. General oversight.

      (1)  its analysis, 
appraisal, and evaluation of (A) the application, administration, 
execution, and effectiveness of the laws enacted by the Congress, or (B) 
conditions and circumstances which may indicate the necessity or 
desirability of enacting new or additional legislation, and


      (2) its formulation, consideration, and enactment of such 
modifications of or changes in those laws, and of such additional 
legislation, as may be necessary or appropriate,
the various standing committees shall have oversight responsibilities as 
provided in paragraph (b).


[[Page 426]]

jurisdiction of that committee (whether or not any bill or resolution 
has been introduced with respect thereto), and shall on a continuing 
basis undertake futures research and forecasting on matters within the 
jurisdiction of that committee. Each such committee <> having more than twenty members shall 
establish an oversight subcommittee, or require its subcommittees, if 
any, to conduct oversight in the area of their respective jurisdiction, 
to assist in carrying out its responsibilities under this subparagraph. 
The establishment of oversight subcommittees shall in no way limit the 
responsibility of the subcommittees with legislative jurisdiction from 
carrying out their oversight responsibilities.
  (b)(1) Each standing committee (other than the Committee on 
Appropriations and the Committee on the Budget) shall review and study, 
on a continuing basis, the application, administration, execution, and 
effectiveness of those laws or parts of laws, the subject matter of 
which is within the jurisdiction of that committee and the organization 
and operation of the Federal agencies and entities having 
responsibilities in or for the administration and execution thereof, in 
order to determine whether such laws and the programs thereunder are 
being implemented and carried out in accordance with the intent of the 
Congress and whether such programs should be continued, curtailed, or 
eliminated. In addition, each such committee shall review and study any 
conditions or circumstances which may indicate the necessity or 
desirability of enacting new or additional legislation within the 

  (2) The Committee on Government Reform and Oversight shall review and 
study, on a continuing basis, the operation of Government activities at 
all levels with a view to determining their economy and efficiency.

  (3) The Committee on Appropriations shall conduct such studies and 
examinations of the organization and operation of executive departments 
and other executive agencies (including any agency the majority of the 
stock of which is owned by the Government of the United States) as it 
may deem necessary to assist it in the determination of matters within 
its jurisdiction.


[[Page 427]]

impact of tax policies affecting subjects within its jurisdiction as 
described in clauses 1 and 3.
  (c) Each standing committee of the House shall have the function of 
reviewing and studying on a continuing basis the impact or probable 

  (d)(1) Not later than February 15 of the first session of a Congress, 
each standing committee of the House shall, in a meeting that is open to 
the public and with a quorum present, adopt its oversight plans for that 
Congress. Such plans shall be submitted simultaneously to the Committee 
on Government Reform and Oversight and to the Committee on House 
Oversight. In developing such plans each committee shall, to the maximum 
extent feasible

          (A) consult with other committees of the House that have 
jurisdiction over the same or related laws, programs, or agencies within 
its jurisdiction, with the objective of ensuring that such laws, 
programs, or agencies are reviewed in the same Congress and that there 
is a maximum of coordination between such committees in the conduct of 
such reviews; and such plans shall include an explanation of what steps 
have been and will be taken to ensure such coordination and cooperation;

          (B) give priority consideration to including in its plans the 
review of those laws, programs, or agencies operating under permanent 
budget authority or permanent statutory authority; and


[[Page 428]]

          (C) have a view toward ensuring that all significant laws, 
programs, or agencies within its jurisdictions are subject to review at 
least once every ten years.

  (2) It shall not be in order to consider any committee expense 
resolution (within the meaning of clause 5 of rule XI), or any amendment 
thereto, for any committee that has not submitted its oversight plans as 
required by this paragraph.

  (3) Not later than March 31 in the first session of a Congress, after 
consultation with the Speaker, the Majority Leader, and the Minority 
Leader, the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight shall report to 
the House the oversight plans submitted by each committee together with 
any recommendations that it, or the House leadership group referred to 
above, may make to ensure the most effective coordination of such plans 
and otherwise achieve the objectives of this clause.


  (e) The Speaker, with the approval of the House, may appoint special 
ad hoc oversight committees for the purpose of reviewing specific 
matters within the jurisdiction of two or more standing committees.


[[Page 429]]

porated into the 
rule, and on January 14, 1975 (H. Res. 5, 94th Cong., p. 20), the size 
of those standing committees required by clause 2(b)(1) to establish an 
oversight subcommittee or to require its subcommittees to conduct 
oversight was increased from 15 to more than 20. In the 100th Congress, 
the requirement that representatives from the Committee on Government 
Operations meet with other committees at the beginning of each Congress 
to discuss oversight plans and that the Government Operations Committee 
report to the House its oversight coordination recommendations within 
sixty days after convening of the first session was deleted (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 6, 1987, p. 6). The 104th Congress added paragraph (d) to require 
that each standing committee adopt by February 15 of the first session 
of a Congress its oversight plans for that Congress, such plans to be 
submitted to the Committees on Government Reform and Oversight and House 
Oversight. The Committee on Government Reform and Oversight is required 
to report such plans to the House by March 31, with recommendations to 
ensure coordination among committees. Consideration of funding for each 
committee is contingent on submission of its oversight plans to the 
committees specified under paragraph (d)(1). The 104th Congress also 
added paragraph (e) to authorize the Speaker to appoint special, ad hoc 
oversight committees to review matters within the jurisdiction of more 
than one standing committee (sec. 203(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. --
--).

  Clause 2(a), and the first requirement of clause 2(b)(1) that each 
standing committee shall review the application, etc. of all laws within 
its jurisdiction, was originally contained in section 118(b) of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and was made part 
of the standing rules on January 22, 1971 (H. Res. 5, p. 144). The 
oversight authority conferred by clause 2(b)(2) on the Committee on 
Government Operations (now Government Reform and Oversight) was first 
made effective as part of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 
Stat. 812), and the responsibility of the Committee on Appropriations 
set forth in clause 2(b)(3) was first given that committee on February 
11, 1943, p. 884, continued by resolution of January 9, 1945, p. 135, 
and incorporated into permanent law in section 202(b) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946, and made a part of the standing rules on 
Jan. 3, 1953 (pp. 17, 24). Effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d 
Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), the general oversight responsibilities 
set forth in the remainder of the clause were incor-


                       Special Oversight Functions



Sec. 693. Special oversight.

  3.  (a) The Committee on 
National Security shall have the function of reviewing and studying, on 
a continuing basis, all laws, programs, and Government activities 
dealing with or involving international arms control and disarmament and 
the education of military dependents in schools.


  (b) The Committee on the Budget shall have the function of--


[[Page 430]]

      (1) making continuing studies of the effect on budget outlays of 
relevant existing and proposed legislation, and reporting the results of 
such studies to the House on a recurring basis; and

      (2) requesting and evaluating continuing studies of tax 
expenditures, devising methods of coordinating tax expenditures, 
policies, and programs with direct budget outlays, and reporting the 
results of such studies to the House on a recurring basis.

  (c) The Committee on Education and the Workforce shall have the 
function of reviewing, studying, and coordinating, on a continuing 
basis, all laws, programs, and Government activities dealing with or 
involving domestic educational programs and institutions, and programs 
of student assistance, which are within the jurisdiction of other 
committees.

  (d) The Committee on International Relations shall have the function 
of reviewing and studying, on a continuing basis, all laws, programs, 
and Government activities dealing with or involving customs 
administration, intelligence activities relating to foreign policy, 
international financial and monetary organizations, and international 
fishing agreements.

  (e) The Committee on Resources shall have the function of reviewing 
and studying, on a continuing basis, all laws, programs, and Government 
activities dealing with Indians.

  (f) The Committee on Science shall have the function of reviewing and 
studying, on a continuing basis, all laws, programs, and Government 
activities dealing with or involving nonmilitary research and 
development.


[[Page 431]]

on a continuing basis, the problems of all 
types of small business.
  (g) The Committee on Small Business shall have the function of 
studying and investigating, 

  (h) The Committee on Commerce shall have the function of reviewing and 
studying, on a continuing basis, all laws, programs and Government 
activities relating to nuclear and other energy, and nonmilitary nuclear 
energy and research and development including the disposal of nuclear 
waste.


  (i) The Committee on Rules shall have the function of reviewing and 
studying, on a continuing basis, the congressional budget process, and 
the committee shall, from time to time, report its findings and 
recommendations to the House.


[[Page 432]]

vide that the Speaker, 
the Majority and Minority Leaders, and the chairman and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on House Administration be informed of tie votes 
in that subcommittee (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----), but paragraph 
(j) was deleted entirely in the 104th Congress (sec. 201(d), H. Res. 6, 
Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). The names of the committees addressed in 
paragraphs (a), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (h) were changed at the 
beginning of the 104th Congress (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, 
p. ----). Later in the 104th Congress conforming amendments to 
paragraphs (e) and (h) were adopted to reflect the transfer of 
jurisdiction over nonmilitary nuclear energy from the Committee on 
Resources to the Committee on Commerce (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. 
----). In the 105th Congress paragraph (c) was amended to reflect a 
further committee name change (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).

  The special oversight responsibilities of the Committee on the Budget 
set forth in clause 3(b) were made part of the rules effective July 12, 
1974 by section 101(c) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 
300). The remainder of the clause became effective January 3, 1975 (H. 
Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470) except that paragraph (h) 
was added on January 4, 1977, upon the abolition of the legislative 
jurisdiction in the House of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy (H. 
Res. 5, 95th Cong., pp. 53-70) and the name of the Committee on 
International Relations was changed back to Foreign Affairs (H. Res. 89, 
Feb. 5, 1979, pp. 1848-49). Paragraph (e) was amended in the 103d 
Congress to reflect the change from Interior and Insular Affairs to 
Natural Resources (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----). Paragraph (h) was 
amended in the 96th Congress to change the name of the Committee on 
Interstate and Foreign Commerce to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
and to expand that committee's special oversight responsibilities over 
nuclear energy to all energy programs (H. Res. 549, Mar. 25, 1980, pp. 
6405-10) effective January 3, 1981. Paragraph (i) was added by section 
226 of P.L. 99-177, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
Act of 1985 (Dec. 12, 1985). A paragraph (j) was added by section 9 of 
the House Administrative Reform Resolution of 1992 (H. Res. 423, Apr. 9, 
1992, p. ----) to establish a bipartisan Subcommittee on Administrative 
Oversight of the Committee on House Administration, to be chaired by the 
chairman of the Committee on House Administration and to be composed of 
members of the Committee on House Administration, one-half from the 
majority party and one-half from the minority party, and paragraph 
(j)(3) was rewritten in the 103d Congress to pro-


                   Additional Functions of Committees



Sec. 694a. Committee on Appropriations; budget 
hearings.

  4.  (a)(1)(A) The Committee on Appropriations shall, within 
thirty days after the transmittal of the Budget to the Congress each 
year, hold hearings on the Budget as a whole with particular reference 
to--


              (i) the basic recommendations and budgetary policies of 
the President in the presentation of the Budget; and

              (ii) the fiscal, financial, and economic assumptions used 
as bases in arriving at total estimated expenditures and receipts.

          (B) In holding hearings pursuant to subdivision (A), the 
committee shall receive testimony from the Secretary of the Treasury, 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Chairman of the 
Council of Economic Advisers, and such other persons as the committee 
may desire.


[[Page 433]]

when the committee, in open 
session and with a quorum present, determines by rollcall vote that the 
testimony to be taken at that hearing on that day may be related to a 
matter of national security: Provided, however, That the committee may 
by the same procedure close one subsequent day of hearing. A transcript 
of all such hearings shall be printed and a copy thereof furnished to 
each Member, Delegate, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico.


Sec. 694b. Procedure for budget 
hearings.

          (C)  Hearings pursuant to subdivision (A), or any part thereof, 
shall be held in open session, except 



          (D) Hearings pursuant to subdivision (A), or any part thereof, 
may be held before joint meetings of the committee and the Committee on 
Appropriations of the Senate in accordance with such procedures as the 
two committees jointly may determine.


  This part of clause 4 was originally contained in section 242(c)(1) of 
the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 and was made part of the 
standing rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). 
Paragraph (a)(1)(C), requiring open hearings, was first adopted in the 
93d Congress (H. Res. 259, Mar. 7, 1973, pp. 6713-20), and was amended 
in the 94th Congress to limit the effect of a vote to close a hearing to 
that day and one subsequent day (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20).


[[Page 434]]

in clause 4(h) in connection with the most recently agreed to 
concurrent resolution on the budget for such fiscal year, such bill or 
resolution shall then be referred to the Committee on Appropriations 
with instructions to report it, with the committee's recommendations and 
(if the committee deems it desirable) with an amendment limiting the 
total amount of new entitlement authority provided in the bill or 
resolution, within 15 calendar days (not counting any day on which the 
House is not in session) beginning with the day following the day on 
which it is so referred. If the Committee on Appropriations fails to 
report the bill or resolution within such 15-day period, the committee 
shall be automatically discharged from further consideration of the bill 
or resolution and the bill or resolution shall be placed on the 
appropriate calendar.


Sec. 694c. Budget Act; 15day referral to 
Appropriations.

     (2)  Whenever any bill or resolution which provides new 
entitlement authority as defined in section 3(9) of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 is reported by a committee of the House and the 
amount of new budget authority which will be required for the fiscal 
year involved if such bill or resolution is enacted as so reported 
exceeds the appropriate allocation of new budget authority reported as 
described 



      (3) In addition, the Committee on Appropriations shall study on a 
continuing basis those provisions of law which (on the first day of the 
first fiscal year for which the congressional budget process is 
effective) provide spending authority or permanent budget authority and 
shall report to the House from time to time its recommendations for 
terminating or modifying such provisions.


[[Page 435]]

January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d 
Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). Subparagraph (2) was amended in the 
105th Congress to reflect the repeal of the collective definition of 
``new spending authority'' and the revision of various remaining parts 
(Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (sec. 10116, P.L. 105-33)).

  Subparagraph (2) first became effective on July 12, 1974 by inclusion 
in section 401(b)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 
317), was incorporated into the rules effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 
988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), and was amended in the 95th 
Congress to correct an error in cross-reference (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 
1977, pp. 53-70). Subparagraph (3) was also contained in the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 in section 402(f), and was likewise 
incorporated into the rules effective 



Sec. 695. Budget.

  (b)  The Committee on the Budget shall have 
the duty--


      (1) to review on a continuing basis the conduct by the 
Congressional Budget Office of its functions and duties;

      (2) to hold hearings, and receive testimony from Members of 
Congress and such appropriate representatives of Federal departments and 
agencies, the general public, and national organizations as it deems 
desirable, in developing the concurrent resolutions on the budget for 
each fiscal year;

      (3) to make all reports required of it by the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, including the reporting of reconciliation bills and 
resolutions when so required;

      (4) to study on a continuing basis those provisions of law which 
exempt Federal agencies or any of their activities or outlays from 
inclusion in the Budget of the United States Government, and to report 
to the House from time to time its recommendations for terminating or 
modifying such provisions; and


[[Page 436]]

      (5) to study on a continuing basis proposals designed to improve 
and facilitate methods of congressional budget-making, and to report to 
the House from time to time the results of such study together with its 
recommendations.



  Paragraph (b)(1) became a part of the rules on July 12, 1974 by 
enactment of section 101(c) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (88 
Stat. 300). Subparagraph (2), contained in section 301(d) of that Act, 
subparagraph (3), subparagraph (4), contained in section 606 of that 
Act, and subparagraph (5), contained in section 703 of that Act, all 
were made part of the rules effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d 
Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). Paragraph (b)(2) was amended in the 99th 
Congress by section 232 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-177, Dec. 12, 1985) to remove reference to 
the first concurrent resolution on the budget.



Sec. 696. Government Reform and Oversight.

  (c)(1)  The 
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight shall have the general 
function of--


          (A) receiving and examining reports of the Comptroller General 
of the United States and of submitting such recommendations to the House 
as it deems necessary or desirable in connection with the subject matter 
of such reports;

          (B) evaluating the effects of laws enacted to reorganize the 
legislative and executive branches of the Government; and

          (C) studying intergovernmental relationships between the 
United States and the States and municipalities, and between the United 
States and international organizations of which the United States is a 
member.


[[Page 437]]

committee's findings and 
recommendations in any such investigation shall be made available to the 
other standing committee or committees having jurisdiction over the 
matter involved (and included in the report of any such other committee 
when required by clause 2(l)(3) of rule XI).

      (2) In addition to its duties under subparagraph (1), the 
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight may at any time conduct 
investigations of any matter without regard to the provisions of clause 
1, 2, or 3 (or this clause) conferring jurisdiction over such matter 
upon another standing committee. The 


<>   (d)(1) The Committee on House 
Oversight shall have the function of--
  Paragraph (c)(1) became effective January 2, 1947 as part of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812). Paragraph (c)(2) 
was made a function of the Committee on Government Operations (now 
Government Reform and Oversight) effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 
93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). The Committee was renamed in the 
104th Congress (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).



Sec. 697b. Enrolled 
bills.

  (A) examining all bills, amendments, and joint resolutions after 
passage by the House and, in cooperation with the Senate, examining all 
bills and joint resolutions which shall have passed both Houses to see 
that they are correctly enrolled,  forthwith presenting those which originated in the House to the 
President of the United States in person after their signature by the 
Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate and reporting the 
fact and date of such presentation to the House;




Sec. 697c. Direction of officers.

  (B)  providing policy 
direction for, and oversight of, the Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Chief 
Administrative Officer, and Inspector General; and



[[Page 438]]

tion, or is not made dependent upon some future 
performance by the House of Representatives and promulgating regulations 
to carry out this paragraph.


Sec. 697d. Acceptance of gifts.

  (C) accepting  a gift, other 
than as otherwise provided by law, if the gift does not involve any 
duty, burden, or condi-





Sec. 697e. Approval of certain settlements.

  (2) An  employing 
office of the House of Representatives may enter a settlement of a 
complaint under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 that 
provides for the payment of funds only after receiving the joint 
approval of the chairman and the ranking minority party member of the 
Committee on House Oversight concerning the amount of such payment.



[[Page 439]]

establishment or continuation of any legislative service 
organization (as that term had been understood in the 103d Congress) and 
directed the Committee on House Oversight to take such steps as were 
necessary to ensure an orderly termination and accounting for funds of 
any legislative service organization in existence on January 3, 1995 
(sec. 222, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

  The requirements set forth in paragraph (d)(1) were originally the 
responsibility of the Committee on Enrolled Bills created in 1789 (IV, 
4350), and became the responsibility of the Committee on House 
Administration (now House Oversight) when that Committee was created 
effective January 2, 1947 as part of the Legislative Reorganization Act 
of 1946 (60 Stat. 812). The Committee's duty to arrange for memorial 
services of Members was eliminated from the rules effective January 3, 
1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), when paragraph 
(d)(3) required the Committee to provide a committee scheduling service. 
The use of that service, provided through House Information Resources, 
was made mandatory on all committees and subcommittees in the 97th 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 98-113), but the requirement was 
stricken altogether when two provisions were added by section 10 of the 
House Administrative Reform Resolution of 1992 (H. Res. 423, 102d Cong., 
Apr. 9, 1992, p. ----) to ensure the orderly transfer of functions and 
entities from elected officers to the Director of Non-legislative and 
Financial Services and to provide for policy direction and oversight of 
both administrative officials and elected officers. In the 104th 
Congress the rule was amended (1) to reflect the change in the name of 
the Committee on House Administration to the Committee on House 
Oversight and (2) to reflect the abolishment of the Director of Non-
legislative and Financial Services (sec. 201, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, 
p. ----). Later in the 104th Congress the provision for the acceptance 
of gifts was added as paragraph (d)(3) (H. Res. 250, Nov. 16, 1995, p. 
----). In the 105th Congress paragraph (d) was redesignated as (d)(1), 
its former subparagraphs (1) through (3) were redesignated as (1)(A) 
through (1)(C), and a new paragraph (d)(2) was added to require approval 
by the Committee for monetary settlements of certain employment claims 
(H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). The 104th Congress also prohibited the 


[[Page 440]]

tive vote of two-thirds of the members of 
the committee, any substantial evidence of a violation, by a Member, 
officer, or employee of the House, of any law applicable to the 
performance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibilities, 
which may have been disclosed in a committee investigation; (D) to give 
consideration to the request of any Member, officer, or employee of the 
House for an advisory opinion with respect to the general propriety of 
any current or proposed conduct of such Member, officer, or employee 
and, with appropriate deletions to assure the privacy of the individual 
concerned, to publish such opinion for the guidance of other Members, 
officers, and employees of the House; and (E) to give consideration to 
the request of any Member, officer, or employee of the House for a 
written waiver in exceptional circumstances with respect to clause 4 of 
rule XLIII.


Sec. 698. 
Standards of Official Conduct; additional duties.

  (e)(1) The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is authorized: 
(A) to recommend to the House from time to time such  administrative 
actions as it may deem appropriate to establish or enforce standards of 
official conduct for Members, officers, and employees of the House, and 
any letter of reproval or other administrative action of the committee 
pursuant to an investigation under subdivision (B) shall only be issued 
or implemented as a part of a report required by such subdivision; (B) 
to investigate, subject to subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, any 
alleged violation, by a Member, officer, or employee of the House, of 
the Code of Official Conduct or of any law, rule, regulation, or other 
standard of conduct applicable to the conduct of such Member, officer, 
or employee in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his 
responsibilities, and after notice and hearing (unless the right to a 
hearing is waived by the Member, officer, or employee), shall report to 
the House its findings of fact and recommendations, if any, upon the 
final disposition of any such investigation, and such action as the 
committee may deem appropriate in the circumstances; (C) to report to 
the appropriate Federal or State authorities, either with the approval 
of the House or by an affirma-


  (2)(A)(i) No resolution, report, recommendation, or advisory opinion 
relating to the official conduct of a Member, officer, or employee of 
the House shall be made by the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct, and, except as provided by subdivision (ii), no investigation 
of such conduct shall be undertaken by such committee, unless approved 
by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the committee.


[[Page 441]]

members to serve as an investigative subcommittee.
  (ii)(I) Upon the receipt of information offered as a complaint that is 
in compliance with this rule and the committee rules, the chairman and 
ranking minority member may jointly appoint 

  (II) The chairman and ranking minority member of the committee may 
jointly gather additional information concerning alleged conduct which 
is the basis of a complaint or of information offered as a complaint 
until they have established an investigative subcommittee or the 
chairman or ranking minority member has placed on the committee agenda 
the issue of whether to establish an investigative subcommittee.

  (B) Except in the case of an investigation undertaken by the committee 
on its own initiative, the committee may undertake an investigation 
relating to the official conduct of an individual Member, officer, or 
employee of the House of Representatives only--

          (i) upon receipt of information offered as a complaint, in 
writing and under oath, made by a Member of the House and transmitted to 
the committee by such Member, or


[[Page 442]]

then the chairman and ranking minority member shall jointly establish an 
investigative subcommittee and forward the complaint, or any portion 
thereof, to that subcommittee for its consideration. However, if, at any 
time during those periods, either the chairman or ranking minority 
member places on the agenda the issue of whether to establish an 
investigative subcommittee, then an investigative subcommittee may be 
established only by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of 
the committee.
          (ii) upon receipt of information offered as a complaint, in 
writing and under oath, from an individual not a Member of the House 
provided that a Member of the House certifies in writing to the 
committee that he or she believes the information is submitted in good 
faith and warrants the review and consideration of the committee.
If a complaint is not disposed of within the applicable time periods set 
forth in the rules of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, 

  (C) No investigation shall be undertaken by the committee of any 
alleged violation of a law, rule, regulation, or standard of conduct not 
in effect at the time of the alleged violation; nor shall any 
investigation be undertaken by the committee of any alleged violation 
which occurred before the third previous Congress unless the committee 
determines that the alleged violation is directly related to any alleged 
violation which occurred in a more recent Congress.


[[Page 443]]

  (D) A member of the committee shall be ineligible to participate, as a 
member of the committee, in any committee proceeding relating to his or 
her official conduct. In any case in which a member of the committee is 
ineligible to act as a member of the committee under the preceding 
sentence, the Speaker of the House shall designate a Member of the House 
from the same political party as the ineligible member of the committee 
to act as a member of the committee in any committee proceeding relating 
to the official conduct of such ineligible member.

  (E) A member of the committee may disqualify himself from 
participating in any investigation of the conduct of a Member, officer, 
or employee of the House upon the submission in writing and under oath 
of an affidavit of disqualification stating that he cannot render an 
impartial and unbiased decision in the case in which he seeks to 
disqualify himself. If the committee approves and accepts such affidavit 
of disqualification, the chairman shall so notify the Speaker and 
request the Speaker to designate a Member of the House from the same 
political party as the disqualifying member of the committee to act as a 
member of the committee in any committee proceeding relating to such 
investigation.

  (F) No information or testimony received, or the contents of a 
complaint or the fact of its filing, shall be publicly disclosed by any 
Committee or staff member unless specifically authorized in each 
instance by a vote of the full Committee.

  (3)(A) Notwithstanding clause 2(g)(1) of rule XI, each meeting of the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct or any subcommittee thereof 
shall occur in executive session, unless the committee or subcommittee 
by an affirmative vote of a majority of its members opens the meeting to 
the public.


[[Page 444]]

mittee, in open session by an affirmative vote of a 
majority of its members, closes all or part of the remainder of the 
hearing on that day to the public.
  (B) Notwithstanding clause 2(g)(2) of rule XI, hearings of an 
adjudicatory subcommittee or sanction hearings held by the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct shall be held in open session unless the 
subcommittee or com-

  (4) Before any member, officer, or employee of the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct, including members of any subcommittee of 
the committee selected pursuant to clause 6(a)(3) and shared staff, may 
have access to information that is confidential under the rules of the 
committee, the following oath (or affirmation) shall be executed:

        ``I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will not disclose, to 
any person or entity outside the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct, any information received in the course of my service with the 
committee, except as authorized by the committee or in accordance with 
its rules.''
Copies of the executed oath shall be retained by the Clerk of the House 
as part of the records of the House. This subparagraph establishes a 
standard of conduct within the meaning of subparagraph (1)(B). Breaches 
of confidentiality shall be investigated by the Committee on Standards 
of Official Conduct and appropriate action shall be taken.


[[Page 445]]

firmative vote of a majority of its members, deems 
appropriate in the circumstances.
  (5)(A) If a complaint or information offered as a complaint is deemed 
frivolous by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, the committee may take such 
action as it, by an af-


  (B) Complaints filed before the One Hundred Fifth Congress may not be 
deemed frivolous by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

  The investigative authority contained in paragraph (e) was first 
conferred upon the Committee in the 90th Congress (H. Res. 1099, Apr. 3, 
1968, p. 8802). Effective January 3, 1975, the former requirement in 
paragraph (e)(2)(A) that seven committee members must authorize an 
investigation was changed to permit a majority of the Committee to 
provide that authorization (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 
34470). Paragraph (e)(2)(A) was further amended in the 105th Congress to 
permit the chairman and ranking minority member, with respect to a 
properly filed complaint, to gather additional information or to 
establish an investigative subcommittee (sec. 11, H. Res. 168, Sept. 18, 
1997, p. ----). Paragraph (e)(2)(E) was added in the 95th Congress (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70), to provide a mechanism for a committee 
member to disqualify himself from participating in an investigation, and 
paragraph (e)(2)(F) was added in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 
1979, p. 8).

  Clause 4(e) was amended in several particulars by the Ethics Reform 
Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-194): (1) paragraph (e)(1)(A) was amended to 
enable a letter of reproval or other administrative action of the 
Committee to be implemented as part of a report to the House, with no 
action required of the House; (2) subparagraph (1)(B) was amended to 
require the Committee to report to the House its findings of fact and 
any recommendations respecting the final disposition of a matter in 
which it votes to undertake an investigation; (3) a new subparagraph 
(1)(E) was added to empower the Committee to consider requests that the 
rule restricting the acceptance of gifts be waived in exceptional 
circumstances; and (4) subparagraph (2)(C) was amended to set a general 
limitation on actions for committee consideration of ethics matters.

  In the beginning of the 105th Congress a new subparagraph (3) was 
added at the end of clause 4(e) to establish a Select Committee on 
Ethics only to resolve an inquiry originally undertaken by the standing 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct in the 104th Congress (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). The Select Committee filed one report to 
the House (H. Rept. 105-1, H. Res. 31, Jan. 21, 1997, p. ----). The 
current form of subparagraph (3) was adopted later in the 105th Congress 
(sec. 5, H. Res. 168, Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 446]]

filing of complaints by non-Members (sec. 11, H. Res. 
168, Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----); and (3) paragraph (e)(1)(C) was amended 
to permit the Committee to report to the appropriate authorities 
substantial evidence of a violation of law by an affirmative vote of 
two-thirds of the members of the Committee (sec. 18, H. Res. 168, Sept. 
18, 1997, p. ----).
  Additional amendments to paragraph (e) were adopted in the 105th 
Congress as follows: (1) subparagraphs (4) and (5) were adopted (sec. 6 
and sec. 19, H. Res. 168, Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----); (2) paragraph 
(e)(2)(B) was amended to address the disposition of a complaint after 
expiration of periods set forth in the Committee rules and to specify 
parameters for the 


  The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-194) contains free-standing 
provisions requiring: (1) that the respective party caucuses nominate 
seven majority and seven minority members [although in the 104th 
Congress only five returning majority and five returning minority 
members were initially elected (H. Res. 41, H. Res. 42, Jan. 20, 1995, 
p. ----), and in the 105th Congress only the chairman and ranking 
minority member were elected initially pending recommendations by a 12-
member bipartisan task force informally appointed by the Majority and 
Minority Leaders to conduct a comprehensive review of the House ethics 
process (H. Res. 12, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----; H. Res. 44, Feb. 10, 1997, 
p. ----)]; (2) that the Committee adopt rules establishing investigative 
and adjudicative subcommittees; and (3) that the Committee adopt rules 
establishing an Office on Advice and Education (see sec. 803(b), (c), 
(d), and (i), P.L. 101-194, 2 U.S.C. 29d). The texts of those provisions 
are set forth below. Section 803(b), (c), and (d) should be read in 
light of H. Res. 168, adopted in the 105th Congress and described later 
in this annotation.


 ``Sec. 803. Reforms Respecting the Committee on Standards of Official 
                               __________


                               Conduct.--


                                  * * *


  ``(b) committee composition.--The respective party caucus or 
conference of the House of Representatives shall each nominate to the 
House of Representatives at the beginning of each Congress 7 members to 
serve on the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

  ``(c) investigative subcommittees.--The Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct shall adopt rules providing--

          ``(1) for the establishment of a 4 or 6-member investigative 

        subcommittee (with equal representation from the majority and 

        minority parties) whenever the committee votes to undertake any 

        investigation;

          ``(2) that the senior majority and minority members on an 

        investigative subcommittee shall serve as the chairman and 

        ranking minority member of the subcommittee; and

          ``(3) that the chairman and ranking minority member of the 

        full committee may only serve as non-voting, ex officio members 


[[Page 447]]

        on an investigative subcommittee.
``Clause 5(d) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives 
shall not apply to any investigative subcommittee.

  ``(d) adjudicatory subcommittees.--The Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct shall adopt rules providing--

          ``(1) that upon the completion of an investigation, an 

        investigative subcommittee shall report its findings and 

        recommendations to the committee;

          ``(2) that, if an investigative subcommittee by majority vote 

        of its membership adopts a statement of alleged violation, the 

        remaining members of the committee shall comprise an 

        adjudicatory subcommittee to hold a disciplinary hearing on the 

        violation alleged in the statement;

          ``(3) that any statement of alleged violation and any written 

        response thereto shall be made public at the first meeting or 

        hearing on the matter which is open to the public after the 

        respondent has been given full opportunity to respond to the 

        statement in accordance with committee rules, but, if no public 

        hearing or meeting is held on the matter, the statement of 

        alleged violation and any written response thereto shall be 

        included in the committee's final report to the House of 

        Representatives as required by clause 4(e)(1)(B) of rule X of 

        the Rules of the House of Representatives;

          ``(4) that a quorum for an adjudicatory subcommittee for the 

        purpose of taking testimony and conducting any business shall 

        consist of a majority of the membership of the subcommittee plus 

        one; and

          ``(5) that an adjudicatory subcommittee shall determine, after 

        receiving evidence, whether the counts in the statement have 


        been proved and shall report its findings to the committee.
``Clause 5(d) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives 
shall not apply to any adjudicatory subcommittee.


                                  * * *

  ``(i) advice and education.--(1) The Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct shall establish within the Committee an Office on 
Advice and Education (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the 
`Office') under the supervision of the chairman.

          ``(2) The Office shall be headed by a director who shall be 

        appointed by the chairman, in consultation with the ranking 

        minority member, and shall be comprised of such staff as the 

        chairman determines is necessary to carry out the 

        responsibilities of the Office.

          ``(3) The primary responsibilities of the Office shall 

        include:

                  ``(A) Providing information and guidance to Members, 

                officers and employees of the House regarding any laws, 

                rules, regulations, and other standards of conduct 

                applicable to such individuals in their official 

                capacities, and any interpretations and advisory 

                opinions of the committee.

                  ``(B) Submitting to the chairman and ranking minority 

                member of the committee any written request from any 

                such Member, officer or employee for an interpretation 


[[Page 448]]

                of applicable laws, 

                rules, regulations, or other standards of conduct, together 

                with any recommendations thereon.

                  ``(C) Recommending to the committee for its 

                consideration formal advisory opinions of general 

                applicability.

                  ``(D) Developing and carrying out, subject to the 

                approval of the chairman, periodic educational briefings 

                for Members, officers and employees of the House on 

                those laws, rules, regulations, or other standards of 

                conduct applicable to them.

          ``(4) No information provided to the Committee on Standards of 

        Official Conduct by a Member, officer or employee of the House 

        of Representatives when seeking advice regarding prospective 

        conduct of such Member, officer or employee may be used as the 

        basis for initiating an investigation under clause 4(e)(1)(B) of 

        rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, if such 

        Member, officer or employee acts in accordance with the written 


        advice of the committee.''.


                               __________


  In the 105th Congress a 12-member bipartisan task force was informally 
appointed by the Majority and Minority Leaders to conduct a 
comprehensive review of the House ethics process. At the same time an 
order of the House was adopted imposing a moratorium on filing or 
processing ethics complaints and on raising certain questions of 
privilege under rule IX with respect to official conduct. The moratorium 
was imposed in the expectation that the recommendations of the task 
force would include changes relating to the Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct and the process by which the House enforces standards 
of official conduct (Feb. 12, 1997, p. ----). The moratorium was 
extended through September 10, 1997 (July 30, 1997, p. ----). On 
September 18, 1997, the House adopted the recommendations of the task 
force with certain amendments (H. Res. 168, 105th Cong., p. ----), which 
included not only changes to the standing rules of the House but also 
free-standing directives to the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct. The texts of those free-standing provisions are set forth 
below.


                               __________


                              ``H. Res. 168


``SEC. 3. COMMITTEE AGENDAS.
                                  * * *


``SEC. 4. COMMITTEE STAFF.
  ``The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall adopt rules 
providing that the chairman shall establish the agenda for meetings of 
the committee, but shall not preclude the ranking minority member from 
placing any item on the agenda.


[[Page 449]]

  ``(a) Committee Rules.--The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 
shall adopt rules providing that:

          ``(1)(A) The staff is to be assembled and retained as a 

        professional, nonpartisan staff.

          ``(B) Each member of the staff shall be professional and 

        demonstrably qualified for the position for which he is hired.

          ``(C) The staff as a whole and each member of the staff shall 

        perform all official duties in a nonpartisan manner.

          ``(D) No member of the staff shall engage in any partisan 

        political activity directly affecting any congressional or 

        presidential election.

          ``(E) No member of the staff or outside counsel may accept 

        public speaking engagements or write for publication on any 

        subject that is in any way related to his or her employment or 

        duties with the committee without specific prior approval from 

        the chairman and ranking minority member.

          ``(F) No member of the staff or outside counsel may make 

        public, unless approved by an affirmative vote of a majority of 

        the members of the committee, any information, document, or 

        other material that is confidential, derived from executive 

        session, or classified and that is obtained during the course of 

        employment with the committee.

          ``(2)(A) All staff members shall be appointed by an 

        affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the committee. 

        Such vote shall occur at the first meeting of the membership of 

        the committee during each Congress and as necessary during the 

        Congress.

          ``(B) Subject to the approval of Committee on House Oversight, 

        the committee may retain counsel not employed by the House of 

        Representatives whenever the committee determines, by an 

        affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the committee, 

        that the retention of outside counsel is necessary and 

        appropriate.

          ``(C) If the committee determines that it is necessary to 

        retain staff members for the purpose of a particular 

        investigation or other proceeding, then such staff shall be 

        retained only for the duration of that particular investigation 

        or proceeding.

          ``(3) Outside counsel may be dismissed prior to the end of a 

        contract between the committee and such counsel only by an 

        affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the committee.

          ``(4) Only subparagraphs (C), (E), and (F) of paragraph (1) 

        shall apply to shared staff.


``SEC. 5. MEETINGS AND HEARINGS.

  ``(b) Additional Committee Staff.--In addition to any other staff 
provided for by law, rule, or other authority, with respect to the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, the chairman and ranking 
minority member each may appoint one individual as a shared staff member 
from his or her personal staff to perform service for the committee. 
Such shared staff may assist the chairman or ranking minority member on 
any subcommittee on which he serves.


[[Page 450]]

                                  * * *

  ``(b) Committee Rules.--The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 
shall adopt rules providing that--

          ``(1) all meetings of the committee or any subcommittee 

        thereof shall occur in executive session unless the committee or 

        subcommittee by an affirmative vote of a majority of its members 

        opens the meeting or hearing to the public; and

          ``(2) any hearing held by an adjudicatory subcommittee or any 

        sanction hearing held by the committee shall be open to the 

        public unless the committee or subcommittee by an affirmative 

        vote of a majority of its members closes the hearing to the 


        public.


``SEC. 7. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.
                                  * * *


  ``The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall adopt rules 
providing that, unless otherwise determined by a vote of the committee, 
only the chairman or ranking minority member, after consultation with 
each other, may make public statements regarding matters before the 
committee or any subcommittee thereof.


``SEC. 10. REQUIREMENTS TO CONSTITUTE A COMPLAINT.
                                  * * *


``SEC. 11. DUTIES OF CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MINORITY MEMBER REGARDING 
PROPERLY FILED COMPLAINTS.
  ``The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall amend its rules 
regarding complaints to provide that whenever information offered as a 
complaint is submitted to the committee, the chairman and ranking 
minority member shall have 14 calendar days or 5 legislative days, 
whichever occurs first, to determine whether the information meets the 
requirements of the committee's rules for what constitutes a complaint.

  ``(a) Committee Rules.--The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 
shall adopt rules providing that whenever the chairman and ranking 
minority member jointly determine that information submitted to the 
committee meets the requirements of the committee's rules for what 
constitutes a complaint, they shall have 45 calendar days or 5 
legislative days, whichever is later, after the date that the chairman 
and ranking minority member determine that information filed meets the 
requirements of the committee's rules for what constitutes a complaint, 
unless the committee by an affirmative vote of a majority of its members 
votes otherwise, to--

          ``(1) recommend to the committee that it dispose of the 

        complaint, or any portion thereof, in any manner that does not 

        require action by the House, which may include dismissal of the 

        complaint or resolution of the complaint by a letter to the 

        Member, officer, or employee of the House against whom the 

        complaint is made;

          ``(2) establish an investigative subcommittee; or

          ``(3) request that the committee extend the applicable 45-

        calendar day or 5-legislative day period by one additional 45-


[[Page 451]]

        calendar day pe-

        riod when they determine more time is necessary 


        in order to make a recommendation under paragraph (1).


                                  * * *


  ``(c) Disposition of Properly Filed Complaints by Chairman and Ranking 
Minority Member if no Action Taken by Them Within Prescribed Time 
Limit.--The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall adopt rules 
providing that if the chairman and ranking minority member jointly 
determine that information submitted to the committee meets the 
requirements of the committee rules for what constitutes a complaint, 
and the complaint is not disposed of within the applicable time periods 
under subsection (a), then they shall establish an investigative 
subcommittee and forward the complaint, or any portion thereof, to that 
subcommittee for its consideration. However, if, at any time during 
those periods, either the chairman or ranking minority member places on 
the agenda the issue of whether to establish an investigative 
subcommittee, then an investigative subcommittee may be established only 
by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the committee.


``SEC. 12. DUTIES OF CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MINORITY MEMBER REGARDING 
INFORMATION NOT CONSTITUTING A COMPLAINT.
                                  * * *

  ``The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall adopt rules 
providing that whenever the chairman and ranking minority member jointly 
determine that information submitted to the committee does not meet the 
requirements for what constitutes a complaint set forth in the committee 
rules, they may--

          ``(1) return the information to the complainant with a 

        statement that it fails to meet the requirements for what 

        constitutes a complaint set forth in the committee's rules; or

          ``(2) recommend to the committee that it authorize the 


``SEC. 13. INVESTIGATIVE AND ADJUDICATORY SUBCOMMITTEES.
        establishment of an investigative subcommittee.

  ``The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall adopt rules 
providing that--

          ``(1)(A) investigative subcommittees shall be comprised of 4 

        Members (with equal representation from the majority and 

        minority parties) whenever such subcommittee is established 

        pursuant to the rules of the committee; and

          ``(B) adjudicatory subcommittees shall be comprised of the 

        members of the committee who did not serve on the investigative 

        subcommittee (with equal representation from the majority and 

        minority parties) whenever such subcommittee is established 


[[Page 452]]

        pursuant to the rules of the committee;

          ``(2) at the time of appointment, the chairman shall designate 

        one member of the subcommittee to serve as chairman and the 

        ranking minority member shall designate one member of the 

        subcommittee to serve as the ranking minority member of the 

        investigative subcommittee or adjudicatory subcommittee; and

          ``(3) the chairman and ranking minority member of the 

        committee may serve as members of an investigative subcommittee, 


``SEC. 14. STANDARD OF PROOF FOR ADOPTION OF STATEMENT OF ALLEGED 
VIOLATION.
        but may not serve as non-voting, ex officio members.


``SEC. 15. SUBCOMMITTEE POWERS.
  ``The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall amend its rules 
to provide that an investigative subcommittee may adopt a statement of 
alleged violation only if it determines by an affirmative vote of a 
majority of the members of the committee that there is substantial 
reason to believe that a violation of the Code of Official Conduct, or 
of a law, rule, regulation, or other standard of conduct applicable to 
the performance of official duties or the discharge of official 
responsibilities by a Member, officer, or employee of the House of 
Representatives has occurred.


  ``(a) Subpoena Power.--


                                  * * *

          ``(2) Committee rules.--The Committee on Standards of Official 

        Conduct shall adopt rules providing that an investigative 

        subcommittee or an adjudicatory subcommittee may authorize and 

        issue subpoenas only when authorized by an affirmative vote of a 

        majority of the members of the subcommittee.

  ``(b) Expansion of Scope of Investigations.--The Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct shall adopt rules providing that an 
investigative subcommittee may, upon an affirmative vote of a majority 
of its members, expand the scope of its investigation approved by an 
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the committee.

  ``(c) Amendments of Statements of Alleged Violation.--The Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct shall adopt rules to provide that--

          ``(1) an investigative subcommittee may, upon an affirmative 

        vote of a majority of its members, amend its statement of 

        alleged violation anytime before the statement of alleged 

        violation is transmitted to the committee; and

          ``(2) if an investigative subcommittee amends its statement of 

        alleged violation, the respondent shall be notified in writing 

        and shall have 30 calendar days from the date of that 

        notification to file an answer to the amended statement of 


``SEC. 16. DUE PROCESS RIGHTS OF RESPONDENTS.
        alleged violation.


[[Page 453]]

  ``The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall amend its rules 
to provide that--

          ``(1) not less than 10 calendar days before a scheduled vote 

        by an investigative subcommittee on a statement of alleged 

        violation, the subcommittee shall provide the respondent with a 

        copy of the statement of alleged violation it intends to adopt 

        together with all evidence it intends to use to prove those 

        charges which it intends to adopt, including documentary 

        evidence, witness testimony, memoranda of witness interviews, 

        and physical evidence, unless the subcommittee by an affirmative 

        vote of a majority of its members decides to withhold certain 

        evidence in order to protect a witness, but if such evidence is 

        withheld, the subcommittee shall inform the respondent that 

        evidence is being withheld and of the count to which such 

        evidence relates;

          ``(2) neither the respondent nor his counsel shall, directly 

        or indirectly, contact the subcommittee or any member thereof 

        during the period of time set forth in paragraph (1) except for 

        the sole purpose of settlement discussions where counsels for 

        the respondent and the subcommittee are present;

          ``(3) if, at any time after the issuance of a statement of 

        alleged violation, the committee or any subcommittee thereof 

        determines that it intends to use evidence not provided to a 

        respondent under paragraph (1) to prove the charges contained in 

        the statement of alleged violation (or any amendment thereof), 

        such evidence shall be made immediately available to the 

        respondent, and it may be used in any further proceeding under 

        the committee's rules;

          ``(4) evidence provided pursuant to paragraph (1) or (3) shall 

        be made available to the respondent and his or her counsel only 

        after each agrees, in writing, that no document, information, or 

        other materials obtained pursuant to that paragraph shall be 

        made public until--

                  ``(A) such time as a statement of alleged violation is 

                made public by the committee if the respondent has 

                waived the adjudicatory hearing; or

                  ``(B) the commencement of an adjudicatory hearing if 

                the respondent has not waived an adjudicatory hearing;

        ``but the failure of respondent and his counsel to so agree in 

        writing, and therefore not receive the evidence, shall not 

        preclude the issuance of a statement of alleged violation at the 

        end of the period referred to in paragraph (1);

          ``(5) a respondent shall receive written notice whenever--

                  ``(A) the chairman and ranking minority member 

                determine that information the committee has received 

                constitutes a complaint;

                  ``(B) a complaint or allegation is transmitted to an 

                investigative subcommittee;

                  ``(C) that subcommittee votes to authorize its first 

                subpoena or to take testimony under oath, whichever 


[[Page 454]]

                occurs first; and

                  ``(D) an investigative subcommittee votes to expand 

                the scope of its investigation;

          ``(6) whenever an investigative subcommittee adopts a 

        statement of alleged violation and a respondent enters into an 

        agreement with that subcommittee to settle a complaint on which 

        that statement is based, that agreement, unless the respondent 

        requests otherwise, shall be in writing and signed by the 

        respondent and respondent's counsel, the chairman and ranking 

        minority member of the subcommittee, and the outside counsel, if 

        any;

          ``(7) statements or information derived solely from a 

        respondent or his counsel during any settlement discussions 

        between the committee or a subcommittee thereof and the 

        respondent shall not be included in any report of the 

        subcommittee or the committee or otherwise publicly disclosed 

        without the consent of the respondent; and

          ``(8) whenever a motion to establish an investigative 

        subcommittee does not prevail, the committee shall promptly send 


``SEC. 17. COMMITTEE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
        a letter to the respondent informing him of such vote.

  ``The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall amend its rules 
to provide that--

          ``(1) whenever an investigative subcommittee does not adopt a 

        statement of alleged violation and transmits a report to that 

        effect to the committee, the committee may by an affirmative 

        vote of a majority of its members transmit such report to the 

        House of Representatives; and

          ``(2) whenever an investigative subcommittee adopts a 

        statement of alleged violation, the respondent admits to the 

        violations set forth in such statement, the respondent waives 

        his or her right to an adjudicatory hearing, and the 

        respondent's waiver is approved by the committee--

                  ``(A) the subcommittee shall prepare a report for 

                transmittal to the committee, a final draft of which 

                shall be provided to the respondent not less than 15 

                calendar days before the subcommittee votes on whether 

                to adopt the report;

                  ``(B) the respondent may submit views in writing 

                regarding the final draft to the subcommittee within 7 

                calendar days of receipt of that draft;

                  ``(C) the subcommittee shall transmit a report to the 

                committee regarding the statement of alleged violation 

                together with any views submitted by the respondent 

                pursuant to subparagraph (B), and the committee shall 

                make the report together with the respondent's views 

                available to the public before the commencement of any 

                sanction hearing; and

                  ``(D) the committee shall by an affirmative vote of a 

                majority of its members issue a report and transmit such 

                report to the House of Representatives, together with 


[[Page 455]]

                the respondent's views 

                previously submitted pursuant to 

                subparagraph (B) and any additional views respondent may 

                submit for attachment to the final report; and

          ``(3) members of the committee shall have not less than 72 

        hours to review any report transmitted to the committee by an 

        investigative subcommittee before both the commencement of a 

        sanction hearing and the committee vote on whether to adopt the 


        report.


``SEC. 20. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
                                  * * *

  ``The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall--

          ``(1) clarify its rules to provide that whenever the committee 

        votes to authorize an investigation on its own initiative, the 

        chairman and ranking minority member shall establish an 

        investigative subcommittee to undertake such investigation;

          ``(2) revise its rules to refer to hearings held by an 

        adjudicatory subcommittee as adjudicatory hearings; and

          ``(3) make such other amendments to its rules as necessary to 


``SEC. 21. EFFECTIVE DATE.
        conform such rules to this resolution.


  ``This resolution and the amendments made by it apply with respect to 
any complaint or information offered as a complaint that is or has been 
filed during this Congress.''


                               __________


[[Page 456]]

1992, p. ----); and to investigate violations of confidentiality by staff 
engaged in the investigation of the operation and management of the Office 
of the Postmaster (July 22, 1992, p. ----). In compliance with one such 
direction of the House, the Acting Chairman of the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct inserted in the Record names and pertinent 
account information of Members and former Members found to have abused 
the privileges of the ``bank'' in the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (H. 
Res. 393, Apr. 1, 1992, p. ----).
  On occasions where the House has directed the Committee to conduct 
specific investigations by separate resolution, it has authorized the 
Committee to take depositions with one Member present, notwithstanding 
clause 2(h)(1) of rule XI, to serve subpoenas within or without the 
United States, and to participate by special counsel in relevant 
judicial proceedings (see H. Res. 252, 95th Cong., Feb. 9, 1977, pp. 
3966-75; H. Res. 608, Mar. 27, 1980, pp. 6995-98; H. Res. 254, June 30, 
1983, p. 18279), and to investigate persons other than Members, officers 
and employees with expanded subpoena authority (see H. Res. 1054, 94th 
Cong., Mar. 3, 1976, pp. 5165-68). By unanimous consent the Committee 
was authorized to receive evidence and take testimony before a quorum of 
one of its Members for the remainder of the second session of the 100th 
Congress (Oct. 13, 1988, p. 30467). By resolutions considered as 
questions of the privileges of the House, the Committee has been 
directed to investigate illegal solicitation of political contributions 
in the House Office Building by unnamed sitting Members (July 10, 1985, 
p. 18397); to review GAO audits of the operations of the ``bank'' in the 
Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (Oct. 3, 1991, p. 25435), to disclose the 
names and pertinent account information of Members and former Members 
found to have abused the privileges of that entity (Mar. 12, 1992, p. --
--), and to disclose further account information respecting Members and 
former Members having checks held by that entity (Mar. 12, 

  Under clause 4(e)(2)(D) a member of the Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct is ineligible to participate in a Committee proceeding 
relating to that member's official conduct. Upon notification to the 
Speaker of such ineligibility, the Speaker designates another Member of 
the same political party as the ineligible member to serve on the 
Committee during proceedings relating to that conduct (Speaker O'Neill, 
Feb. 5, 1980, p. 1908; July 23, 1996, p. ----). Under clause 4(e)(2)(E), 
a member of the Committee may be recused from serving on the Committee 
during proceedings relating to a pending investigation by submitting an 
affidavit of disqualification to the Committee stating that the member 
cannot render an impartial and unbiased decision relating to that 
investigation. If the Committee accepts the affidavit, the chairman 
notifies the Speaker and requests the Speaker to designate another 
Member from the same political party as the disqualified member to serve 
on the Committee during proceedings relating to that investigation 
(Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 18, 1980).


  The committee has compiled statutory and rule-based ethical standards 
in the House Ethics Manual (102d Cong., 2d Sess.). In the Manual, the 
Committee incorporates its advisory opinions issued under clause 
4(e)(1)(D) of rule X, together with advisory opinions issued by the 
former Select Committee on Ethics, in its discussions of various ethical 
issues, including gifts, outside income, financial disclosure, staff 
rights and duties, official allowances and franking, casework 
considerations, campaign financing and practices, and involvement with 
official and unofficial organizations.


[[Page 457]]

purposes of this paragraph a Government agency includes the 
organizational units of government listed in clause 7(c) of rule XIII.


Sec. 699a. Annual appropriations.

  (f)(1)  Each standing 
committee of the House shall, in its consideration of all bills and 
joint resolutions of a public character within its jurisdiction, insure 
that appropriations for continuing programs and activities of the 
Federal Government and the District of Columbia government will be made 
annually to the maximum extent feasible and consistent with the nature, 
requirements, and objectives of the programs and activities involved. 
For the 



  (2) Each standing committee of the House shall review, from time to 
time, each continuing program within its jurisdiction for which 
appropriations are not made annually in order to ascertain whether such 
program could be modified so that appropriations therefor would be made 
annually.


  The provisions of paragraph (f) derive from section 253(c) of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140), and were made 
part of the rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 
144).


[[Page 458]]

the basis for an increase or decrease in the statutory limit on 
such debt under the procedures provided by rule XLIX.


Sec. 
699b. Concurrent resolution on Budget.

  (g) Each standing committee of the House shall, not later than 6 weeks 
after the President submits his budget, submit to the Committee on the 
Budget (1) its views and estimates with respect to all  matters to be set forth in the 
concurrent resolution on the budget for the ensuing fiscal year which 
are within its jurisdiction or functions, and (2) an estimate of the 
total amounts of new budget authority, and budget outlays resulting 
therefrom, to be provided or authorized in all bills and resolutions 
within its jurisdiction which it intends to be effective during that 
fiscal year. The views and estimates submitted by the Committee on Ways 
and Means under the preceding sentence shall include a specific 
recommendation, made after holding public hearings, as to the 
appropriate level of the public debt which should be set forth in the 
concurrent resolution on the budget referred to in such sentence and 
serve as 


  (h) As soon as practicable after a concurrent resolution on the budget 
for any fiscal year is agreed to, each standing committee of the House 
(after consulting with the appropriate committee or committees of the 
Senate) shall subdivide any allocations made to it in the joint 
explanatory statement accompanying the conference report on such 
resolution, and promptly report such subdivisions to the House, in the 
manner provided by section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.




Sec. 699c. Reconciliation 
process.

  (i) Each standing committee of the House which is directed in a 
concurrent resolution on the budget to  determine and recommend changes in laws, bills, or 
resolutions under the reconciliation process shall promptly make such 
determination and recommendations, and report a reconciliation bill or 
resolution (or both) to the House or submit such recommendations to the 
Committee on the Budget, in accordance with the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974.



[[Page 459]]

amending the rules of the House were made applicable to 
the third concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 1980 as 
well as the first concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal 1981 
(H. Res. 642, Apr. 23, 1980, pp. 8789-90). In the 99th Congress the 
requirement in paragraph (g) for submissions to the Committee on the 
Budget by March 15 was changed to February 25 by section 232(c) of the 
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-177, 
Dec. 12, 1985). In the 105th Congress a conforming change was made to 
paragraph (g) by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (sec. 10104, P.L. 
105-33). Paragraph (h) was amended by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 
(tit. XIII, P.L. 101-508) to conform to the enactment of title VI of the 
Budget Act. It was again amended by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 
(sec. 10118, P.L. 105-33) to conform to the subsequent repeal of title 
VI.

  The requirements of paragraphs (g), (h), and (i) were originally 
contained in sections 301(c), 302(b), and 310(c) respectively of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-344, July 12, 1974), and were 
incorporated into this rule effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d 
Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). The requirement in paragraph (g) that 
the Committee on Ways and Means include a specific recommendation as to 
the appropriate level of the public debt in its views and estimates 
submitted to the Committee on the Budget was added in the 96th Congress 
by Public Law 96-78 (93 Stat. 589) and was originally intended to apply 
to concurrent resolutions on the budget for fiscal years beginning on or 
after October 1, 1980. However, in the 96th Congress the provisions of 
that public law 


     Referral of Bills, Resolutions, and Other Matters to Committees



Sec. 700. Referral procedures.

  5.  (a) Each bill, resolution, 
or other matter which relates to a subject listed under any standing 
committee named in clause 1 shall be referred by the Speaker in 
accordance with the provisions of this clause.


  (b) Every referral of any matter under paragraph (a) shall be made in 
such manner as to assure to the maximum extent feasible that each 
committee which has jurisdiction under clause 1 over the subject matter 
of any provision thereof will have responsibility for considering such 
provision and reporting to the House with respect thereto. Any 
precedents, rulings, and procedures in effect prior to the 94th Congress 
shall be applied with respect to referrals under this clause only to the 
extent that they will contribute to the achievement of the objectives of 
this clause.


[[Page 460]]

also may refer the matter to one or more additional committees, for 
consideration in sequence (subject to appropriate time limitations), 
either on its initial referral or after the matter has been reported by 
the committee of primary jurisdiction; or may refer portions of the 
matter to one or more additional committees (reflecting different 
subjects and jurisdictions) for the consideration only of designated 
portions; or may refer the matter to a special ad hoc committee 
appointed by the Speaker with the approval of the House (with members 
from the committees having jurisdiction) for the specific purpose of 
considering that matter and reporting to the House thereon; or may make 
such other provisions as may be considered appropriate.

  (c) In carrying out paragraphs (a) and (b) with respect to any matter, 
the Speaker shall designate a committee of primary jurisdiction; but 


[[Page 461]]

Commerce (now Commerce) was given oversight jurisdiction over all laws, 
programs, and government activities affecting nuclear energy. Paragraph 
(e) was deleted entirely in the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, 
p. 98). At the same time the House deleted paragraph (d) which formerly 
required the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress 
to prepare factual descriptions of each bill or resolution introduced in 
the House to be published in the Congressional Record.
  This clause became effective as part of the rules on January 3, 1975 
(H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). Prior to that time a 
bill or resolution could not be divided for reference among two or more 
committees, although it contained matter properly within the 
jurisdiction of several committees (IV, 4361). Paragraph (c) was amended 
on January 4, 1977 (H. Res. 5, pp. 53-70) to authorize the Speaker to 
place an appropriate time limit for consideration by the first committee 
or committees to which referred. In the 104th Congress paragraph (c) was 
again amended to require the Speaker to initially designate a committee 
of primary jurisdiction in each referral of a measure to more than one 
committee (sec. 205, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). A paragraph (e) 
was added to the clause on January 4, 1977 (H. Res. 5, pp. 53-70) to 
abolish the legislative jurisdiction in the House of the Joint Committee 
on Atomic Energy. The legislative jurisdiction of the Joint Committee 
was divided among the Committees on Armed Services (now National 
Security) (military applications of nuclear energy), Interior and 
Insular Affairs (now Resources) (regulation of the domestic nuclear 
energy industry, since transferred to the Committee on Commerce in the 
104th Congress), Foreign Affairs (now International Relations) 
(nonproliferation of nuclear energy and international nuclear export 
agreements), Interstate and Foreign Commerce (now Commerce) (the same 
jurisdiction over nuclear energy as exercised over other energy), and 
Science and Technology (now Science) (nondefense nuclear research and 
development). In addition, the Committee on Interstate and Foreign 

  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, 1992, p. ----, and Jan. 28, 
1992, p. ----).


[[Page 462]]

consideration of such provisions within that portion as fall within their 
respective jurisdictions (Speaker Wright, Sept. 9, 1987, p. 23648); may 
discharge a reported bill from the Union Calendar for sequential reference 
to another committee (Speaker O'Neill, Apr. 27, 1978, p. 11742; June 19, 
1986, p. 14741; June 12, 1990, p. 13670); may discharge a committee from 
the further consideration of a bill not reported by it within the time 
period for which the bill was referred by the Speaker and place the bill 
on the appropriate calendar (May 8, 1978, p. 12924); may jointly refer 
designated portions of a bill to a second committee while referring the 
entire bill to another committee (Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 3, 1982, p. 
3155); may delimit the period for sequential consideration of a bill in 
terms of legislative days (June 30, 1988, p. 16597); may sequentially 
refer a bill without day (Sept. 27, 1988, p. 25827); may sequentially 
refer a bill back to the first-reporting committee when it is reported 
from the second-reporting committee with a nongermane amendment within 
the jurisdiction of the first committee and not within the bounds of the 
initial referral (Oct. 4, 1988, p. 28242); and may refer a bill 
primarily to one committee (as now required by paragraph (c)) while also 
referring it initially to additional committees for time periods to be 
subsequently determined when the primary committee reports, in each case 
for consideration of matters within their respective jurisdictions 
(Speaker Gingrich, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). A bill initially referred to 
more than one committee and reported by the primary committee with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute may be sequentially referred to 
yet another committee for consideration of specified portions of the 
introduced bill (Sept. 12, 1995, p. ----).
  Pursuant to his authority under this clause, subject to paragraph (c), 
the Speaker may refer a bill to a special ad hoc committee appointed by 
him with the approval of the House (from the members of the committees 
with legislative jurisdiction) for consideration and report on that 
particular bill (Speaker Albert, Apr. 22, 1975, p. 11261); may jointly 
refer a report of a select committee filed with the Clerk to standing 
committees of the House for their study (Speaker Albert, Feb. 16, 1976, 
p. 3158); may divide a communication or bill for reference where the 
proposition is divisible by jurisdiction (Speaker Albert, Feb. 4, 1975, 
p. 2253); may refer a bill to more than one committee for their 
respective consideration of such provisions of the bill as fall within 
their jurisdiction (Speaker Albert, Feb. 25, 1976, p. 4315); may 
sequentially refer a bill reported from a committee to other committees 
for a time certain for consideration of such portions of the bill as 
fall within their respective jurisdictions (Speaker Albert, Apr. 9, 
1976, p. 10265; May 17, 1976, p. 14093); or may limit a sequential 
referral to matters having a direct effect on subjects within the 
committee's jurisdiction (Speaker O'Neill, June 7, 1983, p. 14699); and 
may extend the time period of a sequentially referred bill and may refer 
the bill to yet another committee under the same sequential referral 
conditions (Speaker Albert, June 1, 1976, p. 16588); may divide a matter 
for initial reference to committees and set (pursuant to the clause as 
amended in the 95th Congress) appropriate time limitations on the 
initial reference to each committee (Speaker O'Neill, Feb. 16, 1977, p. 
4532); may sequentially refer a bill reported by one committee, with a 
committee amendment, to another committee for consideration of the bill 
and amendment of the previous committee (Speaker O'Neill, Oct. 13, 1977, 
p. 33716); may sequentially refer to a third committee a portion of an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by one of two 
committees to which the bill had been referred, after the second 
committee reports the bill (Speaker O'Neill, May 22, 1985, p. 13126); 
may refer sequentially to two committees only a portion of the amendment 
reported by the primary committee for 


[[Page 463]]

May 20, 1981, p. 10361). Thus the Speaker may sequentially refer a 
reported bill to another committee solely for consideration of 
provisions of the first committee's amendment within its jurisdiction 
and not for consideration of the entire bill (Apr. 5, 1982, p. 6580), 
may sequentially refer a reported bill to two other committees for 
different periods of time, solely for consideration of designated 
sections of the first committee's recommended amendment (May 18, 
1982, p. 10418; Aug. 1, 1985, p. 22681), may discharge from the 
Union Calendar and sequentially refer to another committee a bill 
solely for consideration of designated portions of the first committee's 
amendment (May 21, 1982, p. 11169), and may sequentially refer a bill 
which has been initially referred to several committees but reported 
only by one, for consideration of the reporting committee's amendment 
(June 17, 1982, p. 14069; Sept. 5, 1990, p. 23477), and may sequentially 
refer a bill referred to more than one committee when the first committee 
reports, for a period ending a number of days after the next committee 
reports (Speaker O'Neill, Aug. 1, 1985, p. 22681), or after all committees 
report (June 10, 1988, p. 14079).
  The Speaker announced a new application of his authority on sequential 
referrals in the 97th Congress, namely that the sequential referral of 
any bills or resolutions from a committee initially reporting a bill 
would be based upon the subject matter contained in any amendment 
recommended by the reporting committee, as well as upon the original 
text of the bill or resolution (Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 115, 
116), or, as announced in the 100th Congress, in certain cases, based 
only upon the text of a reported substitute amendment in lieu of 
original text (Speaker Wright, Jan. 6, 1987, p. 22). In the 96th 
Congress, the Speaker had followed a more restrictive policy, permitting 
a sequential committee to review (1) those portions of introduced text 
within its jurisdiction and (2) those portions of an amendment within 
its jurisdiction when the introduced version also dictated a sequential 
referral to the committee (Speaker O'Neill, Apr. 15, 1980, p. 7760). The 
Speaker first exercised the authority to base referrals on committee 
amendments by sequentially referring a bill reported from the Committee 
on Public Works and Transportation, relating only to Corps of Engineers 
water projects as introduced but amended in committee to address general 
water resource policy affecting irrigation and reclamation projects and 
soil conservation programs, to the Committees on Agriculture and 
Interior and Insular Affairs for consideration of provisions of the 
committee amendment within their jurisdiction (Speaker O'Neill, 

  On the last day of an expiring sequential referral, a committee has 
until midnight to file its report with the Clerk (Oct. 9, 1991, p. 
26045).

  Before paragraph (c) was amended in the 104th Congress to require the 
Speaker to designate a committee of primary jurisdiction, the Speaker 
announced at the convening of the 98th Congress that he would exercise 
his authority, in situations which warranted it, to designate a primary 
committee among those to which a bill was jointly referred, and to 
impose time limits on committees having a secondary interest following 
the report of the primary committee under a joint referral (Speaker 
O'Neill, Jan. 3, 1983, p. 54; Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----). The Speaker may 
exercise this authority by referring a bill concurrently to two 
committees, with a time limit on one of the committees ending within a 
certain period after the other committee reports to the House (Jan. 27, 
1983, p. 937; Feb. 2, 1983, p. 1492; Apr. 9, 1987, p. 8665) or with a 
time limit on one committee ending with a date certain (Speaker O'Neill, 
July 31, 1985, p. 21936). In the 98th Congress, the Speaker exercised 
his authority under this clause to sequentially refer a joint resolution 
making continuing appropriations, reported as privileged by the 
Committee on Appropriations pursuant to clause 4(a) of rule XI, to the 
committee having legislative jurisdiction over a legislative provision 
in the resolution, without a time limitation on the sequential referral 
(H.J. Res. 367, Sept. 22, 1983, p. 25523).


[[Page 464]]

committee with jurisdiction over the original 
House bill (Speaker O'Neill, H.R. 31, Mar 26, 1981, p. 5397). Beginning 
with the 98th Congress, the Speaker announced a policy of referring 
nongermane Senate amendments under certain conditions (Jan. 3, 1983, p. 
54; Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----).
  Pursuant to the Speaker's authority under clause 2 of rule XXIV, 
relating to messages from the Senate, he has discretionary authority to 
refer from the Speaker's table to standing committees, Senate amendments 
to House-passed bills, under any conditions permitted under clause 5 of 
rule X for introduced bills; he may for example impose a time limitation 
for consideration only of a portion of the Senate amendment, not germane 
to the original House bill, by the standing committee with subject-
matter jurisdiction, without referring the remainder of the Senate 
amendment to the House 

  Resolutions authorizing the Speaker to establish an ad hoc committee 
for the consideration of a particular bill under paragraph (c) of this 
clause, and extending the reporting date for such a committee, are 
privileged when offered from the floor at the Speaker's request (Speaker 
Albert, Apr. 22, 1975, p. 11261, Jan. 26, 1976, p. 876; Speaker O'Neill, 
Jan. 11, 1977, pp. 894-98; Apr. 21, 1977, pp. 11550-56).

  The Speaker may refer to an ad hoc committee, established with the 
approval of the House, bills, resolutions, and other matters (including 
messages and communications) for the purpose of considering such matters 
and reporting to the House thereon, and the resolution creating such a 
committee may specify whether referrals to such a committee shall be by 
initial or sequential reference or by any of the other methods provided 
by this clause (H. Res. 508, Apr. 21, 1977, pp. 11550-56; Speaker 
O'Neill, July 11, 1977, p. 22183, July 20, 1977, p. 24167). Further, 
under clause 5(c), the Speaker may divide a bill into two or more parts 
for initial reference to different committees and may also jointly refer 
a portion of the bill to some of those committees, and may set 
appropriate time limitations for reporting by every standing committee 
to which the bill is initially referred (Speaker O'Neill, May 2, 1977, 
p. 13184).


 Election and Membership of Committees; Chairmen; Vacancies; Select and 
  Clause 4 of rule XXII provides the mechanism for changes of referrals 
erroneously made.


                          Conference Committees



Sec. 701a. Electing committees.

  6.  (a)(1) The standing 
committees specified in clause 1 shall be elected by the House within 
the seventh calendar day beginning after the commencement of each 
Congress, from nominations submitted by the respective party caucuses. 
It shall always be in order to consider resolutions recommended by the 
respective party caucuses to change the composition of standing 
committees.



[[Page 465]]

the minority party. No Member shall serve as a member of the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct for more than two Congresses in any period 
of three successive Congresses (disregarding for this purpose any 
service performed as a member of such committee for less than a full 
session in any Congress), except that a Member having served on the 
committee for two Congresses shall be eligible for election to the 
committee as chairman or ranking minority member for one additional 
Congress. Not less than two Members from each party shall rotate off the 
committee at the end of each Congress.
  (2) One-half of the members of the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct shall be from the majority party and one-half shall be from 

  (3)(A) At the beginning of each Congress--

          (i) the Speaker (or his designee) shall designate a list of 10 
Members from the majority party; and

          (ii) the Minority Leader (or his designee) shall designate a 
list of 10 Members from the minority party;
who are not members of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 
and who may be assigned to serve as a member of an investigative 
subcommittee of that committee during that Congress. Members so chosen 
shall be announced to the House.


[[Page 466]]

same number of Members of his respective party from the list to serve on 
that subcommittee.

  (B) Whenever the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee 
on Standards of Official Conduct jointly determine that Members 
designated under subdivision (A) should be assigned to serve on an 
investigative subcommittee of that committee, they shall each select the 

  The old rule entrusting the appointment of committees to the Speaker 
was adopted in 1789 and amended in 1790 and in 1860 (IV, 4448-4476). 
Committees are now elected on resolution offered from the floor (VIII, 
2171) and it is in order to move the previous question on each 
resolution (VIII, 2174). The resolution is not divisible (clause 6 of 
rule XVI), and is privileged (VIII, 2179, 2183). The requirement that 
nominations to standing committees be submitted by the respective party 
caucuses was made part of the rules effective January 3, 1975, by the 
Committee Reform Amendments of 1974 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 
1974, p. 34470). That same resolution also eliminated the designations 
in the rules of the numbers of Members comprising the standing 
committees, thereby permitting the House to establish committee size by 
the numbers of Members elected to each committee pursuant to this 
paragraph. The role of the party caucuses in presenting privileged 
resolutions to the House electing Members to committees is discussed in 
detail in Deschler's Precedents, vol. 4, ch. 17, sec. 9. In the 99th 
Congress the requirement for early election of standing committees 
within the first seven calendar days and the conferral of privileged 
status on resolutions from the party caucuses to change the composition 
of standing committees were added in subparagraph (1) by section 227 of 
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-
177, Dec. 12, 1985).


  Prior to the 93d Congress, the rule that established the size of the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct at 12 Members also required 
that six Members be elected from the majority and six from the minority 
party. Effective in the 93d Congress, the ratio of the Committee was 
codified in the first sentence of subparagraph (2) (H. Res. 988, Oct. 8, 
1974, p. 34470). The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 added a sentence to limit 
service on the Committee to three Congresses in any period of five 
successive Congresses (disregarding service performed for less than a 
full session in any Congress) (P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 1989). The current 
limitation on service on the Committee was adopted in the 105th Congress 
(sec. 2, H. Res. 168, Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----). Subparagraph (3) also 
was adopted in the 105th Congress (sec. 1, H. Res. 168, Sept. 18, 1997, 
p. ----).


[[Page 467]]

ference, said Member shall automatically cease to be a member of a 
standing committee to which he was elected on the basis of nomination by 
that caucus or conference. The chairman of the relevant party caucus or 
conference shall notify the Speaker whenever a Member ceases to be a 
member of a party caucus or conference and the Speaker shall notify the 
chairman of each standing committee on which said Member serves, that in 
accord with this rule, the Member's election to such committee is 
automatically vacated.


Sec. 701b. Party membership as basis for election.

  (b)(1) Membership on standing committees during the course of 
a  Congress 
shall be contingent on continuing membership in the party caucus or 
conference that nominated Members for election to such committees. 
Should a Member cease to be a member of a particular party caucus or 
con-


  (2)(A) No Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may serve 
simultaneously as a member of more than two standing committees or four 
subcommittees of the standing committees of the House, except that ex 
officio service by a chairman and ranking minority member of a committee 
on each of its subcommittees by committee rule shall not be counted 
against the limitation on subcommittee service. Service on an 
investigative subcommittee of the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct pursuant to paragraph (a)(3) shall not be counted against the 
limitation on subcommittee service. Any other exception to these 
limitations must be approved by the House upon the recommendation of the 
respective party caucus or conference.


[[Page 468]]

tee that is established for a cumulative period longer than six months 
in any Congress.

  (B) For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term ``subcommittee'' 
includes any panel (other than a special oversight panel of the 
Committee on National Security), task force, special subcommittee, or 
any subunit of a standing commit-

  The requirement that membership on standing committees be contingent 
on continuing membership in a party caucus or conference, along with the 
mechanism for the automatic vacating of a Member's election to committee 
should his party relationship cease, was added to the rules in the 98th 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1983, p. 34). In the 104th Congress, 
paragraph (b)(2) was added to limit each Member to two full committee 
assignments and four subcommittee assignments, absent House approval of 
any exception upon recommendation of the respective party caucus (sec. 
204, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----; see H. Res. 11, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 
----). Paragraph (b)(2) was amended in the 105th Congress to except 
special service on an investigative subcommittee of the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct from the limitation on subcommittee 
service (sec. 1, H. Res. 168, Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----).


  The Speaker lays before the House communications relative to the 
removal of a Member from committee pursuant to this clause (see, e.g., 
Sept. 11, 1984, p. 24790; Feb. 22, 1989, p. 2500; May 10, 1995, p. ----
). The earlier practice was, and the most recent practice is, for the 
minority party to handle committee assignments for third-party Members 
(VIII, 2184-2185; H. Res. 11, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). During the 102d 
and 103d Congresses, the majority leadership took that responsibility by 
separate resolution for a Member who had joined neither major party 
caucus (see, H. Res. 45, Jan. 24, 1991, p. 2171); however, during the 
104th Congress, when control of the House shifted, the minority 
leadership retained responsibility for the committee assignments of such 
third-party Member.


[[Page 469]]

order named in the election of the committee, and so on, as often as 
the case shall happen, shall act as chairman; and in case of a permanent 
vacancy in the chairmanship of any such committee the House shall elect 
another chairman.



Sec. 701c. Committee chairmen.

  (c)  One of the Members of 
each standing committee shall be elected by the House, from nominations 
submitted by the majority party caucus, at the commencement of each 
Congress, as chairman thereof. No Member may serve as the chairman of 
the same standing committee, or as the chairman of the same subcommittee 
thereof, for more than three consecutive Congresses, beginning with the 
One Hundred Fourth Congress (disregarding for this purpose any service 
for less than a full session in any Congress). In the temporary absence 
of the chairman, the Member next in rank in the 



  The requirement that nominations for chairmen be submitted by the 
majority party caucus was made part of the rules effective January 3, 
1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). The sentence 
addressing temporary and permanent vacancies in chairmanships was first 
adopted on April 5, 1911 (VIII, 2201), and was continued in the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812). The 104th 
Congress added the sentence setting term limits for committee and 
subcommittee chairmen (sec. 103(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). 
In the 102d Congress a resolution included as a matter properly 
incidental to its election of the chairman of a standing committee a 
proviso that his powers and duties be exercised by the vice chairman 
until otherwise ordered by the House (H. Res. 43, Jan. 24, 1991, p. 
2169; Feb. 6, 1991, p. 3198). In the 103d Congress a privileged 
resolution, offered at the direction of the Democratic Caucus, 
authorized a named acting chairman to exercise the powers and duties of 
a chairman of a standing committee until otherwise ordered by the House 
(H. Res. 396, Mar. 23, 1994, p. ----).




Sec. 701d. Requirement for subcommittees.

  (d)  No committee 
of the House shall have more than five subcommittees (except the 
Committee on Appropriations, which shall have no more than thirteen; the 
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, which shall have no more 
than seven; and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
which shall have no more than six).



  The present form of this paragraph was adopted in the 104th Congress 
(sec. 101(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----), replacing a requirement 
that all standing committees having more than 20 members (except the 
Committee on the Budget) establish at least four subcommittees (H. Res. 
5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20).


[[Page 470]]

tions, submitted by the respective party caucus or conference.

  (e) All vacancies in standing committees shall be filled by election 
by the House from nomina-

  This paragraph was first adopted in the 62d Congress (VIII, 2178). At 
the beginning of the 80th Congress it was amended to prevent a Member 
from serving on more than one standing committee, except that Members 
elected to serve on the Committees on District of Columbia or Un-
American Activities (renamed the Committee on Internal Security and 
jurisdiction redefined on Feb. 19, 1969, p. 3723) could be elected to 
serve on not more than two standing committees, and that Members of the 
majority party, serving on the Committee on Expenditures in the 
Executive Departments (changed to Committee on Government Operations 
July 3, 1952, p. 9217) or House Administration could be elected to serve 
on not more than two standing committees. This limitation was continued 
through the 80th, 81st, and part of the 82d Congresses until July 3, 
1952 (p. 9217) when it was modified so that Members elected to serve on 
the Committees on the District of Columbia, Government Operations, Un-
American Activities, or House Administration could be elected to serve 
on not more than two standing committees. It was restored to its 
original form by amendment on January 13, 1953 (pp. 368-69) so that 
there was no limitation in House rules on the number of committees to 
which a Member may be elected until the 104th Congress added paragraph 
(b)(2) (see Sec. 701b, supra). Party caucuses or conferences have also 
placed restrictions on committee assignments. The role of the respective 
party caucus or conference in making nominations to fill vacancies in 
standing committees was made part of the rule in the 98th Congress (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1983, p. 34).


  Form of resolution electing a Member to a committee and fixing his 
rank thereon (Jan. 23, 1947, p. 536; H. Res. 157, May 25, 1995, p. ----
). The House by unanimous consent fixed the relative rank of two Members 
on a committee where an error had been made on the original appointment 
(Jan. 20, 1947, p. 481). The House has filled a vacancy on a standing 
committee (H. Res. 43, Jan. 24, 1991, p. 2169) with a Member 
subsequently designated by his party caucus as ``temporary'' (in order 
to avoid caucus limitations on committee assignments) (Feb. 5, 1991, p. 
2814).


[[Page 471]]

point no less than a majority of members who generally supported the House 
position as determined by the Speaker. The Speaker shall name Members 
who are primarily responsible for the legislation and shall, to the 
fullest extent feasible, include the principal proponents of the major 
provisions of the bill as it passed the House.



Sec. 701e. Select and conference committees.

  (f)  The Speaker 
shall appoint all select and conference committees which shall be 
ordered by the House from time to time. At any time after an original 
appointment, the Speaker may remove Members or appoint additional 
Members to select and conference committees. In appointing members to 
conference committees the Speaker shall ap-


  The provision of paragraph (f) relating to select committees was 
adopted in 1880, and the provision in that paragraph relating to 
conference committees was first adopted in 1890, although the practice 
of leaving the appointment of conference committees to the Speaker had 
existed from the earliest years of the House's history (IV, 4470; VIII, 
2192).

  Prior to 1880 the House might take from the Speaker the appointment of 
a select committee (IV, 4448, 4470; VIII, 2192) and on several occasions 
did so in fact (IV, 4471-4476).

  In the earlier usage of the House the Member moving a select committee 
was appointed its chairman (II, 1275, III, 2342, IV, 4514-4516); but 
except for matters of ceremony, the inconvenience and even impropriety 
of the usage has caused it often to be disregarded in modern practice 
(IV, 4517-4523, 4671).

  It is within the discretion of the Chair as to whom he appoints as 
conferees (June 24, 1932, p. 13876; July 8, 1947, p. 8469), and a motion 
to instruct the Speaker as to the number and composition of a conference 
committee on the part of the House is not in order (VIII, 2193, 3221). 
The Speaker may fill a vacancy on a conference committee by appointment 
but may not accept a resignation from a conference committee absent an 
order of the House (Nov. 4, 1987, p. 30808).

  Effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 
34470), the Speaker was required to appoint a majority of members who 
generally supported the House position, as determined by him, to all 
conference committees.


[[Page 472]]

discretionary authority to appoint a 
principal proponent of an adopted floor amendment as an additional 
limited conferee on that issue (p. 20132).
  The last sentence of paragraph (f) was added in the 95th Congress (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70). Under that paragraph as amended, the 
Speaker must appoint as conferees Members who are ``primarily 
responsible for the legislation,'' but the exercise of his additional 
discretionary authority under that clause to (1) determine whether a 
majority of the conferees generally supported the House position and (2) 
to appoint to the maximum extent feasible the principal proponents of 
major provisions of the House-passed bill, is not subject to challenge 
on a point of order (Speaker O'Neill, Oct. 12, 1977, pp. 33434-35), and 
is not necessarily affected by a vote on a nonbinding motion to instruct 
House conferees (May 9, 1990, p. 9830). On June 21, 1977, Speaker 
O'Neill first exercised his 

  The second sentence of paragraph (f), authorizing the Speaker to add 
or remove conferees after his initial appointment, was added in the 103d 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----).


  The Speaker may appoint conferees from committees (1) which have not 
reported a measure, (2) which have jurisdiction over provisions of a 
non-germane Senate amendment to a House amendment to a Senate bill 
originally narrower in scope (Speaker O'Neill, Nov. 28, 1979, p. 33904), 
or (3) which have jurisdiction over provisions of an original Senate 
bill where the House amendment was narrower in scope (Speaker O'Neill, 
July 28, 1980, p. 19875; July 11, 1985, p. 18545). The Speaker may also 
appoint one who, although not a member of the committee of jurisdiction, 
is a principal proponent of the measure (Speaker Gingrich, Feb. 1, 1995, 
p. ----). The Speaker has appointed as sole conferees on a nongermane 
portion of a Senate bill or amendment only members from the committee 
having jurisdiction over the subject matter thereof (Speaker O'Neill, 
Aug. 27, 1980, pp. 23548-49; July 24, 1986, p. 17644), and also members 
from such committees as additional rather than exclusive conferees on 
other nongermane portions of the Senate bill (July 24, 1986, p. 17644). 
Where a comprehensive matter is committed to conference, the Speaker may 
appoint separate groups of conferees from several committees for 
concurrent or exclusive consideration of provisions within their 
respective jurisdictions (Feb. 7, 1990, p. 1522; May 9, 1990, p. 9830). 
Pursuant to paragraph (f) the Speaker may by the terms of his 
appointment empower a group of exclusive conferees to report in total 
disagreement (June 10, 1988, p. 14077; Sept. 20, 1989, p. 20955). In the 
102d Congress the Speaker reiterated his announced policy of simplifying 
conference appointments by noting on the occasion of a relatively 
complex appointment that, inasmuch as conference committees are ``select 
committees'' that dissolve when their report is acted upon, conference 
appointments should not be construed as jurisdictional precedent 
(Speaker Foley, June 3, 1992, p. ----).


[[Page 473]]

chairman of the relevant party caucus or conference shall 
notify the Speaker whenever a Member ceases to be a member of a party 
caucus or conference and the Speaker shall notify the chairman of each 
select or joint committee on which said Member serves, that in accord 
with this rule, the Member's appointment to such committee is 
automatically vacated.



Sec. 701f. Party membership as basis for 
appointment.

  (g)  Membership on select and joint committees during the 
course of a Congress shall be contingent on continuing membership in the 
party caucus or conference the Member was a member of at the time of his 
appointment to a select or joint committee. Should a Member cease to be 
a member of that caucus or conference, said Member shall automatically 
cease to be a member of any select or joint committee to which he is 
assigned. The 



  This party membership requirement for select and joint committees 
analogous to paragraph (b) was added in the 98th Congress (H. Res. 5, 
1983, Jan. 3, 1983, p. 34).




Sec. 701g. Delegates and Resident Commissioner.

  (h)  The 
Speaker may appoint the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and 
Delegates to the House to any select committee and to any conference 
committee.



  Effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 
34470), the Speaker was authorized to appoint the Resident Commissioner 
from Puerto Rico and Delegates to be conferees by the addition of 
paragraph (h); that paragraph was further amended in the 96th Congress 
(H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16) to authorize the Speaker to appoint 
the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and Delegates to select 
committees as well, and was further amended in the 103d Congress to 
authorize the Speaker to appoint Delegates and the Resident Commissioner 
to serve at any conference (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 474-541]
[DOCID:hrmanual-71]                         

[[Page 474]]
 


Sec. 702. Aging.

  A  paragraph (i) of this clause was 
incorporated into the rules effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d 
Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), to provide for a permanent Select 
Committee on Aging appointed by the Speaker pursuant to paragraph (f). 
That provision was stricken in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 
1993, p. ----).



                                Rule XI.


                   rules of procedures for committees.


                               In General



Sec. 703a. Committee procedure.

  1.  (a)(1) The Rules of the 
House are the rules of its committees and subcommittees so far as 
applicable, except that a motion to recess from day to day, and a motion 
to dispense with the first reading (in full) of a bill or resolution, if 
printed copies are available, are nondebatable motions of high privilege 
in committees and subcommittees.



  (2) Each subcommittee of a committee is a part of that committee, and 
is subject to the authority and direction of that committee and to its 
rules so far as applicable.


  Paragraph (a)(1) was first adopted December 8, 1931 (VIII, 2215), and 
amended March 23, 1955, pp. 3569, 3585. In the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144), paragraph (a)(2) was incorporated into the 
rules, together with the reference to subcommittees contained in 
paragraph (a)(1), having been contained in the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140). This clause was amended in 
the 99th Congress to allow a privileged motion in committee and 
subcommittee to dispense with the first reading of a measure where 
printed copies are available (H. Res. 7, Jan. 3, 1985, p. 393). See 
Jefferson's Manual at Sec. 412, supra, for the requirement that a bill 
or resolution be read in full upon demand, prior to being read by 
paragraphs of sections for amendment. Each committee may appoint 
subcommittees (VI, 532), which should include majority and minority 
representation (IV, 4551), and confer on them powers delegated to the 
committee itself (VI, 532) except such powers as are reserved to the 
full committee by the rules of the House; but express authority has also 
been given subcommittees by the House (III, 1754-1759, 1801, 2499, 2504, 
2508, 2517; IV, 4548).


[[Page 475]]

sponsibilities under rule X, and (subject to the adoption of expense 
resolutions as required by clause 5) to incur expenses (including travel 
expenses) in connection therewith.


Sec. 703b. Investigative authority.

  (b)(1)  Each committee is 
authorized at any time to conduct such investigations and studies as it 
may consider necessary or appropriate in the exercise of its re-


  (2) A proposed investigative or oversight report shall be considered 
as read in committee if it has been available to the members for at 
least 24 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays except 
when the House is in session on such a day).

  (3) A report of an investigation or study conducted jointly by more 
than one committee may be filed jointly, provided that each of the 
committees complies independently with all requirements for approval and 
filing of the report.


  (4) After an adjournment of the last regular session of a Congress 
sine die, an investigative or oversight report may be filed with the 
Clerk at any time, provided that if a member gives timely notice of 
intention to file supplemental, minority, or additional views, that 
member shall be entitled to not less than seven calendar days in which 
to submit such views for inclusion with the report.


  Paragraph (b)(1) was incorporated into the rules under the Committee 
Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d 
Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), and, together with clauses 2(m) and 2(n) 
of rule XI, eliminated the necessity that each committee obtain such 
authority each Congress by a separate resolution reported from the 
Committee on Rules. Paragraphs (b)(2), (b)(3), and (b)(4) were added in 
the 105th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 476]]

held by the committee. All costs of stenographic services 
and transcripts in connection with any meeting or hearing of a committee 
shall be paid from the applicable accounts of the House described in 
clause 1(h)(1) of rule X.



Sec. 703c. Printing and binding.

  (c)  Each committee is 
authorized to have printed and bound testimony and other data presented 
at hearings 



  Paragraph (c) was made part of the rules by the Committee Reform 
Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., 
Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In the 105th Congress it was amended to update 
an archaic reference to the ``contingent fund'' (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 
1997, p. ----).



Sec. 703d. Activity reports.

  (d)(1)  Each committee shall 
submit to the House not later than January 2 of each odd-numbered year, 
a report on the activities of that committee under this rule and rule X 
during the Congress ending on January 3 of such year.


  (2) Such report shall include separate sections summarizing the 
legislative and oversight activities of that committee during that 
Congress.

  (3) The oversight section of such report shall include a summary of 
the oversight plans submitted by the committee pursuant to clause 2(d) 
of rule X, a summary of the actions taken and recommendations made with 
respect to each such plan, and a summary of any additional oversight 
activities undertaken by that committee, and any recommendations made or 
actions taken thereon.


[[Page 477]]

each member of the committee for at least seven calendar days and includes 
any supplemental, minority, or additional views submitted by a member of 
the committee.

  (4) After an adjournment of the last regular session of a Congress 
sine die, the chairman of a committee may file a report pursuant to 
subparagraph (1) with the Clerk at any time and without approval of the 
committee, provided that a copy of the report has been available to 

  The provisions of paragraph (d)(1) were first made requirements of the 
rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144, 
incorporating the provisions of sec. 118(b) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140)), and effective on January 3, 
1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470) exemptions from 
the reporting requirements for the Committees on Appropriations, the 
Budget, House Administration, Rules and Standards of Official Conduct 
were removed, so the paragraph from that point applied to all 
committees. The 104th Congress added paragraphs (d)(2) and (d)(3) to 
require that activity reports include separate sections on legislative 
and oversight activities, including a summary comparison of oversight 
plans and eventual recommendations and actions (sec. 203(b), H. Res. 6, 
Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). Paragraph (d)(4) was added in the 105th Congress 
(H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).


  Under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, the Committee on Rules 
is required to include in its activity report a separate item 
identifying all waivers of points of order relating to Federal mandates, 
listed by bill or joint resolution number and subject matter (sec. 
107(b), P.L. 104-4; 109 Stat. 63).


Adoption of written rules
                             Committee Rules



704a. Committee rules.

  2.  (a) Each standing committee of 
the House shall adopt written rules governing its procedure. Such 
rules--


      (1) shall be adopted in a meeting which is open to the public 
unless the committee, in open session and with a quorum present, 
determines by rollcall vote that all or part of the meeting on that day 
is to be closed to the public;


[[Page 478]]

      (2) shall be not inconsistent with the Rules of the House or with 
those provisions of law having the force and effect of Rules of the 
House; and


      (3) shall in any event incorporate all of the succeeding 
provisions of this clause to the extent applicable.
Each committee's rules specifying its regular meeting days, and any 
other rules of a committee which are in addition to the provisions of 
this clause, shall be published in the Congressional Record not later 
than thirty days after the committee is elected in each odd-numbered 
year. Each select or joint committee shall comply with the provisions of 
this paragraph unless specifically prohibited by law.

  The requirement that standing committees adopt written rules was first 
incorporated into the rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 
1971, p. 144), having been included in the Legislative Reorganization 
Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140). Under the Committee Reform Amendments of 
1974, clause 2(a) became effective in essentially its present form on 
January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In the 
94th Congress subparagraph (1) was amended to permit a rollcall vote to 
close the committee meeting at which committee rules are adopted only on 
the day of the meeting (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20). In the 102d 
Congress the clause was amended to allow a committee 30 days after the 
election of its members, rather than after the convening of the 
Congress, to publish its rules in the Congressional Record (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). Committees have historically adopted rules under 
which they function (I, 707; III, 1841, 1842; VIII, 2214). Committee 
rules are compiled by the Committee on Rules each Congress as a 
committee print. It is the responsibility of the committees, and not the 
House, to construe and enforce additional committee rules on the calling 
of committee meetings (Speaker Albert, July 22, 1974, pp. 24436-47). The 
last two sentences of the clause, providing for publication of committee 
rules in the Congressional Record, derived from statute (2 U.S.C. 190a-2 
(repealed 1979)). A court interpreted that statute to be mandatory in a 
case where a Senate committee failed to publish in the Record a rule 
regarding a quorum for the purpose of taking sworn testimony. In 
overturning a perjury conviction, the court held that the unpublished 
committee rule was not valid. United States v. Reinecke, 524 F.2d 435 
(D.C. Cir. 1975).


[[Page 479]]

ruled (see clause 2(g)(5) of rule XI) or the prescribed committee 
procedures for reporting bills and resolutions (clause 2(l) of rule XI) 
or failure to adhere to the former prohibition against committees 
meeting without permission while the House is operating under the five-
minute rule (clause 2(i) of rule XI) may in some instances be the basis 
for a point of order in the House, resulting in the recommitment of the 
bill. But a point of order does not ordinarily lie in the House against 
consideration of a bill by reason of defective committee procedures 
occurring prior to the time the bill is ordered reported to the House 
(Procedure, ch. 17, sec. 11.1).


Sec. 704b. Committee procedure generally.

  Failure  to follow 
certain procedural requirements imposed on committees by this rule may 
invalidate committee actions. Violation of the requirements as to open 
meetings and hearings and other hearing irregularities improperly 
over-


  Many of the procedures applicable to committees derive from 
Jefferson's Manual, which govern the House and its committees in all 
cases to which they are applicable (rule XLII). A committee may act only 
when together, and not by separate consultation and consent, nothing 
being the report (or recommendation) of the committee except what has 
been agreed to in committee actually assembled (see Jefferson's Manual 
at Sec. 407, supra). A measure before a committee for consideration must 
be read for amendment by section as in the House (see Jefferson's Manual 
at Sec. Sec. 412-414), and reading of the measure and of amendments 
thereto must be in full. The procedures applicable in the House as in 
the Committee of the Whole (see Sec. Sec. 424 and 427, supra) generally 
apply to proceedings in committees of the House of Representatives, 
except that since a measure considered in committee must be read for 
amendment, a motion to limit debate under the five-minute rule in 
committee must be confined to the portion of the bill then pending. The 
previous question may only be moved on the measure in committee if the 
entire measure has been read, or considered as read, for amendment.

  Committees generally conduct their business under the five-minute rule 
but may employ the ordinary motions which are in order in the House, 
such as under clause 4 of rule XVI, and may also employ the motion to 
limit debate under the five-minute rule on a proposition which has been 
read.
Regular meeting days


[[Page 480]]

fixed by the committee, unless otherwise provided by written rule 
adopted by the committee.

Additional and special meetings



705. Committee meetings.

  (b)  Each standing committee of the 
House shall adopt regular meeting days, which shall be not less frequent 
than monthly, for the conduct of its business. Each such committee shall 
meet, for the consideration of any bill or resolution pending before the 
committee or for the transaction of other committee business, on all 
regular meeting days 


  (c)(1) The chairman of each standing committee may call and convene, 
as he or she considers necessary, additional meetings of the committee 
for the consideration of any bill or resolution pending before the 
committee or for the conduct of other committee business. The committee 
shall meet for such purpose pursuant to that call of the chairman.


[[Page 481]]

the committee shall notify all members of 
the committee that such special meeting will be held and inform them of 
its date and hour and the measure or matter to be considered; and only 
the measure or matter specified in that notice may be considered at that 
special meeting.

Vice chairman or ranking majority Member to preside in absence of 
  (2) If at least three members of any standing committee desire that a 
special meeting of the committee be called by the chairman, those 
members may file in the offices of the committee their written request 
to the chairman for that special meeting. Such request shall specify the 
measure or matter to be considered. Immediately upon the filing of the 
request, the clerk of the committee shall notify the chairman of the 
filing of the request. If, within three calendar days after the filing 
of the request, the chairman does not call the requested special 
meeting, to be held within seven calendar days after the filing of the 
request, a majority of the members of the committee may file in the 
offices of the committee their written notice that a special meeting of 
the committee will be held, specifying the date and hour of, and the 
measure or matter to be considered at, that special meeting. The 
committee shall meet on that date and hour. Immediately upon the filing 
of the notice, the clerk of 


        chairman


  (d) A member of the majority party on any standing committee or 
subcommittee thereof designated by the chairman of the full committee 
shall be vice chairman of the committee or subcommittee, as the case may 
be, and shall preside at any meeting during the temporary absence of the 
chairman. If the chairman and vice chairman of the committee or 
subcommittee are not present at any meeting of the committee or 
subcommittee, the ranking member of the majority party who is present 
shall preside at that meeting.

  Paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) were first adopted on December 8, 1931 
(VIII, 2208), were amended on January 3, 1953 (p. 24), and were revised 
both by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and 
in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). In the 102d 
Congress paragraph (d) was amended to provide that the ranking majority 
Member of each committee and subcommittee be designated as its vice-
chairman (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). In the 104th Congress 
paragraph (d) was amended to permit the chairman of a full committee to 
designate vice-chairmen of the committee and its subcommittees (sec. 
223(c), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

  A committee scheduled to meet on stated days, when convened on such 
day with a quorum present may proceed to the transaction of business 
regardless of the absence of the chairman (VIII, 2213, 2214).


[[Page 482]]

Committee records

  A committee meeting being adjourned for lack of a quorum, a majority 
of the members of the committee may not, without the consent of the 
chairman, call a meeting of the committee on the same day (VIII, 2213).



706a. Required records.

  (e)(1)  Each committee shall keep a 
complete record of all committee action which shall include--


      (A) in the case of any meeting or hearing transcript, a 
substantially verbatim account of remarks actually made during the 
proceedings, subject only to technical, grammatical, and typographical 
corrections authorized by the person making the remarks involved; and



Sec. 706b. 
Public availability.

      (B) a record of the votes on any question on which a rollcall vote 
is demanded.
The result of each such rollcall vote shall be made available by the 
committee for inspection by the public at reasonable  times in the offices of the committee. 
Information so available for public inspection shall include a 
description of the amendment, motion, order, or other proposition and 
the name of each Member voting for and each Member voting against such 
amendment, motion, order, or proposition, and the names of those Members 
present but not voting, except that in the case of rollcall votes in the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct taken in executive session, 
the result of any such vote shall not be made available for inspection 
by the public without an affirmative vote of a majority of the members 
of the committee.



[[Page 483]]

chairman of the committee; and such records shall be the property of 
the House and all Members of the House shall have access thereto, 
except that in the case of records in the Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct respecting the conduct of any Member, officer, or 
employee of the House, no Member of the House (other than a member 
of such committee) shall have access thereto without the specific, 
prior approval of the committee.


Sec. 706c. Committee files.

  (2)  All committee hearings, 
records, data, charts, and files shall be kept separate and distinct 
from the congressional office records of the Member serving as 


  (3) Each committee shall include in its rules standards for 
availability of records of the committee delivered to the Archivist of 
the United States under rule XXXVI. Such standards shall specify 
procedures for orders of the committee under clause 3(b)(3) and clause 
4(b) of rule XXXVI, including a requirement that nonavailability of a 
record for a period longer than the period otherwise applicable under 
that rule shall be approved by vote of the committee.


  (4) Each committee shall, to the maximum extent feasible, make its 
publications available in electronic form.


[[Page 484]]

for public inspection was eliminated from this paragraph since proxies 
were prohibited as of that date, but in the 94th Congress clause 2(f) 
of rule XI was amended to permit proxies in committee, and this paragraph 
was likewise amended to reinsert the requirement of availability for 
public inspection (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20). When proxy voting 
was again eliminated in the 104th Congress, the reference thereto in 
the third sentence of paragraph (e)(1) was deleted (sec. 104(b), H. 
Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).
  The first sentence of paragraph (e)(1) was rewritten entirely in the 
104th Congress (sec. 206, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). Its 
predecessor, requiring a complete record of all committee actions, 
including votes on any question on which a roll call was demanded, was 
enacted as section 133(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 
(60 Stat. 812) and made part of the standing rules on January 3, 1953 
(p. 24). The requirement that committee roll calls be subject to public 
inspection was added by section 104(b) of the Legislative Reorganization 
Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and made a part of the rules in the 92d 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). The qualified exception for 
the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct from the requirement of 
the last sentence of paragraph (e)(1) was added in the 105th Congress 
(sec. 8, H. Res. 168, Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----). Effective on January 3, 
1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), the requirement 
that proxy votes in committee be made available 

  Paragraph (e)(2) derives from section 202(d) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), was made a part of the rules 
in the 83d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1953, p. 24), and was amended in 
the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70) to restrict the 
access of Members to certain records of the Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct.

  Paragraph (e)(3) was added in the 101st Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 
1989, p. 72). Paragraph (e)(4) was added in the 105th Congress (H. Res. 
5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).

  A Member's right to access to committee records under this clause does 
not entitle him to make photostatic copies of such records (Speaker 
Rayburn, Aug. 14, 1957, pp. 14737-39), and such records may not be 
brought into the well of the House if the committee has not authorized 
such action (Speaker Rayburn, June 3, 1960, p. 11820). Furthermore, such 
access allows a Member to examine executive session materials only in 
committee rooms and does not permit a Member to copy or to take personal 
notes from such materials, to keep such notes or copies in his personal 
office files, or to release such materials to the public without the 
consent of the committee or subcommittee under clause 2(k)(7) of rule XI 
(Speaker O'Neill, Dec. 6, 1977, pp. 38470-73). This clause allowing all 
Members access to committee records and materials which are the property 
of the House does not necessarily apply to records within the possession 
of the executive branch which the members of the committee have been 
allowed to examine under limited conditions at the discretion of the 
executive agency in possession of such materials (Speaker O'Neill, July 
31, 1980, p. 20765). Compare this clause with clause 7(c) of rule 
XLVIII, which only permits access of non-members of the Select Committee 
on Intelligence to classified information in the possession of that 
committee when authorized by that committee.

  While all Members have access to committee records under this clause, 
testimony or evidence taken in executive sessions of a committee is 
under the control and subject to the regulation of the committee and, 
under clause 2(k)(7) of rule XI (Sec. 712, infra), cannot be released 
without the consent of the committee (June 26, 1961, p. 11233; see also 
Procedure, ch. 17, sec. 15).


[[Page 485]]

the Budget, International Relations, and National Security, as compiled 
by the Committee on Rules.

Prohibition against proxy voting

  In implementing clause 2(e)(2), committees may prescribe regulations 
to govern the manner of access to their records, such as requiring 
examination only in committee rooms. See, e.g., the rules of the 
Committees on 




707. Ban on proxies.

  (f)  No vote by any member of any 
committee or subcommittee with respect to any measure or matter may be 
cast by proxy.


  The 104th Congress adopted paragraph (f) in this form (sec. 104, H. 
Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). An earlier form of the provision was 
enacted as section 106(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 
(84 Stat. 1140) and made part of the standing rules in the 92d Congress 
(H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144).


Open meetings and hearings

  The original form of this paragraph permitted committees to adopt 
written rules permitting proxies in writing, designating the persons to 
execute them and specifying the measures or matters to which they 
applied. Effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 
1974, p. 34470), proxies in committee were prohibited, but in the 94th 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20), the rule was amended to 
permit proxies in committees with additional restrictions requiring an 
assertion that the grantor was absent on official business or otherwise 
unable to attend, requiring the Member to sign and date the proxy, and 
permitting general proxies for procedural matters.


[[Page 486]]

tional security, would compromise sensitive law enforcement information, 
would tend to defame, degrade or incriminate any person, or otherwise would 
violate any law or rule of the House: Provided, however, That no person 
other than members of the committee and such congressional staff and 
such departmental representatives as they may authorize shall be present 
at any business or markup session which has been closed to the public. 
This paragraph does not apply to open committee hearings which are 
provided for by clause 4(a)(1) of rule X or by subparagraph (2) of this 
paragraph.


708.

  (g)(1)  Each meeting for the transaction of business, 
including the markup of legislation, of each standing committee or 
subcommittee thereof (except the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct) shall be open to the public, including to radio, television, 
and still photography coverage, except as provided by clause 3(f)(2), 
except when the committee or subcommittee, in open session and with a 
majority present, determines by rollcall vote that all or part of the 
remainder of the meeting on that day shall be closed to the public 
because disclosure of matters to be considered would endanger na-



[[Page 487]]

  (2) Each hearing conducted by each committee or subcommittee thereof 
(except the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct) shall be open to 
the public, including to radio, television, and still photography 
coverage, except when the committee or subcommittee, in open session and 
with a majority present, determines by rollcall vote that all or part of 
the remainder of that hearing on that day shall be closed to the public 
because disclosure of testimony, evidence, or other matters to be 
considered would endanger the national security, would compromise 
sensitive law enforcement information, or would violate any law or rule 
of the House of Representatives. Notwithstanding the requirements of the 
preceding sentence, a majority of those present, there being in 
attendance the requisite number required under the rules of the 
committee to be present for the purpose of taking testimony,

          (A) may vote to close the hearing for the sole purpose of 
discussing whether testimony or evidence to be received would endanger 
the national security, would compromise sensitive law enforcement 
information, or violate clause 2(k)(5) of rule XI; or

          (B) may vote to close the hearing, as provided in clause 
2(k)(5) of rule XI.
No Member may be excluded from nonparticipatory attendance at any 
hearing of any committee or subcommittee, with the exception of the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, unless the House of 
Representatives shall by majority vote authorize a particular committee 
or subcommittee, for purposes of a particular series of hearings on a 
particular article of legislation or on a particular subject of 
investigation, to close its hearings to Members by the same procedures 
designated in this subparagraph for closing hearings to the public: 
Provided, however, That the committee or subcommittee may by the same 
procedure vote to close one subsequent day of hearing except that the 
Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on National Security, and the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the subcommittees therein 
may, by the same procedure, vote to close up to five additional 
consecutive days of hearings.


[[Page 488]]

hearing. If the chairman of the committee, with the 
concurrence of the ranking minority member, determines there is good 
cause to begin the hearing sooner, or if the committee so determines by 
majority vote, a quorum being present for the transaction of business, 
the chairman shall make the announcement at the earliest possible date. 
Any announcement made under this subparagraph shall be promptly 
published in the Daily Digest and promptly entered into the committee 
scheduling service of House Information Resources.
  (3) The chairman of each committee of the House (except the Committee 
on Rules) shall make public announcement of the date, place, and subject 
matter of any committee hearing at least one week before the 
commencement of the 

  (4) Each committee shall, to the greatest extent practicable, require 
witnesses who appear before it to submit in advance written statements 
of proposed testimony and to limit their initial oral presentations to 
the committee to brief summaries thereof. In the case of a witness 
appearing in a nongovernmental capacity, a written statement of proposed 
testimony shall include a curriculum vitae and a disclosure of the 
amount and source (by agency and program) of any Federal grant (or 
subgrant thereof) or contract (or subcontract thereof) received during 
the current fiscal year or either of the two previous fiscal years by 
the witness or by an entity represented by the witness.


[[Page 489]]

mittee which reported the measure if, in the committee, such point of 
order was (A) timely made and (B) improperly overruled or not properly 
considered.
  (5) No point of order shall lie with respect to any measure reported 
by any committee on the ground that hearings on such measure were not 
conducted in accordance with the provisions of this clause; except that 
a point of order on that ground may be made by any member of the com-


  (6) The preceding provisions of this paragraph do not apply to the 
committee hearings which are provided for by clause 4(a)(1) of rule X.


[[Page 490]]

affirmative vote of a majority of members (sec. 5, H. Res. 168, Sept. 
18, 1997, p. ----).
  Subparagraphs (1) and (2) relating to open committee meetings and 
hearings, were first made part of the rules on March 7, 1973 (H. Res. 
259, 93d Cong., pp. 6713-20). They were amended in the 94th Congress (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20), to limit to one day (in case of a 
committee meeting) or to one day plus one subsequent day (in the case of 
a hearing) the period during which a committee may close its session. 
They were again amended in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, 
pp. 53-70), to require that a majority (rather than a quorum) be present 
when a committee or subcommittee votes to close a meeting or hearing and 
to provide that a non-committee Member cannot be excluded from a hearing 
except by a vote of the House. However, subparagraph (2) was amended in 
the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, p. 8) to permit a majority 
of those present under the rules of the committee for the purpose of 
taking testimony (not less than two Members as provided in clause 
2(h)(1) of rule XI) to vote to close a hearing either to discuss whether 
the testimony would endanger national security or would violate clause 
2(k)(5) of this rule, or to proceed to close the hearing as provided by 
clause 2(k)(5). In the 98th Congress subparagraph (2) was amended 
further to permit the Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services (now 
National Security), and Intelligence and their subcommittees, when 
voting in open session with a quorum present, to close a hearing on that 
particular day and for up to five additional days, for a total of not to 
exceed six days (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1983, p. 34). In the 104th Congress 
subparagraphs (1) and (2) were amended to require that meetings and 
hearings open to the public also be open to broadcast and photographic 
media; subparagraph (1) was further amended to permit closed meetings 
only on specified conditions and to delete an exception for meetings 
relating to internal budget or personnel matters; and subparagraph (2) 
was further amended to specify a new condition (sensitive law 
enforcement information) for closing hearings (sec. 105, H. Res. 6, Jan. 
4, 1995, p. ----). Subparagraph (2) was also amended to reflect the new 
name of the Committee on National Security (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 
4, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress subparagraphs (1) and (2) were 
again amended to reflect an amendment to clause 4(e)(3) of rule X 
requiring meetings of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to 
occur in executive session (except for adjudicatory subcommittee 
meetings or full committee sanction hearings) unless opened by an 

  Subparagraphs (3)-(6) derive from sections 111(b), 113(b), 115(b), and 
242(c) respectively of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 
Stat. 1140) and became part of the rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). Effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d 
Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), these provisions were inadvertently 
omitted from the rules, and were therefore reinserted in the 94th 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20).

  Subparagraph (3) was amended in the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 
1981, pp. 98-113) to add the requirement of prompt entering of public 
notice of committee meetings into the committee scheduling service of 
the House Information Resources. Subparagraph (3) was again amended in 
the 104th Congress to permit the calling of a hearing on less than seven 
days' notice upon a determination of good cause either by vote of the 
committee or subcommittee or by its chairman with the concurrence of its 
ranking minority member (H. Res. 43, Jan. 31, 1995, p. ----). In the 
105th Congress subparagraph (3) was amended to effect a technical 
correction (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).


Quorum for taking testimony and certain other action

  Subparagraph (4) was rewritten in the 105th Congress to encourage 
committees to elicit curricula vitae and disclosures of certain 
interests from nongovernmental witnesses (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. --
--).



709. Quorum of two; of onethird.

  (h)(1)  Each committee may 
fix the number of its members to constitute a quorum for taking 
testimony and receiving evidence which shall be not less than two.



  (2) Each committee (except the Committee on Appropriations, the 
Committee on the Budget, and the Committee on Ways and Means) may fix 
the number of its members to constitute a quorum for taking any action 
other than the reporting of a measure or recommendation which shall be 
not less than one-third of the members.


[[Page 491]]

other action. Under clause 2(g) of this rule, a majority of a 
committee or subcommittee must be present when a committee or 
subcommittee votes to close a meeting or hearing, under clause (m) of 
this rule a majority of a committee or subcommittee must be present to 
authorize and issue a subpoena, and under clause 2(l)(2)(A) of this 
rule, a majority of a committee or subcommittee must be present to order 
a measure or recommendation reported.
  This paragraph was adopted in the 84th Congress and only related to 
the authority of a committee to fix a quorum of not less than two for 
taking testimony (H. Res. 151, Mar. 23, 1955, pp. 3569, 3585). In the 
95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70) subparagraph (2) was 
added to authorize committees to fix a quorum less than a majority for 
certain 


Limitation on committees' sittings

  By unanimous consent the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 
was authorized to receive evidence and take testimony before a quorum of 
one of its Members for the remainder of the second session of the 100th 
Congress (Oct. 13, 1988, p. 30467).




710. Committees not to sit.

  (i)  No committee of the House 
may sit during a joint session of the House and Senate or during a 
recess when a joint meeting of the House and Senate is in progress.



[[Page 492]]

Standards of Official Conduct, and Ways and Means, and also with the 
provision for a privileged motion by the Majority Leader (sec. 208, H. 
Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----), on which he controlled one hour of 
debate (Jan. 23, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress so much of 
paragraph (i) as related to proceedings under the five-minute rule was 
again stricken (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).

Calling and interrogation of witnesses

  A clause regulating when committees could sit had its origin in 1794. 
It was omitted from rule XI in the adoption of rules for the 80th 
Congress but remained effective as part of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946, the applicable provisions of which were 
continued as a part of the rules of the House. While the rule formerly 
prohibited committees from sitting at any time when the House was in 
session, it was narrowed to proscribe sittings during the five-minute 
rule by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (sec. 117(b); 84 
Stat. 1140) and this revision was made part of the standing rules in the 
92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 14). Effective January 3, 
1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), the committees 
exempted from this clause were Appropriations, Budget, and Rules; and in 
the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70), the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct was also exempted. The Committee on Ways 
and Means was traditionally permitted to sit during proceedings under 
the five-minute rule by unanimous consent granted each Congress (Jan. 
29, 1975, p. 1677) until it was exempted from the rule in the 97th 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 98-113). A provision that special 
leave to sit be granted if ten Members did not object was added to the 
clause in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70). An 
exemption for the Committee on House Administration and the prohibition 
against committee meetings during joint meetings or joint sessions were 
added in the 101st Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1989, p. 72). In the 
103d Congress the prohibition against sitting during proceedings under 
the five-minute rule was stricken altogether (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, 
p. ----), but in the 104th Congress the former rule was reinstated with 
exemptions for the Committees on Appropriations, the Budget, Rules, 



711.

  (j)(1)  Whenever any hearing is conducted by any 
committee upon any measure or matter, the minority party Members on the 
committee shall be entitled, upon request to the chairman by a majority 
of them before the completion of the hearing, to call witnesses selected 
by the minority to testify with respect to that measure or matter during 
at least one day of hearing thereon.


  (2)(A) Subject to subdivisions (B) and (C), each committee shall apply 
the five-minute rule in the interrogation of witnesses in any hearing 
until such time as each member of the committee who so desires has had 
an opportunity to question each witness.

  (B) A committee may adopt a rule or motion permitting an equal number 
of its majority and minority party members each to question a witness 
for a specified period not longer than 30 minutes.


  (C) A committee may adopt a rule or motion permitting committee staff 
for its majority and minority party members to question a witness for 
equal specified periods.


[[Page 493]]

members of a committee are entitled to call witnesses 
selected by the minority for at least one day of hearings, no rule of 
the House requires the calling of witnesses on opposing sides of an 
issue (Oct. 14, 1987, p. 27921). In the 105th Congress paragraph (j)(2) 
was redesignated as (2)(A) and two new subparagraphs were added as 
(2)(B) and (2)(C) to enable committees to permit extended examinations 
of witnesses (for 30 additional minutes) by designated members or by 
staff (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).

Investigative hearing procedures

  Paragraph (j)(1) was contained in section 114(b) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and was made a part of the 
rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). Paragraph 
(j)(2) was added to the rules on that latter date. While a majority of 
the minority 



712.

  (k)(1)  The chairman at an investigative hearing shall 
announce in an opening statement the subject of the investigation.


  (2) A copy of the committee rules and this clause shall be made 
available to each witness.

  (3) Witnesses at investigative hearings may be accompanied by their 
own counsel for the purpose of advising them concerning their 
constitutional rights.

  (4) The chairman may punish breaches of order and decorum, and of 
professional ethics on the part of counsel, by censure and exclusion 
from the hearings; and the committee may cite the offender to the House 
for contempt.

  (5) Whenever it is asserted that the evidence or testimony at an 
investigatory hearing may tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any 
person,


[[Page 494]]

that such evidence or testimony may tend to defame, degrade, or 
incriminate any person; and
          (A) such testimony or evidence shall be presented in executive 
session, notwithstanding the provisions of clause 2(g)(2) of this rule, 
if by a majority of those present, there being in attendance the 
requisite number required under the rules of the committee to be present 
for the purpose of taking testimony, the committee determines 

          (B) the committee shall proceed to receive such testimony in 
open session only if the committee, a majority being present, determines 
that such evidence or testimony will not tend to defame, degrade, or 
incriminate any person.
In either case the committee shall afford such person an opportunity 
voluntarily to appear as a witness, and receive and dispose of requests 
from such person to subpoena additional witnesses.

  (6) Except as provided in subparagraph (5), the chairman shall receive 
and the committee shall dispose of requests to subpoena additional 
witnesses.

  (7) No evidence or testimony taken in executive session may be 
released or used in public sessions without the consent of the 
committee.

  (8) In the discretion of the committee, witnesses may submit brief and 
pertinent sworn statements in writing for inclusion in the record. The 
committee is the sole judge of the pertinency of testimony and evidence 
adduced at its hearing.


  (9) A witness may obtain a transcript copy of his testimony given at a 
public session or, if given at an executive session, when authorized by 
the committee.


[[Page 495]]

requirement of paragraph (k)(2) that a copy of committee rules be 
furnished to each witness was added in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
22, 1971, p. 144), and the former requirement of paragraph (k)(9) that a 
witness must pay the cost of a transcript copy of his testimony was 
eliminated under the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective 
January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). 
Paragraph (k)(5) was amended in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 
1979, pp. 7-16) to permit a committee or subcommittee to hear testimony 
asserted to be defamatory in executive session upon a determination by a 
majority of those present that such testimony is indeed defamatory, 
degrading, or incriminating. In the 105th Congress subparagraph (5) was 
amended to clarify a majority of those voting (a full quorum being 
present) may decide to proceed in open session (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, 
p. ----). The requirements of clause 2(g)(1) and (2), and of 2(m)(2)(A), 
of this rule that a majority of the committee or subcommittee shall 
constitute a quorum for the purposes of closing meetings or hearings or 
issuing subpoenas have been construed to require, under clause 2(k)(7) 
of this rule, that a majority shall likewise constitute a quorum to 
release or make public any evidence or testimony received in any closed 
meeting or hearing and any other executive session record of the 
committee or subcommittee. See also clauses 3(a) and 7(c)(2) of rule 
XLVIII, which provide that executive session material transmitted by the 
Intelligence Committee to another committee of the House becomes the 
executive session material of the recipient committee by virtue of the 
nature of the material and the injunction of clauses 7(c), (d), and (e) 
of that rule which prohibit disclosure of information provided to 
committees or Members of the House except in a secret session.

Committee procedures for reporting bills and resolutions

  The provisions of paragraph (k) were first incorporated into the rules 
in the 84th Congress (H. Res. 151, Mar. 23, 1955, pp. 3569, 3585). The 



713a. Chairman's duty.

  (l)(1)(A)  It shall be the duty of 
the chairman of each committee to report or cause to be reported 
promptly to the House any measure approved by the committee and to take 
or cause to be taken necessary steps to bring the matter to a vote.



[[Page 496]]

clerk of the committee a written request, signed 
by a majority of the members of the committee, for the reporting of that 
measure. Upon the filing of any such request, the clerk of the committee 
shall transmit immediately to the chairman of the committee notice of 
the filing of that request. This subdivision does not apply to a report 
of the Committee on Rules with respect to the rules, joint rules, or 
order of business of the House or to the reporting of a resolution of 
inquiry addressed to the head of an executive department.



Sec. 713b. Filing by majority of committee.

  (B)  In any 
event, the report of any committee on a measure which has been approved 
by the committee shall be filed within seven calendar days (exclusive of 
days on which the House is not in session) after the day on which there 
has been filed with the 


  Subparagraph (1)(A) is from section 133(c) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812) and was made a part of the 
standing rules on January 3, 1953 (p. 24). It is sufficient authority 
for the chairman to call up a bill on Calendar Wednesday (Speaker 
Rayburn, Feb. 22, 1950, p. 2162). Subparagraph (1)(B) is derived from 
section 105 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 
1140) and was made part of the rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). Subparagraph (1)(C) was added by the Committee 
Reform Amendments of 1974, effective Jan. 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d 
Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), to incorporate section 307 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 313), requiring the Committee 
on Appropriations to strive to complete committee action on all regular 
appropriation bills before reporting any of them to the House, and to 
submit a report comparing specified spending levels, but was repealed by 
section 232(e) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act 
of 1985 (P.L. 99-177, Dec. 12, 1985). An obsolete reference in 
subdivision (B) to the former subdivision (C) was deleted in the 104th 
Congress (sec. 223(f), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).


  Absent a special order of the House, committee reports must be 
submitted while the House is in session, except for committees that 
honor the guarantee of clause 2(l)(5) of rule XI for composing separate 
views (Sec. 714, infra) (Dec. 17, 1982, p. 31951).


[[Page 497]]



Sec. 713c. Requirement of quorum.

  (2)(A)  No measure or 
recommendation shall be reported from any committee unless a majority of 
the committee was actually present.





Sec. 713d. Vote on reporting.

  (B)  With respect to each 
rollcall vote on a motion to report any measure or matter of a public 
character, and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter, the 
total number of votes cast for and against, and the names of those 
members voting for and against, shall be included in the committee 
report on the measure or matter. The preceding sentence shall not apply 
to votes taken in executive session by the Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct.


  Subparagraph (2)(A) is from section 133(d) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812) and was made a part of the 
rules on January 3, 1953 (p. 24). The point of order that a bill was 
reported from a committee without a formal meeting and a quorum present 
comes too late if debate has started on a bill in the House (VIII, 2223; 
Feb. 24, 1947, p. 1374). No committee report is valid unless authorized 
with a quorum of the committee actually present at the time the vote is 
taken (IV, 4584; VIII, 2211, 2212, 2221, 2222), and while Speakers have 
indicated that committee members may come and go during the course of 
the vote if the roll call indicates that a quorum was present (VIII, 
2222), where it is admitted that a quorum was not in the room at any 
time during the vote and the committee transcript does not show a quorum 
acting as a quorum, the Chair will sustain the point of order (VIII, 
2212). In the 103d Congress, clause 2(l)(2)(A) was amended to provide 
that responses to roll calls in committee be deemed contemporaneous and 
to require that a point of no quorum with respect to a committee report 
be timely asserted in committee or considered waived (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 
1993, p. ----), but in the 104th Congress both of those features were 
deleted from the rule (sec. 207, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

  Where the committee transcript was not conclusive and the manager of 
the bill gave absolute assurance that a majority of the full committee 
was actually present when the bill was ordered reported the Speaker 
overruled a point of order made under subparagraph (2)(A) (Oct. 22, 
1987, p. 28807). A point of no quorum pending a committee vote on 
ordering a measure reported may provoke a quorum call requiring a 
majority of the committee to be present in the committee room. A 
committee may act only when together, nothing being the report of the 
committee except what has been agreed to in committee actually assembled 
(see Jefferson's Manual at Sec. 407, supra).


[[Page 498]]

porated into the rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 
1971, p. 144), and was restated in the 104th Congress to require that 
reports also reflect the total number of votes cast for and against any 
public measure or matter and any amendment thereto and the names of 
those voting for and against (sec. 209, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----
). The last sentence of subparagraph (2)(B) was adopted in the 105th 
Congress (sec. 8, H. Res. 168, Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----). If the 
accompanying report erroneously reflects information required by this 
paragraph, a bill would be subject to a point of order against its 
consideration; however, a point of order would not lie if the error was 
introduced by the Government Printing Office (Jan. 19, 1995, p. ----).
  The requirement of subparagraph (2)(B) was contained in section 104(b) 
of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140), was 
incor-


[[Page 499]]

(D) a summary of the oversight findings and 
recommendations made by the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 
under clause 4(c)(2) of rule X separately set out and clearly identified 
whenever such findings and recommendations have been submitted to the 
legislative committee in a timely fashion to allow an opportunity to 
consider such findings and recommendations during the committee's 
deliberations on the measure.



Sec. 713e. Content of reports.

  (3)  The report of any 
committee on a measure which has been approved by the committee shall 
include (A) the oversight findings and recommendations required pursuant 
to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X separately set out and clearly identified; 
(B) the statement required by section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974, separately set out and clearly identified, if the 
measure provides new budget authority (other than continuing 
appropriations), new entitlement authority as defined in section 3(9) of 
such Act, new credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues 
or tax expenditures, except that the estimates with respect to new 
budget authority shall include, when practicable, a comparison of the 
total estimated funding level for the relevant program (or programs) to 
the appropriate levels under current law; (C) the estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 402 of such Act, separately set out and clearly 
identified, whenever the Director (if timely submitted prior to the 
filing of the report) has submitted such estimate and comparison to the 
committee; and 



  The provisions of subparagraph (3) became effective January 3, 1975 
(H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). The subparagraph was 
amended in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70), to 
correct a cross-reference, and in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 
1993, p. ----) to correct the typographical transposition of a phrase. 
Subdivisions (B) and (C) are requirements of sections 308(a) and 403 of 
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 297). Subdivision (B) was 
amended in the 99th Congress by section 232(f) of the Balanced Budget 
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-177, Dec. 12, 1985) 
to include new entitlement and credit authority in conformity with 
section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended by 
that law. It was again amended in the 104th Congress to require 
estimates of new budget authority, when practicable, to compare the 
total estimated funding for the program to the appropriate level under 
current law (sec. 102(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). At the same 
time it was also amended to reflect the new name of the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, 
p. ----). Subparagraph (3) was amended in the 105th Congress to reflect 
the repeal of the collective definition of ``new spending authority'' 
and the revision of various remaining parts and to effect a technical 
and conforming change (Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (sec. 10116, P.L. 
105-33)).




Sec. 713f. Constitutional authority.

  (4)  Each report of a 
committee on a bill or joint resolution of a public character shall 
include a statement citing the specific powers granted to the Congress 
in the Constitution to enact the law proposed by the bill or joint 
resolution.



[[Page 500]]

Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In its original form the provision 
required an analytical statement of inflationary impact, but in the 
105th Congress it was converted to require a statement of Constitutional 
authority (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). If a point of order were 
sustained under this subparagraph, the measure would be recommitted to 
the reporting committee (Feb. 13, 1995, p. ----).

  Subparagraph (4) became a part of the rules under the Committee Reform 
Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d 




Sec. 713g. Application of laws to Legislative 
branch.

  Under  the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, each report 
accompanying a bill or joint resolution relating to terms and conditions 
of employment or access to public services or accommodations must 
describe the manner in which the provisions apply to the Legislative 
branch or a statement of the reasons the provisions do not apply; and 
any Member may raise a point of order against the consideration of a 
bill or joint resolution not complying with this requirement, which may 
be waived in the House by majority vote (sec. 102(b)(3), P.L. 104-1; 109 
Stat. 6).





Sec. 713h. Unfunded mandates.

  The  Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4; 109 Stat. 48 et seq.) added a new part B to 
title IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658-658g) 
that imposes several requirements on committees with respect to measures 
effecting ``Federal mandates'' (secs. 423-424; 2 U.S.C. 659b-c) and 
establishes points of order to enforce those requirements (sec. 425; 2 
U.S.C. 658d). See Sec. 1007, infra.



[[Page 501]]

this subparagraph has expired (or, if sooner, when all separate views 
have been received), the committee may arrange to file its report with 
the Clerk not later than one hour after the expiration of such time. The 
report of the committee upon that measure or matter shall be printed in 
a single volume which--


Sec. 714. Minority views.

  (5)  If, at the time of approval of 
any measure or matter by any committee, other than the Committee on 
Rules, any member of the committee gives notice of intention to file 
supplemental, minority, or additional views, that member shall be 
entitled to not less than two additional calendar days after the day of 
such notice (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays except when 
the House is in session on such a day) in which to file such views, in 
writing and signed by that member, with the clerk of the committee. All 
such views so filed by one or more members of the committee shall be 
included within, and shall be a part of, the report filed by the 
committee with respect to that measure or matter. When time guaranteed by 


          (A) shall include all supplemental, minority, or additional 
views which have been submitted by the time of the filing of the report, 
and

          (B) shall bear upon its cover a recital that any such 
supplemental, minority, or additional views (and any material submitted 
under subdivisions (C) and (D) of subparagraph (3)) are included as part 
of the report.
This subparagraph does not preclude--

          (i) the immediate filing or printing of a committee report 
unless timely request for the opportunity to file supplemental, 
minority, or additional views has been made as provided by this 
subparagraph; or


          (ii) the filing by any such committee of any supplemental 
report upon any measure or matter which may be required for the 
correction of any technical error in a previous report made by that 
committee upon that measure or matter.


[[Page 502]]

the 105th Congress it was further 
amended: (1) to reduce the guaranteed time for composing separate views 
from three full days to two full days after the day of notice; and (2) 
to establish standing authority for committees to file reports with the 
Clerk after honoring the guarantee of the rule (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, 
p. ----).

-  (6) <> A measure or matter 
reported by any committee (except the Committee on Rules in the case of 
a resolution making in order the consideration of a bill, resolution, or 
other order of business), shall not be considered in the House until the 
third calendar day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays 
except when the House is in session on such a day) on which the report 
of that committee upon that measure or matter has been available to the 
Members of the House: Provided, however, That it shall always be in 
order to call up for consideration, notwithstanding the provisions of 
clause 4(b) of rule XI, a report from the Committee on Rules 
specifically providing for the consideration of a reported measure or 
matter notwithstanding this restriction. If hearings have been held on 
any such measure or matter so reported, the committee reporting the 
measure or matter shall make every reasonable effort to have such 
hearings printed and available for distribution to the Members of the 
House prior to the consideration of such measure or matter in the House.
This subparagraph shall not apply to--
  Subparagraph (5) was originally included in section 107 of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and was 
incorporated into the rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 
1971, p. 144). Subdivision (B) was added under the Committee Reform 
Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., 
Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In the 104th Congress it was amended to count 
as a ``calendar day'' any day on which the House is in session (H. Res. 
254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----). In 


[[Page 503]]

          (A) any measure for the declaration of war, or the declaration 
of a national emergency, by the Congress; or


          (B) any decision, determination, or action by a Government 
agency which would become or continue to be, effective unless 
disapproved or otherwise invalidated by one or both Houses of Congress.
For the purposes of the preceding sentence, a Government agency includes 
any department, agency, establishment, wholly owned Government 
corporation, or instrumentality of the Federal Government or the 
government of the District of Columbia.

  Subparagraph (6) was originally contained in section 108 of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and was 
incorporated into the rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 
1971, p. 144). The rule was amended on October 13, 1972 (H. Res. 1153, 
92d Cong., pp. 36013-23), on January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., 
Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), and in the 94th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 
1975, p. 20). In the 94th Congress it was amended to require that 
reports and reported measures be available for two hours but to permit 
the immediate consideration of a resolution reported from the Committee 
on Rules waiving this layover requirement (H. Res. 868, Feb. 26, 1976, 
p. 4625). In the 95th Congress it was amended to permit consideration of 
a measure on the third day of availability rather than on the third day 
following availability (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70). In the 96th 
Congress it was amended to require that copies of a committee report be 
available for three calendar days rather than two hours before the 
beginning of consideration of the reported measure (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 
1979, p. 8). In the 102d Congress it was amended to clarify the 
availability requirements for reported measures, including concurrent 
resolutions on the budget (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). It was 
amended in the 104th Congress to count as a ``calendar day'' any day on 
which the House is in session (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----), and 
again in the 105th Congress to achieve like treatment in the case of a 
concurrent resolution on the budget (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). 
The rule was later amended in the 105th Congress to conform to a change 
in the layover requirement for a concurrent resolution on the budget 
(Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (sec. 10109, P.L. 105-33)).


[[Page 504]]

to call up other reports after one day of availability. 
The Committee on Rules has the authority under clause 4(a) of rule XI to 
report a special order making in order the text of an introduced bill as 
a substitute original text for a reported bill, and no point of order 
lies that such introduced text has not been available for three days 
under this rule, which only applies to the consideration of reported 
measures themselves (Oct. 9, 1986, p. 29973). The exceptions from the 
three-day layover requirement provided in the last two sentences of this 
paragraph were expanded in the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, 
p. 98) to include resolutions called up pursuant to legislative veto 
provisions in laws having the effect of approving or invalidating the 
actions of any government agency (and not just agencies of the executive 
branch). That exception allows the consideration of a measure 
disapproving an executive branch decision pursuant to statute within 
three days of the expiration of the congressional review period, 
notwithstanding the three-day availability requirement (concurrent 
resolution disapproving a regulation of the Federal Trade Commission 
pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission Improvements Act, P.L. 96-252) 
(May 26, 1982, pp. 12027-30). A report from a committee which raises a 
question of the privileges of the House, such as a report relating to 
the contemptuous conduct of a witness before the committee, may be 
considered notwithstanding the availability requirements of this clause 
(Speaker Albert, July 13, 1971, pp. 24720-23; see also Deschler's 
Precedents, vol. 3, ch. 14, sec. 7.4, fn. 10, with respect to 
impeachment reports).

  The availability requirement is not applicable to privileged reports 
from the Committee on Rules or to bills before the House which have not 
been reported from committee (Speaker Albert, Aug. 10, 1976, p. 26793), 
and the exception from the three-day availability requirement for 
certain reports from the Committee on Rules must be read in light of the 
broader authority, contained in clause 4(b) of this rule, conferred on 
that committee 




Sec. 716. Oneday layover.

  A committee  expense resolution 
reported by the Committee on House Oversight pursuant to clause 5 of 
rule XI need only be available for one day. However, other resolutions 
reported from that committee which are privileged (such as a resolution 
authorizing the printing of material as a House document), but which do 
not constitute questions of the privileges of the House, are subject to 
this clause (Speaker Albert, Mar. 6, 1975, p. 5537).



[[Page 505]]



Sec. 717.

  (7)  If, within seven calendar days after a measure 
has, by resolution, been made in order for consideration by the House, 
no motion has been offered that the House consider that measure, any 
member of the committee which reported that measure may be recognized in 
the discretion of the Speaker to offer a motion that the House shall 
consider that measure, if that committee has duly authorized that member 
to offer that motion.



Power to sit and act; subpoena power

  Subaragraph (7) was contained in section 109 of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and became part of the rules 
in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). This 
subparagraph should be read in light of clause 1(b) of rule XXIII, which 
provides for the House resolving into the Committee of the Whole by 
declaration of the Speaker pursuant to a special order of business 
rather than by adoption of a motion.



718. Administration of oaths to witnesses.

  (m)(1)  For the 
purpose of carrying out any of its functions and duties under this rule 
and rule X (including any matters referred to it under clause 5 of rule 
X), any committee, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized (subject 
to subparagraph (2)(A) of this paragraph)--


          (A) to sit and act at such times and places within the United 
States, whether the House is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned, 
and to hold such hearings, and

          (B) to require, by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and 
testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, 
correspondence, memorandums, papers, and documents
as it deems necessary. The chairman of the committee, or any member 
designated by such chairman, may administer oaths to any witness.


[[Page 506]]

may be authorized and issued 
only when authorized by an affirmative vote of a majority of its 
members. The power to authorize and issue subpoenas under subparagraph 
(1)(B) may be delegated to the chairman of the committee pursuant to 
such rules and under such limitations as the committee may prescribe. 
Authorized subpoenas shall be signed by the chairman of the committee or 
by any member designated by the committee.
  (2)(A) A subpoena may be authorized and issued by a committee or 
subcommittee under subparagaph (1)(B) in the conduct of any 
investigation or series of investigations or activities, only when 
authorized by a majority of the members voting, a majority being 
present, except in the case of a subcommittee of the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct, a subpoena 


  (B) Compliance with any subpoena issued by a committee or subcommittee 
under subparagraph (1)(B) may be enforced only as authorized or directed 
by the House.

  Prior to the adoption of clause 2(m) under the Committee Reform 
Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., 
Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), only the Committees on Appropriations, the 
Budget, Government Operations, Internal Security, and Standards of 
Official Conduct were permitted by the standing rules to perform the 
functions as specified in subparagraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B), and other 
standing and select committees were given those authorities by separate 
resolutions reported from the Committee on Rules each Congress. In the 
94th Congress subparagraph (2)(A) was amended to require authorized 
subpoenas to be signed by the chairman of the full committee or any 
member designated by the committee (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20); 
and in the 95th Congress the clause was altered to permit subcommittees, 
as well as full committees, to authorize subpoenas and to allow the 
delegation of such authority to the chairman of the full committee (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70). The special rule in subparagraph 
(2)(A) for authorizing and issuing a subpoena of a subcommittee of the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct was adopted in the 105th 
Congress (sec. 15, H. Res. 168, Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 507]]

Houses of Congress, or of a committee of the 
whole, or of any committee of either House of Congress, is empowered to 
administer oaths to witnesses in any case under their examination, and 
any member of either House of Congress may administer oaths to witnesses 
in any matter depending in either House of Congress of which he is a 
Member, or any committee thereof.
  A subpoena issued under this clause need only be signed by the 
chairman of the committee or by any member designated by the committee, 
whereas when the House issues an order or warrant the Speaker must under 
clause 4 of rule I issue the summons under his hand and seal, and it 
must be attested by the Clerk pursuant to clause 3 of rule III (III, 
1668; see H. Rept. 96-1078, p. 22). Pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 191, the 
President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or 
a chairman of any joint committee established by a joint or concurrent 
resolution of the two 


Use of committee funds for travel

  While under this clause the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 
may issue subpoenas in investigating the conduct of a Member, officer or 
employee of the House (the extent of the committee's jurisdiction under 
rule X), where the House mandates a possible investigation by that 
committee of other persons not directly associated with the House, the 
committee's jurisdiction is thereby enlarged and a broader subpoena 
authority must be conferred on the committee (Mar. 3, 1976, p. 5165). 
Subparagraph (2)(B) has been interpreted to require authorization by the 
full House before a subcommittee chairman could intervene in a law suit 
in order to gain access to documents subpoenaed by the subcommittee. In 
re Beef Industry Antitrust Litigation, 589 F.2d 786 (5th Cir. 1979).

  (n)(1) Funds authorized for a committee under clause 5 are for 
expenses incurred in the committee's activities; however, local 
currencies owned by the United States shall be made available to the 
committee and its employees engaged in carrying out their official 
duties outside the United States, its territories or possessions. No 
appropriated funds, including those authorized under clause 5, shall be 
expended for the purpose of defraying expenses of members of the 
committee or its employees in any country where local currencies are 
available for this purpose; and the following conditions shall apply 
with respect to travel outside the United States or its territories or 
possessions:


[[Page 508]]

maximum per diem set forth in applicable Federal law, or if the Member 
or employee is reimbursed for any expenses for such day, then the lesser 
of the per diem or the actual, unreimbursed expenses (other than for 
transportation) incurred by the Member or employee during that day.


Sec. 719a. Committee travel.

      (A)  No member or employee 
of the committee shall receive or expend local currencies for 
subsistence in any country for any day at a rate in excess of the 




Sec. 719b. Travel reports.

      (B)  Each member or employee 
of the committee shall make to the chairman of the committee an itemized 
report showing the dates each country was visited, the amount of per 
diem furnished, the cost of transportation furnished, any funds expended 
for any other official purpose and shall summarize in these categories 
the total foreign currencies and/or appropriated funds expended. All 
such individual reports shall be filed no later than sixty days 
following the completion of travel with the chairman of the committee 
for use in complying with reporting requirements in applicable Federal 
law and shall be open for public inspection.



[[Page 509]]

transportation) incurred, by the Member or employee during any day.
  (2) In carrying out the committee's activities outside the United 
States in any country where local currencies are unavailable, a member 
or employee of the committee may not receive reimbursement for expenses 
(other than for transportation) in excess of the maximum per diem set 
forth in applicable Federal law, or if the member or employee is 
reimbursed for any expenses for such day, then the lesser of the per 
diem or the actual, unreimbursed expenses (other than for 

  (3) A member or employee of a committee may not receive reimbursement 
for the cost of any transportation in connection with travel outside of 
the United States unless the member or employee has actually paid for 
the transportation.

  (4) The restrictions respecting travel outside of the United States 
set forth in subparagraphs (2) and (3) shall also apply to travel 
outside of the United States by Members, officers, and employees of the 
House authorized under clause 8 of rule I, clause 1(b) of this rule, or 
any other provision of these Rules of the House of Representatives.

  (5) No local currencies owned by the United States may be made 
available under this paragraph for the use outside of the United States 
for defraying the expenses of a member of any committee after--

          (A) the date of the general election of Members in which the 
Member has not been elected to the succeeding Congress; or


          (B) in the case of a Member who is not a candidate in such 
general election, the earlier of the date of such general election or 
the adjournment sine die of the last regular session of the Congress.


[[Page 510]]

(H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70) to 
clarify the availability of local currencies for travel outside the 
United States and its territories and possessions, to require reports 
within 60 days for use in complying with statutory reporting 
requirements, and to authorize the Committee on House Administration 
(now House Oversight) to recommend in expense resolutions expenses for 
foreign as well as domestic travel. Clause (n)(1)(A) was further amended 
on March 2, 1977 (H. Res. 287, 95th Cong., pp. 5933-53) to limit all 
travel expenses to the maximum per diem rate or actual, unreimbursed 
expenses, whichever is less. As indicated in clause 1(b), the authority 
to incur expenses (including travel expenses) is subject to the adoption 
of expense resolutions reported from the Committee on House Oversight as 
required by clause 5 of rule XI.
  Prior to the adoption of clause (n) and of clause 1(b) of rule XI 
under the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 
(H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), each committee was 
given separate authority to incur expenses in connection with their 
investigations and studies, and certain committees were authorized to 
use local currencies for foreign committee travel, in resolutions 
reported from the Committee on Rules in each Congress. This clause was 
amended in the 95th Congress 


  Under section 502(b) of the Mutual Security Act of 1954 (22 U.S.C. 
1754, as amended by sec. 22, P.L. 95-384), foreign local currencies 
owned or purchased by the United States may be used for foreign travel 
expenses by members or employees of standing or select committees when 
authorized by the chairman thereof, and by other Members or employees 
when authorized by the Speaker. Consolidated committee reports prepared 
on a quarterly basis, and individual reports required within 30 days 
after the travel involved, must be forwarded to the Clerk of the House 
and published in the Congressional Record.


             Broadcasting of Committee Hearings and Meetings



Sec. 720.

  3.  (a) It is the purpose of this clause to provide 
a means, in conformity with acceptable standards of dignity, propriety, 
and decorum, by which committee hearings, or committee meetings, which 
are open to the public may be covered, by television broadcast, radio 
broadcast, and still photography, or by any of such methods of 
coverage--



[[Page 511]]

and its committees, the consideration thereof, and the action taken 
thereon; and
      (1) for the education, enlightenment, and information of the 
general public, on the basis of accurate and impartial news coverage, 
regarding the operations, procedures, and practices of the House as a 
legislative and representative body and regarding the measures, public 
issues, and other matters before the House 

      (2) for the development of the perspective and understanding of 
the general public with respect to the role and function of the House 
under the Constitution of the United States as an organ of the Federal 
Government.

  (b) In addition, it is the intent of this clause that radio and 
television tapes and television film of any coverage under this clause 
shall not be used, or made available for use, as partisan political 
campaign material to promote or oppose the candidacy of any person for 
elective public office.



Sec. 721. Media coverage.

  (c)  It is, further, the intent of 
this clause that the general conduct of each meeting (whether of a 
hearing or otherwise) covered, under authority of this clause, by 
television broadcast, radio broadcast, and still photography, or by any 
of such methods of coverage, and the personal behavior of the committee 
members and staff, other Government officials and personnel, witnesses, 
television, radio, and press media personnel, and the general public at 
the hearing or other meeting shall be in strict conformity with and 
observance of the acceptable standards of dignity, propriety, courtesy, 
and decorum traditionally observed by the House in its operations and 
shall not be such as to--



[[Page 512]]

hearing or meeting or in connection with the general work of the 
committee or of the House; or
      (1) distort the objects and purposes of the hearing or other 
meeting or the activities of committee members in connection with that 

      (2) cast discredit or dishonor on the House, the committee, or any 
Member or bring the House, the committee, or any Member into disrepute.

  (d) The coverage of committee hearings and meetings by television 
broadcast, radio broadcast, or still photography shall be permitted and 
conducted only in strict conformity with the purposes, provisions, and 
requirements of this clause.



Sec. 722. When permitted.

  (e)  Whenever a hearing or meeting 
conducted by any committee or subcommittee of the House is open to the 
public, those proceedings shall be open to coverage by television, 
radio, and still photography, except as provided in paragraph (f)(2). A 
committee or subcommittee chairman may not limit the number of 
television or still cameras to fewer than two representatives from each 
medium (except for legitimate space or safety considerations, in which 
case pool coverage shall be authorized).




Sec. 723. Committee rules.

  (f)  Each committee of the House 
shall adopt written rules to govern its implementation of this clause. 
Such rules shall include provisions to the following effect:



[[Page 513]]

      (1) If the television or radio coverage of the hearing or meeting 
is to be presented to the public as live coverage, that coverage shall 
be conducted and presented without commercial sponsorship.

      (2) No witness served with a subpoena by the committee shall be 
required against his or her will to be photographed at any hearing or to 
give evidence or testimony while the broadcasting of that hearing, by 
radio or television, is being conducted. At the request of any such 
witness who does not wish to be subjected to radio, television, or still 
photography coverage, all lenses shall be covered and all microphones 
used for coverage turned off. This subparagraph is supplementary to 
clause 2(k)(5) of this rule, relating to the protection of the rights of 
witnesses.

      (3) The allocation among the television media of the positions of 
the number of television cameras permitted by a committee or 
subcommittee chairman in a hearing or meeting room shall be in 
accordance with fair and equitable procedures devised by the Executive 
Committee of the Radio and Television Correspondents' Galleries.

      (4) Television cameras shall be placed so as not to obstruct in 
any way the space between any witness giving evidence or testimony and 
any member of the committee or the visibility of that witness and that 
member to each other.


[[Page 514]]

      (5) Television cameras shall operate from fixed positions but 
shall not be placed in positions which obstruct unnecessarily the 
coverage of the hearing or meeting by the other media.

      (6) Equipment necessary for coverage by the television and radio 
media shall not be installed in, or removed from, the hearing or meeting 
room while the committee is in session.

      (7) Floodlights, spotlights, strobelights, and flashguns shall not 
be used in providing any method of coverage of the hearing or meeting, 
except that the television media may install additional lighting in the 
hearing or meeting room, without cost to the Government, in order to 
raise the ambient lighting level in the hearing or meeting room to the 
lowest level necessary to provide adequate television coverage of the 
hearing or meeting at the then current state of the art of television 
coverage.



Sec. 724. Press photographers.

      (8)  In the allocation of 
the number of still photographers permitted by a committee or 
subcommittee chairman in a hearing or meeting room, preference shall be 
given to photographers from Associated Press Photos and United Press 
International Newspictures. If requests are made by more of the media 
than will be permitted by a committee or subcommittee chairman for 
coverage of the hearing or meeting by still photography, that coverage 
shall be made on the basis of a fair and equitable pool arrangement 
devised by the Standing Committee of Press Photographers.



[[Page 515]]

hearing or meeting, between the witness table and the members of the 
committee.
      (9) Photographers shall not position themselves, at any time 
during the course of the 

      (10) Photographers shall not place themselves in positions which 
obstruct unnecessarily the coverage of the hearing by the other media.



Sec. 725. Accreditation.

      (11)  Personnel providing 
coverage by the television and radio media shall be then currently 
accredited to the Radio and Television Correspondents' Galleries.


      (12) Personnel providing coverage by still photography shall be 
then currently accredited to the Press Photographers' Gallery.


      (13) Personnel providing coverage by the television and radio 
media and by still photography shall conduct themselves and their 
coverage activities in an orderly and unobtrusive manner.


[[Page 516]]

----). Later in the 104th Congress clause 3 was again amended to make 
conforming changes in its heading and in paragraph (f) (H. Res. 254, 
Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----).

  The rule permitting broadcasting of committee hearings was contained 
in section 116(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 
Stat. 1140) and became part of the rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). In the 93d Congress (H. Res. 1107, July 22, 
1974, p. 24447), the rule was amended to permit committees to adopt 
rules allowing coverage of committee meetings as well as hearings. 
Paragraphs (e), (f)(3), (f)(5), and (f)(8) of this clause were amended 
in the 99th Congress to remove the limit on the number of television 
cameras (previously four) and press photographers (previously five) 
covering committee proceedings, and to provide the committee or 
subcommittee chairman with the discretion to determine the appropriate 
number (H. Res. 7, Jan. 3, 1985, p. 393). At the beginning of the 104th 
Congress paragraph (d) was amended to delete the former characterization 
of broadcast and photographic coverage of committee meetings and 
hearings as ``a privilege made available by the House,'' and paragraph 
(e) was amended to eliminate the requirement that a committee vote to 
permit broadcast and photographic coverage of open hearings and meetings 
and to prohibit chairmen from limiting coverage to less than two 
representatives from each medium, except where space or safety 
considerations warrant pool coverage (sec. 105, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 


                    Privileged Reports and Amendments


[[Page 517]]



Sec. 726.

  4.  (a) The following committees shall have leave 
to report at any time on the matters herein stated, namely: The 
Committee on Appropriations--on general appropriation bills and on joint 
resolutions continuing appropriations for a fiscal year if reported 
after September 15 preceding the beginning of such fiscal year; the 
Committee on the Budget--on the matters required to be reported by such 
committee under Titles III and IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974; the Committee on House Oversight--on enrolled bills, contested 
elections, and all matters referred to it of printing for the use of the 
House or the two Houses, and on all matters of expenditure of the 
applicable accounts of the House described in clause 1(h)(1) of rule X, 
and on all matters relating to preservation and availability of 
noncurrent records of the House under rule XXXVI; the Committee on 
Rules--on rules, joint rules, and the order of business; and the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct--on resolutions recommending 
action by the House of Representatives with respect to an individual 
Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives as a result 
of any investigation by the committee relating to the official conduct 
of such Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives.


  The origins of this rule appear as early as 1812, but it was in 1886 
that the various provisions were consolidated in one rule. The rule was 
amended by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), on 
February 2, 1951 (p. 883), and by the Committee Reform Amendments of 
1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, 
p. 34470). On the latter date the privileges given to the Committee on 
Interior and Insular Affairs on bills for the forfeiture of land grants 
to railroad and other corporations, preventing speculation in the public 
lands and reserving public lands for the benefit of actual and bona fide 
settlers, and for the admission of new States, to the Committee on 
Public Works on bills authorizing the improvement of rivers and harbors, 
to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs on general pension bills, and to 
the Committee on Ways and Means on bills raising revenue, were 
eliminated from the rule. In the 94th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 
1975, p. 20), the rule was further amended to reinsert ``contested 
elections'' under the authority of the Committee on House Administration 
(now House Oversight), a matter inadvertently omitted by the 93d 
Congress (H. Res. 988, Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). The rule was amended in 
the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 98-113) to permit joint 
resolutions continuing appropriations to be privileged if reported after 
a certain date. In the 101st Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1989, p. 72), 
the rule was amended to include under the authority of the Committee on 
House Administration (now House Oversight) all matters relating to 
preservation and availability of noncurrent House records. In the 104th 
Congress it was amended to reflect the new name of the Committee on 
House Oversight (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 
105th Congress it was amended to update an archaic reference to the 
``contingent fund'' (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 518]]

rules, and the order of business, under clause 4(b) of this rule, 
reports from the Committee on House Oversight on committee expense 
resolutions, under clause 5(a) of this rule, and reports constituting 
questions of privilege (see generally Deschler's Precedents, vol. 3, ch. 
14, sec. 7.4, fn. 10, discussing ruling of Speaker Albert, July 13, 
1971, on a reported contempt) are exempt from the requirements of clause 
2(l)(6) (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). Other 
committees enumerated in this clause may still utilize the privilege 
after the report on the bill or resolution has been available for at 
least three calendar days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal 
holidays). Once called up for consideration, the matter so reported 
remains privileged until disposed of (IV, 3145). The House proceeds to 
the consideration of privileged questions only on motion directed to be 
made by the several committees reporting such questions (VIII, 2310). 
Privileged questions reported adversely have the same status so far as 
their privilege is concerned as those reported favorably (VI, 413; VIII, 
2310).
  At the time these privileges originated all reports were made on the 
floor, and often with great difficulty because of the pressure of 
business (IV, 4621), and by giving this privilege the most important 
matters of business were greatly expedited. In 1890 a rule was adopted 
providing that reports should be made by filing with the Clerk, but 
privileged reports must still be made from the floor (IV, 3146; VIII, 
2230). A privileged report from the Committee on Rules may be filed at 
any time when the House is in session, including during special order 
speeches (Oct. 14, 1986, p. 30861). Prior to the original adoption of 
the provisions contained in clause 2(l)(6) of the rule XI in the 92d 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144), the right of reporting at 
any time was held to give the right of immediate consideration by the 
House (IV, 3131, 3132, 3142-47; VIII, 2291, 2312). However, from that 
date until the effective date of the present provisions of clause 
2(l)(6) on January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 
34470), only the Committees on House Administration (now House 
Oversight), Rules (subject to the two-thirds vote requirement of clause 
4(b) of rule XI), and Standards of Official Conduct could call up a 
matter in the House for immediate consideration as soon as the report 
was filed. Now only reports from the Committee on Rules on rules, joint 



Sec. 727. Privileged reports defined.

  The  matters reported 
under the provisions of this clause are denominated ``privileged 
reports'' or ``privileged questions,'' and since the privilege relates 
merely to the order of business under the rules, they must be 
distinguished from ``questions of privilege'' which relate to the safety 
or dignity of the House itself defined in rule IX (III, 2718). 
Therefore, ``questions of privilege'' take precedence over these matters 
which are privileged under the rules (III, 2426-2530; V, 6454; VIII, 
3465).


  Privileged questions interrupt the regular order of business as 
established by rule XXIV, but when they are disposed of the regular 
order continues on from the point of interruption (IV, 3070, 3071). But 
the Speaker has declined to allow a call of committees to be interrupted 
by a privileged report (IV, 3132). The presence of matter not privileged 
with privileged matter destroys the privileged character of a bill (IV, 
4622, 4624, 4633, 4640, 4643; VIII, 2289; Speaker Rayburn, May 21, 1958, 
pp. 9212-16), or resolution (VIII, 2300), and when the text of a bill 
contains nonprivileged matter, privilege may not be created by a 
committee amendment in the nature of a substitute not containing the 
nonprivileged matter (IV, 4623).

  The House may give a committee leave to report at any time only by the 
process of changing the rules (III, 1770).


[[Page 519]]

on the Calendar (VIII, 2259; Speaker McCormack, Aug. 19, 1964, pp. 
20212-13). The authority to report special orders of business includes 
authority to recommend consideration of measures and amendments thereto 
the subject of which might be separately pending before a standing 
committee (Apr. 15, 1986, p. 7531); to make in order the consideration 
of the text of an introduced bill as original text in a reported bill 
(Oct. 9, 1986, p. 29973); to permit consideration of a previously 
unnumbered and unsponsored measure which comes into existence by virtue 
of adoption by the House of the special order (Speaker O'Neill, Apr. 
16, 1986, p. 7610); to recommend a ``hereby'' resolution, e.g., that a 
concurrent resolution correcting the enrollment of a bill be considered 
as adopted by the House upon the adoption of the special order (Speaker 
Wright, May 4, 1988, p. 9865), or that a Senate amendment pending at the 
Speaker's table and otherwise requiring consideration in Committee of the 
Whole under clause 1 of rule XX be ``hereby'' considered as adopted upon 
adoption of the special order (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 6, ch. 21, 
sec. 16.11; Feb. 4, 1993, p. ----); to provide that an amendment 
containing an appropriation in violation of clause 5(a) of rule XXI be 
considered as adopted in the House when the reported bill is under 
consideration (Feb. 24, 1993, p. ----); to provide that an amendment 
containing an appropriation in violation of clause 2 of rule XXI be 
considered as adopted in the House when the reported bill is under 
consideration (July 27, 1993, p. ----); and to provide that a nongermane 
amendment otherwise in violation of clause 7 of rule XVI be considered 
as adopted in the House when the bill is under consideration (Feb. 24, 
1993, p. ----; July 27, 1993, p. ----). The Committee on Rules has also 
reported as privileged a joint resolution repealing a statutory joint 
rule (mandatory July adjournment, section 132 of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946) (July 27, 1990, p. 20178). The Committee on 
Rules has reported as privileged a special order of business nearly 
identical to one previously rejected by the House, but held not to 
constitute ``another of the same substance'' within the meaning of 
Jefferson's section XLIII (reconsideration) because it provided a 
different scheme for general debate (July 27, 1993, p. ----).


Sec. 728. The privilege of individual committees for 
reports.

  The  privilege given by this clause to the Committee on Rules is 
confined to ``action touching rules, joint rules, and order of 
business'' and this committee may not report as privileged a concurrent 
resolution providing for a Senate investigating committee (VIII, 2255), 
or provide for the appointment of a clerk (VIII, 2256); but the 
privilege has been held to include the right to report special orders 
for the consideration of individual bills or classes of bills (V, 6774), 
or the consideration of a specified amendment to a bill and prescribing 
a mode of considering such amendment (VIII, 2258). A special rule 
providing for the consideration of a bill is not invalidated by the fact 
that at the time the rule was reported, the bill was not 


  A resolution consisting solely of privileged matter, albeit in two 
separate jurisdictions empowered to report at any time under clause 
4(a), has been referred to a primary committee, reported therefrom as 
privileged, referred sequentially, and reported as privileged from the 
sequential committee as well (H. Res. 258, 102d Cong., Nov. 8, 1991, p. 
30979, Nov. 19, 1991, p. 32903).


[[Page 520]]

  The right of the Committee on Appropriations to report at any time is 
confined strictly to general appropriation bills (IV, 4629-4632; VIII, 
2282-2284) and does not include appropriations for specific purposes 
(VIII, 2285). Before privilege was extended to continuing appropriation 
bills (in 1981), the rule was not construed to extend to resolutions 
extending appropriations (VIII, 2282-2284).


  Reports from the Committee on House Administration (now House 
Oversight) authorizing appropriations from the Treasury directly for 
compensation of employees (IV, 4645) or fixing the salaries of employees 
are not privileged (VIII, 2302).




Sec. 729a. Reports from Committee on Rules.

  (b)  It shall 
always be in order to call up for consideration a report from the 
Committee on Rules on a rule, joint rule, or the order of business 
(except it shall not be called up for consideration on the same day it 
is presented to the House, unless so determined by a vote of not less 
than two-thirds of the Members voting, but this provision shall not 
apply during the last three days of the session), and, pending the 
consideration thereof, the Speaker may entertain one motion that the 
House adjourn; but after the result is announced the Speaker shall not 
entertain any other dilatory motion until the report shall have been 
fully disposed of. The Committee on Rules shall not report any rule or 
order which provides that business under clause 7 of rule XXIV shall be 
set aside by a vote of less than two-thirds of the Members present; nor 
shall it report any rule or order which would prevent the motion to 
recommit from being made as provided in clause 4 of rule XVI, including 
a motion to recommit with instructions to report back an amendment 
otherwise in order (if offered by the Minority Leader or a designee), 
except with respect to a Senate bill or resolution for which the text of 
a House-passed measure has been substituted.



[[Page 521]]

privilege of reporting at any time to this 
committee for a session (IV, 4650). In 1890 the committee was included 
among the committees whose reports were privileged by rule. The present 
rule was adopted in 1892 (IV, 4621), amended on March 15, 1909, the 
matter in parentheses was adopted January 18, 1924 (pp. 1139, 1141), and 
the rule was further amended by the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, 
effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 
34470), to limit its application to reports from the Committee on Rules 
on rules, joint rules and orders of business. In the 104th Congress the 
last sentence of paragraph (b) was amended to prohibit the Committee on 
Rules from recommending a rule or order that would prevent a motion by 
the Minority Leader or his designee to recommit with instructions to 
report back an amendment otherwise in order except in the case of a 
Senate bill or resolution for which the text of a House-passed measure 
is being substituted (sec. 210, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). For 
rulings under the earlier form of the rule, see Sec. 729c, infra.
  The Committee on Rules, ``by uniform practice of the House,'' 
exercised the privilege of reporting at any time as early as 1888. The 
right to report at any time is confined to privileged matters (VIII, 
2255). This was probably the survival of a practice which existed as 
early as 1853 of giving the 

  Pursuant to this clause, a privileged report from the Committee on 
Rules may be considered on the same legislative day only by a two-thirds 
vote, but a report properly filed by the committee at any time prior to 
the convening of the House on the next legislative day may be called up 
for immediate consideration without the two-thirds requirement (Speaker 
Albert, July 31, 1975, p. 26243), including a report filed during 
special order speeches after legislative business on that prior 
legislative day (Oct. 14, 1986, p. 30861), and if the House continues in 
session into a second calendar day and then meets again that day, or 
convenes for two legislative days on the same calendar day, any report 
filed on the first legislative day may be called up on the second 
without the question of consideration being raised (Speaker O'Neill, 
Dec. 16, 1985, p. 36755; Speaker Wright, Oct. 29, 1987, p. 29937). This 
paragraph does not require that a privileged resolution, and the report 
thereon, from the Committee on Rules be printed before it is called up 
for consideration (Speaker O'Neill, Feb. 2, 1977, p. 3344).

  In the case of certain resolutions reported from the Committee on 
Rules, the two-thirds vote requirement for consideration on the same day 
reported does not apply. Clause 2(l)(6) of rule XI provides for the 
immediate consideration of a resolution from the Rules Committee waiving 
the requirement that copies of reports and reported measures be 
available for three days before their consideration, and clauses 2(a) 
and (b) of rule XXVIII provide for the immediate consideration of a 
resolution from the Rules Committee waiving the requirement that copies 
of conferences reports or amendments reported from conference in 
disagreement be available for two hours before their consideration (see 
Aug. 10, 1984, p. 23978).


[[Page 522]]

if a report from the Committee on Rules contained 
substantive propositions, a separate vote could be had on each 
proposition (VIII, 2271, 2272, 2274, 3167); but these decisions were 
nullified by the adoption of the proviso to clause 6 of rule XVI. A 
report from the Committee on Rules takes precedence over a motion to 
consider a measure which is ``highly privileged'' pursuant to a statute 
enacted as an exercise in the rulemaking authority of the House, 
acknowledging the Constitutional authority of the House to change it 
rules at any time (Speaker Wright, Mar. 11, 1987, p. 5403). Before the 
House adopts rules, the Speaker may recognize a Member to offer for 
immediate consideration a special order providing for the consideration 
of a resolution adopting the rules (V, 5450; Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).
  Although highly privileged, a report from the Committee on Rules 
yields to questions of privilege (VIII, 3491; Mar. 11, 1987, p. 5403), 
and is not in order after the House has voted to go into Committee of 
the Whole (V, 6781). Also a conference report has precedence of it, even 
when the yeas and nays and previous question have been ordered (V, 
6449). Formerly 

  The Committee on Rules may report and call up as privileged 
resolutions temporarily waiving or altering any rule of the House, 
including statutory provisions enacted as an exercise of the House's 
rule-making authority which would otherwise prohibit the consideration 
of a bill being made in order by the resolution. (Speaker Albert, Mar. 
20, 1975, p. 7676; Mar. 24, 1975, p. 8418), or which would otherwise 
establish an exclusive procedure for consideration of a particular type 
of measure (Speaker O'Neill, Apr. 16, 1986, p. 7610; Speaker Wright, 
Mar. 11, 1987, p. 5403). No rule of the House precludes the Committee on 
Rules from reporting a special order making in order specified 
amendments that have not been preprinted as otherwise required by an 
announced policy of that committee (Oct. 23, 1991, p. 28097). No point 
of order lies against a resolution reported from the Committee on Rules 
that waives points of order against a measure or provides special 
procedures for its consideration, where no law constituting a rule of 
the House prohibits consideration of such a resolution (resolution 
providing for consideration of a budget resolution, where a statute, 
Public Law 96-389, reaffirmed Congressional commitment to balanced 
Federal budgets but did not dictate what legislation could be considered 
or otherwise constitute a rule of the House) (June 10, 1982, p. 13353).

  The Chair has declined to entertain a unanimous-consent request to 
alter a special order previously adopted by the House to admit an 
additional (nongermane) amendment during further consideration of a bill 
unless assured of certain clearances, consistent with the Speaker's 
announced policy (see Sec. 757, infra) of conferring recognition for 
unanimous-consent requests for the consideration of unreported bills and 
resolutions only when assured that the majority and minority floor and 
committee leaderships have no objection (Nov. 14, 1991, p. 32083).


[[Page 523]]

consideration or a motion to lay the pending resolution on 
the table (V, 5739); and (3) the motion to postpone to a day certain 
(Oct. 9, 1986, p. 29972). A motion to reconsider the vote on ordering 
the previous question has been held not dilatory (V, 5739). Before 
debate has begun on a report from the Committee on Rules, a question of 
the privileges of the House takes precedence (VIII, 3491; Mar. 11, 1987, 
p. 5403). In the event that the previous question is rejected on a 
privileged resolution from the Committee on Rules, the provisions of 
clause 4(b) prohibiting ``dilatory'' motions no longer strictly apply; 
the resolution is subject to amendment, further debate, or a motion to 
table or refer, and the Member who lead the opposition to the previous 
question has the prior right to recognition (Oct. 19, 1966, pp. 27713, 
27725-29; May 29, 1980, pp. 12667-78), subject to being preempted by a 
preferential motion offered by another Member (Aug. 13, 1982, pp. 20969, 
20975-78). The member of the Committee on Rules calling up a privileged 
resolution on behalf of the Committee may offer an amendment, and House 
rules do not require a specific authorization from the Committee (Sept. 
25, 1990, p. 25575). A motion to table such a pending amendment is 
dilatory and not in order under clause 4(b) of rule XI, but the motion 
to reconsider the vote on ordering the previous question on the rule and 
amendment thereto is not (see V, 5739; Sept. 25, 1990, p. 25575), and 
may be laid on the table without carrying with it the resolution itself 
(Sept. 25, 1990, p. 25575). Only one motion to adjourn is admissible 
during the consideration of a report from the Committee on Rules (July 
23, 1997, p. ----), and the motion may not be made when another Member 
has the floor (Sept. 27, 1993, p. ----). Where the House adjourns during 
the consideration of a report from the Committee on Rules, further 
consideration of the report becomes the unfinished business on the 
following day, and debate resumes from the point where interrupted 
(Sept. 27, 1993, p. ----; Sept. 28, 1993, p. ----). The Chair has held 
that a virtually consecutive invocation of rule XXX, resulting in a 
second pair of votes on use of a chart and on reconsideration thereof, 
was not dilatory under clause 4(b) (or clause 10 of rule XVI) (July 31, 
1996, p. ----).


Sec. 729b. Dilatory motions not permitted.

  In  the later 
practice it has been held that the question of consideration may not be 
raised against a report from the Committee on Rules (V, 4961-4963; VIII, 
2440, 2441). The clause forbidding dilatory motions has been construed 
strictly  (V, 5740-5742), and in the later practice the following have 
been excluded: (1) the motion to commit after the ordering of the 
previous question (V, 5593-5601; VIII, 2270, 2750; Feb. 22, 1984, p. 
2965); (2) an appeal from the Chair's decision not to entertain the 
question of 


  A motion to recommit a special rule from the Committee on Rules is not 
in order (VIII, 2270, 2753).


[[Page 524]]

(without instructions) (sustained by 
tabling of appeal, Oct. 16, 1990, p. 29657; sustained by tabling of 
appeal, Feb. 26, 1992, p. ----; Speaker Foley, sustained by tabling of 
appeal, May 7, 1992, p. ----; Speaker Foley, sustained by tabling of 
appeal, June 16, 1992, p. ----; Nov. 21, 1993, p. ----; Nov. 22, 1993, 
p. ----). A special order providing for consideration of a bill under 
suspension of the rules does not prevent a motion to recommit from being 
made ``as provided in clause 4 of rule XVI,'' i.e., after the previous 
question is ordered on passage, a procedure not applicable to a motion 
to suspend the rules (Speaker Foley, June 21, 1990, p. 15229). See 
Deschler's Precedents, vol. 6, ch. 21, sec. 26.11; see generally 
Deschler's Precedents, vol. 7, ch. 23, sec. 25.


Sec. 729c. Restrictions on authority of Committee on 
Rules.

  From  1934 until the amendment of clause 4(b) in the 104th Congress 
(sec. 210, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----), it was consistently held 
that the Committee on Rules could recommend a special order that 
limited, but did not totally prohibit, a motion to recommit pending 
passage of a bill or joint resolution, as by precluding the motion from 
containing instructions relating to specified amendments (Speaker 
Rainey, sustained on appeal, Jan. 11, 1934, pp. 479-83); or by omitting 
to preserve the availability of amendatory instructions in the case that 
the bill is entirely rewritten by the adoption of a substitute made in 
order as original text (Speaker Foley, June 4, 1991, p. 13170; Speaker 
Foley, Nov. 25, 1991, p. 34460); or by expressly allowing only a simple 
(``straight'') motion to recommit 


  The caveat against including in a special order matter privileged to 
be reported by another committee (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 6, ch. 21, 
sec. 17.13) does not extend to a ``hereby'' resolution (e.g., that a 
concurrent resolution correcting the enrollment of a bill within the 
jurisdiction of another committee be considered as adopted by the House 
upon the adoption of the special order), so long as not precluding the 
motion to recommit a bill or joint resolution (Speaker Wright, May 4, 
1988, p. 9865).

  A special rule providing that a House bill with Senate amendments be 
taken from the Speaker's table, that the Senate amendments be disagreed 
to, that the Senate's request for a conference be agreed to, and that 
the Speaker appoint conferees without intervening motion, is not in 
violation of clause 4(b) of rule XI, since not precluding a motion to 
recommit after the ordering of the previous question on passage of the 
bill, and since the motion to recommit the conference report would 
remain available (VIII, 2266); but where such a resolution provided for 
the appointment of conferees without intervening motion in the case 
where the House is to ask for a conference, giving the Senate the right 
of first acting on the conference report, it was held in contravention 
of the rule because it both precluded a motion to commit the Senate 
amendment before conference and permitted the Senate to act first on the 
conference report, thereby denying the minority of the House any 
opportunity of making a motion to recommit (VIII, 2264).

  While the Committee on Rules is forbidden to report special orders 
abrogating the Calendar Wednesday rule or excluding the motion to 
recommit after the previous question, a resolution making possible that 
ultimate result by permitting motions to suspend the rules for a week 
was held in order (VIII, 2267).


[[Page 525]]

U.S.C. 658d), and precludes the consideration of a rule or order waiving 
such points of order in the House (sec. 426(a); 2 U.S.C. 658e(a)). See 
Sec. 1007, infra.



Sec. 729d. Unfunded mandates.

  The  Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4; 109 Stat. 48 et seq.) added a new part B to 
title IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658-658g) 
that, effective on January 1, 1996, or 90 days after appropriations are 
made available to the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to the 1995 
Act (whichever is earlier), imposes several requirements on committees 
with respect to ``Federal mandates'' (secs. 423-424; 2 U.S.C. 658b-c), 
establishes points of order to enforce those requirements (sec. 425; 2 



[[Page 526]]

tion for that purpose as a question of the highest 
privilege.



Sec. 730. Filing reports.

  (c)  The Committee on Rules shall 
present to the House reports concerning rules, joint rules, and order of 
business, within three legislative days of the time when the bill or 
resolution involved is ordered reported by the committee. If any such 
rule or order is not considered immediately, it shall be referred to the 
calendar and, if not called up by the Member making the report within 
seven legislative days thereafter, any member of the Committee on Rules 
may call it up as a question of privilege (but only on the day after the 
calendar day on which such Member announces to the House his intention 
to do so) and the Speaker shall recognize any member of the Committee on 
Rules seeking recognition for that purpose. If the Committee on Rules 
makes an adverse report on any resolution pending before the committee, 
providing for an order of business for the consideration by the House of 
any public bill or joint resolution, on days when it shall be in order 
to call up motions to discharge committees it shall be in order for any 
Member of the House to call up for consideration by the House such 
adverse report, and it shall be in order to move the adoption by the 
House of such resolution adversely reported notwithstanding the adverse 
report of the Committee on Rules, and the Speaker shall recognize the 
Member seeking recogni-



  Clause 4(c) was initially adopted January 18, 1924, amended December 
8, 1931 (VIII, 2268), January 3, 1949 (p. 16), January 3, 1951 (p. 18), 
January 4, 1965 (p. 24) (inserting the so-called ``21-day rule''), 
January 10, 1967 (H. Res. 7, p. 28) (deleting the ``21-day rule'' in 
effect in the 89th Congress), January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., 
Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). A special order reported from the Committee on 
Rules and not called up within seven legislative days may be called up 
by any member of that Committee, including a minority member (Nov. 13, 
1979, p. 32185; May 6, 1982, p. 8905). In the 100th Congress this 
paragraph was amended to require the member of the Committee on Rules 
calling up a report seven legislative days after its filing to have 
given one calendar day's notice to the House (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1987, 
p. 6).



Sec. 731. Comparative print.

  (d)  Whenever the Committee on 
Rules reports a resolution repealing or amending any of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives or part thereof it shall include in its report 
or in an accompanying document--


      (1) the text of any part of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives which is proposed to be repealed; and


      (2) a comparative print of any part of the resolution making such 
an amendment and any part of the Rules of the House of Representatives 
to be amended, showing by an appropriate typographical device the 
omissions and insertions proposed to be made.


[[Page 527]]

in House rules on enactment of the bill into law, but not itself 
repealing or amending any rule (May 27, 1993, p. ----).

  Clause 4(d) was added to the rules under the Committee Reform 
Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., 
Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), and is similar to the ``Ramseyer Rule'' 
requirements of clause 3 of rule XIII relating to bills and joint 
resolutions repealing or amending existing law. This clause is 
applicable to resolutions reported from the Committee on Rules which 
propose direct permanent repeal or amendment of a rule of the House, but 
does not apply to resolutions providing temporary waivers of rules 
during the consideration of particular legislative business (Speaker 
Albert, Mar. 20, 1975, p. 7676; Mar. 24, 1975, p. 8418), or to a special 
order of business resolution providing for the consideration of a bill 
with textual modifications that would effect certain changes 




Sec. 731a. Specifying waivers.

  (e)  Whenever the Committee on 
Rules reports a resolution providing for the consideration of any 
measure, it shall, to the maximum extent possible, specify in the 
resolution the object of any waiver of a point of order against the 
measure or against its consideration.



  Paragraph (e) was adopted in this form in the 104th Congress (sec. 
211, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 95th and 96th Congresses 
clause 4 included a paragraph (e) relating to the Speaker's authority to 
postpone proceedings on reports from the Committee on Rules, but that 
provision was among those consolidated in clause 5(b)(1) of rule I in 
the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 98-113).


                           Committee Expenses


[[Page 528]]

bers of the House for at least one calendar day prior to the 
consideration of that resolution in the House. Such report shall, for 
the information of the House--


Sec. 732a. Primary expense resolution.

  5.  (a) Whenever any 
committee, commission, or other entity (except the Committee on 
Appropriations) is to be granted authorization for the payment of its 
expenses (including all staff salaries) for a Congress, such 
authorization initially shall be procured by one primary expense 
resolution reported by the Committee on House Oversight. A 
primary <> expense resolution 
may include a reserve fund for unanticipated expenses of committees. An 
amount from such a reserve fund may be allocated to a committee only by 
the approval of the Committee on House Oversight. A primary expense 
resolution reported to the House shall not be considered in the House 
unless a printed report on that resolution has been available to the 
Mem-


      (1) state the total amount of the funds to be provided to the 
committee, commission or other entity under the primary expense 
resolution for all anticipated activities and programs of the committee, 
commission or other entity; and


      (2) to the extent practicable, contain such general statements 
regarding the estimated foreseeable expenditures for the respective 
anticipated activities and programs of the committee, commission or 
other entity as may be appropriate to provide the House with basic 
estimates with respect to the expenditure generally of the funds to be 
provided to the committee, commission or other entity under the primary 
expense resolution.


[[Page 529]]

least one calendar day prior to the consideration of that resolution in 
the House. Such report shall, for the information of the House--


Sec. 732c1. Additional expense resolution.

  (b) After the date of adoption by the House of any such primary 
expense  resolution 
for any such committee, commission, or other entity for any Congress, 
authorization for the payment of additional expenses (including staff 
salaries) in that Congress may be procured by one or more supplemental 
expense resolutions reported by the Committee on House Oversight, as 
necessary. Any such supplemental expense resolution reported to the 
House shall not be considered in the House unless a printed report on 
that resolution has been available to the Members of the House for at 


      (1) state the total amount of additional funds to be provided to 
the committee, commission or other entity under the supplemental expense 
resolution and the purpose or purposes for which those additional funds 
are to be used by the committee, commission or other entity; and


      (2) state the reason or reasons for the failure to procure the 
additional funds for the committee, commission or other entity by means 
of the primary expense resolution.

  (c) The preceding provisions of this clause do not apply to---



Sec. 732c2. Exception for certain initial 
funding.

      (1) any  resolution providing for the payment from committee salary 
and expense accounts of the House of sums necessary to pay compensation 
for staff services performed for, or to pay other expenses of, any 
committee, commission or other entity at any time from and after the 
beginning of any odd-numbered year and before the date of adoption by 
the House of the primary expense resolution providing funds to pay the 
expenses of that committee, commission or other entity for that 
Congress; or



[[Page 530]]

the operation of the standing committees, and 
containing an authorization for the payment from committee salary and 
expense accounts of the House of the expenses of any of the foregoing 
items provided by that resolution, subject to and until enactment of the 
provisions of the resolution as permanent law.

      (2) any resolution providing in any Congress, for all of the 
standing committees of the House, additional office equipment, airmail 
and special delivery postage stamps, supplies, staff personnel, or any 
other specific item for 

  Paragraphs (a)-(c) of this clause were originally contained in section 
110(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and 
was added to the rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 
144). Effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, 
p. 34470), the authority of all committees to incur expenses, including 
travel expenses, was made contingent upon adoption by the House of 
resolutions reported pursuant to this clause (clause 1(b) of rule XI). 
The clause was amended in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, 
pp. 53-70) to extend its applicability to all committees, commissions, 
and entities rather than just to standing committees. Paragraphs (a)-(c) 
were amended in the 104th Congress to institute biennial funding of 
committee expenses and to require that all committee staff salaries and 
expenses (including statutory staff) be authorized by expense resolution 
(sec. 101(c), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress 
paragraph (a) was amended to permit a primary expense resolution to 
include a reserve fund for unanticipated expenses of committees (H. Res. 
5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).

  The Committee on Appropriations is not covered by this clause, but is 
reimbursed by funds in appropriation acts for expenses of examinations 
of estimates of appropriations in the field (31 U.S.C. 22a). An 
exemption from this clause for the Committee on the Budget was effective 
from the enactment of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 through the 
103d Congress.

  Based on the exception stated in paragraph (c), a resolution 
establishing a task force of members of a standing committee and 
providing for the payment of its expenses from the contingent fund of 
the House (now referred to as ``applicable accounts of the House 
described in clause 1(h)(1) of rule X'') was held not to be subject to a 
point of order under clause 5(a) for lack of report language detailing 
the funding provided, since the resolution was called up at the 
beginning of the session prior to consideration of a primary expense 
resolution for all committees for that calendar year (Feb. 5, 1992, p. 
----).


[[Page 531]]

  Under clause 2(d)(2) of rule X, a committee expense resolution, or an 
amendment thereto, is not in order for a committee that has not 
submitted its oversight plans (see Sec. 692b, supra).




Sec. 732d. Funds for committee staffs; expense 
resolutions.

  (d)  From the funds made available for the appointment of 
committee staff pursuant to any primary or additional expense 
resolution, the chairman of each committee shall ensure that sufficient 
staff is made available to each subcommittee to carry out its 
responsibilities under the rules of the committee, and that the minority 
party is fairly treated in the appointment of such staff.



  Paragraph (d) was adopted in this form in the 104th Congress (sec. 
101(c)(4), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). The preceding form of the 
paragraph, first adopted in the 94th Congress, authorized the chairman 
and ranking minority member of a subcommittee each to appoint one staff 
member to the subcommittee (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20). As adopted 
in the 93d Congress to take effect on the first day of the 94th 
Congress, the paragraph had required that each standing committee, upon 
request of a majority of its minority members, devote one-third of its 
staffing funds to the needs of the minority (H. Res. 988, Oct. 8, 1974, 
p. 34470). As originally adopted in the 92d Congress, the paragraph had 
required that the minority be accorded fair consideration in the 
appointment of committee staff (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144).




Sec. 732e. Travel by members not 
reelected.

  (e) No primary expense resolution or additional expense resolution of 
a committee may provide for the  payment or reimbursement of expenses incurred by any member 
of the committee for travel by the member after the date of the general 
election of Members in which the Member is not elected to the succeeding 
Congress, or in the case of a Member who is not a candidate in such 
general election, the earlier of the date of such general election or 
the adjournment sine die of the last regular session of the Congress.



[[Page 532]]

  Paragraph (e) was adopted on March 2, 1977 (H. Res. 287, 95th Cong., 
pp. 5933-53).



Sec. 732f. Interim funding.

  (f)(1)  For continuance of 
necessary investigations and studies by--


      (A) each standing committee and select committee established by 
these rules; and

      (B) except as provided in subparagraph (2), each select committee 
established by resolution;
there shall be paid out of committee salary and expense accounts of the 
House such amounts as may be necessary for the period beginning at noon 
on January 3 and ending at midnight on March 31 in each odd-numbered 
year.

  (2) In the case of the first session of a Congress, amounts shall be 
made available under this paragraph for a select committee established 
by resolution in the preceding Congress only if--

          (A) a reestablishing resolution for such select committee is 
introduced in the present Congress; and

          (B) no resolution of the preceding Congress provided for 
termination of funding of investigations and studies by such select 
committee at or before the end of the preceding Congress.


[[Page 533]]

available under expense resolutions for such committee in the preceding 
session of Congress.
  (3) Each committee receiving amounts under this paragraph shall be 
entitled, for each month in the period specified in subparagraph (1), to 
9 per centum (or such lesser per centum as may be determined by the 
Committee on House Oversight) of the total annualized amount made 

  (4) Payments under this paragraph shall be made on vouchers authorized 
by the committee involved, signed by the chairman of such committee, 
except as provided in subparagraph (5), and approved by the Committee on 
House Oversight.

  (5) Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule of the House, or other 
authority, from noon on January 3 of the first session of a Congress, 
until the election by the House of the committee involved in that 
Congress, payments under this paragraph shall be made on vouchers signed 
by--

      (A) the chairman of such committee as constituted at the close of 
the preceding Congress; or

      (B) if such chairman is not a Member in the present Congress, the 
ranking majority party member of such committee as constituted at the 
close of the preceding Congress who is a Member in the present Congress.

  (6)(A) The authority of a committee to incur expenses under this 
paragraph shall expire upon agreement by the House to a primary expense 
resolution for such committee.

      (B) Amounts made available under this paragraph shall be expended 
in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on House 
Oversight.


[[Page 534]]

any resolution, reported by the Committee on House Oversight and 
adopted after the date of adoption of these rules.

      (C) The provisions of this paragraph shall be effective only 
insofar as not inconsistent with 

  Paragraph (f) was added to this clause in the 99th Congress, to 
provide automatic interim funding for committees at the beginning of a 
Congress (H. Res. 7, Jan. 3, 1985, p. 393). Resolutions providing such 
interim funding had been routinely adopted at the convening of Congress 
before the adoption of this standing authority. In the 100th Congress, 
paragraphs (f)(1) and (2) were amended to make the automatic committee 
funding mechanism applicable to the first three months of the second 
session of a Congress, as well as the first session, and to authorize 
the Committee on House Administration (now House Oversight) to establish 
interim funding for any committee at a percentage lower than 9 percent 
of the total annualized amount (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1987, p. 6). In the 
104th Congress paragraph (f) was amended to reflect the new name of the 
Committee on House Oversight (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 
----).


  At its organization the 104th Congress suspended the operation of 
paragraph (f) in favor of special provisions for interim funding in 
light of its abolishment of three standing committees, its reduction in 
the overall number of committee staff, and its institution of biennial 
primary expense resolutions (sec. 101(c)(3), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 
----).


                            Committee Staffs



Sec. 733a. Thirty professional staff.

  6.  (a)(1) Subject to 
subparagraph (2) and paragraph (f), each standing committee may appoint, 
by majority vote of the committee, not more than thirty professional 
staff members from the funds provided for the appointment of 
committee <> staff pursuant to primary and 
additional expense resolutions. Each professional staff member appointed 
under this subparagraph shall be assigned to the chairman and the 
ranking minority party member of such committee, as the committee 
considers advisable.



[[Page 535]]

mittee (except the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence) so request, not more than 
ten persons (or one-third of the total professional committee staff 
appointed under this clause, whichever is less) may be selected, by 
majority vote of the minority party members, for appointment by the 
committee as professional staff members from among the number authorized 
by subparagraph (1) of this paragraph. The committee shall appoint any 
persons so selected whose character and qualifications are acceptable to 
a majority of the committee. If the committee determines that the 
character and qualifications of any person so selected are unacceptable 
to the committee, a majority of the minority party members may select 
other persons for appointment by the committee to the professional staff 
until such appointment is made. Each professional staff member appointed 
under this subparagraph shall be assigned to such committee business as 
the minority party members of the committee consider advisable.



Sec. 733c. Minority.

  (2)  Subject to paragraph (f) of this 
clause, whenever a majority of the minority party members of a standing 
com-



[[Page 536]]

on the Budget was 
included in section 901 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (88 
Stat. 330), was later omitted under the Committee Reform Amendments of 
1974 (H. Res. 988, Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), and was reinserted by the 
94th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20). Also added in 1975 was 
a requirement that staff positions made available to subcommittee 
chairmen and ranking minority members pursuant to former provisions of 
clause 5 of rule XI be provided from staff positions available under 
clause 6 unless provided in a primary or additional expense resolution. 
The 98th Congress added the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 
to the exception for the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (H. 
Res. 58, Mar. 1, 1983, p. 3241). The 101st Congress added an exemption 
for the Committee on Rules (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1989, p. 72). The Ethics 
Reform Act of 1989 struck the anti-discrimination provisions as 
redundant (P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 1989). The 104th Congress eliminated 
the former distinction between professional and clerical staff, set the 
authorized maximum for committee staff under expense resolutions at 30, 
and set the entitlement of the minority within that number at one-third 
(sec. 101(c)(5), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). The 104th Congress 
also mandated that the total number of staff of House committees be at 
least one-third less than the corresponding total in the 103d Congress 
(sec. 101(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).
  This clause had its origins in section 202 of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), which allocated up to four 
non-partisan professionals to each committee other than Appropriations 
and specifically provided for clerical staff, and which was incorporated 
into the rules on January 3, 1953 (p. 24). Section 302(b) of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140), which increased 
the authorized maximum for professional staff from four to six and added 
the concept of minority staffing, was incorporated into the rules in the 
92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). In the 93d Congress the 
maximum was increased from six to 18, the minority entitlement within 
that number was increased from two to six, a requirement that 
professional staff be appointed without regard to political affiliation 
was eliminated, and prohibitions against consideration of race, creed, 
sex, or age in the appointment of staff were added (H. Res. 988, Oct. 8, 
1974, p. 34470). An exemption for the Committee 

   Additional clerks of committees are authorized by the Committee on 
House Oversight and agreed to by the House. There is no legal power to 
fill a vacancy in the clerkship of a committee after one Congress has 
expired and before the next House has been organized (IV, 4539). An 
assault upon the clerk of a committee within the walls of the Capitol 
was held to be a breach of privilege (II, 1629). The pay of clerks has 
been the subject of several decisions (IV, 4536-4538).




Sec. 733d. Consultants and training.

  Committees  may, with 
the approval of the Committee on House Oversight, procure the temporary 
or intermittent services of consultants and obtain specialized training 
for professional staff, subject to expense resolutions, under the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, sections 303 and 304 (2 U.S.C. 
72a(i) and (j)).




Sec. 734a. Staff duties.

  (b)(1)  The professional staff 
members of each standing committee--


          (A) may not engage in any work other than committee business 
during congressional working hours; and


[[Page 538]]

          (B) may not be assigned any duties other than those pertaining 
to committee business.



Sec. 734b. ``Associate'' or 
``shared'' staff.

  (2) Subparagraph (1) does not apply to any staff designated by a 
committee as ``associate''   or ``shared'' staff who are not paid exclusively by 
the committee, provided that the chairman certifies that the 
compensation paid by the committee for any such employee is commensurate 
with the work performed for the committee, in accordance with the 
provisions of clause 8 of rule XLIII.


  (3) The use of any ``associate'' or ``shared'' staff by any committee 
shall be subject to the review of, and to any terms, conditions, or 
limitations established by, the Committee on House Oversight in 
connection with the reporting of any primary or additional expense 
resolution.


  (4) The foregoing provisions of this clause do not apply to the 
Committee on Appropriations.


  The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 prescribed that staff work be confined 
to committee business during congressional working hours but maintained 
exceptions for the Committees on the Budget and Rules (P.L. 101-194, 
Nov. 30, 1989). The 104th Congress eliminated exceptions by committee in 
favor of exceptions for ``associate'' or ``shared'' staff (sec. 
101(c)(5), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----), and later also effected a 
technical correction in subparagraph (2) (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. 
----).




Sec. 735. Pay.

  (c)  Each employee on the professional and 
investigative staff of each standing committee shall be entitled to pay 
at a single gross per annum rate, to be fixed by the chairman, which 
does not exceed the maximum rate of pay, as in effect from time to time, 
under applicable provisions of law.



[[Page 538]]

Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), the maximum salary was set at 
level V of the Executive Schedule, rather than at the highest rate of 
basic pay under section 5332(a) of Title V, U.S. Code as specified in 
the 1970 Reorganization Act, and effective in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 
5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70), the authority for two professional staff to 
be paid at Level IV of the Executive Schedule was added to the clause. 
Under section 311 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1988 (2 
U.S.C. 60a-2a), the maximum salary for staff members is now set by pay 
order of the Speaker. At the beginning of the 101st Congress, the 
references in clause 6(c) to particular levels of the executive schedule 
were deleted (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1989, p. 72). In the 104th Congress 
paragraph (c) was amended to reflect the elimination of the former 
distinction between ``professional'' and ``clerical'' staff (sec. 
101(c)(5), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

  This provision was derived from section 477(c) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and was incorporated into the 
rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). Under the 
Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 
988, 93d 




Sec. 736. Staff, Committees on Appropriations.

  (d)  Subject 
to appropriations hereby authorized, the Committee on Appropriations may 
appoint such staff, in addition to the clerk thereof and assistants for 
the minority, as it determines by majority vote to be necessary, such 
personnel, other than minority assistants, to possess such 
qualifications as the committee may prescribe.



  Clause 6(d) derives from section 202(b) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), which was incorporated into 
the rules on January 3, 1953 (p. 24). The exemption was extended to the 
Committee on the Budget by section 901 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974 (88 Stat. 330). The reference to that committee was 
inadvertently omitted by the 93d Congress (H. Res. 988, Oct. 8, 1974, p. 
34470) and reinserted by the 94th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 
20). The 104th Congress deleted the exemption for the Committee on the 
Budget (sec. 101(c)(5), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).




Sec. 737.

  (e)  No committee shall appoint to its staff any 
experts or other personnel detailed or assigned from any department or 
agency of the Government, except with the written permission of the 
Committee on House Oversight.



[[Page 539]]

the new name of the Committee on House Oversight (sec. 
202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

  This clause was contained in section 202(f) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812) and was incorporated into the 
rules on January 3, 1953 (p. 24). In the 104th Congress it was amended 
to reflect 

  (f) If a request for the appointment of a minority professional staff 
member under paragraph (a) is made when no vacancy exists to which that 
appointment may be made, the committee nevertheless shall appoint, under 
paragraph (a), the person selected by the minority and acceptable to the 
committee. The person so appointed shall serve as an additional member 
of the professional staff of the committee, and shall be paid from the 
applicable accounts of the House described in clause 1(h)(1) of rule X, 
until such a vacancy (other than a vacancy in the position of head of 
the professional staff, by whatever title designated) occurs, at which 
time that person shall be deemed to have been appointed to that vacancy. 
If such vacancy occurs on the professional staff when seven or more 
persons have been so appointed who are eligible to fill that vacancy, a 
majority of the minority party members shall designate which of those 
persons shall fill that vacancy.


[[Page 540]]

the accessibility to him or her of committee records.
  (g) Each staff member appointed pursuant to a request by minority 
party members under paragraph (a) of this clause, and each staff member 
appointed to assist minority party members of a committee pursuant to an 
expense resolution described in paragraph (a) of clause 5, shall be 
accorded equitable treatment with respect to the fixing of his or her 
rate of pay, the assignment to him or her of work facilities, and 


  (h) Paragraph (a) shall not be construed to authorize the appointment 
of additional professional staff members of a committee pursuant to a 
request under such paragraph by the minority party members of that 
committee if ten or more professional staff members provided for in 
paragraph (a)(1) who are satisfactory to a majority of the minority 
party members, are otherwise assigned to assist the minority party 
members.


  Paragraphs (f)-(h) of this clause are derived from section 302(c) of 
the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and were 
incorporated into the rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 
1971, p. 144). Effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 
8, 1974, p. 34470), conforming changes were made in paragraphs (f) and 
(h) to reflect increased minority professional and clerical staff 
permitted to committees under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this clause. In 
the 104th Congress paragraphs (f)-(h) were amended to reflect the 
elimination of the former distinction between ``professional'' and 
``clerical'' staff (sec. 101(c)(5), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). 
The 104th Congress also mandated that the total number of staff of House 
committees be at least one-third less than the corresponding total in 
the 103d Congress (sec. 101(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In 
the 105th Congress paragraph (f) was amended to update an archaic 
reference to the ``contingent fund'' (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).




Sec. 738. Nonpartisan staff.

  (i)  Notwithstanding paragraph 
(a)(2), a committee may employ non-partisan staff, in lieu of or in 
addition to committee staff designated exclusively for the majority or 
minority party, upon an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of 
the majority party and a majority of the members of the minority party.



[[Page 541]]

basis without regard to political affiliation. The concept of minority 
staffing was added by section 302(b) of the Legislative Reorganization 
Act of 1970. Under the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective 
January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), 
paragraph (i) was added to permit committees to employ nonpartisan staff 
upon an affirmative vote of the majority of the members of each party. 
In the 104th Congress it was amended to reflect the elimination of the 
former distinction between ``professional'' and ``clerical'' staff (sec. 
101(c)(5), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).
  Section 202(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 
812), which was incorporated into the rules on January 3, 1953 (p. 24), 
required committee professional staffs to be appointed on a permanent 





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[Pages 541-543]
[DOCID:hrmanual-72]                         
 


Sec. 739. Reports on staff.

  Effective  in the 95th Congress 
(H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70), former clause 6(j), which was 
added on January 3, 1953 (p. 24) and which was contained in section 
134(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1945, was deleted; that 
clause required committees to report semiannually to the Clerk, for 
printing in the Congressional Record, on the names, professions and 
salaries of committee employees.



                                Rule XII.


                  resident commissioner and delegates.




Sec. 740. Powers and privileges of Resident Commissioner and 
Delegates as to committee service.

    The Resident Commissioner to the 
United States from Puerto Rico and each Delegate to the House shall be 
elected to serve on standing committees in the same manner as Members of 
the House and shall possess in such committees the same powers and 
privileges as the other Members.



[[Page 542]]

Delegate from the Territories of 
Guam and the Virgin Islands pursuant to Public Law 92-271 (86 Stat. 
118). The office of Delegate from American Samoa was established by 
Public Law 95-556 (92 Stat. 2078) and was first filled by the general 
Federal election of 1980. The title of the rule was amended in the 102d 
Congress amended to reflect the current membership in the House of the 
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico and all Delegates (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
3, 1991, p. 39). The rule was completely revised again in the 103d 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----) to provide that each of the 
Delegates and the Resident Commissioner be elected to committees of the 
House on the same bases, vote in any committees on which they serve, and 
vote on questions arising in the Committee of the Whole House on the 
state of the Union. The latter power was affected by clause 2(d) of rule 
XXIII (providing for immediate reconsideration in the House of questions 
resolved in the Committee of the Whole by a margin within which the 
votes of Delegates and the Resident Commissioner were decisive; see 
Sec. 864b, infra).
  The rule resumed this form in the 104th Congress (sec. 212, H. Res. 6, 
Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). The first form of this rule was adopted in 1871, 
and it was perfected by amendments in 1876, 1880, 1887, 1892 (II, 1297), 
and on January 2, 1947 (Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946), August 
2, 1949 (p. 10618), and February 2, 1951 (p. 883). It was completely 
revised in the 92d Congress to delete references to Delegates from the 
former Territories of Alaska and Hawaii, which had achieved statehood in 
1959, to add a reference to the Delegate from the District of Columbia, 
an office established by Public Law 91-405 (84 Stat. 845), and to 
incorporate the provisions of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 
giving the Resident Commissioner (as well as the new Delegate from the 
District of Columbia) the right to vote in standing committees (H. Res. 
5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). The second clause of the rule was again 
revised in the 93d Congress (H. Res. 6, Jan. 3, 1973, pp. 26-27) to 
reflect the establishment of offices of 

  The constitutionality of granting to Delegates the right to vote in 
the Committee of the Whole under this rule, as circumscribed by former 
clause 2(d) of rule XXIII, was upheld based on the premise that 
immediate ``revote'' where votes cast by Delegates had been decisive 
rendered their votes merely symbolic and not an investment of true 
legislative power (Michel v. Anderson, 14 F.3d 623 (D.C. Cir. 1994)). 
The changes effected in the 103d Congress were revoked in the 104th 
Congress (sec. 212, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

  Under an earlier practice, Delegates did not vote in committee (VI, 
243); but this had not always been so (II, 1301).

  Prior to the 94th Congress, a Delegate or the Resident Commissioner 
could not be appointed as a conferee on bills sent to conference with 
the Senate (Sept. 18, 1973, p. 30144; July 20, 1973, p. 25201), but 
clause 6(h) of rule X, which became effective January 3, 1975, provided 
that the Speaker may appoint the Delegates or the Resident Commissioner 
to any conference committee considering legislation reported from a 
committee on which they serve (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 
34470). Clause 6(h) was further amended in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16) to authorize the Speaker to appoint the 
Resident Commissioner and Delegates to any select committee; prior to 
that change they could be appointed to select committees only with the 
permission of the House (Sept. 21, 1976, p. 31673). In the 103d 
Congress, clause 6(h) was once again amended to authorize the Speaker to 
appoint Delegates and the Resident Commissioner to serve on any 
conference committee (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----).


[[Page 543]]

exercise in those committees on which he serves the same powers as other 
members, including the right to vote.
  The Resident Commissioner, who under the rules of the 91st and earlier 
Congresses, was designated as an additional member of the Committees on 
Agriculture, Armed Services, and Interior and Insular Affairs, is now 
elected to committees in the same fashion as are other Members and may 

  The office of Delegate was established by ordinance of the Continental 
Congress and confirmed by a law of Congress (I, 400, 421). The nature of 
the office has been the subject of much discussion (I, 400, 403, 473); 
and except as provided by law (I, 431, 526) the qualifications of the 
Delegate also have been a matter of discussion (I, 421, 423, 469, 470, 
473). A territory or district must be organized by law before the House 
will admit a Delegate (I, 405, 407, 411, 412).

  The law provides that on the floor of the House a Delegate may debate 
(II, 1290), and he may in debate call a Member to order (II, 1295). He 
may make any motion which a Member may make except the motion to 
reconsider (II, 1291, 1292). A Delegate may make a point of order (VI, 
240). A Delegate has even moved an impeachment (II, 1303). He may be 
appointed a teller (II, 1302); but the law forbids him to vote (II, 
1290). He has been recognized to object to the consideration of a bill 
(VI, 241), to a unanimous-consent request to concur in a Senate 
amendment (June 29, 1984, p. 20267), and has made reports for committees 
(July 1, 1958, p. 12870). The rights and prerogatives of a Delegate in 
parliamentary matters are not limited to legislation affecting his own 
territory (VI, 240).

  At the organization of the House, the Delegates and Resident 
Commissioner are sworn (I, 400, 401); but the Clerk does not put them on 
the roll (I, 61, 62). In the 103d Congress on recorded votes in the 
Committee of the Whole, their names were listed alphabetically with the 
names of Members (Feb. 3, 1993, p. ----).

  A Delegate resigns in a communication addressed to the Speaker (II, 
1304). He may be arrested and censured for disorderly conduct (II, 
1305), but there has been disagreement as to whether he should be 
expelled by a majority or two-thirds vote (I, 469).

  The privileges of the floor with the right to debate were extended to 
Resident Commissioners in the 60th Congress (VI, 244). Prior to the 
independence of the Philippines it was represented in the House by 
Resident Commissioners.





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[Pages 543-552]
[DOCID:hrmanual-73]                         
 
  The first form of the rule with reference to the Resident Commissioner 
was adopted in 1904 (II, 1306). The Act of May 17, 1932, changed the 
name of Porto Rico to Puerto Rico (48 U.S.C. 731a).


                               Rule XIII.


                  calendars and reports of committees.


[[Page 544]]



Sec. 742. Calendar for reports of committees.

  1.  There shall 
be three calendars to which all business reported from committees shall 
be referred, viz.:


  First. A Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
the Union, to which shall be referred bills raising revenue, general 
appropriation bills, and bills of a public character directly or 
indirectly appropriating money or property.

  Second. A House Calendar, to which shall be referred all bills of a 
public character not raising revenue nor directly or indirectly 
appropriating money or property.


  Third. A Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House, to which shall 
be referred all bills of a private character.

  This clause was adopted in 1880 and amended in 1911 (VI, 742); but as 
early as 1820 a rule was adopted creating calendars for the Committees 
of the Whole. Bills not requiring consideration in Committee of the 
Whole were considered when reported, but in 1880 the House Calendar was 
created to remedy the delays in making reports caused by such 
consideration (IV, 3115). Reference of bills to calendars is governed by 
text of bills as referred to committees and amendments reported by 
committees are not considered (VIII, 2392).

  A motion to correct an error in referring a bill to the proper 
calendar presents a question of privilege (III, 2614, 2615); but a mere 
clerical error in the calendar does not give rise to such question (III, 
2616). A bill improperly reported is not entitled to a place on the 
calendar (IV, 3117).

  A bill on the wrong calendar may be transferred to the proper calendar 
as of date of original reference by direction of the Speaker (VI, 744-
748; VII, 859, 2406; Dec. 7, 1950, p. 16307; Apr. 26, 1984, p. 10242; 
Sept. 10, 1990, p. 23677). But the Speaker has no authority to change 
calendar reference made by the House (VI, 749; VII, 859). Reports from 
the Court of Claims do not remain on the calendar from Congress to 
Congress, even when a law seems so to provide (IV, 3298-3302). In 
determining whether a bill should be placed on the House or Union 
Calendar, clause 3 of rule XXIII should be consulted. 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).


[[Page 545]]

the Committee on Appropriations of reported bills providing 
new entitlement authority in excess of that allocated to the reporting 
committee in connection with the most recently agreed to concurrent 
resolution on the budget (Speaker O'Neill, Sept. 8, 1977, p. 28153), or 
(2) by clause 5 of rule X, authorizing and directing the Speaker to 
assure that each committee has responsibility to consider legislation 
within its jurisdiction by fashioning sequential referrals where 
appropriate (Speaker O'Neill, Apr. 27, 1978, p. 11742; June 19, 1986, p. 
14741).

  Although the Speaker has no general authority to remove a reported 
bill from the Union Calendar (other than to correct the erroneous 
reference of a reported bill between Calendars), he may discharge a bill 
therefrom for reference to another committee when required (1) by 
section 401(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, mandating 15-day 
referral to 




Sec. 743. Nonprivileged reports filed with the Clerk.

  2.  All 
reports of committees, except as provided in clause 4(a) of rule XI, 
together with the views of the minority, shall be delivered to the Clerk 
for printing and reference to the proper calendar under the direction of 
the Speaker, in accordance with the foregoing clause, and the titles or 
subject thereof shall be entered on the Journal and printed in the 
Record: Provided, That bills reported <> adversely shall be laid on the table, unless the committee 
reporting a bill, at the time, or any Member within three days 
thereafter, shall request its reference to the calendar, when it shall 
be referred, as provided in clause 1 of this rule.


  A technical amendment changing the reference herein to clause 4(a) of 
rule XI (relating to privileged reports), was effected by the 93d 
Congress (H. Res. 988, Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470).

  A resolution of inquiry is referred to the House Calendar even when 
reported adversely (VI, 411).


[[Page 546]]

Committee on Rules merely waiving the three 
day availability requirement may be immediately considered and do not 
require a two-thirds vote.
  Under the provisions of clause 2(l)(6) of rule XI, a measure or matter 
may not be called up for consideration until the third calendar day 
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) on which the report 
thereon has been available to the Members of the House. Clause 7 of rule 
XXI places a similar restriction on the consideration of general 
appropriation bills and adds the requirement that printed hearings on 
those bills must be available for the same time period. Expense 
resolutions reported from the Committee on House Oversight have a one-
day layover under clause 5(a) of rule XI; and reports from the Committee 
on Rules may be called up when filed subject to the two-thirds vote 
requirement of clause 4(b) of rule XI, except that under clause 2(l)(6) 
of rule XI reports from the 

  Unless filed with the report, minority, supplemental or additional 
views may be presented only with the consent of the House (IV, 4600; 
VIII, 2231, 2248). See clause 2(l)(5) of rule XI for the procedure by 
which such views may be filed as part of the committee report.


  A supplemental report to correct a technical error in a committee 
report may be filed without the consent of the House (clause 2(l)(5) of 
rule XI). It has been held that the fact that a report was not printed 
by the Public Printer as originally made to the House does not prevent 
the consideration of the matter reported (VIII, 2307). A committee may 
not file its report on a bill after the House has passed the bill (Sept. 
30, 1985, p. 25270).



Sec. 745. ``Ramseyer Rule.''

  3.  Whenever a committee reports 
a bill or a joint resolution repealing or amending any statute or part 
thereof it shall include in its report or in an accompanying document--


      (1) The text of the statute or part thereof which is proposed to 
be repealed; and


      (2) A comparative print of that part of the bill or joint 
resolution making the amendment and of the statute or part thereof 
proposed to be amended, showing by stricken-through type and italics, 
parallel columns, or other appropriate typographical devices the 
omissions and insertions proposed to be made: Provided, however, That if 
a committee reports such a bill or joint resolution with amendments or 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute for the entire bill, such 
report shall include a comparative print showing any changes in existing 
law proposed by the amendments or substitute instead of as in the bill 
as introduced.


[[Page 547]]

  The first part of this paragraph was adopted January 28, 1929 (VIII, 
2234), was redesignated as subsection (3) January 3, 1953 (p. 24), and 
the proviso was added September 22, 1961 (p. 20823).


  Failure of a committee report to comply with the rule may be remedied 
by a supplemental report (VIII, 2247); and while the filing of such a 
corrective report formerly required the consent of the House (VIII, 
2248), it may now be filed with the Clerk pursuant to clause 2(l)(5) of 
rule XI. Although a bill proposes but one minor and obvious change in 
existing law, the failure of the report to indicate the change is in 
violation of the rule (VIII, 2236). The statute proposed to be amended 
must be quoted in the report and it is not sufficient that it is 
incorporated in the bill (VIII, 2238). Under the rule the committee 
report on a bill amending existing law by the addition of a proviso 
should quote in full the section immediately preceding the proposed 
amendment (VIII, 2237). Bills held to be in violation of the rule are 
automatically recommitted to the respective committees reporting them 
(VIII, 2237, 2245, 2250). A bill having been recommitted for failure to 
conform to the rule, further proceedings are de novo and the bill must 
again be considered and reported by the committee as if no previous 
report had been made (VIII, 2249). Special orders providing for 
consideration of bills, unless specifically waiving points of order, do 
not preclude the point of order that reports on such bills fail to 
indicate proposed changes in existing law (VIII, 2245). The rule applies 
to appropriation bills where such bills include legislative provisions 
(VIII, 2241) and reports on appropriation bills are also subject to the 
requirements of clause 3 of rule XXI, requiring a concise statement of 
the effect of any direct or indirect changes in the application of 
existing law. In order to fall within the purview of the rule the bill 
must seek to repeal or amend specifically an existing law (VIII, 2235, 
2239, 2240). Where the comparative print contained certain errors in 
punctuation and capitalization and utilized abbreviations not appearing 
in existing provisions of law, the Speaker held that the committee 
report was in substantial compliance with the rule and overruled a point 
of order against the report (July 25, 1966, p. 16842; July 30, 1968, pp. 
24252-54). The point of order that a report fails to comply with the 
rule is properly made when the bill is called up in the House and comes 
too late after the House has resolved into the Committee of the Whole 
for its consideration (VIII, 2243-2245).


[[Page 548]]

Speaker may direct the Clerk to call any bill 
that has been on the Corrections Calendar for three legislative days.


Sec. 745a. Corrections Calendar.

  4.  (a) After a bill has 
been favorably reported and placed on either the Union or House 
Calendar, the Speaker may, after consultation with the Minority Leader, 
file with the Clerk a notice requesting that such bill also be placed 
upon a special calendar to be known as the ``Corrections Calendar.'' At 
any time on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, after the 
Pledge of Allegiance, the 


  (b) A bill so called shall be considered in the House, shall be 
debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman 
and ranking minority member of the primary committee of jurisdiction 
reporting the bill, and shall not be subject to amendment except those 
amendments recommended by the primary committee of jurisdiction or those 
offered by the chairman of the primary committee or a designee. The 
previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and any 
amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one 
motion to recommit with or without instructions.


  (c) A three-fifths vote of the Members voting shall be required to 
pass any bill called from the Corrections Calendar but the rejection of 
any such bill, or the sustaining of any point of order against it or its 
consideration, shall not cause it to be removed from the Calendar to 
which it was originally referred.


[[Page 548]]

  This clause was amended in the 104th Congress to abolish the Consent 
Calendar and establish in its place a Corrections Calendar (H. Res. 168, 
June 20, 1995, p. ----). Later in the 104th Congress several technical 
changes were effected, and paragraph (b) was amended to admit amendments 
by a designee of the chairman of the primary committee (H. Res. 254, 
Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress paragraph (a) was amended 
to permit bills to be called from the Calendar at any time on a 
Corrections day and in any order (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). The 
Speaker may discharge a bill from the Corrections Calendar at any time 
(June 24, 1996, p. ----). In the 105th Congress the House established a 
Corrections Calendar Office to assist the Speaker in management of the 
Calendar (H. Res. 7, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).



Sec. 
746. Former Consent Calendar.

  The original form of this clause, providing for the former Consent 
Calendar, was adopted March 15, 1909, amended January 18, 1924; December 
7, 1925; December 8, 1931; and April 23, 1932 (VII, 972).  Bills must have been on the printed 
calendar three legislative working days in order to be eligible for 
consideration (VII, 992, 994). When a House bill was on the Consent 
Calendar, by unanimous consent the House committee could have been 
discharged from the consideration of a Senate bill on the same subject, 
and the Senate bill considered in lieu of the House bill (VII, 1004). 
The status of bills on the Consent Calendar was not affected by their 
consideration from another calendar and such bills could have been 
called up for consideration from the Consent Calendar while pending as 
unfinished business in the House or Committee of the Whole (VII, 1006).



  The former rule did not preclude the Speaker from recognizing Members 
to suspend the rules before completion of the Consent Calendar (decided 
by House, VIII, 3405; also held by Speaker Clark, Oct. 5, 1914, p. 
16182, and by Speaker Gillett, Sept. 4, 1919, p. 5128). Recognition to 
suspend the rules did not preclude the continuation of the call of the 
calendar later in the day (VII, 991). The call of the Consent Calendar 
on days devoted to its consideration took precedence of the motion to go 
into the Committee of the Whole to consider revenue or appropriation 
bills (VII, 986), and a contested-election case could not supplant the 
call of the Calendar (VII, 988), but the Speaker could recognize a 
Member to call up a conference report before directing the call of the 
Consent Calendar (May 4, 1970, pp. 13991-95).




Sec. 747. Motion to discharge.

  5.  There shall also be a 
Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees, as provided in clause 3 of 
rule XXVII.



<>   6. Calendars shall be printed 
daily.

  The discharge rule was redesignated as clause 3 of rule XXVII in the 
102d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). A conforming change in 
this clause was adopted in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, 
p. ----).


  This clause was adopted in the 62d Congress, April 5, 1911 (VI, 743), 
and amended December 8, 1931, pp. 10, 83.


[[Page 550]]



Sec. 748b. Estimate of cost.

  7.  (a) The report accompanying 
each bill or joint resolution of a public character reported by any 
committee shall contain--


      (1) an estimate, made by such committee, of the costs which would 
be incurred in carrying out such bill or joint resolution in the fiscal 
year in which it is reported and in each of the five fiscal years 
following such fiscal year (or for the authorized duration of any 
program authorized by such bill or joint resolution, if less than five 
years);

      (2) a comparison of the estimate of costs described in 
subparagraph (1) of this paragraph made by such committee with any 
estimate of such costs made by any Government agency and submitted to 
such committee; and

      (3) when practicable, a comparison of the total estimated funding 
level for the relevant program (or programs) with the appropriate levels 
under current law.

  (b) It shall not be in order to consider any such bill or joint 
resolution in the House if the report of the committee which reported 
that bill or joint resolution does not comply with paragraph (a) of this 
clause.

  (c) For the purposes of subparagraph (2) of paragraph (a) of this 
clause, a Government agency includes any department, agency, 
establishment, wholly owned Government corporation, or instrumentality 
of the Federal Government or the government of the District of Columbia.


[[Page 551]]

of Official Conduct, 
and do not apply where a cost estimate and comparison prepared by the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has been timely submitted prior to the 
filing of the report and included in the report pursuant to clause 
2(l)(3)(C) of rule XI.
  (d) The preceding provisions of this clause do not apply to the 
Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on House Oversight, the 
Committee on Rules, and the Committee on Standards 

  (e)(1) A report from the Committee on Ways and Means on a bill or 
joint resolution designated by the Majority Leader (after consultation 
with the Minority Leader) as major tax legislation may include a dynamic 
estimate of the changes in Federal revenues expected to result from 
enactment of the legislation. The Joint Committee on Taxation shall 
render a dynamic estimate of such legislation only in response to a 
timely request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means 
(after consultation with the ranking minority member of the committee). 
A dynamic estimate pursuant to this paragraph may be used only for 
informational purposes.


  (2) In this paragraph, ``dynamic estimate'' means a projection based 
in any part on assumptions concerning probable effects of macroeconomic 
feedback. A dynamic estimate shall include a statement identifying all 
such assumptions.


[[Page 552]]

Office is included in the report. Paragraph (a) was 
amended by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 900 note) to 
require 5-year estimates of revenue changes in legislative reports. In 
the 104th Congress paragraph (a) was amended to require estimates of new 
budget authority, when practicable, to compare the total estimated 
funding for the program to the appropriate level under current law (sec. 
102(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). At the same time paragraph 
(d) was amended to reflect the new name of the Committee on House 
Oversight (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th 
Congress paragraph (d) was amended to effect a technical change (Budget 
Enforcement Act of 1997 (sec. 10116, P.L. 105-33). Paragraph (e) was 
added in the 105th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). A 
committee cost estimate identifying certain spending authority as 
recurring annually and indefinitely was held necessarily to address the 
five-year period required by section 308 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974 (Nov. 20, 1993, p. ----).

  This clause was adopted in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, 
p. 144) as part of the implementation of section 252(b) of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and was amended 
in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70) to remove 
references to the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. Paragraph (d) was 
amended in the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 98-113) to 
render committee cost estimates optional where an estimate by the 
Congressional Budget 





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 552-570]
[DOCID:hrmanual-74]                         
 


Sec. 748c. Unfunded mandates.

  The  Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4; 109 Stat. 48 et seq.) added a new part B to 
title IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658-658g) 
that imposes several requirements on the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office and on committees of the House with respect to measures 
effecting ``Federal mandates'' (secs. 423-424; 2 U.S.C. 659b-c) and 
establishes points of order to enforce those requirements (sec. 425; 2 
U.S.C. 658d). See Sec. 1007, infra, and Sec. 713h, supra.



                                Rule XIV.


                         of decorum and debate.


[[Page 553]]

Senate action or inaction concerning a 
measure then under debate in the House, and quotations from Senate 
proceedings on a measure then under debate in the House and which are 
relevant to the making of legislative history establishing the meaning 
of that measure, but may not include characterizations of Senate action 
or inaction, other references to individual Members of the Senate, or 
other quotations from Senate proceedings.



Sec. 749. Obtaining the floor for debate; and relevancy and 
decorum therein.

  1.  When any Member desires to speak or deliver any 
matter to the House, he shall rise and respectfully address himself to 
``Mr. Speaker'', and, on being recognized, may address the House from 
any place on the floor or from the Clerk's desk, and shall confine 
himself to the question under debate, avoiding personality. Debate may 
include references to actions taken by the Senate or by committees 
thereof which are a matter of public record, references to the pendency 
or sponsorship in the Senate of bills, resolutions, and amendments, 
factual descriptions relating to 


  This clause was adopted in 1880, but was made up, in its main 
provisions, from older rules, which dated from 1789 and 1811 (V, 4979). 
The last sentence of the clause, relating to references to the Senate, 
had its origins in the 100th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1987, p. 6) 
but was amended in the 101st Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1989, p. 72) 
to narrowly expand the range of permissible references. This rule, and 
rulings of the Chair with respect to references in debate to the Senate, 
are discussed in Sec. 371, supra; see also Sec. 361, supra.


[[Page 554]]

to the occupant of the Chair and addresses him as ``Mr. 
Speaker'' pursuant to this clause (Nov. 1, 1983, p. 30267).
  The Speaker, who has a responsibility under rule I to maintain and 
enforce decorum in debate, and the Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole, who enforces decorum in debate under rule XXIII, have reminded 
and advised Members that: (1) clause 1 of rule XIV requires Members 
seeking recognition to rise and to address themselves to the question 
under debate, avoiding personality; (2) Members should address their 
remarks to the Chair only and not to other entities such as the 
``press'' or the television audience, and the Chair enforces this rule 
on its own initiative (see, e.g., Nov. 8, 1979, p. 31519; Sept. 29, 
1983, p. 26501; Dec. 17, 1987, p. 36139); (3) Members should not refer 
to or address any occupant of the galleries; (4) Members should refer to 
other Members in debate only in the third person, by state designation 
(Speaker O'Neill, June 14, 1978, p. 17615; Oct. 2, 1984, p. 28520; Mar. 
7, 1985, p. 5028); (5) Members should refrain from using profanity or 
vulgarity in debate (Mar. 5, 1991, p. 5036; Feb. 18, 1993, p. ----; Nov. 
17, 1995, p. ----); (6) the Chair may interrupt a Member engaging in 
``personalities'' with respect to another Member of the House, as the 
Chair does with respect to references to the Senate or the President 
(Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----); and (7) Members should refrain from discussing 
the President's personal character (May 10, 1994, p. ----). The Speaker 
has deplored the tendency to address remarks directly to the President 
(or others not in the Chamber) in the second person, and cautions 
Members on his own initiative (see, e.g., Oct. 16, 1989, p. 24715; Oct. 
17, 1989, p. 24764; Jan. 24, 1990, p. 426; Oct. 9, 1991, p. 25999). Even 
when referring in debate to the Speaker, himself, a Member directs his 
remarks 

  Members should refrain from speaking disrespectfully of the Speaker or 
arraigning the personal conduct of the Speaker, and under the precedents 
the sanctions for such violations transcend the ordinary requirements 
for timeliness of challenges (II, 1248; Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----; Jan. 18, 
1995, p. ----; Jan. 19, 1995, p. ----). Engaging in personalities with 
respect to the Speaker's conduct is not in order even though possibly 
relevant to a pending resolution granting him certain authority (Sept. 
24, 1996, p. ----).

  This clause has also been interpreted to proscribe the wearing of 
badges by Members to communicate a message, since Members must rise and 
address the Speaker to deliver any matter to the House (Speaker O'Neill, 
Apr. 15, 1986, p. 7525; Feb. 22, 1995, p. ----; Mar. 29, 1995, p. ----; 
Oct. 19, 1995, pp. ----, ----; Nov. 17, 1995, p. ----; Mar. 7, 1996, p. 
----; Sept. 26, 1996, p. ----). A Member's comportment may constitute a 
breach of decorum even though the content of that Member's speech is 
not, itself, unparliamentary (July 29, 1994, p. ----). Under this 
standard the Chair may deny recognition to a Member who has engaged in 
unparliamentary debate and ignored repeated admonitions by the Chair to 
proceed in order, subject to the will of the House on the question of 
his proceeding in order (Sept. 18, 1996, p. ----).

  For further discussion of personalities in debate with respect to 
references to the official conduct of a Member, see Sec. Sec. 361-363, 
supra; with respect to references to the President, see Sec. 370, supra; 
and with respect to references to the Senate, see Sec. Sec. 371-374, 
supra.

  It is a general rule that a motion must be made before a Member may 
proceed in debate (V, 4984, 4985), and this motion may be required to be 
reduced to writing (V, 4986). A motion must also be stated by the 
Speaker or read by the Clerk before debate may begin (V, 4982, 4983, 
5304). The withdrawal of a motion precludes further debate on it (V, 
4989). But sometimes when a communication or a report has been before 
the House it has been debated before any specific motion has been made 
in relation to it (V, 4987, 4988). In a few cases, such as conference 
reports and reports from the Committee of the Whole, the motion to agree 
is considered as pending without being offered from the floor (IV, 4896; 
V, 6517).

  In presenting a question of personal privilege the Member is not 
required in the first instance to make a motion or offer a resolution, 
but such is not the rule in presenting a case involving the privileges 
of the House (III, 2546, 2547; VI, 565, 566, 580). Personal explanations 
merely are made by unanimous consent (V, 5065).


[[Page 555]]

5002; VIII, 2459), a motion that the committee 
rise (VIII, 2325), or a demand for the previous question (VIII, 2609; 
Mar. 18, 1992, p. ----), but he may be interrupted for a conference 
report (V, 6451; VIII, 3294). It is a custom also for the Speaker to 
request a Member to yield for the reception of a message. A Member may 
yield the floor for a motion to adjourn or that the Committee of the 
Whole rise without losing his right to continue when the subject is 
again continued (V, 5009-5013), but where the House has by resolution 
vested control of general debate in the Committee of the Whole in 
designated Members, their control of general debate may not be abrogated 
by another Member moving to rise, unless they yield for that purpose 
(May 25, 1967, p. 14121). A Member may also resume his seat while a 
paper is being read in his time without losing his right to the floor 
(V, 5015). A Member who, having the floor, moved the previous question 
was permitted to resume the floor on withdrawing the motion (V, 5474). 
But a Member may not yield to another Member to offer an amendment 
without losing the floor (V, 5021, 5030, 5031; VIII, 2476), and a Member 
may not offer an amendment in time secured for debate only (VIII, 2474), 
or request unanimous consent to offer an amendment unless yielded to for 
that purpose by the Member controlling the floor (Sept. 24, 1986, p. 
25589). A Member recognized under the five-minute rule in the Committee 
of the Whole may not yield to another Member to offer an amendment, as 
it is within the power of the Chair to recognize each Member to offer 
amendments (Apr. 19, 1973, p. 13240; Dec. 12, 1973, p. 41171). A Member 
desiring to interrupt another in debate should address the Chair for 
permission of the Member speaking (V, 5006; VI, 193), but the latter may 
exercise his own discretion as to whether or not he will yield (V, 5007, 
5008; VI, 193; VIII, 2463, 2465). It is not in order to disrupt a 
Member's remarks in debate by repeatedly interrupting to ask whether he 
will yield after he has declined to do so (Apr. 9, 1992, p. ----). Where 
a Member interrupts another during debate without being yielded to 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; July 21, 
1993, p. ----; July 29, 1994, p. ----; Dec. 21, 1995, p. ----). Members 
should not engage in disruption while another is speaking (Dec. 20, 
1995, p. ----; June 27, 1996, p. ----).


Sec. 750. Interruption of a Member in debate.

  A  Member 
having the floor may not be taken off his feet by an ordinary motion, 
even the highly privileged motion to adjourn (V, 5369, 5370; VIII, 
2646), or the motion to table (Mar. 18, 1992, p. ----). He may not be 
deprived of the floor by a parliamentary inquiry (VIII, 2455-2458), a 
question of privilege (V, 



[[Page 556]]



Sec. 751. Speaker in debate.

  The  Speaker may of right speak 
from the Chair on questions of order and be first heard (II, 1367), but 
with this exception he may speak from the Chair only by leave of the 
House and on questions of fact (II, 1367-1372). On occasions 
comparatively rare Speakers have called Members to the Chair and 
participated in debate on questions of order or matters relating their 
own conduct or rights, usually without asking consent of the House (II, 
1367, 1368, 1371; III, 1950; V, 6097). In more recent years, Speakers 
have frequently entered into debate on substantive legislative issues 
before the House for decision, and the right to participate in debate in 
the Committee of the Whole is without question (see, e.g., Apr. 30, 
1987, p. 10811).




Sec. 752. Member must confine himself to the subject.

  It  has 
always been held, and generally quite strictly, that in the House the 
Member must confine himself to the subject under debate (V, 5043-5048; 
VI, 576; VIII, 2481, 2534). The Chair normally waits for the question of 
relevancy of debate to be raised and does not take initiative (Sept. 27, 
1990, p. ----; Mar. 23, 1995, p. ----; Nov. 14, 1995, pp. ----, ----; 
Dec. 15, 1995, p. ----; Mar. 12, 1996, p. ----).



[[Page 557]]

fined to the election of that Member and should not extend to that 
committee's agenda (July 10, 1995, p. ----).
  During debate on a bill a Member must maintain a constant nexus 
between debate and the subject of the bill (Nov. 14, 1995, p. ----; Mar. 
12, 1996, p. ----). Debate on a motion to amend must be confined to the 
amendment, and may neither include the general merits of the bill (V, 
5049-5051), nor range to the merits of a proposition not included in the 
underlying resolution (Jan. 31, 1995, p. ----). Similarly, debate on a 
motion to recommit with instructions should be confined to the subject 
of the motion rather than dwelling on the general merits of the bill 
(Mar. 7, 1996, p. ----). On a motion to suspend the rules, debate is 
confined to the object of the motion and may not range to the merits of 
a bill not scheduled for such consideration (Nov. 23, 1991, p. 34189). 
Debate on a special order providing for the consideration of a bill may 
range to the merits of the bill to be made in order (Sept. 26, 1989, p. 
21532; Oct. 16, 1990, p. 29668; Oct. 1, 1991, p. 24836), since the 
question of consideration of the bill is involved, but should not range 
to the merits of a measure not to be considered under that special order 
(Sept. 27, 1990, p. 26226; July 25, 1995, p. ----; Sept. 20, 1995, p. --
--; Dec. 15, 1995, p. ----; May 1, 1996, p. ----; May 8, 1996, p. ----; 
May 15, 1996, p. ----; Mar. 13, 1997, p. ----). Debate on a resolution 
providing authorities to expedite the consideration of end-of-session 
legislation may neither range to the merits of a measure that might or 
might not be considered under such authorities nor engage in 
personalities with respect to the official conduct of the Speaker, even 
as asserted to relate to the question of granting the authorities 
proposed (Sept. 24, 1996, p. ----). If a unanimous-consent request for a 
Member to address the House for one hour specifies the subject of the 
address, the occupant of the Chair during that speech may enforce the 
rule of relevancy in debate by requiring that the remarks be confined to 
the subject so specified (Jan. 23, 1984, p. 93). Debate on a question of 
personal privilege must be confined to the statements or issue which 
gave rise to the question of privilege (V, 5075-5077; VI, 576, 608; 
VIII, 2448, 2481; May 31, 1984, p. 14623). Debate on a privileged 
resolution recommending disciplinary action against a Member, while it 
may include comparisons with other such actions taken by or reported to 
the House for purposes of measuring severity of punishment, may not 
extend to the conduct of another sitting Member not the subject of a 
committee report (Dec. 18, 1987, p. 36271). The question whether a 
Member should be relieved from committee service is debatable only 
within very narrow limits (IV, 4510; June 16, 1975, p. 19056). Debate on 
a resolution electing a Member to a committee is con-

  While the Speakers have entertained appeals from their decisions as to 
irrelevancy, they have held that such appeals were not debatable (V, 
5056-5063).


<>   2. When two or 
more Members rise at once, the Speaker shall name the Member who is 
first to speak; * * *

  In Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union during 
general debate the Member need not confine himself to the subject (V, 
5233-5238; VIII, 2590; June 28, 1974, p. 21743); but this privilege does 
not extend to the Committee of the Whole House (V, 5239; VIII, 2590). 
All five-minute debate in Committee of the Whole is confined to the 
subject (V, 5240-5256), even on a pro forma amendment (VIII, 2591), in 
which case debate must relate to an issue in the pending portion of the 
bill; thus, where a general provisions title is pending debate may 
relate to any agency funded by the bill (June 13, 1991, p. 14692).

  This clause was adopted in 1789 (V, 4978).


  In the early history of the House, when business proceeded on 
presentation by individual Members, the Speaker recognized the Member 
who arose first; and in case of doubt there was an appeal from his 
recognition (II, 1429-1434). But as the membership and business of the 
House increased it became necessary to establish and adhere to a fixed 
order of business, and recognitions, instead of pertaining to the 
individual Member, necessarily came to pertain to the bill or other 
business which would be before the House under the rule regulating the 
order of business. Hence the necessity that the Speaker should not be 
compelled to heed the claims of Members as individuals was expressed in 
1879 in a report from the Committee on Rules, which declared that ``in 
the nature of the case discretion must be lodged with the presiding 
officer'' (II, 1424). And in 1881 the Speaker declined to entertain an 
appeal from his decision on a question of recognition (II, 1425-1428), 
establishing thereby a practice which continues (VI, 292; VIII, 2429, 
2646, 2762). It has also been determined that a Member may not invoke 
rule XXV (Sec. 900, infra), providing that questions relating to the 
priority of business shall be decided by a majority without debate, to 
inhibit the Speaker's power of recognition under this clause (Speaker 
Albert, July 31, 1975, p. 26249).


[[Page 558]]

House a resolution directing the Speaker to recognize 
for such speeches, since a question of privilege cannot amend or 
interpret the rules of the House (July 25, 1980, pp. 19762-64).


Sec. 753a. Oneminute and specialorder 
speeches.

    Recognition  for one-minute speeches by unanimous consent and the order 
of recognition are entirely within the discretion of the Speaker (Nov. 
15, 1983, p. 32657). When the House has a heavy legislative schedule, 
the Speaker may refuse to recognize Members for that purpose until the 
completion of legislative business (Procedure, ch. 21, sec. 7.5; July 
24, 1980, p. 19386). It is not in order to raise as a question of the 
privileges of the 


  Since the 98th Congress the Speaker has followed announced policies of 
(1) alternating recognition for one-minute speeches and special-order 
speeches between majority and minority Members and (2) recognizing for 
special-order speeches of five minutes or less before longer speeches 
(Speaker O'Neill, Aug. 8, 1984, p. 22963; Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 
101st Congress, the Chair continued the practice of alternating 
recognition for one-minute speeches but began a practice of recognizing 
Members suggested by their party leadership before others in the well 
(Apr. 19, 1990, p. 7406). From August 8, 1984, through February 23, 
1994, the Speaker also followed an announced policy of recognizing 
Members of the same party within a given category in the order in which 
their requests for special orders were granted (Speaker O'Neill, Aug. 8, 
1984, p. 22963; Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----). But since February 24, 1994, the 
Speaker's announced policies for recognition for special order speeches 
has been as follows: (1) recognition does not extend beyond midnight; 
(2) recognition is granted first for speeches of five minutes or less; 
(3) recognition for longer speeches is limited (except on Tuesdays) to 
four hours equally divided between the majority and minority; (4) the 
first hour for each party is reserved to its respective Leader or his 
designees; (5) time within each party is allotted in accord with a list 
submitted to the Chair by the respective Leader; (6) the first 
recognition within a category alternates between the parties from day to 
day, regardless of when requests were granted; (7) Members may not enter 
requests for five-minute special orders earlier than one week in 
advance; and (8) the respective Leaders may establish additional 
guidelines for entering requests (Feb. 11, 1994, p. ----; May 23, 1994, 
p. ----; June 10, 1994, p. ----; Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----; Feb. 16, 1995, 
p. ----; May 12, 1995, p. ----; Jan. 21, 1997, p. ----).


  While the Chair's calculation of time consumed under one-minute 
speeches is not subject to challenge, the Chair endeavors to recognize 
Majority and then Minority Members by allocating time in a non-partisan 
manner (Aug. 4, 1982, p. 19319). Prior to legislative business, the 
Speaker will traditionally recognize a Member only once by unanimous 
consent for a one-minute speech, and will not entertain a second request 
(May 1, 1985, p. 9995). The Chair will not entertain a unanimous-consent 
request to extend a five-minute special order (Mar. 7, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 559]]

times after May 14 of each year. The modified order changes morning hour 
debates on Tuesdays after May 14 of each year as follows: (1) the House 
convenes one hour early (rather than 90 minutes); (2) time for debate is 
limited to 25 minutes for each Party (rather than 30 minutes); and (3) 
in no event is morning hour debate to continue beyond 10 minutes before 
the House is to convene (May 12, 1995, p. ----). The above-cited orders 
of the House also: (1) postpone the Prayer, approval of the Journal, and 
the Pledge of Allegiance during morning hour debates; and (2) require 
the Chair to recognize Members for not more than five minutes each, 
alternating between the majority and minority parties in accord with 
lists supplied by their respective Leaders. During morning hour debate 
it is not in order to request that a name be removed from a list of 
cosponsors of a bill (Apr. 26, 1994, p. ----).



Sec. 753b. Morninghour debates.

  Beginning  in the second 
session of the 103d Congress, the House has by unanimous consent agreed 
(without prejudice to the Speaker's ultimate power of recognition under 
this rule) to convene 90 minutes early on Mondays and Tuesdays for 
morning-hour debate (Feb. 11, 1994, p. ----; May 23, 1994, p. ----; June 
8, 1994, p. ----; June 10, 1994, p. ----; Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----; Feb. 
16, 1995, p. ----; Jan. 21, 1997, p. ----). On May 12, 1995, the House 
extended and modified the above order to accommodate earlier convening 





Sec. 753c. ``Oxford'' style debates.

  In  the 103d Congress 
the House agreed by unanimous consent to conduct at a time designated by 
the Speaker structured debate on a mutually agreeable topic announced by 
the Speaker, with four participants from each party in a format 
announced by the Speaker (Feb. 11, 1994, p. ----; Mar. 11, 1994, p. ----
; May 23, 1994, p. ----; June 8, 1994, p. ----; June 10, 1994, p. ----). 
Pursuant to that authority the House conducted three ``Oxford''-style 
debates (Mar. 16, 1994, p. ----; May 4, 1994, p. ----; July 20, 1994, p. 
----). As a precursor to those structured debates, special-order time 
was used for a ``Lincoln-Douglas'' style debate involving five Members, 
with one Member acting as ``moderator'' by controlling the hour under 
this clause (Nov. 3, 1993, p. ----).



[[Page 560]]

VIII, 2454, 3231). And this principle applies to the makers of certain 
motions. Thus, the Member on whose motion the enacting clause of a bill 
is stricken out in Committee of the Whole is entitled to prior 
recognition when the bill is reported to the House (V, 5337; VIII, 
2629), and in a case where a Member raised an objection in the joint 
session to count the electoral vote the Speaker recognized him first 
when the Houses had separated to consider the objection (III, 1956). But 
a Member may not, by offering a debatable motion of higher privilege 
than the pending motion, deprive the Member in charge of the bill of 
possession of the floor for debate (II, 1460-1463; VI, 290, 297-299; 
VIII, 2454, 3193, 3197, 3259). The Member in charge of the bill and 
having the floor may demand the previous question, although another 
Member may propose to offer a motion of higher privilege (VIII, 2684); 
but the motion of higher privilege must be put before the previous 
question (V, 5480; VIII, 2684). The Member who has been recognized to 
call up a measure in the House has priority of recognition to move the 
previous question thereon, even over the chairman of the committee 
reporting that measure (Oct. 1, 1986, p. 27468). The fact that a Member 
has the floor on one matter does not necessarily entitle him to prior 
recognition on a motion relating to another matter (II, 1464). It is 
because the Speaker is governed by these usages that he often asks, when 
a Member seeks recognition, ``For what purpose does the gentleman 
rise?''. By this question he determines whether the Member proposes 
business or a motion which is entitled to precedence and he may deny 
recognition (VI, 289-291, 293; Aug. 13, 1982, pp. 20969, 20975-78; 
Speaker Wright, Feb. 17, 1988, p. 1583; Feb. 27, 1992, p. ----) and from 
such denial there is no appeal (II, 1425; VI, 292; VIII, 2429, 2646, 
2762; Feb. 27, 1992, p. ----). Recognition for parliamentary inquiry 
lies in the discretion of the Chair (VI, 541), who may take a 
parliamentary inquiry under advisement (VIII, 2174), especially where 
not related to the pending proceedings (Apr. 7, 1992, p. ----).


Sec. 754. Speaker governed by usage in 
recognitions.

  Although  there is no appeal from the Speaker's recognition, he is 
not a free agent in determining who is to have the floor. The practice 
of the House establishes rules from which he may not depart. When the 
order of business brings before the House a certain bill he must first 
recognize, for motions for its disposition, the Member who represents 
the committee which has reported it (II, 1447; VI, 306, 514). This is 
not necessarily the chairman of the committee, for a chairman who, in 
committee, has opposed the bill, must yield the prior recognition to a 
member of his committee who has favored the bill (II, 1449). Usually, 
however, the chairman has charge of the bill and is entitled at all 
stages to prior recognition for allowable motions intended to expedite 
it (II, 1452, 1457; VI, 296, 300). Once the proponent of a pending 
motion has been recognized for debate thereon, a unanimous-consent 
request to modify the motion may be entertained only if the proponent 
yields for that purpose (Jan. 5, 1996, p. ----). This principle does 
not, however, apply to the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole (II, 
1453). The Member who originally introduces the bill which a committee 
reports has no claims to recognition as opposed to the claims of the 
members of the committee, but in cases where a proposition is brought 
directly before the House by a Member the mover is entitled to prior 
recognition for motions and debate (II, 1446, 1454; VI, 302-305, 417; 




Sec. 755. Loss of right to recognition by Member in 
charge.

  When  an essential motion made by the Member in charge of a bill is 
decided adversely, the right to prior recognition passes to the Member 
leading the opposition to the motion (II, 1465-1468; VI, 308). Under 
this principle control of a measure passes when the House disagrees to a 
recommendation of the committee reporting the measure (II, 1469-1472) or 
when the Committee of the Whole reports the measure adversely (IV, 4897; 
VIII, 2430). Similarly, this principle applies when a motion for the 
previous question is rejected (VI, 308). However, a Member who led the 
opposition to ordering the previous question may be preempted by a 
motion of higher precedence (Aug. 13, 1982, pp. 20969, 20975-78). On the 
other hand, the mere defeat of an amendment proposed by the Member in 
charge does not cause the right to prior recognition to pass to an 
opponent (II, 1478, 1479).



[[Page 561]]

to the report, and the manager retains control to offer the initial 
motion to dispose of amendments in disagreement (Speaker Albert, May 1, 
1975, p. 12761). Similarly, the invalidation of a conference report on a 
point of order, which is equivalent to its rejection by the House, does 
not give the Member raising the question of order the right to the floor 
(VIII, 3284) and exerts no effect on the right to recognition (VI, 313). 
In most cases, when the House refuses to order the previous question on 
a conference report, it then rejects the report (II, 1473-1477; V, 
6396). However, control of a Senate amendment reported from conference 
in disagreement passes to an opponent when the House rejects a motion to 
dispose thereof (Aug. 6, 1993, p. ----).
  Rejection of a conference report after the previous question has been 
ordered thereon does not cause recognition to pass to a Member opposed 



Sec. 756. Prior right of Members of the committee to 
recognition for debate.

  In  debate the members of the committee--except 
the Committee of the Whole (II, 1453)--are entitled to priority of 
recognition for debate (II, 1438, 1448; VI, 306, 307), but a motion to 
lay a proposition on the table is in order before the Member entitled to 
prior recognition for debate has begun his remarks (V, 5391-5395; VI, 
412; VIII, 2649, 2650).


  In recognizing for general debate under general House rules the Chair 
alternates between those favoring and those opposing the pending matter, 
preferring members of the committee reporting the bill (II, 1439-1444). 
When a member of a committee has occupied the floor in favor of a 
measure the Chair attempts to recognize a Member opposing next, even 
though he be not a member of the committee (II, 1445). The principle of 
alternation is not insisted on rigidly where a limited time is 
controlled by Members, as in the ``forty minutes'' of debate on motions 
for suspension of the rules and the previous question (II, 1442).


[[Page 562]]

to consider a motion to suspend the rules and pass an unreported bill (on a 
non-suspension day) (Aug. 12, 1986, p. 21126); (4) requests to permit 
consideration of (nongermane) amendments to bills (Nov. 14, 1991, p. 
32083; Dec. 20, 1995, p. ----); (5) requests to permit expedited 
consideration of measures on subsequent days, as by waiving the 
requirement that a bill be referred to committee for 30 legislative days 
before a motion to discharge may be presented under clause 3 of rule 
XXVII (June 5, 1992, p. ----); and (6) requests relating to Senate 
passed bills on the Speaker's table (Oct. 25, 1995, p. ----; Jan. 3, 
1996, p. ----). In addition, with respect to unanimous-consent requests 
to dispose of Senate amendments to House bills on the Speaker's table, 
the Chair will entertain such a request only if made by the chairman of 
the committee with jurisdiction, or by another committee member 
authorized to make the request (Apr. 26, 1984, p. 10194; Feb. 4, 1987, 
p. 2675; Jan. 3, 1996, p. ----; Jan. 4, 1996, p. ----; Deschler's 
Precedents, vol. 6, ch. 21, sec. 1.23). The Chair has declined to 
entertain a unanimous-consent request to print a separate volume of 
tributes given in memory of a deceased former Member absent concurrence 
of the Joint Committee on Printing (Aug. 1, 1996, p. ----). The 
Speaker's enforcement of this policy is not subject to appeal (Apr. 4, 
1995, p. ----). ``Floor leadership'' in this context has been construed 
to apply only to the Minority Leader and not to the entire hierarchy of 
minority leadership, where the Chair had been assured that the Minority 
Leader had been consulted (Apr. 25, 1985, p. 9415). It is not a proper 
parliamentary inquiry to ask the Chair to indicate which side of the 
aisle has failed under the Speaker's guidelines to clear a unanimous-
consent request (Feb. 1, 1996, p. ----).



Sec. 757. Exceptions to the usages constraining the Speaker 
as to recognitions.

  As  to motions to suspend the rules, which are in 
order on Mondays and Tuesdays of each week, the Speaker exercises a 
discretion to decline to recognize (V, 6791-6794, 6845; VIII, 3402-
3404). He also may decline to recognize a Member who desires to ask 
unanimous consent to set aside the rules in order to consider a bill not 
otherwise in order, this being the way of signifying his objection to 
the request. But this authority did not extend to the former Consent 
Calendar. The Speaker has announced and enforced a policy of conferring 
recognition for unanimous-consent requests for the consideration of 
unreported bills and resolutions only when assured that the majority and 
minority floor and committee leaderships have no objection (see, e.g., 
Dec. 15, 1981, p. 31590; May 4, 1982, p. 8613; Nov. 16, 1983, p. 33138; 
Jan. 25, 1984, p. 354; Jan. 26, 1984, p. 449; Jan. 31, 1984, p. 1063; 
Oct. 2, 1984, p. 28516; Feb. 4, 1987, p. 2675; Jan. 3, 1989, p. 89; Jan. 
3, 1991, p. 64; Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----; Apr. 4, 1995, p. ----). This 
policy has been extended to: (1) requests relating to reported bills 
(July 23, 1993, p. ----); (2) requests for immediate consideration of 
matters (separately unreported) comprising a portion of a measure 
already passed by the House (Dec. 19, 1985, p. 38356); (3) requests 





Sec. 758. The hour rule in debate.

  2.  * * * and no Member 
shall occupy more than one hour in debate on any question in the House 
or in committee, except as further provided in this rule.


  This clause dates from 1841, when the increase of membership had made 
it necessary to prevent the making of long speeches which sometimes 
occupied three or four hours each (V, 4978).

  It applies to debate on a question of privilege, as well as to debate 
on other questions (V, 4990; VIII, 2448); and when the time of debate 
has been placed within the control of those representing the two sides 
of a question it must be assigned to Members in accordance with this 
rule (V, 5004, 5005; VIII, 2462). Under this clause a Member recognized 
for one hour for a ``special order'' speech in the House may not extend 
that time, even by unanimous consent (July 12, 1971, pp. 24594, 24603; 
Feb. 9, 1966, p. 2794). In the 104th Congress the Speaker announced his 
intention to strictly enforce time limitations on debate (Jan. 5, 1995, 
p. ----).


[[Page 563]]

  For a discussion of ``morning-hour debates'' and ``Oxford'' style 
debates, see Sec. Sec. 753b-c, supra.




Sec. 759. The opening and closing of general debate.

  3.  The 
Member reporting the measure under consideration from a committee may 
open and close, where general debate has been had thereon; and if it 
shall extend beyond one day, he shall be entitled to one hour to close, 
notwithstanding he may have used an hour in opening.


  This clause was adopted in 1847 and perfected in 1880 (V, 4996).


  In the later practice this right to close may not be exercised after 
the previous question is ordered (V, 4997-5000). This clause applies to 
general debate in Committee of the Whole (Mar. 26, 1985, p. 6283).



Sec. 760. The call to order for words spoken in 
debate.

  4.  If any Member, in speaking or otherwise, transgress the rules 
of the House, the Speaker shall, or any Member may, call him to order; 
in which case he shall immediately sit down, unless permitted, on motion 
of another Member, to explain, and the House shall, if appealed to, 
decide on the case without debate; if the decision is in favor of the 
Member called to order, he shall be at liberty to proceed, but not 
otherwise; and, if the case requires it, he shall be liable to censure 
or such punishment as the House may deem proper.



[[Page 564]]

  5. If a Member is called to order for words spoken in debate, the 
Member calling him to order shall indicate the words excepted to, and 
they shall be taken down in writing at the Clerk's desk and read aloud 
to the House; but he shall not be held to answer, nor be subject to the 
censure of the House therefor, if further debate or other business has 
intervened.

  Clause 4 was adopted in 1789 and amended in 1822 and 1880 (V, 5175). 
Clause 5 was adopted in 1837 and amended in 1880, although the practice 
of writing down objectionable words had been established in 1808.



Sec. 761. Words taken down and other calls to order 
for unparliamentary debate.

  Members  transgressing the rules of debate and 
decorum may be called to order by the Speaker (VIII, 2481, 2521, 3479), 
a Member (II, 1344; V, 5154, 5161-5163, 5175, 5192), or a delegate (II, 
1295). A Member may initiate a call to order either by making a point of 
order that a Member is transgressing the rules or by formally demanding 
that words be taken down under clause 5 (Sept. 12, 1996, pp. ----, ----; 
Sept. 17, 1996, p. ----; Sept. 18, 1996, p. ----; Sept. 25, 1996, p. --
--). A Member's comportment in debate may constitute a breach of decorum 
even though the content of the Member's speech is not, itself, 
unparliamentary (July 29, 1994, p. ----). Except for naming the 
offending Member, the Speaker may not otherwise censure or punish him 
(II, 1345; VI, 237; Sept. 18, 1996, p. ----; see also Sec. 366, supra). 
The House may by proper motions under clauses 4 and 5 of this rule 
dictate the consequences of a ruling by the Chair that a Member was out 
of order (May 26, 1983, p. 14048).


  As discussed in Sec. 374, supra, it is customary for the Chair to 
initiate the call to order a Member who criticizes the actions of the 
Senate, its Members, or its committees, whether in debate or through an 
insertion in the Record (Speaker Albert, Apr. 17, 1975, p. 10458; Oct. 
7, 1975, p. 32055; Feb. 27, 1997, p. ----). On the other hand, the Chair 
customarily awaits an initiative from the floor to call to order a 
Member engaging in personalities in debate with respect to another 
Member of the House (June 29, 1987, p. 18072; Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----; 
Feb. 27, 1997, p. ----). The Chair may take initiative to call to order 
a Member engaging in verbal outburst following expiration of his 
recognition for debate (Mar. 16, 1988, p. 4081). The Chair may deny 
further recognition to an offending Member, subject to the will of the 
House on the question of his proceeding in order (Speaker O'Neill, June 
16, 1982, p. 13843; July 29, 1994, p. ----; Sept. 18, 1996, p. ----). 
The Chair may admonish a Member for words spoken in debate and request 
that they be removed from the Record even prior to a demand that the 
words be taken down (Sept. 24, 1992, p. ----).


[[Page 565]]

consent is not required for a Member to withdraw his demand 
that words be taken down prior to a ruling by the Chair (June 18, 1986, 
p. 14232).
  Clause 5 prohibits the taking down of words after intervening business 
(V, 5177; VIII, 2536; Sept. 16, 1991, p. ----; Mar. 28, 1996, p. ----). 
However, a Member on his feet and seeking recognition at the appropriate 
time may yet be recognized to demand that words be taken down even 
though brief debate may have intervened, and a request that a Member 
uttering objectionable words yield does not forfeit the right to demand 
that the words be taken down (VIII, 2528). Action taken by the Chair to 
determine whether a point of order from the floor is intended as a 
demand that words be taken down is not such intervening debate or 
business as would render the demand untimely (Oct. 2, 1984, p. 28522). 
Unanimous 

  While a demand that a Member's words be taken down is pending, that 
Member should be seated immediately (July 29, 1994, p. ----; Jan. 25, 
1995, p. ----), and no Member may engage the Chair until the demand has 
been disposed of (Nov. 9, 1995, p. ----; Nov. 15, 1995, p. ----). Where 
two Members consecutively demand that each others' words be taken down 
as unparliamentary, the Chair advises both Members to be seated and then 
directs the Clerk to report the first words objected to (June 19, 1996, 
p. ----). An offending Member may be directed by the Chair to be seated 
even if a formal demand that the Member's words be taken down is not 
pending; for example, where a Member declines to proceed in order at the 
directive of the Chair after points of order have been sustained against 
unparliamentary references in debate, the Chair may, under rules I and 
XIV, deny the Member further recognition as a disposition of the 
question of order, subject to the will of the House on the question of 
proceeding in order (see Sec. 366, supra; Sept. 12, 1996, p.----; Sept. 
17, 1996, p. ----; Sept. 18, 1996, p. ----).

  The words having been read from the desk, the Chair decides whether 
they are in order (II, 1249; V, 5163, 5169, 5187), as read by the Clerk 
and not as otherwise alleged to have been uttered (June 9, 1992, p. ----
). When a Member denies that the words taken down are the exact words 
used by himself, the question as to the words is put to the House for 
decision (V, 5179, 5180). Where demands are made to take down words both 
as spoken in a one-minute speech and as reiterated when the offending 
Member is permitted by unanimous consent to explain, the Chair may rule 
simultaneously on both (July 25, 1996, p. ----). A decision of the Chair 
on a point of order that a Member is engaging in personalities is 
subject to appeal (Sept. 28, 1996, p. ----).

  The rule permits a motion that an offending Member be permitted to 
explain before the Chair rules on the words taken down, and the Chair 
has discretion to ask for explanation before ruling on the words (Feb. 
1, 1940, p. 954). The Chair also may recognize an offending Member, 
permitted by unanimous consent, to explain words ruled out of order 
(Nov. 10, 1971, pp. 40442-43).


[[Page 566]]

the Chair (Oct. 8, 1991, p. 25757; Mar. 29, 1995, p. 
----; July 25, 1996, p. ----) or offered by any Member (July 25, 1996, 
p. ----). The motion is not inconsistent with the immediate consequence 
of the call to order because clause 4 also permits the House to 
determine the extent of the sanction for a given breach (Oct. 10, 1991, 
p. 26102). The motion is debatable within narrow limits of relevance 
under the hour rule, and consequently also is subject to the motion to 
lay on the table (Speaker Foley, Oct. 8, 1991, p. 25757).
  If words taken down are ruled out of order, the Member loses the floor 
(V, 5196-5199; Jan. 25, 1995, p. ----) and may not proceed on the same 
day without the permission of the House (Jan. 29, 1946, p. 533; Aug. 21, 
1974, pp. 29652-53; Jan. 25, 1995, p. ----; Apr. 17, 1997, p. ----), 
even on yielded time (V, 5147), and may not insert unspoken remarks in 
the Record (Jan. 25, 1995, p. ----), but still may exercise his right to 
vote or to demand the yeas and nays (VIII, 2546). The ruling does not 
take the ``issue'' off the floor, and other Members may proceed to 
debate the same subject (July 25, 1996, p. ----). The offending Member 
will not lose the floor if the House permits the Member to proceed in 
order (see, e.g., May 10, 1990, p. 9992), which motion may be stated on 
the initiative of 

  Where a Member has been called to order not in response to a formal 
demand that words be taken down but in response to a point of order, the 
former practice was to test the opinion of the House by a motion ``that 
the gentleman be allowed to proceed in order'' (V, 5188, 5189; VIII, 
2534). Under the modern practice the Chair either may invite the 
offending Member to proceed in order (see, e.g., Sept. 12, 1996, p. ----
) or, particularly where admonitions have been ignored, may deny the 
Member recognition for the balance of the time for which he was 
recognized, subject to the will of the House, as by a vote on the 
question whether the Member should be permitted to proceed in order 
(Sept. 12, 1996, p. ----; Sept. 17, 1996, p. ----; Sept. 18, 1996, p. --
--; Sept. 25, 1996, p. ----).

  Words taken down and ruled out of order by the Chair are subject to a 
motion that they be stricken or expunged from the Record. This motion 
has precedence (VIII, 2538-2541; Aug. 21, 1974, pp. 29652-53), is often 
stated on the initiative of the Chair (May 10, 1990, p. 9992), and is 
debatable within narrow limits (VIII, 2539; Speaker Martin, June 12, 
1947, p. 6896). However, the motion may not be entertained in the 
Committee of the Whole (Feb. 18, 1941, p. 1126) or offered by the Member 
called to order (Feb. 11, 1941, pp. 894, 899), although that Member may 
ask unanimous consent to withdraw his words (VIII, 2528, 2538, 2540, 
2543, 2544).

  When disorderly words are spoken in the Committee of the Whole, they 
are taken down and read at the Clerk's desk, and the Committee rises 
automatically (VIII, 2533, 2538, 2539) and reports them to the House 
(II, 1257-1259, 1348). Action in the House on words reported from the 
Committee of the Whole is limited to the words reported (VIII, 2528), 
and it is not in order as a question of privilege in the House to 
propose censure of a Member for disorderly words spoken in Committee of 
the Whole but not reported therefrom (V, 5202). After words reported to 
the House from Committee of the Whole have been disposed of (by decision 
of the Chair and any associated action by the House), the Committee 
resumes its sitting without motion (VIII, 2539, 2541).


[[Page 567]]

leged to be treasonable (II, 1252), or when a Member has uttered an 
attack on the Speaker (II, 1248; Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----; Jan. 19, 1995, 
p. ----).
  The House has censured a Member for disorderly words (II, 1253, 1254, 
1259, 1305; VI, 236). The House may proceed to censure or other action 
although business may have intervened in certain exceptional cases, such 
as when disorderly words are part of an occurrence constituting a breach 
of privilege (II, 1657), when a Member's language has been investigated 
by a committee (II, 1655), when a Member has reiterated on the floor 
certain published charges (III, 2637), when a Member has uttered words al-


  For a discussion of resolving the use of objectional exhibits that are 
a breach of decorum, see Sec. 622, supra; and for a discussion of 
resolving the use of objectional exhibits that are not necessarily a 
breach of decorum, see rule XXX, Sec. 915, infra.




Sec. 762. Member to speak but once to the same question; 
right to close controlled debate.

  6.  No Member shall speak more than once 
to the same question without leave of the House, unless he be the mover, 
proposer, or introducer of the matter pending, in which case he shall be 
permitted to speak in reply, but not until every Member choosing to 
speak shall have spoken.


  This clause was adopted in 1789, and amended in 1840 (V, 4991).

  A Member who has spoken once to the main question may speak again to 
an amendment (V, 4993, 4994). It is too late to make the point that a 
Member has spoken already if no one claims the floor until he has made 
some progress in his speech (V, 4992). This clause is often 
circumscribed by special orders of business that vest control of debate 
in designated Members and permit them to yield more than once to other 
Members. For a discussion of the right of a Member to speak more than 
once under the five-minute rule, see Sec. 873a, infra. The right to 
close may not be exercised after the previous question has been ordered 
(V, 4997-5000). The right to close does not belong to a Member who has 
merely moved to reconsider the vote on a bill which he did not report 
(V, 4995). The right of a contestant in an election case to close when 
he is permitted to speak in the contest has been a matter of discussion 
(V, 5001).


[[Page 568]]

ommended by a committee of sequential referral, a member 
of that committee is entitled to close debate against an amendment 
thereto (June 15, 1989, pp. 12084-87). By recommending an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute, a reporting committee implicitly opposes a 
further amendment that could have been included therein, such that a 
committee representative who controls time in opposition may close 
debate thereon (June 4, 1992, pp. ---- and ----; June 13, 1995, p. ----
). Where the rule providing for the consideration of an unreported 
measure designates managers who do not serve on a committee of 
jurisdiction, those managers are entitled to close controlled debate 
against an amendment thereto (Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----).
  Ordinarily the manager of a bill or other representative of the 
committee position and not the proponent of an amendment has the right 
to close debate on an amendment on which debate has been limited and 
allocated under the five-minute rule in Committee of the Whole (VIII, 
2581; July 16, 1981, p. 16043; Apr. 4, 1984, p. 7841; June 5, 1985, p. 
14302; July 10, 1985, p. 18496; Oct. 24, 1985, p. 28824; May 2, 1988, p. 
9638; May 5, 1988, pp. 9961-62), including the minority manager (June 
29, 1984, p. 20253; Aug. 14, 1986, p. 21660; July 26, 1989, p. 16403). 
The Chair will assume that the manager of a measure is representing the 
committee of jurisdiction even where the measure called up is unreported 
(Apr. 15, 1996, p. ----), where an unreported compromise text is made in 
order as original text in lieu of committee amendments (Oct. 19, 1995, 
p. ----), or where the committee reported the measure without 
recommendation (Feb. 12, 1997, p. ----). Where the pending text includes 
a provision rec-


  Under certain circumstances, however, the proponent of the amendment 
may close debate, as where he represents the position of the reporting 
committee (Aug. 14, 1986, p. 21660) or where no committee representative 
opposes the amendment (Aug. 15, 1986, p. 22057). Where a committee 
representative is allocated control of time in opposition to an 
amendment not by recognition from the Chair but by unanimous-consent 
request of a third Member who was allocated the time by the Chair, then 
the committee representative is not entitled to close debate as against 
the proponent (July 24, 1997, p. ----). Similarly, the proponent of the 
amendment may close debate where no representative from the reporting 
committee opposes an amendment to a multi-jurisdictional bill (Mar. 9, 
1995, p. ----); where the measure is unreported and has no ``manager'' 
under the terms of a special rule (Apr. 24, 1985, p. 9206); or where a 
measure is being managed by a single reporting committee and the Member 
controlling time in opposition, though a member of the committee having 
jurisdiction over the amendment, does not represent the reporting 
committee (Nov. 9, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 569]]

equipment (including cellular phones and 
computers) upon the floor of the House at any time.



Sec. 763. Decorum of Members in the Hall.

  7.  While the 
Speaker is putting a question or addressing the House no Member shall 
walk out of or across the hall, nor, when a Member is speaking, pass 
between him and the Chair; and during the session of the House no Member 
shall wear his hat, or remain by the Clerk's desk during the call of the 
roll or the counting of ballots, or smoke upon the floor of the House; 
and the Sergeant-at-Arms is charged with the strict enforcement of this 
clause. Neither shall any person be allowed to smoke or to use any 
personal, electronic office 


  Until the 104th Congress this clause was made up of provisions adopted 
in 1789, 1837, 1871, and 1896. In the 104th Congress a reference to the 
former Doorkeeper was deleted and the prohibition against using personal 
electronic office equipment was added (secs. 201 and 223, H. Res. 6, 
Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). The prohibition was affirmed by response to a 
parliamentary inquiry (Feb. 23, 1995, p. ----). Originally Members wore 
their hats during sessions, as in Parliament, and the custom was not 
abolished until 1837 (II, 1136). In the 103d Congress the Speaker 
announced that the prohibition against Members wearing hats included 
doffing the hat in tribute to a group (Speaker Foley, June 22, 1993, p. 
----; June 10, 1996, p. ----). In the 96th Congress, the Speaker 
announced that he considered as proper the customary and traditional 
attire for Members, including a coat and tie for male Members and 
appropriate attire for female Members (where thermostat controls had 
been raised in the summer to conserve energy); the House then adopted a 
resolution, offered as a question of the privileges of the House, 
requiring Members to wear proper attire as determined by the Speaker, 
and denying non-complying Members the privilege of the floor (July 17, 
1979, pp. 19008, 19073). In the 97th Congress, the Speaker announced 
during a vote by electronic device that Members were not permitted under 
the traditions of the House to wear overcoats on the House floor (Dec. 
16, 1981, p. 31847).

  Smoking is not permitted in the Hall during sessions of the House 
(Oct. 15, 1990, p. 29248), nor during sittings of the Committee of the 
Whole (Aug. 14, 1986, p. 21707); and the prohibition extends to smoking 
behind the rail (Feb. 23, 1995, p. ----). On the opening day of the 
101st Congress, the Speaker prefaced his customary announcement of 
policies concerning such aspects of the legislative process as 
recognition for unanimous-consent requests and privileges of the floor 
with a general statement concerning decorum in the House, including 
particular adjurations against engaging in personalities, addressing 
remarks to spectators, and passing in front of the Member addressing the 
Chair (Jan. 3, 1989, p. 88; see also Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----; Jan. 4, 
1995, p. ----). In the 104th Congress the Speaker announced: (1) that 
Members should not traffic, or linger in, the well of the House while 
another Member is speaking (Feb. 3, 1995, p. ----; Mar. 3, 1995, p. ----
; Dec. 15, 1995, p. ----); and (2) that Members should not engage in 
disruption while another Member is speaking (Dec. 20, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 570]]

thereto, until the resolution of a contested election to which 
he was party (H. Res. 233, Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----).

  A former Member must observe proper decorum under this clause, and the 
Chair may direct the Sergeant-at-Arms to assist the Chair in maintaining 
such decorum (Sept. 17, 1997, p. ----). In the 105th Congress the House 
adopted a resolution offered as a question of the privileges of the 
House alleging indecorous behavior of a former Member and instructing 
the Sergeant-at-Arms to ban the former Member from the floor, and rooms 
leading 




Sec. 764. Gallery occupants not to be introduced.

  8.  It 
shall not be in order for any Member to introduce to or to bring to the 
attention of the House during its sessions any occupant in the galleries 
of the House; nor may the Speaker entertain a request for the suspension 
of this rule by unanimous consent or otherwise.



  This clause was adopted April 10, 1933 (VI, 197).



Sec. 764a. Revisions of remarks in debate.

  9. (a)  The 
Congressional Record shall be a substantially verbatim account of 
remarks made during the proceedings of the House, subject only to 
technical, grammatical, and typographical corrections authorized by the 
Member making the remarks involved.


  (b) Unparliamentary remarks may be deleted only by permission or order 
of the House.




Sec. 764b. Standard of conduct.

  (c)  This clause establishes 
a standard of conduct within the meaning of clause 4(e)(1)(B) of rule X.






[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 571-587]]
[DOCID:hrmanual-75]                         

[[Page 571]]
 
  This clause was adopted in the 104th Congress (sec. 213, H. Res. 6, 
Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). Under clause 9(a) a unanimous-consent request to 
revise and extend remarks permits a Member (1) to make technical, 
grammatical, and typographical corrections to remarks uttered and (2) to 
include in the Record additional remarks not uttered to appear in a 
distinctive typeface; however, such a unanimous-consent request does not 
permit a Member to remove remarks actually uttered (Jan. 4, 1995, p. --
--). Clause 9(a) also applies to statements and rulings of the Chair 
(Jan. 20, 1995, p. ----).


                                Rule XV.


                     on calls of the roll and house.




Sec. 765. Call of the roll for the yeaandnay 
vote.

  1.  Subject to clause 5 of this rule, upon every roll call the names 
of the Members shall be called alphabetically by surname, except when 
two or more have the same surname, in which case the name of the State 
shall be added; and if there be two such Members from the same State, 
the whole name shall be called, and after the roll has been once called, 
the Clerk shall call in their alphabetical order the names of those not 
voting. Members appearing after the second call, but before the result 
is announced, may vote or announce a pair.


  The first form of this clause was adopted in 1789, and amendments were 
added in 1870, 1880, 1890 (V, 6046), 1969 (H. Res. 7, 91st Cong., Jan. 
3, 1969, p. 35), and 1972 (H. Res. 1123, 92d Cong., Oct. 13, 1972, pp. 
36005-012). The final amendment, which became effective immediately 
prior to noon on January 3, 1973, introduced the concept and use of the 
electronic voting system into the provisions of rule XV.

  The names of Members who have not been sworn are not entered on the 
roll from which the yeas and nays are called for entry on the Journal 
(V, 6048; VI, 638; VIII, 3122).


[[Page 572]]

  Commencing in 1879 the Clerk, in calling the roll, called Members by 
the surnames with the prefix ``Mr.'' instead of calling the full names 
(V, 6047), but since the 62d Congress the practice has been discontinued 
in the interest of brevity (VIII, 3121). The Speaker's name is not on 
the voting roll and is not ordinarily called (V, 5970). When he votes 
his name is called at the close of the roll (V, 5965). In case of a tie 
which is revealed by a correction of the roll, he has voted after 
intervening business or even on another day (V, 5969, 6061-6063; VIII, 
3075). Where the Speaker through an error of the Clerk in reporting the 
yeas and nays announces a result different from that actually had, the 
status of the question is governed by the vote as recorded and 
subsequent announcement by the Speaker of the changed result is 
authoritative, or he may entertain a motion for correction of the 
Journal in accordance with the vote as finally ascertained (VIII, 3162).

  Under this rule, as under clause 4 of rule XV, the roll is called 
twice, and those Members appearing after their names are called but 
before the announcement of the result may vote or announce a pair. Under 
the former practice, prior to the amendment adopted on January 3, 1969, 
a Member who had failed to respond on either the first or second call of 
the roll could not be recorded before the announcement of the result (V, 
6066-6070; VIII, 3134-3150) unless he ``qualified'' by declaring that he 
had been within the Hall, listening, when his name should have been 
called and failed to hear it (V, 6071-6072; VIII, 3144-3150), and then 
only on the theory that his name may have been inadvertently omitted by 
the Clerk (VIII, 3137). Under the former practice where the roll was 
called by the Clerk, either before announcement of the result (V, 6064) 
or after such announcement (VIII, 3125), the Speaker could order the 
vote recapitulated (V, 6049, 6050; VIII, 3128). A Member may not change 
his vote on recapitulation if the result has been announced (VIII, 
3124), but errors in the record of such votes may be corrected (VIII, 
3125). A motion that a vote be recapitulated is not privileged (VIII, 
3126). The Speaker has declined to order a recapitulation of a vote 
taken by electronic device (Speaker Albert, July 30, 1975, p. 25841).



Sec. 765a. Bell system.

  The  legislative call system was 
designed to alert Members to certain occurrences on the floor of the 
House. The Speaker has directed that the bells and lights comprising the 
system be utilized as follows (Jan. 23, 1979, pp. 701-02):


  Tellers--one ring and one light on left. Since teller votes were 
discontinued at the beginning of the 103d Congress, this signal is no 
longer utilized.

  Recorded vote, yeas and nays, or automatic rollcall vote taken either 
by electronic system or by use of tellers with ballot cards--two bells 
and two lights on left indicate a vote in House or in Committee of the 
Whole by which Members are recorded by name. Bells are repeated five 
minutes after the first ring. When by unanimous consent waiving the 
five-minute minimum set by clause 5(b)(3) of rule I the House authorized 
the Speaker to put remaining postponed questions to two-minute 
electronic votes, two bells were rung (Oct. 4, 1988, pp. 28126, 28148).

  Recorded vote, yeas and nays, or automatic rollcall electronic vote on 
recommittal to be immediately followed by possible five-minute vote on 
final passage (clause 5 of rule XV)--two bells rung at beginning of 
motion to recommit, followed by five bells, indicate that Chair will 
order five-minute votes if recorded vote, yeas and nays, or automatic 
vote is ordered immediately thereafter on final passage or adoption. Two 
bells repeated five minutes after first ring.


[[Page 573]]

nays, or automatic vote is ordered on additional amendments on which 
separate votes have been demanded. Two bells repeated five minutes after 
first ring. Five bells on each subsequent amendment if roll call 
ordered.
  Recorded vote, yeas and nays, or automatic rollcall electronic vote on 
the first of several amendments reported to the House from the Committee 
of the Whole (clause 5 of rule XV)--two bells rung at beginning of first 
amendment on which separate vote is demanded, followed by five bells, 
indicate that Chair will order five-minute vote if recorded vote, yeas and 

  Recorded vote, yeas and nays, or automatic roll call by call of the 
roll--two bells, followed by a brief pause, then two bells indicate such 
a vote taken under the provisions of clause 1 of rule XV by a call of 
the roll in the House. The bells are repeated when the Clerk reaches the 
``R's'' in the first call of the roll.

  Regular quorum call--three bells and three lights on left indicate a 
quorum call either in the House or in Committee of the Whole by 
electronic system or by clerks. The bells are repeated five minutes 
after the first ring. Where quorum call is by call of the roll, three 
bells followed by a brief pause, then three more bells, with the process 
repeated when the Clerk reaches the ``R's'' in the first call of the 
roll, are utilized.

  Regular quorum call in Committee of the Whole, which will possibly be 
immediately followed by five-minute electronic recorded vote (clause 2 
of rule XXIII)--three bells rung at beginning of quorum call, followed 
by five bells, indicate that Chair will order five-minute vote if 
recorded vote is ordered on pending question. Three bells repeated five 
minutes after first ring.

  Notice or short quorum call in Committee of the Whole--one long bell 
followed by three regular bells, and three lights on left, indicate that 
the Chair has exercised his discretion under clause 2 of rule XXIII and 
will vacate proceedings when a quorum of the Committee appears. Bells 
are repeated every five minutes unless (a) the call is vacated by 
ringing of one long bell and extinguishing of three lights, or (b) the 
call is converted into a regular quorum call and three regular bells are 
rung.

  Adjournment--four bells and four lights on left.

  Any five-minute vote--five bells and five lights on left.

  Postponed votes on (a) motions to suspend the rules; (b) final votes 
on bills, resolutions, or conference reports; or (c) previous question 
on questions that are, themselves, susceptible of postponement (clause 
5(b) of rule I)--two bells, followed by five bells, indicate start of 
15-minute vote on first postponed question in each such series. Two 
bells repeated five minutes after first ring. Five bells on all 
subsequent five-minute votes in each series on which Speaker has reduced 
vote time.

  Recess of the House--six bells and six lights on left.

  Civil Defense Warning--twelve bells, sounded at two-second intervals, 
with six lights illuminated.

  The light on the far right--seven--indicates that the House is in 
session.


[[Page 574]]

  Failure of the signal bells to announce a vote does not warrant 
repetition of the roll call (VIII, 3153-3155, 3157) nor does such a 
failure permit a Member to be recorded following the conclusion of the 
call (June 9, 1938, p. 8662).



Sec. 766. Changes and corrections of votes.

  Before  the 
result of a vote has been finally and conclusively pronounced by the 
Chair, but not thereafter, a Member may change his vote (V, 5931-5933, 
6093, 6094; VIII, 3070, 3123, 3124, 3160), and a Member who has answered 
``present'' may change it to ``yea'' or ``nay'' (V, 6060). But a vote 
given by a Member may not be withdrawn without leave of the House (V, 
5930).


  When a vote actually given fails to be recorded during a call of the 
roll (V, 6061-6063) the Member may, before the approval of the Journal, 
demand as a matter of right that correction be made (V, 5969; VIII, 
3143). But statements of other Members as to alleged errors in a 
recorded vote must be very definite and positive to justify the Speaker 
in ordering a change of the roll (V, 6064, 6099). The Speaker declines 
to entertain requests to correct the Journal and Record on votes taken 
by electronic device, based upon the technical accuracy of the 
electronic system if properly utilized and upon the responsibility of 
each Member to correctly cast and verify his vote (Apr. 18, 1973, p. 
13081; May 10, 1973, p. 15282). By unanimous consent the House may 
vacate proceedings on a recorded vote conducted in the Committee of the 
Whole and require a vote de novo where it is alleged that Members were 
improperly prevented from being recorded (June 22, 1995, p. ----).




Sec. 767. Interruptions of the roll call.

  When  once begun 
the roll call may not be interrupted even by a motion to adjourn (V, 
6053; VIII, 3133), a parliamentary inquiry (VIII, 3132), a question of 
personal privilege (V, 6058, 6059; VI, 554, 564), the arrival of the 
time fixed for another order of business (V, 6056) or for a recess (V, 
6054, 6055; VIII, 3133), or the presentation of a conference report (V, 
6443). But it is interrupted for the reception of messages and by the 
arrival of the hour fixed for adjournment sine die (V, 6715-6718). 
Incidental questions arising during the roll call, such as the refusal 
of a Member to vote (V, 5946-5948), are considered after the completion 
of the call and the announcement of the vote (V, 5947). The rules do not 
preclude a Member from announcing after a recorded vote on which he 
failed to answer, how he would have voted if present (Speaker Rayburn, 
June 27, 1957, p. 10521; contra VIII, 3151), but neither the rules nor 
the practice permit a Member to announce after a recorded vote how 
absent colleagues would have voted if present (VI, 200; Apr. 3, 1933, p. 
1139; Apr. 28, 1933, p. 2587; May 20, 1933, p. 3834; Mar. 16, 1934, pp. 
4691, 4700; Apr. 14, 1937, pp. 3489, 3490; Apr. 15, 1937, p. 3563).



[[Page 575]]

subject to clause 6(e)(2) of this rule, be sent for and 
arrested, wherever they may be found, by officers to be appointed by the 
Sergeant-at-Arms for that purpose, and their attendance secured and 
retained; and the House shall determine upon what condition they shall 
be discharged. Members who voluntarily appear shall, unless the House 
otherwise direct, be immediately admitted to the Hall of the House, and 
they shall report their names to the Clerk to be entered upon the 
Journal as present.



Sec. 768. The call of the House.

  2.  (a) In the absence of a 
quorum, fifteen Members, including the Speaker, if there is one, shall 
be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members; and those for 
whom no sufficient excuse is made may, by order of a majority of those 
present, 


  The essential portions of paragraph (a) of this clause were adopted in 
1789 and 1795, with minor amendments in 1888, 1890 (IV, 2982) and 1971 
(H. Res. 5, 92d Cong., Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). Later in the 92d Congress 
several provisions in rule XV, including this clause, were amended to 
reflect the implementation of the electronic voting system (H. Res. 
1123, Oct. 13, 1972, pp. 36005-012). The provisions of clause 2(a) 
relating to the calling of the roll by the Clerk were deleted. Calls of 
the House are now taken by the electronic device unless the Speaker, in 
his discretion (see clause 5) orders the use of the alternative 
procedure in clause 2(b). Together with clause 6(e)(2) of this rule, 
this paragraph was further amended in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
15, 1979, pp. 7-16) to conform to the requirement in that provision that 
further proceedings under the call shall be dispensed with unless the 
Speaker in his discretion recognizes for a call of the House or a motion 
to compel attendance under this paragraph. This clause must be read in 
light of clause 6(e) of this rule, which prohibits the point of order 
that a quorum is not present unless the Speaker has put a question to a 
vote.



Sec. 769. Ordering and conducting the call.

  Under  this rule 
a call may not be ordered by less than 15, and with out that number 
present the motion for a call is not entertained (IV, 2983). It must be 
ordered by majority vote, and a minority of 15 or more favoring a call 
on such vote is not sufficient (IV, 2984). A quorum not being present no 
motion is in order but for a call of the House or to adjourn (IV, 2950, 
2988; VI, 680), and at this stage the motion to adjourn has precedence 
over the motion for a call of the House (VIII, 2642).



[[Page 576]]

manded (IV, 2933). But during proceedings under the call the 
roll may be ordered to be called again by those present (IV, 2991).
  While the following precedents predate the use of the electronic 
voting and recording system, they are retained in the Manual because of 
their general applicability with respect to calls of the House. A roll 
call under paragraph (a) may not be interrupted by a motion to dispense 
with further proceedings under the call (IV, 2992), and a recapitulation 
of the names of those who appear after their names have been called may 
not be de-

  During a call less than a quorum may revoke leaves of absence (IV, 
3003, 3004) and excuse a Member from attendance (IV, 3000, 3001), but 
may not grant leaves of absence (IV, 3002). The roll is sometimes called 
for excuses, and motions to excuse are in order during this call (IV, 
2997), but neither the motion to excuse nor an incidental appeal are 
debatable (IV, 2999). After the roll has been called for excuses, and 
the House has ordered the arrest of those who are unexcused, a motion to 
excuse an absentee is in order when he is brought to the bar (IV, 3012).



Sec. 770. Arrest of Members.

  An  order of arrest for absent 
Members may be made after a single-calling of the roll (IV, 3015, 3016), 
and a warrant issues on direction of those present, such motion having 
precedence of a motion to dispense with proceedings under the call (IV, 
3036). The Sergeant-at-Arms is required to arrest Members wherever they 
may be found (IV, 3017), and leave for a committee to sit during 
sessions does not release its Members from liability to arrest (IV, 
3020). A motion to require the Sergeant-at-Arms to report progress in 
securing a quorum is in order during a call of the House (VI, 687). A 
Member who appears and answers is not subject to arrest (IV, 3019), and 
in a case where a Member complained of wrongful arrest the House ordered 
the Sergeant-at-Arms to investigate and amend the return of his warrant 
(IV, 3021). A Member once arrested having escaped it was held that he 
might not be brought back on the same warrant (IV, 3022). A privileged 
motion to compel the attendance of absent Members is in order after the 
Chair has announced that a quorum has not responded on a negative 
recorded vote on a motion to adjourn (Nov. 2, 1987, p. 30386).


  The former practice of presenting Members at the bar during a call of 
the House (IV, 3030-3035) is obsolete, and Members now report to the 
Clerk and are recorded without being formally excused unless brought in 
under compulsion (VI, 684). Those present on a call may prescribe a fine 
as a condition of discharge, and the House has by resolution revoked all 
leaves of absence and directed the Sergeant-at-Arms to deduct from the 
salary of Members compensation for days absent without leave (VI, 30, 
198), but this penalty has been of rare occurrence (IV, 3013, 3014, 
3025). Form of resolution for the arrest of Members absent without leave 
(VI, 686). Having rejected a motion to adjourn, less than a quorum of 
the House rejected a motion directing the Sergeant-at-Arms to arrest 
absent Members, rejected a second motion to adjourn, and then adopted a 
motion authorizing the Speaker to compel the attendance of absent 
members (Nov. 2, 1987, p. 30387).


[[Page 577]]

able nor subject to amendment, thus the motion to lay it on 
the table is not in order (Aug. 27, 1962, p. 17653; Dec. 18, 1970, pp. 
42504-05).
  The motion to dispense with further proceedings under the call of the 
House is not in order when a motion to arrest absent Members is pending 
(IV, 3029, 3037); is not entertained until a quorum responds on the 
call, but may be agreed to by less than a quorum thereafter (IV, 3038, 
3040; VI, 689; Sept. 11, 1968, p. 26453; Dec. 22, 1970, p. 43311); is 
neither debat-




Sec. 771a. Motions during a call.

  During  the call, which in 
later practice has been invoked only in absence of a quorum, incidental 
motions may be agreed to by less than a quorum (IV, 2994, 3029; VI, 
681), and under clause 6(a)(4) of rule XV a point of order of no quorum 
may not be made during the offering, consideration, and disposition of 
any motion incidental to a call of the House. This includes motions for 
the previous question (V, 5458), to reconsider and to lay the motion to 
reconsider on the table (V, 5607, 5608), to adjourn, which is in order 
even in the midst of the call of the roll for excuses (IV, 2998) or 
while the House is dividing on a motion for a call of the House (VIII, 
2644), and which takes precedence over a motion to dispense with further 
proceedings under the call (VIII, 2643), and an appeal from a decision 
of the Chair (IV, 3010, 3037; VI, 681). The yeas and nays may also be 
ordered (IV, 3010), but a question of privilege may not be raised unless 
it be something connected immediately with the proceedings (III, 2545). 
Motions not strictly incidental to the call are not admitted, as for a 
recess (IV, 2995, 2996), to excuse a Member from voting even when 
otherwise in order (IV, 3007), to enforce the statute relating to 
deductions of pay of Members for absence (IV, 3011; VI, 682), to 
construe a rule or make a new rule (IV, 3008), or to order a change of a 
Journal record (IV, 3009). A motion for a call of the House is not 
debatable (VI, 683, 688). The motion to compel the attendance of absent 
Members, being neither debatable nor amendable, is not subject to a 
motion to lay on the table (Speaker Wright, Nov. 2, 1987, p. 30389).





Sec. 771b. Quorum call by clerks.

  (b)  Subject to clause 5 of 
this rule, when a call of the House in the absence of a quorum is 
ordered, the Speaker shall name one or more clerks to tell the Members 
who are present. The names of those present shall be recorded by such 
clerks, and shall be entered in the Journal and the absentees noted, but 
the doors shall not be closed except when so ordered by the Speaker. 
Members shall have not less than fifteen minutes from the ordering of a 
call of the House to have their presence recorded.



[[Page 578]]

procedure in lieu of using the electronic system, or the Chair may, in 
his discretion, direct that a quorum call be taken by an alphabetical 
call of the roll (Mar. 7, 1973, p. 6699). The Chairman of the Committee 
of the Whole also may direct that a quorum call be conducted by 
depositing quorum tally cards with clerk tellers, rather than by 
electronic device or a call of the roll (July 13, 1983, p. 18858).
  This paragraph was adopted as part of the general revision of rule XV 
which was required by the implementation of the electronic voting system 
(H. Res. 1123, 92d Cong., Oct. 13, 1972, p. 36012). The Speaker, in his 
discretion, may direct that the presence of Members be recorded by this 


  Exercising his authority under this paragraph, the Speaker ordered the 
doors to the Chamber closed and locked during a call of the House and 
instructed the Doorkeeper to enforce the rule and let no Members leave 
the Hall (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 5, ch. 20, sec. 6.3). Clause 2(b) 
does not give the Speaker the authority to lock the doors during a 
recorded vote (June 11, 1997, p. ----).




Sec. 772. Count of those not voting to make a quorum of 
record on a roll call.

  3.  On the demand of any Member, or at the 
suggestion of the Speaker, the names of Members sufficient to make a 
quorum in the Hall of the House who do not vote shall be noted by the 
Clerk and recorded in the Journal, and reported to the Speaker with the 
names of the Members voting, and be counted and announced in determining 
the presence of a quorum to do business.



  This clause was adopted in 1890 (IV, 2905), but it merely formalized a 
principle already established by a decision of the Chair (IV, 2895). It 
was much in use in the first years after its adoption (III, 2620; IV, 
2905-2907); but with the decline of obstruction in the House and the 
adoption of clause 4 of this rule the necessity for its use has 
disappeared to a large extent. The Speaker may direct the Clerk to note 
names of Members under this rule even on a vote for which a quorum is 
not necessary (VIII, 3152).


[[Page 579]]

sidered as ordered. The Clerk shall call the roll, 
and each Member as he answers to his name may vote on the pending 
question, and, after the roll call is completed, each Member arrested 
shall be brought by the Sergeant-at-Arms before the House, whereupon he 
shall be noted as present, discharged from arrest, and given an 
opportunity to vote and his vote shall be recorded. If those voting on 
the question and those who are present and decline to vote shall 
together make a majority of the House, the Speaker shall declare that a 
quorum is constituted, and the pending question shall be decided as the 
majority of those voting shall appear. And thereupon further proceedings 
under the call shall be considered as dispensed with. At any time after 
the roll call has been completed, the Speaker may entertain a motion to 
adjourn, if seconded by a majority of those present, to be ascertained 
by actual count by the Speaker; and if the House adjourns, all 
proceedings under this section shall be vacated.



Sec. 773. The call of the House in the new form.

  4.  Subject 
to clause 5 of this rule, whenever a quorum fails to vote on any 
question, and a quorum is not present and objection is made for that 
cause, unless the House shall adjourn there shall be a call of the 
House, and the Sergeant-at-Arms shall forthwith proceed to bring in 
absent Members, and the yeas and nays on the pending question shall at 
the same time be con-


  This clause was adopted in 1896 (IV, 3041; VI, 690); and amended in 
1972 to make its provisions subject to clause 5 of this rule (H. Res. 
1123, 92d Cong., p. 36012). Where objection is raised to a vote in the 
House on the ground that a quorum is not present, and a quorum is in 
fact not present, the Speaker may direct that the call of the House be 
taken by electronic device under clause 5, or may, in his discretion, 
direct the Clerk to call the roll pursuant to this clause (May 16, 1973, 
p. 15860).


[[Page 580]]

Where less than a quorum rejects a motion to adjourn, 
the House may not consider business but may dispose of motions to compel 
the attendance of absent Members (Nov. 2, 1987, p. 30387).
  It applies only to votes wherein a quorum is required, and hence does 
not apply to an affirmative vote on a motion to adjourn (July 25, 1949, 
p. 10092; Nov. 4, 1983, p. 30946), or motions incidental to a call of 
the House which may be agreed to by less than a quorum (IV, 2994, 3029; 
VI, 681), or to a call when there is no question pending (IV, 2990). 
While a quorum is not required to adjourn, a point of no quorum on a 
negative vote on adjournment, if sustained, precipitates a call of the 
House under the rule (VI, 700; June 4, 1951, pp. 6097, 6098; June 15, 
1951, p. 6621). 

  When a Member objects to a vote on the ground that a quorum is not 
present and makes the point of order under this clause, the Speaker may 
count the House and determine the presence of a quorum, and is not 
required to announce his actual count under the first sentence of this 
clause (Sept. 30, 1981, p. 22456). Where the Speaker ascertains the 
presence of a quorum by actual count following an objection to a vote 
under this clause, or on a rejected demand for the yeas and nays and a 
division vote is then had on the pending question, the division vote is 
intervening business (see VIII, 2804) permitting another objection to 
the lack of a quorum, and the Speaker must again count the House (Mar. 
17, 1976, p. 6792; Aug. 2, 1979, p. 22006). But where the announced 
absence of a quorum has resulted in a rollcall vote under this clause 
(on the Speaker's approval of the Journal), the House may not, even by 
unanimous consent, vacate the vote in order to conduct another voice 
vote in lieu of the rollcall vote, since no business, including a 
unanimous consent agreement, is in order in the announced absence of a 
quorum (July 13, 1983, p. 18844; Feb. 24, 1988, p. 2450). The House 
having authorized the Speaker to compel the attendance of absent 
Members, the Speaker announced that the Sergeant-at-Arms would proceed 
with necessary and efficacious steps, and that pending the establishment 
of a quorum no further business, including unanimous-consent requests 
for recess authority, could be entertained (Nov. 2, 1987, p. 30389).


[[Page 581]]

he will postpone further proceedings on motions to suspend the rules on 
that day if any votes are objected to under clause 4 of rule XV, and 
objection is then made to any such votes under that clause, further 
proceedings are automatically postponed and the question is put de novo 
when that vote recurs as unfinished business, when further proceedings 
are postponed, the point of order that a quorum is not present is 
considered as withdrawn, since no longer in order (a question not being 
pending after the Speaker's announcement of postponement). See clause 
6(e)(1) of rule XV, infra.



Sec. 774a. Conduct of the call in the new form.

  Under  this 
clause the roll is called over twice, and those appearing after their 
names are called may vote (IV, 3052). A motion to adjourn may be made 
before the call begins (IV, 3050). After the roll has been called, and 
while the proceedings to obtain a quorum are going on, motions to excuse 
Members are in order (IV, 3051). The Sergeant-at-Arms is required to 
detain those who are present and bring in absentees (IV, 3045-3048), and 
he does this without the authority of a resolution adopted by those 
present (IV, 3049). There is doubt as to whether or not a warrant is 
necessary but it is customary for the Speaker to issue one on the 
authority of the rule (IV, 3043; VI, 702). When arrested, Members are 
arraigned at the bar, and either vote or are noted as present, after 
which they are discharged (IV, 3044). When a quorum fails to vote on a 
yea-and-nay vote on a motion which requires a quorum to be present, and 
a quorum is not present, the Chair takes notice of the fact, and unless 
the House adjourns, a call of the House is ordered by the Chair under 
this rule, and the vote is taken on the question de novo (IV, 3045, 
3052; VI, 679). An automatic roll call results under this rule when the 
objection that a quorum is not present and voting is made after a viva 
voice vote (VI, 697). An automatic roll call under this rule is not in 
order in Committee of the Whole (Aug. 2, 1966, p. 17844). Pursuant to 
clause 5(b) of rule I, where the Speaker has announced that 





Sec. 774b1. Use of electronic equipment in recording roll 
calls.

  5.  (a) Unless, in his discretion, the Speaker orders the calling 
of the names of Members in the manner provided for under the preceding 
provisions of this rule, upon any roll call or quorum call the names of 
such Members voting or present shall be recorded by electronic device. 
In any such case, the Clerk shall enter in the Journal and publish in 
the Congressional Record, in alphabetical order in each category, a list 
of names of those Members recorded as voting in the affirmative, of 
those Members recorded as voting in the negative, and of those Members 
answering present, as the case may be, as if their names had been called 
in the manner provided for under such preceding provisions. Members 
shall have not less than fifteen minutes from the ordering of the roll 
call or quorum call to have their vote or presence recorded.


  The permissive use of an electronic voting system was incorporated in 
the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (sec. 121; 84 Stat. 1140) and 
was made a part of the standing rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). The electronic system was first utilized in the 
House on January 23, 1973 (p. 1793). The clause in its essential form 
was adopted the next year (H. Res. 1123, Oct. 13, 1972, p. 36012).


[[Page 582]]

the roll, where voting stations are inoperative (Speaker 
O'Neill, Sept. 19, 1985, p. 24245).
  The Speaker has the discretion to continue to use the electronic 
system, even though the electronic display panels are temporarily 
inoperative, where the voting stations continue in operation and Members 
are able to verify their votes, or to use a backup voting procedure, 
such as calling 

  The Speaker inserted in the Record a detailed statement describing 
procedures to be followed during votes and quorum calls by electronic 
device and by the back-up procedures therefor (Jan. 15, 1973, pp. 1054-
57). The Speaker may direct that a call of the House be conducted by an 
alphabetical call of the roll by the Clerk where, in his discretion, he 
does not utilize the electronic voting device (Mar. 7, 1973, p. 6699), 
and pursuant to clauses 4 and 5 of rule XV the Speaker may, in his 
discretion, direct the Clerk to call the roll, in lieu of taking the 
vote by electronic device, where a quorum fails to vote on any question 
and objection is made for that reason (May 16, 1973, p. 15850). The 
Speaker declines to entertain unanimous-consent requests to correct the 
Journal and Record on votes taken by electronic device (Apr. 18, 1973, 
p. 13081; May 10, 1973, p. 15282; June 17, 1986, p. 14038), but the 
Speaker may announce a change in the result of a vote taken by 
electronic device where required to correct an error in identifying a 
signature on a voting card submitted in the well (June 11, 1981).


[[Page 583]]

voting stations are closed but before the Speaker's 
announcement of the result, a Member may cast an initial vote or change 
a vote by ballot card in the well (Speaker Albert, Sept. 23, 1975, p. 
29850; Speaker Wright, Oct. 29, 1987, p. 30239). In 1975, Speaker Albert 
announced that changes could no longer be made at the electronic 
stations but would have to be made by ballot card in the well (Speaker 
Albert, Sept. 17, 1975, p. 28903). In 1976, Speaker Albert announced 
that changes could be made electronically during the first 10 minutes of 
a 15-minute voting period, but changes during the last 5 minutes would 
have to be made by ballot card in the well (Speaker Albert, Mar. 22, 
1976, p. 7394). In 1977, Speaker O'Neill announced that changes could be 
made electronically at any time during a vote reduced to five minutes 
under the rules (Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70).

  On a call of the House conducted by electronic device, Members are 
permitted a minimum of 15 minutes to respond, but it is within the 
discretion of the Chair, following the expiration of 15 minutes, to 
allow additional time for Members to record their presence before 
announcing the result (June 6, 1973, p. 18403), and since this clause is 
incorporated by reference into clause 2 of rule XXIII, the Chairman of 
the Committee of the Whole need not convert to a regular quorum call 
precisely at the expiration of 15 minutes if 100 Members have not 
appeared on a notice quorum call, but he may continue to exercise his 
discretion under clause 2 of rule XXIII at any time during the conduct 
of the call (July 17, 1974, p. 23673). Since the Chair has the 
discretion to close the vote and to announce the result at any time 
after 15 minutes have elapsed, those precedents guaranteeing Members in 
the Chamber the right to have their votes recorded even if the Chair has 
announced the result (i.e., V, 6064, 6065; VIII, 2143), which predate 
the use of an electronic voting system, do not require the Chair to hold 
open indefinitely a vote taken by electronic device (Speaker pro tempore 
Meeds, Mar. 14, 1978, pp. 6838-39), and in the 103d Congress the Speaker 
inserted in the Record his announcement that, in order to expedite the 
conduct of votes by electronic device, the Cloakrooms were directed not 
to forward to the Chair individual requests to hold a vote open (Speaker 
Foley, Jan. 6, 1993, p. ----). In the 104th Congress the Speaker 
announced that each occupant of the Chair would have his full support in 
striving to close each electronic vote at the earliest opportunity and 
that Members should not rely on signals relayed from outside the Chamber 
to assume that votes will be held open until they arrive (Speaker 
Gingrich, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----); however, the Chair will not close a 
vote while a Member is in the well attempting to vote (Feb. 10, 1995, p. 
----; June 22, 1995, p. ----). At the end of a 15-minute vote, after the 
electronic 



Sec. 774b2. ``15and5'' voting.

    (b)  The Speaker may, in 
his discretion, reduce to not less than five minutes the time within 
which a rollcall vote by electronic device may be taken--


      (1) after a rollcall vote has been ordered on a motion for the 
previous question, on any underlying question that follows without 
intervening business;

      (2) after a rollcall vote has been ordered on an amendment 
reported from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the 
Union, on any subsequent amendment to that bill or resolution reported 
from the Committee of the Whole; or


      (3) after a rollcall vote has been ordered on a motion to recommit 
a bill, resolution, or conference report thereon, on the question of 
passage or adoption, as the case may be, of such bill, resolution, or 
conference report thereon, if the question of passage or adoption 
follows without intervening business the vote on the motion to recommit.


[[Page 584]]

15, 1979, pp. 7-16) to permit the Speaker to reduce to five minutes 
the vote on final passage immediately following a 15-minute recorded 
vote on a motion to recommit. The authority now found in paragraph 
(b)(2) was first added as an undesignated penultimate sentence of clause 
5 in the 101st Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1989, p. 72) to permit the 
Speaker to reduce to five minutes any rollcall votes on amendments 
reported to the House from Committee of the Whole after a 15-minute vote 
on the first of such amendments. When the authority found in paragraph 
(b)(1) was added in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----) 
to permit the Speaker to reduce to five minutes the vote on adoption of 
a special order of business resolution immediately following a 15-minute 
recorded vote on ordering the previous question thereon, clause 5 was 
organized into paragraphs (a) and (b). In the 104th Congress paragraph 
(b)(1) was broadened to cover any previous question situation (sec. 
223(e), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).
  The authority now found in paragraph (b)(3) was first added as an 
undesignated last sentence of clause 5 in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 

  Five-minute votes are now permitted at the discretion of the Chair in 
six circumstances: (1) under clause 5(b) of rule I, on additional 
questions on which the Speaker has postponed further proceedings 
immediately following a 15-minute vote on the first such postponed 
question; (2) under clause 5(b)(1) of rule XV, on an underlying question 
immediately following a 15-minute recorded vote on ordering the previous 
question thereon; (3) under clause 5(b)(2) of rule XV, on second and 
subsequent separate votes in the House on amendments reported from 
Committee of the Whole immediately following a 15-minute vote on the 
first such separate vote; (4) under clause 5(b)(3) of rule XV, on final 
passage immediately following a 15-minute recorded vote on recommittal; 
(5) under clause 2(a) of rule XXIII, on a pending question immediately 
following a regular quorum call in Committee of the Whole; and (6) under 
clause 2(c) of rule XXIII, on any or all pending amendments immediately 
following a 15-minute recorded vote on the first such pending amendment 
in Committee of the Whole. Clause 5(b) does not give the Chair the 
authority to reduce to five minutes the vote on a motion to recommit 
occurring immediately after a recorded vote on an amendment reported 
from the Committee of the Whole, and the Chair will not entertain a 
unanimous-consent request to reduce that vote to five minutes after 
Members had already left the Chamber with the expectation that the next 
vote would be a 15-minute vote (June 29, 1994, p. ----). A 15-minute 
vote on the question of tabling the motion to reconsider the vote on 
ordering the previous question is not such intervening business as to 
prevent the Chair from reducing to five minutes the vote on the 
underlying question (June 29, 1995, p. ----; July 24, 1997, p. ----). 
Similarly, an intervening vote on the question of tabling the motion to 
reconsider the vote on the motion to recommit does not prevent the Chair 
from reducing the vote on final passage (July 24, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 585]]

  In the 95th Congress, the Speaker announced that changes could be made 
electronically at any time during a vote reduced to five minutes under 
the rules (Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70).

  6. (a) It shall not be in order to make or entertain a point of order 
that a quorum is not present--



Sec. 774c. Quorum; when not required.

       (1) before or 
during the offering of prayer;


      (2) during the administration of the oath of office to the Speaker 
or Speaker pro tempore or a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner;

      (3) during the reception of any message from the President of the 
United States or the United States Senate; and

      (4) during the offering, consideration, and disposition of any 
motion incidental to a call of the House.

  (b) A quorum shall not be required in Committee of the Whole for 
agreement to a motion that the Committee rise.

  (c) After the presence of a quorum is once ascertained on any day on 
which the House is meeting, a point of order of no quorum may not be 
made or entertained--

      (1) during the reading of the Journal;

      (2) during the period after a Committee of the Whole has risen 
after completing its consideration of a bill or resolution and before 
the Chairman of the Committee has reported the bill or resolution back 
to the House; and


[[Page 586]]

with no measure or matter then under consideration for disposition by 
the House.
      (3) during any period of a legislative day when the Speaker is 
recognizing Members (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner) to 
address the House under special orders, 

  (d) When the presence of a quorum is ascertained, a further point of 
order that a quorum is not present may not thereafter be made or 
entertained until additional business intervenes. For purposes of this 
paragraph, the term ``business'' does not include any matter, 
proceeding, or period referred to in paragraph (a), (b), or (c) of this 
clause for which a quorum is not required or a point of order of no 
quorum may not be made or entertained.

  (e)(1) Except as provided by subparagraph (2), it shall not be in 
order to make or entertain a point of order that a quorum is not present 
unless the Speaker has put the pending motion or proposition to a vote.




Sec. 774d. Speaker's discretion to recognize for motion 
for call of House.

  (2)  Notwithstanding subparagraph (1), it shall always 
be in order for a Member to move a call of the House when recognized for 
that purpose by the Speaker, and when a quorum has been established 
pursuant to a call of the House, further proceedings under the call 
shall be considered as dispensed with unless the Speaker, in his 
discretion, recognizes for a motion under clause 2(a) of this rule or 
for a motion to dispense with further proceedings under the call.


  Paragraphs (a) through (d) were added in the 93d Congress (H. Res. 
998, Apr. 9, 1974, pp. 10195-99) and paragraph (e) in the 95th Congress 
(H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70).


[[Page 587]]

a request that a committee be permitted to sit under the 
five-minute rule, since the Chair has not put the question on a pending 
proposition to a vote (June 18, 1980, pp. 15316-17). But under clause 
6(e)(2) the Speaker may at any time in his discretion recognize a Member 
of his choice to move a call of the House (Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 19, 
1977, p. 1719; Jan. 31, 1977, p. 2640; Aug. 6, 1986, p. 19370), or may 
choose not to do so (Sept. 30, 1997, p. ----), even, for example, prior 
to the call of the Private Calendar, which under clause 6 of rule XXIV 
is in order after approval of the Journal and disposition of business on 
the Speaker's table (July 8, 1987, p. 18972). Clause 6(e)(2) was amended 
in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16) to dispense 
with further proceedings under any call of the House when a quorum 
appears unless the Speaker at his discretion recognizes for a motion.
  Under clause 6(e)(1), the Speaker may not entertain a point of order 
of no quorum when he has not put a question to a vote in the House 
(Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 11, 1977, p. 891; Jan. 31, 1977, p. 2640; Sept. 
30, 1997, p. ----). The Chair may not entertain a point of order of no 
quorum pending 

  The Speaker's refusal to entertain a point of order of no quorum when 
a pending question has not been put to a vote is not subject to an 
appeal, since the clause contains an absolute and unambiguous 
prohibition against entertaining such a point of order (Sept. 16, 1977, 
pp. 29562-63). During debate on a measure in the House the Speaker will 
not respond to an inquiry as to the number of Members present in the 
Chamber, since a point of no quorum is not admissible unless he has put 
the pending question to a vote (Oct. 28, 1987, p. 29682).


  In adopting this rule, the House has presumably determined that the 
mere conduct of debate in the House, where the Chair has not put the 
pending motion or proposition to a vote, is not such business as 
requires a quorum under the Constitution (art. I, sec. 5, cl. 1), and 
neither a point of order of no quorum during debate only nor a point of 
order against the enforcement of this clause lies independently under 
the Constitution (Sept. 8, 1977, p. 28114; Sept. 12, 1977, pp. 28800-01; 
Feb. 27, 1986, p. 3060). See also clause 2 of rule XVII, providing that 
after the previous question is ordered a call of the House shall only be 
in order if the Speaker determines by actual count of the House that a 
quorum is not present.




Sec. 774e. Yeas and nays ordered on certain 
questions.

  7.  The yeas and nays shall be considered as ordered when the 
Speaker puts the question on final passage or adoption of any bill, 
joint resolution, or conference report making general appropriations or 
increasing Federal income tax rates, or on final adoption of any 
concurrent resolution on the budget or conference report thereon.






[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 588-634]
[DOCID:hrmanual-76]                         

[[Page 588]]
 
  This clause was adopted in the 104th Congress (sec. 214, H. Res. 6, 
Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).


                                Rule XVI.


                   on motions, their precedence, etc.




Sec. 775. Motions reduced to writing and entered on the 
Journal.

  1.  Every motion made to the House and entertained by the Speaker 
shall be reduced to writing on the demand of any Member, and shall be 
entered on the Journal with the name of the Member making it, unless it 
is withdrawn the same day.


  This clause was made up in 1880 of old rules adopted in 1789 and 1806 
(V, 5300).


  Because of this rule it has been held not in order to amend or strike 
out a Journal entry setting forth a motion exactly as made (IV, 2783, 
2789). A motion not entertained is not entered on the Journal (IV, 2813, 
2844-2846). See Sec. 71, supra, for discussion of Journal entries. Any 
Member may demand that a motion be reduced to writing and in the proper 
form, including the motion to adjourn (Sept. 27, 1993, p. ----; Jan. 4, 
1995, p. ----), and the demand may be initiated by the Chair (July 24, 
1986, p. 17641). Consistent with this clause, the Chairman of the 
Committee of the Whole requires that each amendment be reduced to 
writing (July 22, 1994, p. ----).




Sec. 776. Stating and withdrawing of motions.

  2.  When a 
motion has been made, the Speaker shall state it or (if it be in 
writing) cause it to be read aloud by the Clerk before being debated, 
and it shall then be in possession of the House, but may be withdrawn at 
any time before a decision or amendment.


  The provisions of this clause were adopted first in 1789. At that time 
a second was required for every motion, but in practice this requirement 
became obsolete very early, and it was dropped from the rule in 1880 (V, 
5304).


[[Page 589]]

organization of the House declined to put a question, a Member-elect 
put the question from the floor (I, 67).
  The House always insists that the motion shall be stated or read 
before debate shall begin (V, 4983) and the Clerk's reading may be 
dispensed with only by unanimous consent (Dec. 15, 1975, p. 40671; see 
also Sec. 432, supra). It is the duty of the Speaker to put a motion in 
order under the rules and practice without passing on its constitutional 
effect (IV, 3550; VIII, 2225, 3031, 3071, 3427). In a case wherein a 
clerk presiding during 

  Under certain circumstances, a Member may make a double motion (V, 
5637).



Sec. 777. Conditions of withdrawal of motions.

  Even  after 
the affirmative side has been taken on a division the withdrawal of a 
motion has been permitted (V, 5348), also after a viva voce vote and the 
ordering and appointment of tellers (V, 5349). While the House was 
dividing on a second of the previous question (this second is no longer 
required) on a motion to refer a resolution, the Member was permitted to 
withdraw the resolution (V, 5350); also a motion was once withdrawn 
after the previous question had been ordered on an appeal from a 
decision on a point of order as to the motion (V, 5356). A motion to 
suspend the rules could be withdrawn at any time before a second was 
ordered (V, 6844; VIII, 3405, 3419), even on another suspension day (V, 
6844) but not after a second was ordered, except by unanimous consent 
(VIII, 3420); but where a second is not required on a motion to suspend 
the rules under clause 2 of rule XXVII, the motion may be withdrawn at 
any time before action is taken thereon (July 27, 1981, p. 17563). A 
motion may be withdrawn although an amendment may have been offered and 
be pending (V, 5347; VI, 373; VIII, 2639), and in the House an 
amendment, whether simple or in the nature of a substitute, may be 
withdrawn at any time before an amendment is adopted thereto or decision 
is had thereon (VI, 587; VIII, 2332, 2764); and the same right to 
withdraw an amendment exists in the House as in Committee of the Whole 
(IV, 4935; June 26, 1973, p. 21315); but unanimous consent to withdraw 
an amendment is required in Committee of the Whole (V, 5221, 5753; VI, 
570; VIII, 2465, 2859, 3405). Withdrawal of a pending resolution is not 
in order when the absence of a quorum has been announced by the Chair 
(Oct. 14, 1970, pp. 36665-69). A motion that the House resolve into the 
Committee of the Whole for the consideration of a bill may be withdrawn 
pending a point of order against consideration of the bill, and if the 
motion is withdrawn the Chair is not obligated to rule on the point of 
order (VIII, 3405; Dec. 3, 1979, p. 34385). Unanimous consent is not 
required to withdraw a pending unanimous-consent request (Speaker 
O'Neill, Dec. 16, 1985, p. 36575).



[[Page 590]]

for an hour notwithstanding the fact that the 
resolution has been previously considered, debated, and then withdrawn 
before action thereon (Apr. 8, 1964, pp. 7303-08).
  A ``decision'' which prevents withdrawal may consist of the ordering 
of the yeas and nays (V, 5353), either directly on the motion or on a 
motion to lay it on the table (V, 5354), the ordering of the previous 
question (V, 5355; June 29, 1995, p. ----), or the demand therefor (V, 
5489), or the refusal to lay on the table (V, 5351, 5352; VIII, 2640). 
Where the Speaker has put the question on adoption of a resolution to a 
voice vote without the ordering of the previous question, and the yeas 
and nays have not been ordered, the resolution may be withdrawn (V, 
5349; Feb. 26, 1985, p. 3501). A privileged resolution called up in the 
House is debated under the hour rule; and the Member calling up such a 
resolution is recognized 

  Where proceedings are postponed on a motion for the previous question 
pending a point of no quorum on a voice vote thereon (pursuant to clause 
5 of rule I), the manager may withdraw the motion when it is again 
before the House as unfinished business. See proceedings of July 24, 
1989, where the motion for the previous question was withdrawn and an 
amendment was offered to a special order (p. 15818).


  A Member having the right to withdraw a motion before a decision 
thereon has the resulting power to modify the motion (V, 5358; Oct. 23, 
1990, p. 32667), and a Member having the right to withdraw a motion to 
instruct conferees before a decision thereon has the resulting power to 
modify the motion by offering a different motion at the same stage of 
proceedings (July 14, 1993, p. ----). A motion being withdrawn, all 
proceedings on an appeal arising from a point of order related to it 
fell thereby (V, 5356).




Sec. 778. The question of consideration.

  3.  When any motion 
or proposition is made, the question, Will the House now consider it? 
shall not be put unless demanded by a Member.


  The question of consideration is an outgrowth of the practice of the 
House, and was in use as early as 1808. The rule was adopted in 1817 in 
order to limit its use. It is the means by which the House protects 
itself from business that it does not wish to consider (V, 4936; VIII, 
2436). The refusal to consider does not amount to the rejection of a 
bill or prevent its being brought before the House again (V, 4940), and 
an affirmative vote does not prevent the question of consideration from 
being raised on a subsequent day when the bill is again called up as 
unfinished business (VIII, 2438). It has once been held that a question 
of privilege which the House has refused to consider may be brought up 
again on the same day (V, 4942). The question of consideration is not 
debatable (VIII, 2447), and thus not subject to the motion to lay on the 
table (Oct. 4, 1994, p. ----). See also rule XXV (Sec. 900, infra), 
which provides that questions relating to the priority of business are 
not debatable.


[[Page 591]]

(V, 4967, 4968). The question of consideration being pending, a motion to 
refer is not in order (V, 5554).


Sec. 779. Raising the question of consideration.

  A  Member 
may demand the question of consideration, although the Member in charge 
of the bill may claim the floor for debate (V, 4944, 4945; VI, 404); but 
after debate has begun the demand may not be made (V, 4937-4939). It has 
been admitted, however, after the making of a motion to lay on the table 
(V, 4943). The demand for the question of consideration may not be 
prevented by a motion for the previous question (V, 5478), but after the 
previous question is ordered it may not be demanded (V, 4965, 4966), 
even on another day, unless other business has intervened 


  The intervention of an adjournment does not destroy the right to raise 
the question of consideration (V, 4946), but this right did not hold 
good in a case where the yeas and nays had been ordered and the House 
had adjourned pending the failure of a quorum on the roll call (V, 
4949). A question of consideration undisposed of at an adjournment does 
not recur as unfinished business on a succeeding day (V, 4947, 4948). It 
is not in order to reconsider the vote whereby the House refuses to 
consider a bill (V, 5626, 5627), although it is in order to reconsider 
an affirmative vote on the question of consideration (Oct. 4, 1994, p. 
----).



Sec. 780. Questions subject to the question of 
consideration.

  The  question of consideration may be demanded against a 
matter of the highest privilege, such as the right of a Member to his 
seat (V, 4941), a question involving the privilege of the House (VI, 
560), against the motion to reconsider (VIII, 2437), but not against a 
bill returned with the President's objection (V, 4960, 4970). It may not 
be raised against a proposition before the House for reference merely, 
as a petition (V, 4964). It may not be demanded against a class of 
business in order under a special order or rule, but may be demanded 
against each bill individually (IV, 3308, 3309; V, 4958, 4959). It may 
be raised against a bill which has been made a special order (IV, 3175; 
V, 4953-4957), unless the order provides for immediate consideration (V, 
4960), and it may be raised against a bill on the Union Calendar on 
Calendar Wednesday before resolving into the Committee of the Whole even 
after one Wednesday has been devoted to it (VIII, 2447); but it may not 
be raised against a report from the Committee on Rules relating to the 
order of considering individual bills (V, 4961-4963; VIII, 2440, 2441).


  The question of consideration may not be raised on a motion relating 
to the order of business (V, 4971-4976; VIII, 2442; May 21, 1958, p. 
9216); to a motion to discharge a committee (V, 4977); or against a 
motion to take from the Speaker's table Senate bills substantially the 
same as House bills already favorably reported and on the House Calendar 
(VIII, 2443). On a motion to go into Committee of the Whole to consider 
a bill the House expresses its wish as to consideration by its vote on 
this motion (V, 4973-4976; VI, 51; VIII, 2442; May 21, 1958, p. 9216).


[[Page 592]]

may be demanded before points of order are raised against 
the substance of the report (VIII, 2439; Speaker Albert, Sept. 28, 1976, 
p. 33019).



Sec. 781. Relation of question of consideration to points of 
order.

  A  point of order against the eligibility for consideration of a 
bill which if sustained might prevent consideration should be made and 
decided before the question of consideration is put (V, 4950, 4951; VII, 
2439), but if the point relates merely to the manner of considering, it 
should be passed on afterwards (V, 4950). In general, after the House 
has decided to consider, a point of order raised with the object of 
preventing consideration, in whole or part, comes too late (IV, 4598; V, 
4952, 6912-6914), but on a conference report the question of 
consideration 





Sec. 781a. Unfunded mandates.

  The  Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4; 109 Stat. 48 et seq.) added a new part B to 
title IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658-658g) 
that imposes several requirements on committees with respect to 
``Federal mandates'' (secs. 423-424; 2 U.S.C. 658b-c), establishes 
points of order to enforce those requirements (sec. 425; 2 U.S.C. 658d), 
and precludes the consideration of a rule or order waiving such points 
of order in the House (sec. 426(a); 2 U.S.C. 658e(a)). The latter 
provision also prescribes that such points of order be disposed of by 
putting the question of consideration with respect to the proposition 
against which they are lodged (sec. 426(b); 2 U.S.C. 658e(b)). See 
Sec. 1007, infra.



[[Page 593]]

order to debate such motion for one hour. One half of any debate on 
such motions shall be given to debate by the mover of the motion and one 
half to debate in opposition to the motion. It shall be in order at any 
time during a day for the Speaker, in his discretion, to entertain 
motions that (1) the Speaker be authorized to declare a recess; and (2) 
when the House adjourns it stand adjourned to a day and time certain. 
Either motion shall be of equal privilege with the motion to adjourn 
provided for in this clause and shall be determined without debate.



Sec. 782. Precedence of privileged motions.

  4.  When a 
question is under debate, no motion shall be received but to adjourn, to 
lay on the table, for the previous question (which motions shall be 
decided without debate), to postpone to a day certain, to refer, or to 
amend, or postpone indefinitely; which several motions shall have 
precedence in the foregoing order; and no motion to postpone to a day 
certain, to refer, or to postpone indefinitely, being decided, shall be 
again allowed on the same day at the same stage of the question. After 
the previous question shall have been ordered on the passage of a bill 
or joint resolution one motion to recommit shall be in order, and the 
Speaker shall give preference in recognition for such purpose to a 
Member who is opposed to the bill or joint resolution. However, with 
respect to any motion to recommit with instructions after the previous 
question shall have been ordered, it always shall be in order to debate 
such motion for ten minutes before the vote is taken on that motion, 
except that on demand of the floor manager for the majority it shall be in 


  The first form of this clause appears in 1789, but amendments have 
been made at various times (V, 5301; VIII, 2757). That portion of the 
clause relating to debate on the motion to recommit with instructions 
was included as section 123 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 
1970 and was made a part of the standing rules in the 92d Congress (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 14). The final two sentences of the clause 
were added in the 93d Congress to enable a privileged, nondebatable 
motion to fix the adjournment (H. Res. 6, Jan. 3, 1973, pp. 26-27), and 
amended in the 102d Congress to enable a privileged, nondebatable motion 
for recess authority (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). The clause was 
also amended in the 99th Congress to provide that on the demand of the 
majority floor manager of a bill or joint resolution, the ten minutes of 
debate on a motion to recommit with instructions, the previous question 
having been ordered, may be extended to one hour, equally divided and 
controlled (H. Res. 7, Jan. 3, 1985, p. 393).

  The application of the first sentence of the clause is confined to 
cases wherein a question is ``under debate'' (V, 5379). It has been held 
that a question ceases to be ``under debate'' after the previous 
question has been ordered (V, 5415). But with the exception of the 
motion to adjourn it is obvious that the motions specified in this rule 
can only be used when some question is ``under debate.''


[[Page 594]]

report is before the House (V, 6451-6453). The 
motion may be made after the yeas and nays are ordered and before the 
roll call has begun (V, 5366), before the reading of the Journal (IV, 
2757) or the Speaker's approval thereof (Speaker Wright, Nov. 2, 1987, 
p. 30386), pending a motion to reconsider (Sept. 20, 1979, pp. 25512-
13), after the House rejects a motion to table a motion to instruct 
conferees and before the vote occurs on the motion to instruct (May 29, 
1980, pp. 12717-19), or when the Speaker is absent and the Clerk is 
presiding (I, 228), and in the absence of a quorum has precedence over 
the motion for a call of the House (VIII, 2642), takes priority of a 
motion to dispense with further proceedings under the call (VIII, 2643), 
and takes precedence of a motion directing the Sergeant-at-Arms to 
arrest absentees during a call of the House (June 6, 1973, p. 18403). 
But the motion to adjourn may not interrupt a Member who has the floor 
(V, 5369, 5370; VIII, 2646; Mar. 25, 1993, p. ----; Oct. 1, 1997, p. --
--) as, for example, by virtue of unanimous consent permission to 
announce to the House the legislative program (Dec. 14, 1982, p. 30549), 
or a call of the yeas and nays (V, 6053), or the actual act of voting by 
other means (V, 5360), or be made after the House has voted to go into 
Committee of the Whole (IV, 4728; V, 5367, 5368), or defer the right of 
a Member to take the oath (I, 622) and may not be repeated in the 
absence of intervening business (Speaker Albert, July 31, 1975, p. 
26243); and when no question is under debate it may not displace a 
motion to fix the day to which the House shall adjourn (V, 5381). The 
Speaker has refused to recognize for a motion to adjourn pending a vote 
on a proposition, where a special order provided that the House vote 
thereon ``without intervening motion'' (IV, 3211-3213).


Sec. 783. The motion to adjourn.

  The  motion to adjourn not 
only has the highest precedence when a question is under debate, but, 
with certain restrictions, it has the highest privilege under all other 
conditions. Even questions of privilege (III, 2521), such as a motion 
privileged under the Constitution (VIII, 2641), the filing of a 
privileged report pursuant to clause 4(a) of rule XI (Apr. 29, 1985, p. 
9699), a motion to suspend the rules (Aug. 11, 1992, p. ----), and the 
motion to reconsider yield to it (V, 5605), and a conference report may 
defer it only until the 



[[Page 595]]

  When the House has fixed the hour of daily meeting, the simple motion 
to adjourn may neither be amended (V, 5754) by specifying a particular 
day (V, 5360) or hour (V, 5364) (but see Sec. 784, infra, for a 
discussion of the equally privileged motion to fix the day and time to 
which the House shall adjourn); nor by stating the purposes of 
adjournment (V, 5371, 5372; VIII, 2647). However, when the hour of daily 
meeting is not fixed, the motion to adjourn may fix it (V, 5362, 5363). 
A motion to adjourn is in order in simple form only (VIII, 2647), is not 
debatable (V, 5359), may not be laid on the table (Aug. 3, 1990, p. 
22195), is not in order in Committee of the Whole (IV, 4716), and is not 
entertained when the Committee of the Whole rises to report proceedings 
incident to securing a quorum (VI, 673; VIII, 2436). After the motion is 
made neither another motion nor an appeal may intervene before the 
taking of the vote (V, 5361). When the House adopts the motion to 
adjourn, it must adjourn immediately; and a unanimous-consent request 
that the House proceed to the calling of special order speeches is not 
in order (Sept. 27, 1993, p. ----).



Sec. 784. Motion to fix the day to which the House shall 
adjourn and motion to authorize the Speaker to declare a 
recess.

  The  motion to fix the day and time to which the House shall 
adjourn, in its present form, was included in this clause of rule XVI 
and given privileged status in the 93d Congress (H. Res. 6, Jan. 3, 
1973, pp. 26-27). At several times during the 19th Century the motion to 
fix the day to which the House should adjourn was included within the 
rule as to the precedence of motions but was dropped because of its use 
in obstructive tactics (V, 5301, 5379). The following precedents relate 
to the use of the motion in its earlier form: No question being under 
debate, a motion to fix the day to which the House should adjourn, 
already made, was held not to give way to a motion to adjourn (V, 5381). 
But if the motion to adjourn be made first, the motion to fix the day or 
for a recess is not entertained (V, 5302). The motion to fix the day is 
not debatable under the practice of the House (V, 5379, 5380; VIII, 
2648, 3367), requires a quorum for adoption (IV, 2954; June 19, 1975, p. 
19789; June 22, 1976, p. 19755), and is only in order if offered on the 
day on which the adjournment applies (Speaker pro tempore O'Neill, Sept. 
23, 1976, p. 32104). The House may convene and adjourn twice on the same 
calendar day pursuant to a motion under this clause that when the House 
adjourn it adjourn to a time certain later in the day, thereby meeting 
for two legislative days on the same calendar day (Nov. 17, 1981, p. 
27771; Oct. 29, 1987, p. 29933; June 29, 1995, p. ----). When the 
Speaker exercises his discretion to entertain ``at any time'' a motion 
that when the House adjourn it stand adjourned to a day and time 
certain, the motion is of equal privilege with the simple motion to 
adjourn and takes precedence over a pending question on which the vote 
has been objected to for lack of a quorum (Nov. 17, 1981, p. 27770). The 
motion is not subject to the motion to lay on the table since it is not 
debatable and the precedence conferred on the motion to table only 
applies to a question that is ``under debate'' (Nov. 17, 1981, p. 
27770).


  Under the express terms of clause 4, the motion to authorize the 
Speaker to declare a recess is nondebatable and has equal privilege with 
the motion to adjourn. The House (without the consent of the Senate) may 
authorize the Speaker to declare a recess for up to three days (Dec. 15, 
1995, p. ----).


[[Page 596]]

tion of inquiry (VI, 415), 
a motion that the Journal be approved as read (Sept. 13, 1965, p. 
23600), a proposal to investigate with a view to impeachment (VI, 541), 
a concurrent resolution to adjourn sine die (Mar. 27, 1936, p. 4512), 
and a resolution to expel a Member (Oct. 1, 1976, p. 35111). But a 
question of privilege (affecting the right of a Member to a seat) that 
has been laid on the table may be taken therefrom on motion made and 
agreed to by the House (V, 5438). The motion to lay on the table has the 
precedence given it by the rule, but may not be made after the previous 
question is ordered (V, 5415-5422; VIII, 2655), or even after the yeas 
and nays have been ordered on the demand for the previous question (V, 
5408, 5409); but pending the demand for the previous question on a 
motion that is under debate, the motion to lay the primary motion on the 
table is preferential and is voted on first (Speaker Albert, Sept. 22, 
1976, pp. 31876-82; Speaker O'Neill, July 10, 1985, pp. 18397-18400). 
The previous question having been ordered on a bill to final passage, 
the motion to lay the bill on the table may not then be offered pending 
a motion to reconsider the vote whereby the bill had been passed or 
rejected (Sept. 20, 1979, pp. 25512-13).


Sec. 785. Motion to lay on the table.

  The  motion to lay on 
the table is used in the House for a final, adverse disposition of a 
matter without debate (V, 5389), and is in order before the Member 
entitled to prior recognition for debate has begun his remarks (V, 5391-
5395; VIII, 2649, 2650). Under the explicit terms of this clause, the 
motion is not debatable (Oct. 17, 1991, p. 26749). The motion is 
applicable to a motion to reconsider (VIII, 2652, 2659), a motion to 
postpone to a day certain (VIII, 2654, 2657), a resolution presenting a 
question of privilege (VI, 560), a privileged resolution offered at the 
direction of a party caucus electing Members to committees (Feb. 5, 
1997, p. ----), an appeal from a decision of the Chair (VIII, 3453), a 
motion to discharge a committee from a resolu-


  When a bill is laid on the table, pending motions connected therewith 
go to the table also (V, 5426, 5427); and when a proposed amendment is 
laid on the table the pending bill goes there also (V, 5423; VIII, 
2656), and if a pending amendment to a special order reported from the 
Committee on Rules were tabled, it would carry the resolution with it 
and is thus considered dilatory under clause 4(b) of rule XI (Sept. 25, 
1990, p. 25575). This rule holds good as to a House bill with Senate 
amendments (V, 5424, 6201-6203; Sept. 28, 1978, p. 32334), but laying on 
the table the motion to postpone consideration of Senate amendments was 
held not to carry to the table pending motions for their disposition 
(VIII, 2657). The Journal does not accompany a proposed amendment to the 
table (V, 5435, 5436); the original question does not accompany an 
appeal (V, 5434); a resolution does not accompany another resolution 
with which it is connected, or a preamble (V, 5248, 5430); and a 
petition does not accompany the motion to receive it when the latter is 
laid on the table (V, 5431-5433); a bill does not accompany a motion to 
instruct conferees which is laid on the table (VIII, 2658).

  A motion to lay on the table a motion to reconsider the vote by which 
an amendment to a resolution had been agreed to would not carry the 
resolution to the table (VIII, 2652).


[[Page 597]]

5403, 5404). It may not be applied to a motion 
to discharge a committee under rule XXVII (June 11, 1945, p. 5892) but 
may be applied to the motion to discharge a committee from consideration 
of a resolution of inquiry (V, 5407). It is generally not applicable to 
motions that are neither debatable nor amendable and hence cannot be 
applied to a motion to dispense with further proceedings under a call of 
the House (Speaker McCormack, Aug. 27, 1962, pp. 17651-54), or to a 
motion that when the House adjourn it stand adjourned to a day and time 
certain (Nov. 17, 1981, p. 27770). The motion to lay on the table is 
applicable to debatable secondary or privileged motions for disposal of 
another matter; thus a motion to refer (V, 5433; Aug. 13, 1982, pp. 
20969, 20975-78) or a motion to recede and concur in a Senate amendment 
in disagreement may be laid on the table (Speaker O'Neill, Feb. 22, 
1978, p. 4072) without carrying the pending matter to the table. The 
motion is not applicable to a conference report (V, 6540).
  The motion is not in order in Committee of the Whole (IV, 4719, 4720; 
VIII, 2330, 2556a, 3455; Mar. 16, 1995, p. ----), or on motions to go 
into the Committee of the Whole (VI, 726). It may not be amended (V, 
5754), for example, to operate for a specified time (Oct. 17, 1991, p. 
26749), or applied to the motions for adjournment (Aug. 3, 1990, p. 
22195), the previous question (V, 5410-5411; Oct. 4, 1994, p. ----), to 
suspend the rules (V, 5405), to commit after the previous question is 
ordered (V, 5412-5414; VIII, 2653, 2655), or to any motion relating to 
the order of business (V, 



Sec. 786. The motions to postpone.

  As  indicated in the rule, 
the motions to postpone are two in number and distinct: One to postpone 
to a day certain; the other to postpone indefinitely. Each must apply to 
the whole and not a part of the pending proposition (V, 5306). Neither 
may be entertained after the previous question is ordered (V, 5319-5321; 
VIII, 2616, 2617), or be applied to a special order providing for the 
consideration of a class of bills (V, 4958); but when a bill comes 
before the House under the terms of a special order that assigns a day 
merely, a motion to postpone may be applied to the bill (IV, 3177-3182). 
Business postponed to a day certain is in order on that day immediately 
after the approval of the Journal and disposition of business on the 
Speaker's Table, unless displaced by more highly privileged business 
(VIII, 2614). Where consideration of a measure postponed to a day 
certain resumes as unfinished business in the House, recognition for 
debate does not begin anew but recommences from the point where it was 
interrupted (June 10, 1980, p. 13801). It is not in order to postpone 
pending business to Calendar Wednesday (VIII, 2614), but if so postponed 
by consent, when consideration is concluded on that Wednesday, the 
remainder of the day is devoted to business in order under the Calendar 
Wednesday rule (VII, 970). The motion is not used in Committee of the 
Whole, but a motion that a bill be reported with the recommendation that 
it be postponed is in order in the Committee of the Whole proceeding 
under the general rules of the House (IV, 4765; VIII, 2372), is 
debatable (VIII, 2372), and is a preferential motion (VIII, 2372, 2615), 
but debate is confined to the advisability of postponement only (VIII, 
2372). It has been held in order to postpone an appeal (VIII, 2613). A 
bill under consideration in the morning hour may not be made a special 
order by a motion to postpone to a day certain (IV, 3164).



[[Page 598]]

  The motion to postpone to a day certain may not specify the hour (V, 
5307). The motion may be amended (V, 5754; VIII, 2824). It is debatable 
within narrow limits only (V, 5309, 5310), the merits of the bill to 
which it is applied not being within those limits (V, 5311-5315; VIII, 
2372, 2616, 2640).

  The motion to postpone indefinitely opens to debate all the merits of 
the proposition to which it is applied (V, 5316). It may not be applied 
to the motion to refer (V, 5317), to suspend the rules (V, 5322), or 
motion to resolve into the Committee of the Whole (VI, 726), and it is 
reasonable to infer that it is equally inapplicable to the other 
secondary or privileged motions enumerated in the rule and to motions 
relating to the order of business. However, the motion to postpone 
indefinitely may be applied to the motion that the House resolve itself 
into the Committee of the Whole pursuant to the provisions of a statute, 
enacted under the rule-making power of the House of Representatives, 
that specifically allows such a motion in the consideration of a 
resolution disapproving a certain executive action (Mar. 10, 1977, p. 
7021; Aug. 3, 1977, p. 26528).



Sec. 787. The motions to refer.

  The  parliamentary motion to 
refer is explicitly recognized and given status in four different 
situations under House rules: The ordinary motion provided for in the 
first sentence of this clause; the motion to recommit with or without 
instructions after the previous question has been ordered on a bill or 
joint resolution to final passage, provided in the second sentence of 
this clause; the motion to commit, with or without instructions, pending 
the motion for or after ordering of the previous question as provided in 
clause 1 of rule XVII (V, 5569) and the motion to refer, with or without 
instructions, pending a vote in the House to strike out the enacting 
clause as provided in clause 7 of rule XXIII. The terms ``refer,'' 
``commit,'' and ``recommit'' are sometimes used interchangeably (V, 
5521; VIII, 2736), but when used in the precise manner and situation 
contemplated in each rule, reflect certain differences based upon 
whether the question to which applied is ``under debate,'' whether the 
motion itself is debatable, whether a Minority Member or a Member 
opposed to the question to which the motion is applied is entitled to a 
priority of recognition, and whether the prohibition in clause 4(b) of 
rule XI against a special order reported from the Committee on Rules 
denying a motion to recommit a bill or joint resolution pending final 
passage is applicable. The motion may not be used in direct form in 
Committee of the Whole (IV, 4721; VIII, 2326); and where a bill is being 
considered under the provisions of a resolution stating that ``at the 
conclusion of the consideration of the bill for amendment under the 
five-minute rule the Committee shall rise and report the bill back to 
the House with such amendments as may have been adopted,'' a motion that 
the Committee rise and report to the House with the recommendation that 
the bill be recommitted to the legislative committee reporting it is not 
in order (Aug. 10, 1950, p. 12219). It may be made after the engrossment 
and third reading of a bill, even though the previous question may not 
have been ordered (V, 5562, 5563).



[[Page 599]]

precedence over motion to amend when a question is under 
debate (such as where the previous question has been rejected), and the 
Chair recognizes the Member seeking to offer the preferential motion 
before the less preferential motion is read (Aug. 13, 1982, pp. 20969, 
20975-78).
  If the previous question is rejected on a preferential motion to 
dispose of Senate amendments in disagreement, the preferential motion 
remains ``under debate'' and the motion to refer may be offered under 
this clause (Speaker Albert, Sept. 16, 1976, pp. 30887-88). A motion to 
refer takes 

  The simple motion to refer under the first sentence of this clause is 
debatable within narrow limits (V, 5054) and may be offered by any 
Member (who need not qualify as being in opposition to the pending 
question) when that question is ``under debate,'' i.e., when the 
previous question has not been moved or ordered, but the merits of the 
proposition sought to be referred may not be brought into the debate (V, 
5564-5568; VI, 65, 549; VIII, 2740). The motion to refer with 
instructions is also debatable (V, 5561); but the previous question is 
preferential (Mar. 22, 1990, p. 4997), and when the previous question is 
ordered on a bill to final passage, debate on a straight motion to 
recommit under the second sentence of this clause is no longer in order 
and only a motion to recommit with instructions is debatable for the ten 
minutes specified in the rule (June 22, 1995, p. ----). Prior to the 
amendment of clause 4 of rule XVI in the 92d Congress, no debate was 
permitted on a motion to recommit with instructions after the previous 
question was ordered (V, 5561, 5582-5584; VIII, 2741). The ten minutes' 
debate provided under this clause on motions to recommit with 
instructions does not apply to a motion to recommit with instructions a 
simple or concurrent resolution or conference report, since the clause 
limits its applicability to bills and joint resolutions (Nov. 15, 1973, 
p. 37151; Mar. 29, 1976, p. 8444; Speaker O'Neill, June 19, 1986, p. 
14698). The manager of a bill or joint resolution and not the proponent 
of a motion to recommit with instructions has the right to close 
controlled debate on a motion to recommit (Speaker Wright, Dec. 3, 1987, 
p. 34066); the Member recognized for five minutes in favor of the motion 
may not reserve time (Speaker Wright, June 29, 1988, p. 16510; June 29, 
1989, p. 13938).


[[Page 600]]

others cannot be ruled out as interfering with the 
right of the minority to move recommitment (VIII, 2759). The Member 
offering a motion to recommit a bill with instructions may, at the 
conclusion of the ten minutes of debate thereon, yield to another Member 
to offer an amendment to the motion if the previous question has not 
been ordered on the motion to recommit (Speaker Albert, July 19, 1973, 
p. 24967).


Sec. 788. Instructions with the motion to refer.

  The  motion 
to refer may specify that the reference shall be to a select as well as 
a standing committee (IV, 4401) without regard for rules of jurisdiction 
(IV, 4375; V, 5527) and may provide for reference to another committee 
than that reporting the bill (VIII, 2696, 2736), or to the Committee of 
the Whole (V, 5552-5553), and even that the committee be endowed with 
power to send for persons and papers (IV, 4402). Unless the previous 
question is ordered the motion may be amended (VIII, 2712, 2738), in 
part (V, 5754); by substitute (VIII, 2698, 2738, 2759); or by adding 
instructions (V, 5521, 5570, 5582-5584; VIII, 2695, 2762; Aug. 13, 1982, 
pp. 20969, 20975-78). The ordering of the previous question on a bill 
and all amendments to final passage precludes debate (other than that 
specified in clause 4 of rule XVI) on a motion to recommit but does not 
exclude amendments to such motion (V, 5582; VIII, 2741) and unless the 
previous question is ordered on a motion to recommit with instructions, 
the motion is open to amendment germane to the bill (see V, 6888; VIII, 
2711), and a substitute striking out all of the proposed instructions 
and substituting 


  The motion to recommit may not be accompanied by preamble or otherwise 
include argument, explanation, or other matter in the nature of debate 
(V, 5589; VIII, 2749). Thus, a motion to recommit a bill to a standing 
committee with recommendations for producing legislation that the 
President could sign was held inadmissible in both form and content 
(Feb. 27, 1992, p. ----).

  It is not in order to propose as instructions anything that might not 
be proposed directly as an amendment (V, 5529-5541; VIII, 2705), such as 
to eliminate an amendment adopted by the House (VIII, 2712), strike out 
an amendment that has been adopted and insert something in its place 
(VIII, 2715), to amend an adopted amendment (VIII, 2720, 2721, 2724), to 
propose an amendment containing legislation on a general appropriation 
bill (Sept. 1, 1976, pp. 28883-84), or to propose instructions to add a 
limitation to a general appropriation bill except pursuant to clause 
2(d) of rule XXI (Sept. 19, 1983, p. 24646; Speaker Foley, Aug. 1, 1989, 
p. 17159, and Aug. 3, 1989, p. 18546, each time sustained by tabling of 
appeal; July 1, 1992, p. ----; June 22, 1995, p. ----); but it has been 
held in order to re-offer an amendment rejected by the House (VIII, 
2728); and where a special rule providing for the consideration of a 
bill prohibited the offering of amendments to a certain title of the 
bill during its consideration (in both the House and the Committee of 
the Whole), it was held not in order to offer a motion to recommit with 
instructions to incorporate an amendment in the restricted title (Jan. 
11, 1934, pp. 479-83). Where an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
has been adopted, and no motion to recommit with an amendment is in 
order, the minority has sometimes used a motion that directs a committee 
to study an issue and to report ``promptly'' its recommendations (Mar. 
29, 1990, p. 1834). Instructions must be germane to the bill regardless 
of whether they directly propose an amendment thereto (Sept. 23, 1992, 
p. ----). In the 104th Congress clause 4(b) of rule XI was amended to 
preclude the Committee on Rules from reporting a special order that 
would prevent the Minority Leader or his designee from offering a motion 
to recommit with instructions to report back an amendment otherwise in 
order (but for the adoption of a prior amendment). See Sec. 729a, supra.


[[Page 601]]

votes pursuant to section 426(b)(3) of 
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 not to consider a motion to 
recommit against which a Member has made a point of order under section 
425(a) of that Act, a proper motion to recommit remains available (Mar. 
28, 1996, p. ----). The motion may be withdrawn in the House at any time 
before action or decision thereon (VIII, 2764). The simple motion to 
recommit and the motion to recommit with instructions are of equal 
privilege and have no relative precedence (VIII, 2714, 2758, 2762; Nov. 
25, 1970, p. 38997). When a bill is recommitted it is before the 
committee as a new subject (IV, 4557; V, 5558), but the committee must 
confine itself to the instructions, if there be any (IV, 4404; V, 5526). 
Where the House has recommitted a bill to a committee with instructions 
to report it back forthwith with certain amendments, the amendments must 
be adopted by the House after the report by the committee (VIII, 2734).
  It has been a practice to permit a motion to recommit with 
instructions that the committee report ``forthwith,'' in which case the 
chairman makes report at once without awaiting action by the committee 
(V, 5545-5547; VIII, 2730), and the bill is before the House for 
immediate consideration (V, 5550; VIII, 2735). If one motion to recommit 
is ruled out, a proper motion is admissible (VIII, 2736, 2760, 2761, 
2763). Similarly, if the House 


[[Page 602]]

``commit'' or ``recommit'' simple or concurrent 
resolutions as well under clause 1 of rule XVII in situations where the 
resolution or a similar measure has been reported from committee (Nov. 
28, 1979, p. 33914).
  As stated in the second sentence of clause 4 of rule XVI, recognition 
to offer the motion to recommit, whether a ``straight'' motion or with 
instructions, is the prerogative of a Member who is opposed to the bill 
or joint resolution (Speaker Martin, Mar. 19, 1954, p. 3967); and the 
Speaker looks first to the Minority Leader or his designee (as imputed 
by the form of clause 4(b) of rule XI adopted in the 104th Congress), 
then to minority members of the committee reporting the bill, in order 
of their rank on the committee (Speaker Garner, Jan. 6, 1932, p. 1396; 
Speaker Byrns, July 2, 1935, p. 10638), then to other Members on the 
minority side (Speaker Rayburn, Aug. 16, 1950, p. 12608). Until a 
qualifying Minority Member has had his motion read by the Clerk, he is 
not entitled to the floor so as to prevent another qualifying senior 
Minority Member from the reporting committee from seeking recognition to 
offer the motion to recommit (Speaker O'Neill, Apr. 24, 1979, pp. 8360-
61). If no Member of the minority qualifies, a majority Member who is 
opposed to the bill may be recognized (Speaker Garner, Apr. 1, 1932, p. 
7327). The priority of recognition of a Member of the minority who is 
opposed is not diminished by the fact that the minority party may have 
successfully led the opposition to the previous question on the special 
order governing consideration of the bill and offered a ``modified 
closed rule'' permitting only minority Members to offer perfecting 
amendments to the majority text (June 26, 1981, p. 14740). But while the 
motion to recommit is the prerogative of the minority if opposed, a 
Member who in the Speaker's determination leads the opposition to the 
previous question on the motion to recommit, such as the chairman of the 
committee reporting the bill, is entitled to offer an amendment to the 
motion to recommit, regardless of party affiliation (June 26, 1981, pp. 
14791-93). A Member who is opposed to the bill ``in its present form'' 
(i.e., in the form before the House when the motion is made) qualifies 
to offer the motion (Speaker Martin, Apr. 15, 1948, p. 4547; Speaker 
McCormack, Mar. 12, 1964, p. 5147; Speaker Albert, Feb. 19, 1976, p. 
3920). The Chair does not assess the degree of a Member's opposition 
(Oct. 23, 1991, p. 28258). These principles of recognition have been 
applied to motions to 


<>   5. 
The hour at which the House adjourns shall be entered on the Journal.



Sec. 789. Repetition of motions.

  The  rule specifies that the 
motions to postpone and refer shall not be repeated on the same day at 
the same stage of the question (V, 5301, 5591; VIII, 2738, 2760). Under 
the practice, also, a motion to adjourn may be repeated only after 
intervening business (V, 5373; VIII, 2814), debate (V, 5374), the 
ordering of the yeas and nays (V, 5376, 5377), decision of the Chair on 
a question of order (V, 5378), reception of a message (V, 5375). The 
motion to lay on the table may also be repeated after intervening 
business (V, 5398-5400); but the ordering of the previous question (V, 
5709), a call of the House (V, 5401), or decision of a question of order 
have been held not to be such intervening business, it being essential 
that the pending matter be carried to a new stage in order to permit a 
repetition of the motion (V, 5709).



  This clause was adopted in 1837, and amended in 1880 (V, 6740).




Sec. 791. Division of the question.

  6.  On the demand of any 
Member, before the question is put, a question shall be divided if it 
includes propositions so distinct in substance that one being taken away 
a substantive proposition shall remain: Provided, That any motion or 
resolution to elect the members or any portion of the members of the 
standing committees of the House and the joint standing committees shall 
not be divisible, nor shall any resolution or order reported by the 
Committee on Rules, providing a special order of business be divisible.


  This clause was first adopted in 1789, and was amended in 1837 (V, 
6107). The first part of the proviso was adopted April 2, 1917 (VIII, 
2175) and the last part May 3, 1933 (VIII, 3164).


[[Page 603]]

  The House may by adoption of a resolution reported from the Committee 
on Rules suspend the rule providing for the division of a question (VII, 
775).



Sec. 792. Principles governing the division of the 
question.

  The  principle that there must be at least two substantive 
propositions in order to justify division is insisted on rigidly (V, 
6108-6113), as failure to do so produces difficulties (III, 1725). The 
question may not be divided after it has been put (V, 6162), or after 
the yeas and nays have been ordered (V, 6160, 6161); but division of the 
question may be demanded after the previous question is ordered (V, 
5468, 6149; VIII, 3173). In passing on a demand for division the Chair 
considers only substantive propositions and not the merits of the 
question presented (V, 6122). It seems to be most proper, also, that the 
division should depend on grammatical structure rather than on the 
legislative propositions involved (I, 394; V, 6119), but a question 
presenting two propositions grammatically is not divisible if either 
does not constitute a substantive proposition when considered alone 
(VII, 3165). Thus a resolution censuring a Member and adopting a report 
of a committee thereon, which recommends censure on the basis of the 
committee's findings, is not divisible since those questions are 
substantially equivalent (Speaker O'Neill, Oct. 13, 1978, pp. 37016-17); 
and an adjournment resolution that also authorizes the receipt of veto 
messages from the President during the adjournment is not subject to a 
division of the question, as the receipt authority would be nonsensical 
standing alone (June 30, 1976, p. 21702); however, a concurrent 
resolution on the budget is subject to a demand for a division of the 
question if, for example, the resolution grammatically and substantively 
relates to different fiscal years (May 7, 1980, pp. 10185-87), or 
includes a separate, hortatory section having its own grammatical and 
substantive meaning (Speaker Foley, Mar. 5, 1992, p. ----). Decisions 
have been made that a resolution affecting two individuals may be 
divided, although such division may involve a reconstruction of the text 
(I, 623; V, 6119-6121). The better practice seems to be, however, that 
this reconstruction of the text should be made by the adoption of a 
substitute amendment of two branches, rather than by interpretation of 
the Chair (II, 1621). But merely formal words, such as ``resolved,'' may 
be supplied by interpretation of the Chair (V, 6114-6118). A resolution 
with two resolve clauses separately certifying the contemptuous conduct 
of two individuals is divisible (Feb. 27, 1986, p. 3040).



[[Page 604]]

  Except on resolutions to elect Members to committees or on resolutions 
reported from the Committee on Rules providing a special order of 
business, where division of the question is prohibited by clause 6, a 
resolution reported from the Committee on Rules may be divided where 
otherwise appropriate. Thus a resolution reported from that Committee 
establishing several select committees in grammatically divisible 
titles, not being a special order of business, is subject to a demand 
for a division of the question (Jan. 8, 1987, p. 1036). However, it is 
not in order to demand a division of a subject incorporated by reference 
in the pending text, as when a resolution to adopt a series of rules, 
not made a part of the resolution, was before the House, it was held not 
in order to demand a separate vote on each rule (V, 6159).

  The question on engrossment and third reading under clause 1 of rule 
XXI is not divisible (Speaker Foley, Aug. 3, 1989, p. 18544); and in 
voting on the engrossment or passage of a bill or joint resolution, a 
separate vote may not be demanded on the various portions (V, 6144-6146; 
VIII, 3172), or on the preamble (V, 6147).

  A measure containing a series of simple resolutions may be divided (V, 
6149), and a division of the question may be demanded on a resolution 
confirming several nominations (Speaker Albert, Mar. 19, 1975, p. 7344). 
Where an amendment is offered to an appropriation bill providing that no 
part of the appropriation may be paid to named individuals, the 
amendment may be divided for a separate vote on each name (Feb. 5, 1943, 
p. 645). An amendment (to a joint resolution making continuing 
appropriations) containing separate paragraphs appropriating funds for 
different programs may be substantively and grammatically divisible 
although preceded by the same prefatory language applicable to all the 
paragraphs, and the Clerk will read each paragraph as including the 
prefatory language prior to the Chair's putting the question thereon 
(Nov. 8, 1983, p. 31495). An amendment proposing to change a figure in 
one paragraph of an appropriation bill and also to insert a new 
(``fetch-back'') paragraph at another point in the bill is divisible 
(July 15, 1993, p. ----). A division may be demanded on the motion to 
recede from disagreement to a Senate amendment and concur therein (see 
Sec. 525, supra; V, 6209; VIII, 3197-3199, 3203), on a proposition to 
strike out various unrelated phrases (VIII, 3166; Mar. 28, 1984, p. 
6898), on a resolution of impeachment (VI, 545), but may not be demanded 
on Senate amendments when sending to conference (V, 6151-6156; VIII, 
3175). A division of the question may not be demanded, with respect to a 
motion to concur in a Senate amendment with an amendment, between 
concurring and amending (VIII, 3176), and may not be demanded on 
separate parts of the proposed amendment if it is not properly divisible 
under the same tests that apply to any other amendment (Aug. 3, 1973, 
pp. 28124-26; Oct. 11, 1984, p. 32188). Thus a proposed amendment to a 
Senate amendment is not divisible under clause 7 of this rule if in the 
form of a motion to strike out and insert (Oct. 15, 1986, p. 32135). 
Each Senate amendment must be voted on as a whole (VIII, 3175) but the 
Committee of the Whole having reported a Senate amendment with the 
recommendation that it be agreed to with an amendment, a separate vote 
was had on the amendment to the Senate amendment (VIII, 2420). When 
Senate amendments to a House bill are considered in the House a separate 
vote may be had on each amendment (VIII, 2383, 2400, 3191), and separate 
votes may be had on nongermane portions of Senate amendments as provided 
in clause 5 of rule XXVIII.


[[Page 605]]

with instructions it is not in order to demand a separate vote on the 
instructions or various branches thereof (V, 6134-6137; VIII, 2737, 
3170; Speaker Rayburn, Apr. 11, 1956, p. 6157; June 29, 1993, p. ----). 
However, an amendment reported forthwith pursuant to instructions 
contained in a successful motion to recommit may be divided on the 
question of its adoption if composed of substantively and grammatically 
distinct propositions (June 29, 1993, p. ----). A motion to recommit a 
bill to conference with various instructions may not be divided (Sept. 
29, 1994, p. ----). However, a motion to instruct conferees after 20 
days of conference (when multiple motions are in order) may be divided 
(Speaker Byrns, May 26, 1936, p. 7951), provided that separate 
substantive propositions are presented (Speaker Rayburn, May 9, 1946, p. 
4750).
  When a motion is made to lay several connected propositions on the 
table a division is not in order (V, 6138-6140), nor is a division in 
order where the previous question is moved on two related propositions, 
as on a special order reported from the Committee on Rules and a pending 
amendment thereto (Sept. 25, 1990, p. 25575). On a motion to commit 

  A division of the question may not be demanded on a motion to strike 
out and insert (V, 5767, 6123; VIII, 3169; clause 7 of rule XVI), on 
bills or joint resolutions for reference (IV, 4376) or change of 
reference (VII, 2125), a motion to elect Members to committees of House 
(VIII, 2175, 3164; clause 6 of rule XVI), a question against which a 
point of order is pending (VIII, 3432), a proposition under a motion to 
suspend the rules (V, 6141-6143; VIII, 3171), or on substitutes for 
pending amendments (V, 6127; VIII, 3168; Aug. 17, 1972, pp. 28887-90; 
July 2, 1980, pp. 18288-92), but a perfecting amendment to an amendment 
may be divisible if not in the form of a motion to strike out and insert 
(V, 6131). A proposition reported from the Committee of the Whole as an 
entire and distinct amendment may not be divided, but must be voted on 
in the House as a whole (IV, 4883-4892). An amendment reported forthwith 
pursuant to instructions contained in a successful motion to recommit 
may be divided on the question of its adoption if composed of 
substantively and grammatically distinct propositions (June 29, 1993, p. 
----). A separate vote may not be demanded in the House on an amendment 
adopted in the Committee of the Whole to an amendment (VIII, 2422, 2426, 
2427).


[[Page 606]]

is demanded (Oct. 21, 1981, 
pp. 24785-89). Where a motion to concur in a Senate amendment is divided 
pursuant to a special rule permitting that procedure, the Chair puts the 
question first on the first portion of the Senate amendment, and then on 
the remaining portion (Mar. 4, 1993, p. ----). Where the question on 
adopting an amendment is divided by special rule (rather than on demand 
from the floor), the Chair puts the question on each divided portion of 
the amendment in the order in which it appears (May 23, 1996, p. ----).
  On a decision of the Speaker involving two distinct questions, there 
may be a division on appeal (V, 6157). After the vote on the first 
member of the question, the second is open to debate and amendments, 
unless the previous question is ordered (see Sec. 482, supra). Where a 
division of the question is demanded on a portion of an amendment, the 
Chair puts the question first on the remaining portions of the 
amendment, and that portion on which the division is demanded remains 
open for further debate and amendment (Oct. 21, 1981, pp. 24785-89). 
However, where no further debate or amendment is in order on the divided 
portion, the Chair may put the question first on the divided portion(s) 
and then immediately on the remaining portion (Aug. 17, 1972, Deschler's 
Precedents, vol. 9, ch. 27, sec. 22.14; June 8, 1995, p. ----). Where a 
division of the question is demanded on more than one portion of an 
amendment, the Chair may put the question first on the remaining 
portions of the amendment (if any), then (after further debate) on the 
first part on which a division is demanded, and then (after further 
debate) on the last part on which a division 


  Absent a contrary order, the question may be divided on an amendment 
en bloc comprising discrete instructions to amend, even though unanimous 
consent has just been granted for the en bloc consideration (July 25, 
1990, p. 19174; July 18, 1991, p. 18851). A demand for a division of the 
question on a separate portion of an amendment may be withdrawn before 
the question is put on the first portion thereof (July 15, 1993, p. ----
), but once the Chair has put the question on the first portion of the 
amendment, a demand for a division may be withdrawn only by unanimous 
consent (Sept. 9, 1976, pp. 29538-40).




Sec. 793. Motion to strike out and insert not 
divisible.

  7.  A motion to strike out and insert is indivisible, but a 
motion to strike out being lost shall neither preclude amendment nor 
motion to strike out and insert; * * *


  This clause was adopted in 1811, and amended in 1822 (V, 5767).


  When it is proposed to strike out and insert not one but several 
connected matters, it is not in order to demand a separate vote on each 
of those matters (V, 6124, 6125), as when an amendment in the nature of 
a substitute containing several resolutions is proposed; but after this 
amendment has been agreed to, it is in order to demand a division of the 
original resolution as amended (V, 6127, 6128). When, however, an 
amendment simply adding or inserting is proposed, it is in order to 
divide the amendment (V, 6129-6133). To a motion to strike certain words 
and insert others, a simple motion to strike out the words may not be 
offered as a substitute, as it would have the effect of dividing the 
motion to strike out and insert (June 29, 1939, pp. 8282, 8284-85; June 
19, 1979, pp. 15566-68).




Sec. 794. Germane amendments.

  * * *  and no motion or 
proposition on a subject different from that under consideration shall 
be admitted under color of amendment.


  This clause was adopted in 1789, and amended in 1822 (V, 5767, 5825).


[[Page 607]]

Prior to the adoption of rules, when the House is operating under 
general parliamentary law, as modified by the usage and practice of the 
House, an amendment may be subject to the point of order that it is not 
germane to the proposition to which offered (Jan. 3, 1969, p. 23). The 
principle of the rule applies to a proposition by which it is proposed 
to modify the pending bill, and not to a portion of the bill itself (V, 
6929); thus a point of order will not lie that an appropriation in a 
general appropriation bill is not germane to the rest of the bill (Dec. 
16, 1963, p. 24753). In general, an amendment simply striking out words 
already in a bill may not be ruled out as not germane (V, 5805; VIII, 
2918) unless such action would change the scope and meaning of the text 
(VIII, 2917-2921; Mar. 23, 1960, p. 6381); and a pro forma amendment 
``to strike out the last word'' has been considered germane (July 28, 
1965, p. 18639). While a committee may report a bill or resolution 
embracing different subjects, it is not in order during consideration in 
the House to introduce a new subject by way of amendment (V, 5825). The 
rule that amendments should be germane applies to amendments reported by 
committees (V, 5806), but a resolution providing for consideration of 
the bill with committee amendments may waive points of order (Oct. 10, 
1967, p. 28406), and the point of order under this rule does not apply 
to a special order reported from the Committee on Rules ``self-
executing'' the adoption in the House of a nongermane amendment to a 
bill, since the amendment is not separately before the House during 
consideration of the special order (Feb. 24, 1993, p. ----; July 27, 
1993, p. ----). A resolution reported from the Committee on Rules 
providing for the consideration of a bill relating to a certain subject 
may be amended neither by an amendment that would substitute the 
consideration of an unrelated proposition (V, 5834-5836; VIII, 2956; 
Sept. 14, 1950, p. 14844) nor an amendment that would permit the 
additional consideration of a non-germane amendment to the bill (May 29, 
1980, pp. 12667-73; Aug. 13, 1982, p. 20972). The Chair will not 
interpret as a point of order under a specific rule of the House, on 
which he must rule, an objection to a substitute as ``narrowing the 
scope'' of a pending amendment, absent some stated or necessarily 
implied reference to the germaneness or other rule (June 25, 1987, p. 
17415). The burden of proof is on the proponent of an amendment to 
establish its germaneness (VIII, 2995), and where an amendment is 
equally susceptible to more than one interpretation, one of which will 
render it not germane, the Chair will rule it out of order (June 20, 
1975, p. 19967).
  It introduced a principle not then known to the general parliamentary 
law (V, 5825), but of high value in the procedure of the House (V, 
5866). 


[[Page 608]]

more than one portion of a bill (Mar. 27, 1974, pp. 
8508-09), and when offered as a separate paragraph is not required to be 
germane to the paragraph immediately preceding or following it (VII, 
1162; VIII, 2932-2935).


Sec. 795. Proposition to which amendment must be 
germane.

  Under  the later practice an amendment should be germane to the 
particular paragraph or section to which it is offered (V, 5811-5820; 
VIII, 2922, 2936; Oct. 14, 1971, pp. 36194, 36211; Sept. 19, 1986, p. 
24729), without reference to subject matter of other titles not yet read 
(July 31, 1990, p. 20816), and an amendment inserting an additional 
section should be germane to the portion of the bill to which it is 
offered (V, 5822; VIII, 2927, 2931; July 14, 1970, pp. 24033-35), though 
it may be germane to 


  The test of germaneness in the case of a motion to recommit with 
instructions is the relationship of the instructions to the bill taken 
as a whole (and not merely to the separate portion of the bill 
specifically proposed to be amended in the instructions) (Mar. 28, 1996, 
p. ----).

  Subject to clause 2(c) of rule XXI (requiring that limitation 
amendments to general appropriation bills be offered at the end of the 
reading of the bill for amendment), an amendment limiting the use of 
funds by a particular agency funded in a general appropriation bill may 
be germane to the paragraph carrying the funds, or to any general 
provisions portion of the bill affecting that agency or all agencies 
funded by the bill (July 16, 1979, p. 18807). However, to a paragraph 
containing funds for an agency but not transferring funds to that 
account from other paragraphs in the bill, an amendment increasing that 
amount by transfer from an account in another paragraph is not germane, 
since affecting budget authority for a different agency not the subject 
of the pending paragraph (July 17, 1985, p. 19436).

  In passing on the germaneness of an amendment, the Chair considers the 
relationship between the amendment and the bill as modified by the 
Committee of the Whole (Apr. 23, 1975, p. 11545; July 8, 1987, p. 
19013).

  An amendment adding a new section to a bill being read by titles must 
be germane to the pending title (Sept. 17, 1975, p. 28925), but where a 
bill is considered as read and open to amendment at any point, an 
amendment must be germane to the bill as a whole and not to a particular 
section (Sept. 29, 1975, p. 30761; Jan. 30, 1986, p. 1052). Where a 
title of a bill is open to amendment at any point, the germaneness of an 
amendment perfecting one section therein depends on its relationship to 
the title as a whole and not merely on its relationship to the one 
section (June 25, 1991, p. 16152). An amendment in the form of a new 
title, when offered at the end of a bill containing several diverse 
titles on a general subject, need not be germane to the portion of the 
bill to which offered, it being sufficient that the amendment be germane 
to the bill as a whole in its modified form (Nov. 4, 1971, p. 39267; 
July 2, 1974, p. 22029; Sept. 18, 1975, p. 29322; July 11, 1985, pp. 
18601-02; Oct. 8, 1985, pp. 26548-51). While the heading of the final 
title of a bill as ``miscellaneous'' does not thereby permit amendments 
to that title which are not germane thereto, the inclusion of 
sufficiently diverse provisions in such title affecting various 
provisions in the bill may permit further amendments which need only be 
germane to the bill as a whole (Apr. 10, 1979, pp. 8034-37).


[[Page 609]]

portions of the Internal Revenue Code relating 
to tax credits, a modified Senate provision adding a new section dealing 
with another tax credit was held germane to the House-passed measure as 
a whole (Speaker Albert, Mar. 26, 1975, p. 8900); but a Senate provision 
in a conference report, on a Senate bill with a House amendment in the 
nature of a substitute, which authorized appointment of a special 
prosecutor for any criminal offenses committed by certain Federal 
officials was held not germane to the bill as passed by the House, which 
related to offenses directly related to official duties and 
responsibilities of Federal officials (Oct. 12, 1978, pp. 36459-61).
  Under clause 4 of rule XXVIII, a portion of a conference report 
incorporating part of a Senate amendment in the nature of a substitute 
to a House bill, or incorporating part of a Senate bill that the House 
has amended, must be germane to the bill in the form passed by the 
House; thus where a House-passed bill contained several sections and 
titles amending diverse 

  The test of germaneness of an amendment to or a substitute for an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute is its relationship to the 
substitute and not its relationship to the bill to which the amendment 
in the nature of a substitute has been offered (July 19, 1973, p. 24958; 
July 22, 1975, p. 23990; June 1, 1976, pp. 16051-56; July 28, 1982, pp. 
18355-58, 18361), and an amendment to a substitute is not required to 
affect the same page and line numbers as the substitute in order to be 
germane, it being sufficient that the amendment is germane to the 
subject matter of the substitute (Aug. 1, 1979, pp. 21944-47). When an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute is offered at the end of the 
first section of a bill, the test of germaneness is the relationship 
between the amendment and the entire bill, and the germaneness of an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute for a bill is not necessarily 
determined by an incidental portion of the amendment which if offered 
separately might not be germane to the portion of the bill to which 
offered (July 8, 1975, p. 21633).

  The test of germaneness of an amendment offered as a substitute for a 
pending amendment is its relationship to the pending amendment and not 
its relationship to the underlying bill (Feb. 14, 1995, p. ----).

  An amendment germane to the bill as a whole, but hardly germane to any 
one section, may be offered at an appropriate place with notice of 
motions to strike out the following sections which it would supersede 
(V, 5823; July 29, 1969, p. 21221). Where a perfecting amendment to the 
text is offered pending a vote on a motion to strike out the same text, 
the perfecting amendment must be germane to the text to which offered, 
not to the motion to strike (Oct. 3, 1969, p. 28454).


[[Page 610]]

the instructions must be germane to the bill as perfected 
in the House (Nov. 19, 1993, p. ----), even where the instructions do 
not propose a direct amendment to the bill but merely direct the 
committee to pursue an unrelated approach (Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 2, 
1978, p. 5272; July 16, 1991, p. 18397) or direct the committee not to 
report the bill back to the House until an unrelated contingency occurs 
(VIII, 2704). Under the same rationale as amendments to a motion to 
instruct conferees, amendments to a motion to recommit to a standing 
committee with instructions must be germane to the subject matter of the 
bill (see V, 6888; VIII, 2711).


Sec. 796. Instructions to committees and amendments 
thereto.

  The  rule that amendments must be germane applies to amendments to 
the instructions in a motion to instruct conferees (VIII, 3230, 3235), 
and the test of an amendment to a motion to instruct conferees is the 
relationship of the amendment to the subject matter of the House or 
Senate version of the bill (Deschler-Brown Precedents, vol. 11, ch. 28, 
sec. 28.2). The rule of germaneness similarly applies to the 
instructions in a motion to recommit a bill to a committee of the House, 
as it is not in order to propose as part of a motion to recommit any 
proposition that would not have been germane if proposed as an amendment 
to the bill in the House (V, 5529-5541; VIII, 2708-2712; Mar. 2, 1967, 
p. 5155), and 


  The fact that an amendment is offered in conjunction with a motion to 
recommit a bill with instructions to a standing committee does not 
affect the requirement that the subject matter of the amendment be 
germane and within the jurisdiction of the committee reporting the bill 
(Mar. 2, 1967, p. 5155; July 16, 1991, p. 18397).


[[Page 611]]

1983, p. 21401). Clause 5 of rule XXVIII permits points of 
order against motions to concur or concur with amendment in non-germane 
Senate amendments, the stage of disagreement having been reached, and, 
if such points of order are sustained, permits separate motions to 
reject such non-germane matter. Clause 5 of rule XXVIII is not 
applicable to a provision contained in a motion to recede and concur 
with an amendment (the stage of disagreement having been reached) which 
is not contained in any form in the Senate version, the only requirement 
in such circumstances being that the motion as a whole be germane to the 
Senate amendment as a whole under clause 7 of rule XVI (Oct. 4, 1978, 
pp. 33502-06; June 30, 1987, p. 18294).


Sec. 797. Senate amendments and matter contained in 
conference reports.

  In  the consideration of Senate amendments to a House 
bill an amendment must be germane to the particular Senate amendment to 
which it is offered (V, 6188-6191; VIII, 2936; May 14, 1963, p. 8506; 
Dec. 13, 1980, p. 34097), and it is not sufficient that an amendment to 
a Senate amendment is germane to the original House bill if it is not 
germane to the subject matter of a Senate amendment that merely inserts 
new matter and does not strike out House provisions (V, 6188; VIII, 
2936). But where a Senate amendment proposes to strike out language in a 
House bill, the test of the germaneness of a motion to recede and concur 
with an amendment is the relationship between the language in the motion 
and the provisions in the House bill proposed to be stricken, as well as 
those to be inserted, by the Senate amendment (June 8, 1943, p. 5511; 
June 15, 1943, p. 5899; Dec. 12, 1974, pp. 39272-73). The test of the 
germaneness of an amendment to a motion to concur in a Senate amendment 
with an amendment is the relationship between the amendment and the 
motion, and not between the amendment and the Senate amendment to which 
the motion has been offered (Aug. 3, 1973, Deschler-Brown Precedents, 
vol. 11, ch. 28, sec. 27.6). Formerly, a Senate amendment was not 
subject to the point of order that it was not germane to the House bill 
(VIII, 3425), but under changes in the rules points of order may be made 
and separate votes demanded on portions of Senate amendments and 
conference reports containing language that would not have been germane 
if offered in the House. Clause 4 of rule XXVIII permits points of order 
against language in a conference report which was originally in the 
Senate bill or amendment and which would not have been germane if 
offered to the House-passed version, and permits a separate motion to 
reject such portion of the conference report if found non-germane (Oct. 
15, 1986, pp. 31498-99). For purposes of that rule, the House-passed 
version, against which Senate provisions are compared, is that finally 
committed to conference, taking into consideration all amendments 
adopted by the House, including House amendments to Senate amendments 
(July 28, 



[[Page 612]]

tinuation of appropriations in the absence of timely 
enactment of a regular appropriation bill was held not germane (June 18, 
1997, p. ----).


Sec. 798a. Subject matter as test of 
germaneness.

  An  amendment must relate to the subject matter under 
consideration. To a bill seeking to eliminate wage discrimination based 
on the sex of the employee, an amendment to make the provisions of the 
bill applicable to discrimination based on race was ruled out as not 
germane (July 25, 1962, p. 14778). To a bill establishing an office in 
the Department of the Interior to manage biological information, an 
amendment addressing socioeconomic matters was held not germane (Oct. 
26, 1993, p. ----). To a bill authorizing military assistance to Israel 
and funds for the United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East, an 
amendment expressing the sense of Congress that the President conduct 
negotiations to obtain a peace treaty in the Middle East and the 
resumption of diplomatic and trade relations between Arab nations and 
the U.S. and Israel was held not germane (Dec. 11, 1973, pp. 40842-43). 
To a concurrent resolution expressing Congressional concern over certain 
domestic policies of a foreign government and urging that government to 
improve those internal problems in order to enhance better relations 
with the United States, amendments expressing the necessity for U.S. 
diplomatic initiatives as a consequence of that foreign government's 
policies are not germane (July 12, 1978, pp. 20500-05). To a resolution 
amending several clauses of a rule of the House but confined in its 
scope to the issue of access to committee hearings and meetings, an 
amendment to another clause of that rule relating to committee staffing 
was held not germane (Mar. 7, 1973, p. 6714). To a title of a bill that 
only addresses the administrative structure of a new department and not 
its authority to carry out transferred programs, an amendment 
prohibiting the department from withholding funds to carry out certain 
objectives is not germane (June 12, 1979, pp. 14485-86). To an amendment 
authorizing the use of funds for a specific study, an amendment naming 
any program established in the bill for an unrelated purpose for a 
specified Senator was held not germane (Aug. 15, 1986, p. 22075). To one 
of two reconciliation bills reported by the Budget Committee, an 
amendment making a prospective indirect change to the other 
reconciliation bill not then pending before the House was held not 
germane (June 25, 1997, p. ----). To a bill reauthorizing the National 
Sea Grant College Program, a proposal to amend existing law to provide 
for automatic con-


  An amendment that is germane, not being ``on a subject different from 
that under consideration,'' belongs to a class illustrated by the 
following: to a proposition directing a feasibility investigation, an 
amendment requiring the submission of legislation to implement that 
investigation (Dec. 14, 1973, pp. 41747-48); to a section of a bill 
prescribing the functions of a new Federal Energy Administration by 
conferring wide discretionary powers upon the Administrator, an 
amendment directing the Administrator to issue preliminary summer 
guidelines for citizen fuel use (as a further delineation of those 
functions) (Mar. 6, 1974, pp. 5436-37); to a bill providing for an 
interoceanic canal by one route, an amendment providing for a different 
route (V, 5909); to a bill providing for the reorganization of the Army, 
an amendment providing for the encouragement of marksmanship (V, 5910); 
to a proposition to create a board of inquiry, an amendment specifying 
when it shall report (V, 5915); to a bill relating to ``oleomargarine 
and other imitation dairy products,'' an amendment on the subject of 
``renovated butter'' (V, 5919); and to a resolution rescinding an order 
for final adjournment, an amendment fixing a new date therefor (V, 
5920).

  A bill comprehensively addressing a subject requires careful analysis 
to determine whether an amendment addresses a different subject. For 
example, to an amendment in the nature of a substitute comprehensively 
amending several sections of the Clean Air Act with respect to the 
impact of shortages of energy resources on standards imposed under that 
Act, an amendment to another section of the Act suspending temporarily 
the authority of the Administrator of the EPA to control automobile 
emissions was held germane (Dec. 14, 1973, pp. 41688-89). On the other 
hand, to a bill comprehensively restructuring the production and 
distribution of food, an amendment proposed in a motion to recommit to 
provide nutrition assistance, including food stamps and soup kitchen 
programs, was held not germane (Feb. 26, 1996, p. ----).


[[Page 613]]

Sept. 29, 1980, pp. 27832-52). But to a bill 
relating to one government agency, an amendment having as its 
fundamental purpose a change in the law relating to another agency was 
held not germane even though it contemplated a consultative role for the 
agency covered by the bill (July 8, 1987, p. 19014).


Sec. 798b. Fundamental purpose as test of 
germaneness.

  Whether  or not an amendment is germane should be judged from the 
provisions of its text rather than from the motives that circumstances 
may suggest (V, 5783, 5803; Dec. 13, 1973, pp. 41267-69; Aug. 15, 1974, 
pp. 28438-39). Thus an amendment that does relate to the subject matter 
of the bill is not subject to challenge solely on the basis that it may 
be characterized as private legislation benefitting certain individuals, 
offered to a public bill (May 30, 1984, p. 14495). The fundamental 
purpose of an amendment must be germane to the fundamental purpose of 
the bill (VIII, 2911). Thus for a bill proposing to accomplish a result 
by methods comprehensive in scope, a committee amendment in the nature 
of a substitute seeking to achieve the same result was held germane 
where it was shown that additional provisions not contained in the 
original bill were merely incidental conditions or exceptions that were 
related to the fundamental purpose of the bill (Aug. 2, 1973, pp. 27673-
75; July 8, 1975, p. 21633; 


  In order to be germane, an amendment must not only have the same end 
as the matter sought to be amended, but must contemplate a method of 
achieving that end that is closely allied to the method encompassed in 
the bill or other matter sought to be amended (Aug. 11, 1970, p. 28165). 
Thus to a proposition to accomplish a result through regulation by a 
governmental agency, an amendment to accomplish the same fundamental 
purpose through regulation by another governmental agency was held 
germane (Dec. 15, 1937, pp. 1572-89; June 9, 1941, p. 4905; Dec. 19, 
1973, pp. 42618-19); to a bill to achieve a certain purpose by 
conferring discretionary authority to set fair labor standards upon an 
independent agency, an amendment in the nature of a substitute to attain 
that purpose by a more inflexible method (prescribing fair labor 
standards) was held germane (Dec. 15, 1937, pp. 1590-94; Oct. 14, 1987, 
p. 27885); to a proposition to accomplish the broad purpose of settling 
land claims of Alaska natives by a method general in scope, an amendment 
accomplishing the same purpose by a method more detailed in its 
provisions was held germane (Oct. 20, 1971, p. 37079); to an amendment 
comprehensively amending the Natural Gas Act to de-regulate interstate 
sales of new natural gas and regulate aspects of intrastate gas use, a 
substitute providing regulatory authority for interstate and intrastate 
gas sales of large producers was held germane (Feb. 4, 1976, p. 2387); 
to a bill providing a temporary extension of existing authority, an 
amendment achieving the same purpose by providing a nominally permanent 
authority was held germane where both the bill and the amendment were 
based on reported economic projections under which either would achieve 
the same, necessarily temporary result by method of direct or indirect 
amendment to the same existing law (May 13, 1987, p. 12344); and to a 
bill subjecting employers who fail to apprise their workers of health 
risks to penalties under other laws and regulations, a substitute 
subjecting such employers to penalties prescribed in the substitute 
itself was held germane (Oct. 14, 1987, p. 27885). To a bill raising 
revenue by several methods of taxation the Committee of the Whole, 
overruling the Chair, held that an amendment proposing a tax on 
undistributed profits was germane (VII, 3042). To an amendment freezing 
the obligation of funds for fiscal year 1996 for missile defense until 
the Secretary of Defense rendered a specified readiness certification, 
an amendment permitting an increase in the obligation of such funds on 
the basis of legislative findings concerning readiness was held germane, 
as each proposition addressed the relationship between 1996 funding 
levels for missile defense and readiness (Feb. 15, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 614]]

bill to aid in the control of crime through research and training an 
amendment to accomplish that result through regulation of the sale of 
firearms was held not germane (Aug. 8, 1967, pp. 21846-50); to a bill 
providing relief to foreign countries through government agencies, an 
amendment providing for relief to be made through the International 
Red Cross was held not germane (Dec. 10, 1947, pp. 11242-44); and 
to a bill conserving energy by civil penalties on manufacturers of 
autos with low gas mileage, an amendment conserving energy by tax 
rebates to purchasers of high-mileage autos was held not germane 
(June 12, 1975, p. 18695). To a bill authorizing financial assistance 
to unemployed individuals for employment opportunities, an amendment 
providing instead for tax incentives to stimulate employment was held not 
germane as employing an unrelated method within the jurisdiction of a 
different committee of the House (Sept. 21, 1983, p. 25145); to a bill 
to promote technological advancement by fostering Federal research and 
development, and amendment exhorting to do so by changes in tax and 
antitrust laws was held not germane (July 16, 1991, p. 18397); to a 
bill extending unemployment compensation benefits during a period of 
economic recession, an amendment to stimulate economic growth by tax 
incentives and regulatory reform was held not germane (Sept. 17, 1991, 
p. 23156); to an amendment to achieve a national production goal for 
synthetic fuels for national defense needs by loans and grants and 
development of demonstration synthetic fuel plants, a substitute to 
require by regulation that any fuel sold in commerce require a certain 
percentage of synthetic fuels was held not germane, as broader in scope 
and an unrelated method (June 26, 1979, pp. 16663-74); to a proposition 
whose fundamental purpose was registration and public disclosure by, 
but not regulation of the activities of, lobbyists, amendments 
prohibiting lobbying in certain places, restricting monetary contributions 
by lobbyists, and providing civil penalties for violating rules of the 
House in relation to floor privileges, were held not germane (Sept. 28, 
1976, pp. 33070-71), but to a similar bill, an amendment requiring 
disclosure of any lobbying communication made on the floor of the 
House or Senate or in adjoining rooms, but not regulating such conduct, 
was held germane (Apr. 26, 1978, pp. 11641-42); to a bill providing 
assistance to Vietnam war victims, amendments containing foreign policy 
declarations as to culpability in the Vietnam war were held not germane 
(Apr. 23, 1975, p. 11510); to a bill authorizing foreign military 
assistance programs, an amendment authorizing contributions to an 
international agency for nuclear missile inspections was held not 
germane (Mar. 3, 1976, p. 5226); and to a bill seeking to accomplish a 
purpose by one method (creation of an executive branch agency), an 
amendment accomplishing that result by a method not contemplated in the 
bill (creation of office within Legislative Branch as function of committee 
oversight) was ruled not germane (Nov. 5, 1975, p. 35041). A motion to 
recommit a joint resolution, proposing a constitutional amendment for 
representation of the District of Columbia in Congress, with instructions 
that the Committee on the Judiciary consider a resolution retroceding pop-

[[Page 615]]

ulated portions of the District to Maryland, was held not germane 
(Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 2, 1978, p. 5272). To a bill to provide financial 
assistance to domestic agriculture through price support payments, an 
amendment to protect domestic agriculture by restricting imports in 
competition therewith was not germane as proposing an unrelated method of 
assistance within the jurisdiction of another committee (Oct. 14, 1981, p. 
23899). It is not germane to change a direct appropriation of new budget 
authority from the general fund into a reappropriation (in effect a 
rescission) of funds previously appropriated for an entirely different 
purpose in a special reserve account (Feb. 28, 1985, p. 4146). To a 
proposition changing Congressional budget procedures to require 
consideration of balanced budgets, an amendment changing concurrent 
resolutions on the budget to joint resolutions, bringing executive 
enforcement mechanisms into play, was held not germane (July 18, 1990, 
p. 17920).
  However, an amendment to accomplish a similar purpose by an unrelated 
method, not contemplated by the bill, is not germane. Thus, to a 


[[Page 616]]

tion bills for the department to 
carry out its functions, but where changes in the laws to be 
administered by the department remain within the jurisdiction of other 
committees of the House (June 19, 1979, pp. 15570-71). To a bill 
reported by the Committee on Public Works authorizing funds for highway 
construction and mass transportation systems using motor vehicles, an 
amendment relating to urban mass transit (then within the jurisdiction 
of the Committee on Banking and Currency) and the railroad industry 
(then within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign 
Commerce) was held not germane (Oct. 5, 1972, p. 34115). To a bill 
reported from the Committee on Science and Technology authorizing 
environmental research and development activities of an agency, an 
amendment expressing the sense of Congress with respect to that agency's 
regulatory and enforcement authority, within the jurisdiction of the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, was held not germane (Feb. 9, 1984, p. 
2423); to a bill authorizing environmental research and development 
activities of an agency for two years, an amendment adding permanent 
regulatory authority for that agency by amending a law not within the 
jurisdiction of the committee reporting the bill was held not germane 
(June 4, 1987, p. 14757); and to a bill addressing various research 
programs and authorities, an amendment addressing matters of fiscal and 
economic policy and regulation was held not germane (July 16, 1991, p. 
18391; Sept. 22, 1992, pp. ---- and ----). To a bill reported from the 
Committee on Armed Services amending several laws within that 
committee's jurisdiction on military procurement and policy, an 
amendment to the Renegotiation Act, a matter within the jurisdiction of 
the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs and not solely 
related to military contracts was held not germane (June 26, 1985, pp. 
17417-19), as was an amendment requiring reports on Soviet Union 
compliance with arms control commitments, a matter exclusively within 
the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (Deschler-Brown 
Precedents, vol. 10, ch. 28, sec. 4.26). To a bill reported from the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce relating to mentally ill individuals, 
an amendment prohibiting the use of General Revenue Sharing funds 
(within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Government Operations) was 
held not germane (Jan. 30, 1986, p. 1053). To a bill reported from the 
Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries authorizing various 
activities of the Coast Guard, an amendment urging the Secretary of 
State in consultation with the Coast Guard to elicit cooperation from 
other nations concerning certain Coast Guard and military operations (a 
matter within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Affairs) was 
held not germane (July 8, 1987, p. 19013). To a bill reauthorizing 
programs administered by two agencies within one committee's 
jurisdiction, an amendment more general in scope affecting agencies 
within the jurisdiction of other committees is not germane (May 12, 
1994, p. ----). To a bill reported by the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure reforming and privatizing Amtrak, an amendment 
rescinding previously appropriated funds for certain administrative 
expenses, a matter within the ju-

[[Page 617]]

risdiction of the Committee on Appropriations, is not germane (Nov. 
30, 1995, p. ----).


Sec. 798c. Committee jurisdiction as test of 
germaneness.

  An  amendment when considered as a whole should be within the 
jurisdiction of the committee reporting the bill, although committee 
jurisdiction over the subject of an amendment and of the original bill 
is not the exclusive test of germaneness (Aug. 2, 1973, pp. 27673-75), 
and the Chair relates the amendment to the bill in its perfected form 
(Aug. 17, 1972, p. 28913). To a bill reported from the Committee on 
Agriculture providing price support programs for various agricultural 
commodities, an amendment repealing price control authority for all 
commodities under an act reported from the Committee on Banking and 
Currency is not germane (July 19, 1973, pp. 24950-51). To a bill 
reported from the Committee on Ways and Means providing for a temporary 
increase in the public debt ceiling for the current fiscal year (not 
directly amending the Second Liberty Bond Act), an amendment proposing 
permanent changes in that Act and also affecting budget and 
appropriation procedures (matters within the jurisdiction of other House 
committees) was held not germane (Nov. 7, 1973, pp. 36240-41). To a bill 
relating to intelligence activities of the Executive Branch, an 
amendment effecting a change in the rules of the House by directing a 
committee to impose an oath of secrecy on its members and staff was held 
not germane (May 1, 1991, p. 9669). To a bill reported by the Committee 
on Government Operations creating an executive agency to protect 
consumers, an amendment conferring on Congressional committees with 
oversight over consumer protection the authority to intervene in 
judicial or administrative proceedings (a rule-making provision within 
the jurisdiction of the Committee on Rules) was ruled not germane (Nov. 
6, 1975, p. 35373). Similarly, to a bill reported from the Committee on 
Government Operations creating a new department, transferring the 
administration of existing laws to it and authorizing appropriations to 
carry out the Act subject to provisions in existing law, an amendment 
prohibiting the use of funds so authorized to carry out a designated 
funding program transferred to the department is not necessarily 
germane, where the purpose of the authorization is to allow 
appropriations in general appropria-


  Committee jurisdiction is not the sole test of germaneness where: (1) 
the proposition to which the amendment is offered is so comprehensive 
(overlapping several committees' jurisdictions) as to diminish the 
pertinency of that test; (2) the amendment does not demonstrably affect 
a law within another committee's jurisdiction (July 21, 1976, pp. 23167-
68; Oct. 8, 1985, pp. 26548-51); (3) the portion of the bill also 
contains language, related to the amendment, not within the jurisdiction 
of the committee reporting the bill (Apr. 2, 1976, p. 9254; Aug. 10, 
1984, p. 23975); or (4) the bill has been amended to include matter 
within the jurisdiction of another committee thus permitting further 
similar amendments to be germane (July 11, 1985, pp. 18601-02; Sept. 19, 
1986, p. 24769). To a bill reported from the Committee on Agriculture 
relating to the food stamp program, an amendment requiring the 
collection from certain recipients of the money value of food stamps 
received, by the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with the 
Secretary of Agriculture, was held germane since the performance of new 
duties by the Secretary of the Treasury and by the Internal Revenue 
Service that do not affect the application of the Internal Revenue Code, 
is not a matter solely within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways 
and Means (July 27, 1977, pp. 25249-52).


[[Page 618]]

ity of mortgage interest), a matter within the jurisdiction of the 
Committee on Ways and Means, was held not germane (Aug. 1, 1990, 
p. 21256).
  But committee jurisdiction is a relevant test where the pending text 
is entirely within one committee's jurisdiction and where the amendment 
falls within another committee's purview (Jan. 29, 1976, p. 1582; July 
25, 1979, pp. 20601-03; June 27, 1985, pp. 17417-19). Thus to a bill 
reported from the Committee on Armed Services authorizing military 
procurement and personnel strengths for one fiscal year, a proposition 
imposing permanent prohibitions and conditions on troop withdrawals from 
the Republic of Korea was held not germane since proposing permanent law 
to a one-year authorization and including statements of policy within 
the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (May 24, 1978, pp. 
15293-95); and to a bill reported from the Committee on Interior and 
Insular Affairs designating certain areas in a State as wilderness, an 
amendment providing unemployment benefits to workers displaced by the 
designation was held not germane (Mar. 21, 1983, p. 6347); to a bill 
reported from the Committee on Education and Labor dealing with 
education, an amendment regulating telephone communications (a matter 
within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Energy and Commerce) was 
held not germane (Apr. 19, 1988, p. 7355); to a bill reported from the 
Committee on Education and Labor authorizing a variety of civilian 
national service programs, an amendment establishing a contingent 
military service obligation (a matter within the selective service 
jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services) was held not germane 
(July 28, 1993, p. ----); and to a bill reported by the Committee on 
Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs dealing with housing and community 
development grant and credit programs, an amendment expressing the sense 
of Congress on tax policy (the deductibil-

  In a conference report on a House bill reported from the Committee on 
Public Works and Transportation, authorizing funds for local public 
works employment, a Senate amendment to mandate expenditure of already 
appropriated funds (as a purported disapproval of deferral of such funds 
under the Impoundment Control Act) and to set discount rates for 
reclamation and public works projects, subjects within the jurisdictions 
of the Committees on Appropriations and Interior and Insular Affairs, 
was held not germane (Speaker O'Neill, May 3, 1977, pp. 13242-43).

  To a bill amending an existing law to grant to merchant mariners 
benefits ``substantially equivalent to'' those granted to veterans in a 
separate law in the jurisdiction of another committee, an amendment 
directly changing the separate law to extend its benefits to merchant 
mariners was held not germane (Sept. 9, 1992, p. ----); but where the 
pending bill incorporates by reference provisions of a law from another 
committee and conditions the bill's effectiveness upon actions taken 
pursuant to a section of that law, an amendment to alter that section of 
the law may be germane (Apr. 8, 1974, pp. 10108-10).

  The test of the germaneness of an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute for a bill is its relationship to the bill as a whole, and is 
not necessarily determined by the content of an incidental portion of 
the amendment which, if considered separately, might be within the 
jurisdiction of another committee (Aug. 2, 1973, p. 27673; June 1, 1976, 
pp. 16021-25). However, the House may by adopting a special rule allow a 
point of order that a section of a committee amendment in the nature of 
a substitute would not have been germane if offered separately to the 
bill as introduced (May 23, 1978, pp. 15094-96; May 24, 1978, pp. 15293-
95; Aug. 11, 1978, p. 25705).

  The fact that an amendment is offered in conjunction with a motion to 
recommit a bill with instructions does not affect the requirement that 
the subject matter of the amendment be germane and within the 
jurisdiction of the committee reporting the bill (Mar. 2, 1967, p. 
5155). Thus, to a bill reported from the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
addressing U.S. claims against Iraq, a motion to recommit with 
instructions to prohibit the admission of former members of Iraq's armed 
forces to the United States as refugees (a matter within the 
jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary) is not germane (Apr. 28, 
1994, p. ----).


[[Page 619]]

relating to commerce between the States, an amendment relating 
to commerce within the several States (V, 5841); to a proposition to 
relieve destitute citizens of the United States in Cuba, a proposition 
declaring a state of war in Cuba and proclaiming neutrality (V, 5897); 
to a proposition for the appointment of a select committee to 
investigate a certain subject, an amendment proposing an inquiry of the 
Executive on that subject (V, 5891); to a bill granting a right of way 
to a railroad, an amendment providing for the purchase of the railroad 
by the Government (V, 5887); to a provision for the erection of a 
building for a mint, an amendment to change the coinage laws (V, 5884); 
to a resolution proposing expulsion, an amendment proposing censure (VI, 
236); to a resolution authorizing the administration of the oath to a 
Member-elect, an amendment authorizing such oath administration but 
adding several conditions of punishment predicated on acts committed in 
a prior Congress (Jan. 3, 1969, pp. 23-25); to a general tariff bill, an 
amendment creating a tariff board (May 6, 1913, p. 1234; Speaker Clark, 
May 8, 1913, p. 1381); to a proposition to sell two battleships and 
build a new battleship with the proceeds, a proposition to devote the 
proceeds to building wagon roads (VIII, 2973).


Sec. 798d. Various tests of germaneness are not 
exclusive.

  The  standards by which the germaneness of an amendment may be 
measured, as set forth in Sec. Sec. 798a-c, supra, are not exclusive; an 
amendment and the matter to which offered may be related to some degree 
under the tests of subject matter, purpose, and jurisdiction, and still 
not be considered germane under the precedents. Thus, the following have 
been held not to be germane: To a proposition relating to the terms of 
Senators, an amendment changing the manner of their election (V, 5882); 
to a bill 



[[Page 620]]

to a bill 
providing relief for agricultural producers, an amendment extending such 
relief to commercial fishermen, another class within the jurisdiction of 
another committee (Apr. 24, 1978, pp. 11080-81); to a bill governing the 
political activities of federal civilian employees, an amendment to 
cover members of the uniformed services (June 7, 1977, pp. 17713-14); to 
a bill covering the civil service system for federal civilian employees, 
an amendment bringing other classes of employees (postal and District of 
Columbia employees) within the scope of the bill (Sept. 7, 1978, pp. 
28437-39; Oct. 9, 1985, pp. 26951-54); to a portion of an appropriation 
bill containing funds for a certain purpose to be expended by one 
agency, an amendment containing funds for another agency for the same 
purpose (July 24, 1981, p. 17226); to an amendment exempting national 
defense budget authority from the reach of a proposed Presidential 
rescission authority, an amendment exempting social security (Feb. 2, 
1995, p. ----); to a Senate amendment striking an earmarking from an 
appropriation bill, a House amendment reinserting part of the amount but 
adding other earmarking for unrelated programs (Nov. 15, 1989, p. 
29019); to a Senate amendment relating to a feasibility study of a land 
transfer in one state, a House amendment requiring an environmental 
study of land in another state (Nov. 15, 1989, p. 29035); to a bill 
prohibiting certain uses of polygraphy in the private sector, an 
amendment applying the terms of the bill to the Congress (Nov. 4, 1987, 
p. 30870); to a bill to determine the equitability of federal pay 
practices under statutory systems applicable to agencies of the 
executive branch, an amendment to extend the scope of the determination 
to pay practices in the legislative branch (ruling sustained by 
Committee of Whole, Sept. 28, 1988, p. 26422); to a special 
appropriation bill providing funds and authority for agricultural credit 
programs but containing no transfers of funds, reappropriations, or 
rescissions, an amendment (contained in a motion to recommit) deriving 
funds for the bill by transfer of unobligated balances in the Energy 
Security Reserve and thus decreasing and transferring funds provided for 
a program unrelated to the subject matter or method of funding provided 
in the bill (Feb. 28, 1985, p. 4146); to a bill prohibiting importation 
of goods ``made in whole or in part by convict, pauper, or detained 
labor, or made in whole or in part from materials that have been made in 
whole or in part in any manner manipulated by convict or prison labor,'' 
an amendment prohibiting importation of goods produced by child labor, a 
second discrete class (VIII, 2963); similarly, to an amendment 
authorizing grants to states for purchase of one class of equipment 
(photographic and fingerprint equipment) for law enforcement purposes, 
an amendment including assistance for the purchase of a different class 
of equipment (bulletproof vests) (Oct. 12, 1979, pp. 28121-24); to a 
bill repealing section 14(b) of the National Labor Relations Act and 
making conforming changes in two related sections of labor law--all 
pertaining solely to the so-called ``right-to-work'' issue--an amendment 
excluding from the applicability of certain labor-management agreements 
members of religious groups (July 28, 1965, p. 18633); to a bill 
relating 

[[Page 621]]

to the design of certain coin currency, an amendment specifying 
the metal content of other coin currency (Sept. 12, 1973, pp. 29376-77); 
to a proposition to accomplish a single purpose without amending a 
certain existing law, an amendment to accomplish another individual 
purpose by changing that existing law (Dec. 14, 1973, pp. 41723-25); to 
a bill regulating poll closing time in Presidential general elections, 
an amendment extending its provisions to Presidential primary elections 
(Jan. 29, 1986, p. 684); to a bill authorizing grants to private 
entities furnishing health care to underserved populations, an amendment 
authorizing grants to States to control a public health hazard was held 
not germane as relating to a different category of recipient (Mar. 5, 
1986, p. 3604); to a bill siting a certain type of repository for a 
specified kind of nuclear waste, an amendment prohibiting the 
construction at another site of another type of repository for another 
kind of nuclear waste (July 21, 1992, p. ----); and to a bill addressing 
violent crimes, an amendment addressing nonviolent crimes, such as 
crimes of fraud and deception or crimes against the environment (May 7, 
1996, pp. ----, ----).


Sec. 798e. One individual proposition not germane to 
another.

  One  individual proposition may not be amended by another 
individual proposition even though the two belong to the same class 
(VIII, 2951-2953, 2963-2966, 3047; Jan. 29, 1986, p. 684; Oct. 22, 1990, 
p. ----; Oct. 24, 1991, p. 28561). Thus, the following are not germane: 
To a bill proposing the admission of one Territory into the Union, an 
amendment for admission of another Territory (V, 5529); to a bill 
amending a law in one particular, amending the law in another particular 
(VIII, 2949); to a proposition to appropriate or to authorize 
appropriations for only one year (and containing no provisions extending 
beyond that year), an amendment to extend the authorization or 
appropriation to another year (VIII, 2913; Nov. 13, 1980, pp. 29523-28; 
see also May 2, 1979, p. 9564; Oct. 12, 1979, pp. 28097-99); to a 
measure earmaking funds in an appropriation bill, an amendment 
authorizing the program for which the appropriation is made (Nov. 15, 
1989, p. 29019); to a bill for the relief of one individual, an 
amendment proposing similar relief for another (V, 5826-5829); to a 
resolution providing a special order for one bill, an amendment to 
include another bill (V, 5834-5836); to a provision for extermination of 
the cotton-boll weevil, an amendment including the gypsy moth (V, 5832); 
to a provision for a clerk for one committee, an amendment for a clerk 
to another committee (V, 5833); to a Senate amendment dealing with use 
of its contingent fund for art restoration in that body, a proposed 
House amendment for use of the House contingent fund for a similar but 
broader purpose (May 24, 1990, p. 12203); to a bill prohibiting 
transportation of messages relative to dealing in cotton futures, an 
amendment adding wheat, corn, etc. (VIII, 3001); to a bill prohibiting 
cotton futures, an amendment prohibiting wheat futures (VIII, 3001); to 
a bill for the relief of certain aliens, an amendment for the relief of 
other persons who are not aliens (May 14, 1975, p. 14360); 



[[Page 622]]

casting to all Dictatorships in the Caribbean Basin (Aug. 10, 1982, 
pp. 20256-57); and to a bill prohibiting a certain class of abortion 
procedures, an amendment prohibiting any or all abortion procedures 
(Mar. 20, 1997, p. ----).


Sec. 798f. A general provision not germane to a specific 
subject.

  A  specific subject may not be amended by a provision general in 
nature, even when of the class of the specific subject (V, 5843-5846; 
VIII, 2997, 2998; July 31, 1985, pp. 21832-34; see also Procedure, ch. 
28, sec. 8). Thus the following are not germane: To a bill for the 
admission of one Territory into the Union, an amendment providing for 
the admission of several other Territories (V, 5837); to a bill relating 
to all corporations engaged in interstate commerce, an amendment 
relating to all corporations (V, 5842); to a bill modifying an existing 
law as to one specific particular, an amendment relating to the terms of 
the law other than those dealt with by the bill (V, 5806-5808); to a 
bill amending an existing law in one particular, an amendment amending 
other laws and more comprehensive in scope (Nov. 19, 1993, pp. ----, --
--, ----); to an amendment addressing particular educational 
requirements imposed on educational agencies by the underlying bill, an 
amendment addressing any requirements imposed on educational agencies by 
the underlying bill (Mar. 21, 1994, p. ----); to a bill reauthorizing 
programs administered by the Economic Development Administration and the 
Appalachian Regional Commission, an amendment providing for the waiver 
of any Federal regulation that would interfere with economic development 
(May 12, 1994, p. ----); to a bill amending the war-time prohibition act 
in one particular, an amendment repealing that act (VIII, 2949); to a 
bill proscribing certain picketing in the District of Columbia, an 
amendment making the provisions thereof applicable throughout the United 
States (Aug. 22, 1966, p. 20113); to a bill dealing with enforcement of 
United Nations sanctions against one country in relation to a specific 
trade commodity, an amendment imposing United States sanctions against 
all countries for all commodities and communications (Mar. 14, 1977, pp. 
7446-47); to a bill authorizing funds for radio broadcasting to Cuba, an 
amendment broadening the bill to include broad-


  A bill dealing with an individual proposition but rendered general in 
its scope by amendment is then subject to further amendment by 
propositions of the same class (VIII, 3003). While a specific 
proposition covering a defined class may not be amended by a proposition 
more general in scope, the Chair may consider all pending provisions 
being read for amendment in determining the generality of the class 
covered by that proposition (Jan. 30, 1986, p. 1051).

  To a bill limited in its applicability to certain departments and 
agencies of government, an amendment applicable to all departments and 
agencies is not germane (Sept. 27, 1967, p. 26957). Thus, to a bill 
establishing an office without regulatory authority in the Department of 
the Interior to manage biological information, an amendment addressing 
requirements of compensation for Constitutional takings by other 
regulatory agencies was held not germane (Oct. 26, 1993, p. ----); and 
to a bill amending an authority of an agency under an existing law, an 
amendment independently expressing the sense of Congress on regulatory 
agencies generally was held not germane (May 14, 1992, p. ----). To a 
proposition authorizing activities of certain government agencies for a 
temporary period, an amendment permanently changing existing law to 
cover a broader range of government activities is not germane (May 5, 
1988, p. 9938), and to a bill proposing a temporary change in law, an 
amendment making permanent changes in that law is not germane (Nov. 19, 
1991, p. 32893). To a joint resolution continuing funding within one 
executive department, neither an amendment addressing funding for other 
departments nor one addressing the compensation of Federal employees on 
government-wide bases is germane (Dec. 20, 1995, pp. ----, ----).


[[Page 623]]

record absent patient approval was held not germane 
(Sept. 23, 1977, pp. 30534-35). To an amendment to a budget resolution 
changing one functional category only, an amendment changing several 
other categories as well as that category, and covering an additional 
fiscal year, is not germane (May 2, 1979, pp. 9556-64). For an amendment 
striking from a bill one activity from those covered by the law being 
amended, a substitute striking out the entire subsection of the bill, 
thereby eliminating the applicability of existing law to a number of 
activities, is not germane (Sept. 23, 1982, pp. 24963-64). To a bill 
relating to aircraft altitude over units of the national park system, an 
amendment relating to aircraft collision avoidance generally is not 
germane (Sept. 18, 1986, p. 24084). To a Senate amendment prohibiting 
the use of funds appropriated for a fiscal year for a specified purpose, 
a proposed House amendment prohibiting the use of funds appropriated for 
that or any prior fiscal year for an unrelated purpose is not germane 
(June 30, 1987, p. 18294). To a Senate amendment raising an employment 
ceiling for one year, a House amendment proposing also to address in 
permanent law a hiring preference system for such employees is not 
germane (Oct. 11, 1989, p. 24089). To a Senate amendment providing for a 
training vessel for one state maritime academy, a proposed House 
amendment relating to training vessels for all state maritime academies 
is not germane (June 30, 1987, p. 18296). To a bill amending an existing 
law to authorize a program, an amendment restricting authorizations 
under that or any other act is beyond the scope of the bill and not 
germane (Dec. 10, 1987, p. 34676). To a proposition waiving a 
requirement in existing law that an authorizing law be enacted prior to 
the obligation of certain funds, an amendment affirmatively enacting 
bills containing not only that authorization but also other policy 
matters is not germane as beyond the issue of funding availability 
(Sept. 28, 1988, p. 26108). To a proposition pertaining only to a 
certain appropriation account in a bill, an amendment relating not only 
to that account but also to funds in other acts is more general in scope 
and therefore not germane (Sept. 30, 1988, p. 27148). To an omnibus farm 
bill, with myriad programs to improve agricultural economy, an amendment 
to the Animal Welfare Act but not limited to agricultural pursuits was 
held not germane (Aug. 1, 1990, p. 21573).
  To a proposition temporarily suspending certain requirements of the 
Clean Air Act, an amendment temporarily suspending other requirements of 
all other environmental protection laws was held not germane (Dec. 14, 
1973, pp. 41751-52). To a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the 
Constitution prohibiting the U.S. or any state from denying persons 18 
years of age or older the right to vote, an amendment requiring the U.S. 
and all states to treat persons 18 years and older as having reached the 
age of majority for all purposes under the law was ruled out as not 
germane (Mar. 23, 1971, p. 7567). To a bill authorizing Federal funding 
for qualifying State national service programs, an amendment 
conditioning a portion of such funding on the enactment of State laws 
immunizing volunteers in nonprofit or public programs, generally, from 
certain legal liabilities was held not germane (July 28, 1993, p. ----). 
To a bill to enable the Department of HEW to investigate and prosecute 
fraud and abuse in medicare and medicaid health programs, a committee 
amendment to prohibit any officer or employee from disclosing any 
identifiable medical 


[[Page 624]]

of economic assistance to 
foreign countries, an amendment adding a further specific category is 
germane (Apr. 9, 1979, pp. 7755-57). And where a bill seeks to 
accomplish a general purpose (support of arts and humanities) by diverse 
methods, an amendment that adds a specific method to accomplish that 
result (artist employment through National Endowment for Arts) may be 
germane (Apr. 26, 1976, p. 11101; see also June 12, 1979, p. 14460). But 
to a resolution authorizing a class of employees in the service of the 
House, an amendment providing for the employment of a specified 
individual was held not to be germane (V, 5848-5849). To a proposition 
relating in many diverse respects to the political rights of the people 
of the District of Columbia, an amendment conferring upon that 
electorate the additional right of electing a nonvoting Delegate to the 
Senate was held germane (Oct. 10, 1973, pp. 33656-57). To a bill 
bringing two new categories within the coverage of existing law, an 
amendment to include a third category of the same class was held germane 
(Nov. 27, 1967, p. 33769). To a bill containing definitions of several 
of the terms used therein, an amendment modifying one of the definitions 
and adding another may be germane (Sept. 26, 1967, p. 26878). To a bill 
authorizing a broad program of research and development, an amendment 
directing specific emphasis in the administration of the program is 
germane (Dec. 19, 1973, p. 42607). To a bill providing for investigation 
of relationships between environmental pollution and cancer, an 
amendment to investigate the impact of personal health habits, such as 
cigarette smoking, on that relationship was held germane (Sept. 15, 
1976, pp. 30496-98). To a supplemental appropriation bill containing 
funds for several departments and agencies, an amendment in the form of 
a new chapter providing funds for capital outlays for subway 
construction in the District of Columbia was held germane (May 11, 1971, 
p. 14437). To a proposal authorizing military procurement, including 
purchase of food supplies, an amendment authorizing establishment that 
fiscal year of a military preparedness grain reserve was held germane as 
a more specific authorization (July 20, 1982, pp. 17073, 17074, 17092, 
17093). To a Senate amendment providing for prepayment of loans by those 
within a certain class of borrowers who meet a specified criterion, a 
proposed House amendment eliminating the criterion to broaden the 
applicability of the Senate amendment to additional borrowers within the 
same class was held germane (June 30, 1987, p. 18308). To an amendment 
addressing a range of criminal prohibitions, an amendment addressing 
another criminal prohibition within that range was held germane (Oct. 
17, 1991, p. 26767). To a bill addressing violent crimes, an amendment 
addressing violent crimes involving the environment was held germane 
(May 7, 1996, p. ----).


Sec. 798g. Specific subjects germane to general propositions 
of the class.

  A  general subject may be amended by specific propositions 
of the same class (VIII, 3002, 3009, 3012; see also Procedure, ch. 28, 
sec. 9). Thus, the following have been held to be germane: To a bill 
admitting several Territories into the Union, an amendment adding 
another Territory (V, 5838); to a bill providing for the construction of 
buildings in each of two cities, an amendment providing for similar 
buildings in several other cities (V, 5840); to a resolution embodying 
two distinct phases of international relationship, an amendment 
embodying a third (V, 5839); to an amendment prohibiting indirect 
assistance to several countries, an amendment to include additional 
countries within that prohibition (Aug. 3, 1978, p. 24244); and to a 
portion of a bill providing two categories 



[[Page 625]]

bring the entire title under consideration so as to permit an amendment 
to any portion thereof (Oct. 11, 1967, p. 28649), and where a bill 
amends existing law in one narrrow particular, an amendment proposing to 
modify such existing law in other particulars will generally be ruled 
out as not germane (Aug. 16, 1967, p. 22768; VIII, 2709, 2839, 3013, 
3031; May 12, 1976, p. 13532). To a bill narrowly amending an anti-
discrimination provision in the Education Amendments of 1972 only to 
clarify the definition of a discriminating entity subject to the 
statutory penalties (denial of federal funding), amendments re-defining 
a class of discrimination (sex), expanding the definition of persons who 
are the subject of discrimination (to include the unborn), and deeming a 
new entity (Congress) to be a recipient of federal assistance (a class 
not necessarily covered by the class covered by the bill), were ruled 
not to be germane (June 26, 1984, pp. 18847, 18857, and 18861). But to 
the same bill, an amendment merely defining a word used in the bill was 
held germane (June 26, 1984, p. 18865). Unless a bill so extensively 
amends existing law as to open up the entire law to amendment, the 
germaneness of an amendment to the bill depends on its relationship to 
the subject of the bill and not to the entire law being amended (Oct. 
28, 1975, p. 34031). But a bill amending several sections of an existing 
law may be sufficiently broad to permit amendments that are germane to 
other sections of that law not mentioned in the bill (Feb. 19, 1975, p. 
3596; Sept. 14, 1978, pp. 29487-88). To a bill continuing and re-
enacting an existing law amendments germane to the existing act sought 
to be continued have been held germane to the pending bill (VIII, 2940, 
2941, 2950, 3028; Oct. 31, 1963, p. 20728; June 1, 1976, pp. 16045-46); 
but where a bill merely extends an official's authority under existing 
law, an amendment permanently amending that law has been held not in 
order (Sept. 29, 1969, pp. 27341-43). Thus where a bill authorized 
appropriations to an agency for one year but did not amend the organic 
law by extending the existence of that agency, an amendment extending 
the life of another entity mentioned in the organic law was held not 
germane (May 20, 1976, pp. 14912-13). An amendment making permanent 
changes in the law relating to organization of an agency is not germane 
to a title of a bill only authorizing appropriations for such agency for 
one fiscal year (Nov. 29, 1979, p. 34090); to a general appropriation 
bill providing funds for one fiscal year, an amendment changing a 
permanent appropriation in existing law and changing Congressional 
procedures for consideration of that general appropriation bill in 
future years is more general in scope and in part within the 
jurisdiction of the Committee on Rules and therefore is not germane 
(June 29, 1987, p. 18083); and to a temporary authorization bill 
prescribing the use of an agency's funds for two years but not amending 
permanent law, an amendment permanently changing the organic law 
governing that agency's operations is not germane (Dec. 2, 1982, pp. 
28537-38, concerning Sept. 28, 1982, p. 25465). However, to a bill 
authorizing appropriations for a department for one fiscal year, where 
the effect of the department's activities pursuant to that authorization 
may extend be-

[[Page 626]]

yond such year, an amendment directing a specific use of 
those funds to perform an activity that may not be completed within the 
fiscal year was nevertheless germane, since limited to funds in the bill 
(Oct. 18, 1979, pp. 28763-64). Similarly, to a one-year authorization 
bill containing diverse limitations and directions to the agency in 
question during such year, an amendment further directing the agency to 
obtain information from the private sector, and to make such information 
public during such year, was held germane (Oct. 18, 1979, pp. 28815-17). 
While an amendment making a permanent change in existing law has been 
held not germane to a bill proposing a temporary change in that law, 
where it is apparent that the fundamental purpose of the amendment is to 
have only temporary effect and to accomplish the same result as the bill 
it may be germane. Thus to a bill providing a temporary extension of 
existing authority, an amendment achieving the same purpose by providing 
a nominally permanent authority was held germane where both the bill and 
the amendment were based on reported economic projections under which 
either would achieve the same, necessarily temporary result by method of 
direct or indirect amendment to the same existing law (May 13, 1987, p. 
12344). However, to a proposal continuing the availability of 
appropriated funds and also imposing diverse legislative conditions upon 
the availability of appropriations, an amendment directly and 
permanently changing existing law as to the eligibility of recipients of 
funds was held to be nongermane (Dec. 10, 1981, pp. 30536-38). To a bill 
extending an existing law in modified form, an amendment proposing 
further modification of that law may be germane (Apr. 23, 1969, p. 
10067; Feb. 19, 1975, p. 3596). But to a bill amending a law in one 
particular, an amendment repealing the law is not germane (Jan. 14, 
1964, p. 423). To a bill amending a general law in several particulars, 
an amendment providing for the repeal of the whole law was held germane 
(V, 5824), but the bill amending the law must so vitally affect the 
whole law as to bring the entire act under consideration before the 
Chair will hold an amendment repealing the law or amending any section 
of the law germane to the bill (VIII, 2944; Apr. 2, 1924, p. 5437). 
Where a bill repeals a provision of law, an amendment modifying that 
provision rather than repealing it may be germane (Oct. 30, 1969, p. 
32466); but the modification must relate to the provision of law being 
repealed (July 28, 1965, p. 18636). Generally to a bill amending one 
existing law, an amendment changing the provisions of another law or 
prohibiting assistance under any other law is not germane (May 11, 1976, 
p. 13419; Aug. 12, 1992, p. ----). To a bill amending the Bretton Woods 
Act in relation to the International Monetary Fund, an amendment 
prohibiting the alienation of gold to the IMF or to any other 
international organization or its agents was held not germane (July 27, 
1976, pp. 24040-41). However, to a bill comprehensively amending several 
laws within the same class, an amendment further amending one of those 
laws on a subject within that class is germane (May 12, 1976, p. 13530); 
and to a bill authorizing funding for the intelligence community for one 
fiscal year and making di-

[[Page 627]]

verse changes in permanent laws relating 
thereto, an amendment changing another permanent law to address 
accountability for intelligence activites was held germane (Oct. 17, 
1990, p. 30171). To a title of a bill dealing with a number of unrelated 
authorities of the Secretary of Agriculture, an amendment amending 
another act within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Agriculture to 
require the adoption of a minimum standard for the contents of ice cream 
was held germane since restricted to the authority of the Secretary of 
Agriculture (July 22, 1977, pp. 24558-70). But to a section of a bill 
amending a section of the National Labor Relations Act dealing with 
procedural rules governing labor elections and organizations, an 
amendment changing the same section of law to require promulgation of 
rules defining certain conduct as an unfair labor practice was held not 
germane, where neither the pending section nor the bill itself addressed 
the subject of unfair labor practices dealt with in another section of 
the law (Oct. 5, 1977, pp. 32507-08). To a bill narrowly amending one 
subsection of existing law dealing with one specific criminal activity, 
an amendment postponing the effective date of the entire section, 
affecting other criminal provisions and classes of persons as well as 
the one amended by the bill, or an amendment to another subsection of 
the law dealing with a related but separate prohibition was held not 
germane (May 16, 1979, pp. 11470-72), but to an amendment adding sundry 
punitive sections to the Federal criminal code, an amendment creating an 
exception to the prohibition of another such section was held germane 
(Oct. 17, 1991, p. 26767).


Sec. 799. Amendments to bills amending existing law.

  To  a 
bill amending a general law on a specific point an amendment relating to 
the terms of the law rather than to those of the bill was ruled not to 
be germane (V, 5808; VIII, 2707, 2708); thus a bill amending several 
sections of one title of the United States Code does not necessarily 



[[Page 628]]

1975, p. 11529), and to a bill authorizing an agency to undertake 
certain activities, an amendment allowing Congress to disapprove 
regulations issued pursuant thereto is a germane restriction if the 
disapproval mechanism does not amend the rules or procedures of the 
House (May 4, 1976, p. 12348). An amendment proposing changes in the 
rules of the House by providing a privileged procedure for expedited 
review of an agency's regulations is not germane to a proposition not 
containing such changes (Aug. 13, 1982, pp. 20969, 20975-78); to a bill 
directing the furnishing of certain intelligence information to the 
House but not amending any House procedure, an amendment imposing 
relevant conditions of security on the handling of such information in 
committee for the period covered by the bill may be germane, so long as 
not amending a rule of the House (June 11, 1991, p. 14204). To a title 
of a bill limiting in several respects an official's authority to 
construe legal authorities transferred to him in the bill, an amendment 
further restricting his authority to construe under any circumstances 
certain other laws to be administered by him was held germane as an 
additional, although more restrictive, curtailment of existing 
authorities transferred by the bill (June 11, 1979, pp. 14226-38). To a 
bill not only granting consent of Congress to an interstate compact but 
also imposing conditions on the granting of that consent, an amendment 
stating an additional related condition to that consent and not directly 
changing the compact may be germane (Oct. 7, 1997, p. ----).


Sec. 800. Amendments imposing conditions, 
qualifications, and limitations.

  Restrictions,  qualifications, and limitations 
sought to be added by way of amendment must be germane to the provisions 
of the bill. Thus, to a bill authorizing the funding of a variety of 
programs that satisfy several stated requirements, in order to 
accomplish a general purpose, an amendment conditioning the availability 
of those funds upon implementation by their recipients of another 
program related to that general purpose is germane (June 18, 1973, pp. 
20100-01); an amendment delaying operation of a proposed enactment 
pending an ascertainment of a fact is germane when the fact to be 
ascertained relates solely to the subject matter of the bill (VIII, 
3029; Dec. 15, 1982, pp. 30957-61); to a bill authorizing funds for 
military procurement and construction, an amendment declaring that none 
of the funds be used to carry out military operations in North Vietnam 
was held germane (Mar. 2, 1967, p. 5143). To a bill authorizing the 
insurance of vessels, an amendment denying such insurance to vessels 
charging exorbitant rates is germane (VIII, 3023), and to a bill 
authorizing changes in railroad rates, an amendment is germane which 
provides that such changes shall not include increases in rates (VIII, 
3022). To a bill authorizing humanitarian and evacuation assistance to 
war refugees, an amendment making such authorization contingent on a 
report to Congress on costs of a portion of the evacuation program (but 
not requiring implementation of any new program) is germane (Apr. 23, 



[[Page 629]]

there is an increase in the public debt may be germane 
as long as the amendment does not directly affect other provisions of 
law or impose contingencies predicated upon other unrelated actions of 
Congress (Sept. 25, 1979, pp. 26150-52); an amendment proposing a 
conditional restriction on the availability of funds to carry out an 
activity, that merely requires observation of similar activities of 
another country, which similar conduct already constitutes the policy 
basis for the funding of that governmental activity, may be germane as a 
related contingency (May 16, 1984, p. 12510); and an amendment 
restricting the payment of Federal funds in a bill to States that enact 
certain laws relating to the activities being funded may be germane 
(July 28, 1993, p. ----). Likewise, an amendment that conditions the 
obligation or expenditure of funds authorized in the bill by adopting as 
a measure of their availability the expenditure during the fiscal year 
of a comparable percentage of funds authorized by other acts is germane 
as long as the amendment does not directly affect the use of other funds 
(July 26, 1973, p. 26210). Similarly, to a bill authorizing certain 
housing programs, an amendment restricting the amounts of direct 
spending in the bill to the levels set in the concurrent resolution on 
the budget was held germane as merely a measure of availability of funds 
in the bill and not a provision directly affecting the Congressional 
budget process (June 11, 1987, p. 15540).
  But it is not in order to amend a bill to delay the effectiveness of 
the legislation pending an unrelated contingency (VIII, 3035, 3037), 
such as the enactment of state legislation (June 29, 1967, p. 17921; 
July 28, 1993, p. ----). Thus an amendment delaying the bill's 
effectiveness or availability of authorizations pending unrelated 
determinations involving agencies and committee jurisdictions not within 
the purview of the bill is not germane (Feb. 7, 1973, pp. 3708-09; July 
8, 1981, p. 15010; July 9, 1981, p. 15218), and to a bill authorizing 
military assistance to Israel and funds for a U.N. Emergency Force in 
the Middle East, an amendment postponing the availability of funds to 
Israel until the President certifies the existence of a designated level 
of domestic energy supplies is not germane (Dec. 11, 1973, p. 40837). An 
amendment conditioning the availability of funds to certain recipients 
based upon their compliance with Federal law not otherwise applicable to 
them and within the jurisdiction of other House committees may be ruled 
out as not germane (conditioning defense funds for procurement contracts 
with foreign contractors on their compliance with domestic law regarding 
discrimination) (June 16, 1983, p. 16060). An amendment delaying the 
availability of an appropriation pending the enactment of certain 
revenue legislation into law is an unrelated contingency and is not 
germane (Oct. 25, 1979, pp. 29639-40). An amendment conditioning the use 
of funds on the conduct of Congressional hearings addressing an 
unrelated subject is not germane (July 22, 1994, p. ----). However, an 
amendment to an authorization bill that conditions the expenditure of 
funds covered by the bill by restricting their availability during 
months in which 

  To a bill requiring that a certain percentage of autos sold in the 
U.S. be manufactured domestically, and imposing an import restriction 
for autos on persons violating that requirement, an amendment waiving 
those restrictions with respect to a foreign nation where the President 
has issued a proclamation that that nation is not imposing unfair import 
restrictions on any U.S. product was held to be a non-germane and 
unrelated contingency, dealing with overall trade issues rather than 
domestic content requirement for autos sold in the U.S. (Nov. 2, 1983, 
p. 30776). But an amendment to the same bill prohibiting its 
implementation if resulting in U.S. violation to resolve conflicts under 
those agreements, was held germane since the bill already 
comprehensively addressed those subject matters by ``disclaiming'' any 
purpose to amend international agreements or to confer court 
jurisdiction relative thereto, and by conferring court jurisdiction over 
adjudication of penalties assessed under the bill (Nov. 2, 1983, p. 
30546).


[[Page 630]]

stitute conditioning the availability of some 
of those funds upon a prohibition of certain imports into the U.S. is 
not germane, a contingency unrelated to that to which offered (Nov. 7, 
1985, pp. 30984-85). It is not germane to condition assistance to a 
particular class of recipient covered by the bill upon an unrelated 
contingency such as action or inaction by another class of recipient or 
agent not covered by the bill (Mar. 5, 1986, p. 3613). However, while a 
bill relating to benefits based on indemnification of liability arising 
out of an activity does not ordinarily admit as germane amendments 
relating to regulation of that activity, an amendment conditioning 
benefits upon agreement by its recipient to be governed by certain 
safety regulations may be germane if related to the activity giving rise 
to the liability (July 29, 1987, p. 21448).
  To a bill regulating immigration, an amendment providing that the 
operation of the act should not conflict with an agreement with Japan is 
not germane (VIII, 3050), to a bill proposing relief for women and 
children in Germany, an amendment delaying the effectiveness of such 
relief until a soldier's compensation act shall have been enacted is not 
germane (VIII, 3035), and to a bill authorizing radio broadcasting to 
Cuba, an amendment prohibiting the use of those funds until Congress has 
considered a Constitutional Amendment mandating a balanced budget is not 
germane (Aug. 10, 1982, p. 20250). To a proposition conditioning the 
availability of funds upon the enactment of an authorizing statute for 
the enforcing agency, a sub-

  While it may be in order on a general appropriation bill to delay the 
availability of certain funds therein if the contingency does not impose 
new duties on executive officials, the contingency must be related to 
the funds being withheld and cannot affect other funds in the bill not 
related to that factual situation; thus to a general appropriation bill 
containing funds not only for a former President but also for other 
departments and agencies, an amendment delaying the availability of all 
funds in the bill until the former President had made restitution of a 
designated amount of money was held not germane (Oct. 2, 1974, pp. 
33620-21). But an amendment postponing the effective date of a title of 
a bill to a date certain is germane (July 25, 1973, p. 25828), as is an 
amendment to an authorization bill that conditions the obligation of 
funds therein by adopting as a measure of their availability the 
expenditure during that fiscal year of a comparable percentage of funds 
authorized by other Acts, if the amendment does not directly affect the 
use of other funds (July 26, 1973, p. 26210); and an amendment that 
conditions the availability of funds covered by a bill by adopting as a 
measure of their availability the monthly increases in the public debt 
may be germane so long as the amendment does not directly affect other 
provisions of law or impose unrelated contingencies (Sept. 25, 1979, pp. 
26150-52). To a provision to become effective immediately, an amendment 
deferring the time at which it shall become effective, without involving 
affirmative legislation, was held germane (VIII, 3030). To a bill 
authorizing defense assistance to a foreign nation, an amendment 
delaying the availability of that assistance until that nation's former 
ambassador testified before a House committee, which had been directed 
by the House to investigate gifts by that nation's representatives to 
influence Members and employees, was held germane as a contingency that 
sought to compel the furnishing of information related to efforts to 
induce defense assistance to that nation (Aug. 2, 1978, pp. 23932-33).


[[Page 631]]

official to prohibit the exportation of 
petroleum products for use in Indochina military operations was held 
germane (Dec. 14, 1973, p. 41753). But it is not in order by way of 
amendment to a bill authorizing funds for military assistance to certain 
foreign countries, to make the availability of those funds contingent 
upon efforts by those countries to control narcotic traffic to the U.S., 
and to authorize the President to offer the assistance of federal 
agencies for that purpose, where the subjects of narcotics and the 
accessibility of federal agencies are not contained in the bill (June 
17, 1971, pp. 20589-90).
  Where a proposition confers broad discretionary power on an executive 
official, an amendment is germane which directs that official to take 
certain actions in the exercise of the authority. Thus to an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute authorizing the Federal Energy 
Administrator to restrict exports of certain energy resources, an 
amendment directing that 

  Where a provision delegates certain authority, an amendment proposing 
to limit such authority is germane (VIII, 3022); to a provision 
conferring presidential authority to establish priorities among users of 
petroleum products and requiring priority to education and 
transportation users, an amendment restricting such regulatory authority 
by requiring that petroleum products allocated for public school 
transportation be used only between the student's home and the closest 
school was held germane (Dec. 13, 1973, pp. 41267-69). Similarly, a bill 
providing for the deportation of aliens may be amended to exempt a 
portion of such aliens from deportation (VIII, 3029), a bill providing 
aid to shipping may be amended to limit such aid to ships equipped with 
saving devices (VIII, 3027), a bill prohibiting the issuance of 
injunctions by the courts in labor disputes may be amended to except all 
labor disputes affecting public utilities (VIII, 3024), and to a 
proposition denying benefits to recipients failing to meet a certain 
qualification, a substitute denying the same benefits to some recipients 
but excepting others is germane (July 28, 1982, pp. 18355-58, 18361). To 
a bill extending the authorities of one government agency, including 
requirements for consultation with several other agencies, an amendment 
requiring that agency to perform a function based upon an analysis 
furnished by yet another agency was held germane as an additional 
limitation on the authority of the agency being extended which did not 
separately mandate the performance of an unrelated function by another 
entity (July 27, 1978, pp. 23107-08). To a proposition authorizing a 
program to be undertaken, a substitute providing for a study to 
determine the feasibility of undertaking the same type of program may be 
germane as a more limited approach involving the same agency (June 26, 
1985, pp. 17453, 17458, and 17460) (in effect overruling VIII, 2989).


[[Page 632]]

(Sept. 25, 1979, pp. 
26135-43), and to a bill authorizing appropriations for an agency, an 
amendment to prohibit the use of such funds for any purpose to which the 
funds may otherwise be applied is germane (Nov. 5, 1981, p. 26716). To a 
provision authorizing funds for a fiscal year, an amendment restricting 
the availability of funds appropriated pursuant thereto for a specified 
purpose until enactment of a subsequent law authorizing that purpose is 
germane (July 21, 1983, p. 20198). To an amendment precluding the 
availability of an authorization for part of a fiscal year and then 
permitting availability for the remainder of the year based upon a 
contingency, an amendment constituting a prohibition on the availability 
of the same funds for the entire fiscal year is a germane alternative 
(May 16, 1984, p. 12567). A legislative amendment to an appropriation 
bill must not only retrench expenditures under clause 2 of rule XXI but 
must also be germane to the provisions to which offered. A limitation 
must apply solely to the money of the appropriation under consideration 
(VII, 1596, 1600), and may not be made applicable to a trust fund 
provided (IV, 4017) or to money appropriated in other acts (IV, 3927; 
VII, 1495, 1597-1599). Thus to a general appropriation bill providing 
funds for the Department of Agriculture and including specific 
allocation of funds for pest control, an amendment was germane that 
prohibited the use of funds for use of presticides prohibited by state 
or local law (May 26, 1969, p. 13753). But to a provision prohibiting 
aid to a certain country unless certain conditions were met, an 
amendment prohibiting aid to another country until that nation took 
certain acts, and referring to funds provided in other acts, was not 
germane (Nov. 17, 1967, p. 32968). To a proposal to restrict 
availability of agency funds for a year and amending the organic law as 
it relates to the internal functions thereof, an amendment further 
restricting funding but also applying ``with respect to the use of funds 
in the bill'' provisions of criminal and other laws not applicable 
thereto was held not germane (Oct. 26, 1989, p. 26269). See also 
Procedure, ch. 28, secs. 22-27.

  An amendment seeking to restrict the use of funds must be limited to 
the subject matter and scope of the provisions sought to be amended; to 
a bill authorizing funds for foreign assistance, an amendment placing 
restrictions on funds authorized or appropriated in prior years is not 
germane (Aug. 24, 1967, p. 24002), and to an amendment changing a dollar 
amount in a bill, a substitute therefor not only changing the figure but 
also restricting the use of any funds in furtherance of a certain 
activity is not germane (June 7, 1972, p. 19920). To a proposition 
restricting the availability of funds to a certain category of 
recipients, an amendment further restricting the availability of funds 
to a subcategory of the same recipients is germane 




Sec. 801. Dilatory motions pending motions to suspend 
rules.

  8.  Pending a motion to suspend the rules, the Speaker may 
entertain one motion that the House adjourn; but after the result 
thereon is announced he shall not entertain any other motion till the 
vote is taken on suspension.



[[Page 633]]

  This clause of the rule was adopted in 1868 (V, 5743), and amended in 
1911 (VIII, 2823). A motion for a recess (V, 5748-5751) and for a call 
of the House when there was no doubt of the presence of a quorum (V, 
5747) were held to be dilatory motions within the meaning of the rule. 
But where a motion to suspend the rules has been made and, after one 
motion to adjourn has been acted on, a quorum has failed, another motion 
to adjourn has been admitted (V, 5744-5746).




Sec. 802. Privileged motion for consideration of revenue 
and appropriation bills.

  9.  At any time after the reading of the Journal 
it shall be in order, by direction of the appropriate committees, to 
move that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole House 
on the state of the Union for the purpose of considering general 
appropriation bills.


  As early as 1835 the necessity of giving the appropriation bills 
precedence became apparent, and in 1837 a rule was adopted that 
established the principle that continues in the present rule (IV, 3072).


[[Page 634]]

<>   10. No dilatory motion shall be 
entertained by the Speaker.

  Although clause 4(a) of rule XI was amended by the Committee Reform 
Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., 
Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), to eliminate the authority of the Committee on 
Ways and Means to report as privileged bills raising revenue (see 
Sec. 726, supra), this clause was not changed, but the privileged nature 
of the motion under this clause with respect to revenue bills was 
derived from and was dependent upon the former privilege conferred upon 
the Committee on Ways and Means under clause 4(a) of rule XI to report 
revenue measures to the House at any time (IV, 3076). Ultimately, this 
clause was amended to delete as obsolete the reference to bills raising 
revenue (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----). When both types of 
reports were privileged under that rule prior to the 94th Congress, 
motions to consider revenue bills and appropriation bills were of equal 
privilege (IV, 3075, 3076). The motion may designate the particular 
appropriation bill to be considered (IV, 3074). The motion is privileged 
at any time after the approval of the Journal (subject to relevant 
report and hearing availability requirements), but only if offered at 
the direction of the committee (July 23, 1993, p. ----). The motion is 
in order on District Mondays (VI, 716-718; VII, 876, 1123); and takes 
precedence of the motion to go into Committee of the Whole House to 
consider the Private Calendar (IV, 3082-3085; VI, 719, 720). Before the 
adoption of clause 4 of rule XIII (the former Consent Calendar) it could 
be made on a ``suspension day'' as on other days (IV, 3080). On 
Wednesdays the privilege of the motion is limited by clause 7 of rule 
XXIV. It may not be amended (VI, 52, 723), debated (VI, 716), laid on 
the table, or indefinitely postponed (VI, 726), and the previous 
question may not be demanded on it (IV, 3077-3079). Although highly 
privileged, it may not take precedence of a motion to reconsider (IV, 
3087), or a motion to change the reference of a bill (VII, 2124). The 
motion is less highly privileged than the motion to discharge a 
committee from further consideration of a bill under clause 3 of rule 
XXVII (VII, 1011, 1016), and on consent days the call of the former 
Consent Calendar (abolished in the 104th Congress) took precedence (VII, 
986).

  This clause was adopted in 1890 (V, 5706) to make permanent a 
principle already enunciated in a ruling of the Speaker, who had 
declared that the ``object of a parliamentary body is action, not 
stoppage of action'' (V, 5713).



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  The Speaker has declined to entertain debate or appeal on a question 
as to the dilatoriness of a motion, as to do so would be to nullify the 
rule (V, 5731); but has recognized that the authority conferred by the 
rule should not be exercised until the object of the dilatory motion 
``becomes apparent to the House'' (V, 5713-5714). For example, the Chair 
has held that a virtually consecutive invocation of rule XXX, resulting 
in a second pair of votes on use of a chart and on reconsideration 
thereof, was not dilatory under clause 10 of rule XVI (or clause 4(b) of 
rule XI) (July 31, 1996, p. ----). Usually, but not always, the Speaker 
awaits a point of order from the floor before acting (V, 5715-5722). The 
rule has been applied to the motions to adjourn (V, 5721, 5731-5733; 
VIII, 2796, 2813), to reconsider (V, 5735; VIII, 2797, 2815, 2822), to 
fix the time of five-minute debate in Committee of the Whole (V, 5734; 
VIII, 2817), and to lay on the table (VIII, 2816); and to the question 
of consideration (V, 5731-5733). The point of ``no quorum'' has also 
been ruled out (V, 5724-5730; VIII, 2801, 2808), and clause 6 of rule 
XV, as adopted in the 93d Congress and as amended in the 95th Congress 
prevents the making of a point of no quorum under certain circumstances. 
A demand for tellers has been held dilatory (V, 5735, 5736; VIII, 2436, 
2818-2821); but the constitutional right of the Member to demand the 
yeas and nays may not be overruled (V, 5737; VIII, 3107). (For ruling by 
Speaker Gillett construing dilatory motions, see VIII, 2804.) See also 
Sec. 729a, supra, for discussion of dilatory motions pending 
consideration of Rules Committee report, and Sec. 874, infra, for rule 
prohibiting offering of dilatory amendments printed in Record.


                               Rule XVII.


                           previous question.


[[Page 635]]

upon a single motion, a series of 
motions allowable under the rules, or an amendment or amendments, or may 
be made to embrace all authorized motions or amendments and include the 
bill to its passage or rejection. It shall be in order, pending the 
motion for, or after the previous question shall have been ordered on 
its passage, for the Speaker to entertain and submit a motion to commit, 
with or without instructions, to a standing or select committee.



Sec. 804. The previous question.

  1.  There shall be a motion 
for the previous question, which, being ordered by a majority of Members 
voting, if a quorum be present, shall have the effect to cut off all 
debate and bring the House to a direct vote upon the immediate question 
or questions on which it has been asked and ordered. The previous 
question may be asked and ordered 


  The House adopted a rule for the previous question in 1789, but it was 
not turned into an instrument for closing debate until 1811. The history 
of the motion for the previous question is discussed in V, 5443, 5446; 
VIII, 2661. In 1880, the previous question rule was amended to apply to 
single motions or a series of motions as well as to amendments, and the 
motion to commit pending the motion for the previous question or after 
the previous question is ordered to passage was added (V, 5443). From 
1880 to 1890, the previous question could only be ordered to the 
engrossment and third reading, and then again ordered on passage, but in 
1890 the rule was changed to permit ordering the previous question to 
final passage (V, 5443).


[[Page 636]]

when the question covers both an undebated amendment and the original 
proposition (V, 5504). It was also denied on a resolution to correct 
an error in an enrolled bill (V, 5508). The forty minutes is divided, 
one half to those favoring and the other half to those opposing (V, 5495).


Sec. 805. Effect of previous question on 
debate.

  The  previous question is the only motion used for closing debate 
in the House itself (V, 5456; VIII, 2662). It is not in order in 
Committee of the Whole (IV, 4716; Apr. 25, 1990, p. 8257) but is in 
order in the House as in Committee of the Whole (VI, 639). The motion 
may not include a provision that it shall take effect at a certain time 
(V, 5457). Forty minutes of debate are allowed whenever the previous 
question is ordered on a proposition on which there has been no debate 
(V, 6821; VIII, 2689; Sept. 13, 1965, p. 23602; see clause 2 of rule 
XXVII); but if there has been debate, even though brief, before the 
ordering of the previous question, the forty minutes are not allowed (V, 
5499-5501). This preliminary debate should be on the merits of the 
question if the forty minutes of debate are to be denied for reason of 
it (V, 5502). The forty minutes should be demanded before division has 
begun on the main question (V, 5496). It may not be demanded on 
incidental motions, but is confined to the main question (V, 5497, 5498; 
VIII, 2687). It may not be demanded on a proposition that has been 
debated in Committee of the Whole (V, 5505), or on a conference report 
if the subject matter of the report was debated before being sent to 
conference (V, 5506, 5507). When the previous question is ordered merely 
on an amendment that has not been debated, the forty minutes are allowed 
(V, 5503); but the same liberty of debate is not allowed 




Sec. 806. Application of the previous 
question.

  The  provisions of the rule define the application of the 
previous question with considerable accuracy. It may not be moved on 
more than one bill except by the unanimous consent of the House (V, 
5461-5465), or on motions to agree to a conference report and also to 
dispose of differences not included in the report (V, 5464) and when 
ordered on a motion to send to conference applies to that motion alone 
and does not extend to a subsequent motion to instruct conferees (VIII, 
2675). It may apply to the main question and a pending motion to refer 
(V, 5466; VI, 373; VIII, 2678), or to a pending resolution and a pending 
amendment thereto (Sept. 25, 1990, p. 25575). When a bill is reported 
from the Committee of the Whole with the recommendation that the 
enacting words be stricken out, it may be applied to the motion to 
concur without covering further action on the bill (V, 5342). During 
consideration ``in the House as in Committee of the Whole'' it may be 
demanded while Members still desire to offer amendments (IV, 4926-4929; 
VI, 639), but it may not be moved on a single section of a bill (IV, 
4930). When ordered on a resolution with a preamble there is doubt of 
its application to the preamble, unless the motion specifies (V, 5469, 
5470). It may be moved on a series of resolutions, but this does not 
preclude a division of the resolutions on the vote (V, 5468), although 
where two propositions on which the previous question is moved are 
related, as in the case of a special order reported from the Committee 
on Rules and a pending amendment thereto, a division is not in order 
(Sept. 25, 1990, p. 25575). The previous question is often ordered on 
undebatable propositions to prevent amendment (V, 5473, 5490), but may 
not be moved on a motion that is both undebatable and unamendable (IV, 
3077). It applies to questions of privilege as to other questions (II, 
1256; V, 5459, 5460; VIII, 2672).



[[Page 637]]

ing proceeding to make a preferential motion, such 
as the motion to recede from a disagreement with the Senate, he may not 
move the previous question on that motion as against the rights of the 
Member in charge (II, 1459), and the Member in charge is entitled to 
recognition to move the previous question even after he has surrendered 
the floor in debate (VIII, 2682, 3231). Where a Member controlling the 
time on a bill or resolution in the House yields for the purpose of 
amendment, another Member may move the previous question before the 
Member offering the amendment is recognized to debate it (Nov. 8, 1971, 
p. 39944; July 24, 1979, p. 20385). Where under a rule of the House 
debate time on a motion or proposition is equally divided and controlled 
by the majority and the minority, or between those in favor and those 
opposed (see, e.g., clauses 1, 2, 4, and 5 of rule XXVIII), or where a 
block of time for debate has been yielded by the manager, the previous 
question may not be moved until the other side has used or yielded back 
its time; and the Chair may vacate the adoption of the previous question 
where it was improperly moved while the other side was still seeking 
time (Oct. 3, 1989, p. 22842). The previous question may not be demanded 
on a proposition against which a point of order is pending (VIII, 3433).


Sec. 807. The right to move the previous 
question.

  The  Member in charge of the bill and having the floor may demand 
the previous question although another Member may propose a motion of 
higher privilege (VIII, 2684), but the motion of higher privilege must 
be put first (V, 5480; VIII, 2609, 2684), and if the Member in charge of 
the bill claims the floor in debate another Member may not demand the 
previous question (II, 1458); but having the floor, unless yielded to 
for debate only, any Member may make the motion although the effect may 
be to deprive the Member in charge of the bill (V, 5476; VIII, 2685). 
The Member who has called up a measure in the House has priority of 
recognition to move the previous question thereon, even over the 
chairman of the reporting committee (Oct. 1, 1986, p. 27468). And if, 
after debate, the Member in charge of the bill does not move the 
previous question, another Member may (V, 5475); but where a Member 
intervenes on a pend-




Sec. 808. The motion to commit in relation to the previous 
question.

  The  motion to commit under this rule applies to resolutions of 
the House alone as well as to bills (V, 5572, 5573; VIII, 2742), and to 
a motion to amend the Journal (V, 5574). It does not apply to a report 
from the Committee on Rules providing a special order of business (V, 
5593-5601; VIII, 2270, 2750), or to a pending amendment to a proposition 
in the House (V, 5573). Although a motion to commit under this clause, 
with instructions to report forthwith with an amendment, has been 
allowed after the previous question has been ordered on a motion to 
dispose of Senate amendments before the stage of disagreement (V, 5575; 
VIII, 2744, 2745), a motion to commit under this rule does not apply to 
a motion disposing of Senate amendments after the stage of disagreement 
where utilized to displace a pending preferential motion (Speaker 
Albert, Sept. 16, 1976, pp. 30887-88).



[[Page 638]]

of rules at the beginning 
of a Congress (VIII, 2755; Jan. 5, 1981, p. 111). It was formerly held 
that the opponents of a bill had no claim to prior recognition to make 
the motion (II, 1456), but under clause 4 of rule XVI the prior right to 
recognition is given to an opponent on a bill or joint resolution 
pending final passage. The right to move to recommit a House bill with a 
Senate amendment belongs to a Member who is opposed to the whole bill in 
preference to a Member who is merely opposed to the Senate amendment 
(VIII, 2772). When the House refused to order a bill to be engrossed and 
read a third time the motion to commit may not be made (V, 5602, 5603).
  The motion to commit may be made pending the demand for the previous 
question on the passage, whether a bill or resolution be under 
consideration (V, 5576); but when the demand covers all stages of the 
bill to the final passage the motion to commit is made only after the 
third reading, and is not in order pending the demand or before the 
engrossment or third reading (V, 5578-5581). When separate motions for 
the previous question are made, respectively, on the third reading and 
on the passage of a bill, the motion to commit should be made only after 
the previous question is ordered on the passage (V, 5577). When the 
previous question has been ordered on a simple resolution (as 
distinguished from a joint resolution) and a pending amendment, the 
motion to commit should be made after the vote on the amendment (V, 
5585-5588). A motion to commit has been entertained after ordering of 
the previous question even before the adoption 

  An opponent has priority in recognition to offer a motion to commit a 
simple or concurrent resolution under this clause, and the Speaker looks 
first to the Minority Leader or his designee (as he would for a motion 
to recommit governed by clause 4 of rule XVI), and then to minority 
members on the committee of jurisdiction in order of seniority (VIII, 
2764; Nov. 28, 1979, p. 33914; Procedure, ch. 23, sec. 13.1), except 
that recognition to offer a motion under this clause to commit a 
resolution called up as a privileged matter without having been referred 
to committee does not depend on opposition to the resolution or on party 
affiliation (Speaker Albert, Feb. 19, 1976, p. 3920).

  The motion to refer under this rule after the previous question is 
ordered is not debatable (V, 5582), except as provided in clause 4 of 
rule XVI; but may be amended, as by adding instructions, unless such 
amendment be precluded by moving the previous question (V, 5582-5584; 
VIII, 2695). Unless the previous question is ordered, an amendment 
(including one in the nature of a substitute) is in order on a motion to 
commit with instructions (VIII, 2698, 2759), but the amendment should be 
germane (V, 6888; VIII, 2711).

  It is not in order to do indirectly by a motion to commit with 
instructions what may not be done directly by way of amendment such as 
to propose an amendment that is not germane (V, 5529-5541, 5834, 5889; 
VIII, 2707, 2708); to propose to strike out or amend what has already 
been inserted by way of amendment (V, 5531; VIII, 2712, 2714, 2715, 
2723); to propose an amendment in violation of clauses 2, 5, or 6 of 
rule XXI (V, 5533-5540); or to grant a committee leave to report at any 
time (V, 5543). Where a special rule providing for the consideration of 
a bill prohibited the offering of amendments to a certain title of the 
bill during its consideration (in both the House and the Committee of 
the Whole), it was held not in order to offer a motion to recommit with 
instructions to incorporate an amendment in the restricted title (Jan. 
11, 1934, pp. 479-83).


[[Page 639]]

question has been ordered (V, 5412-5414). Only one motion 
to commit is in order (V, 5577, 5582, 5585; VIII, 2763), but where a 
bill is recommitted under this motion the previous question being 
pending but not ordered on final passage and, having been reported 
again, is again amended and subjected to the previous question, another 
motion to commit is in order after the engrossment and third reading (V, 
5591). And where one motion to recommit was ruled out of order, the 
Speaker entertained a proper motion to recommit (VIII, 2763).
  The motion to recommit may not be accompanied by preamble or otherwise 
include argument, explanation, or other matter in the nature of debate 
(V, 5589; VIII, 2749). Thus, a motion to recommit a bill to a standing 
committee with recommendations for producing legislation that the 
President could sign was held inadmissible in both form and content 
(Feb. 27, 1992, p. ----). The motion may not be laid on the table after 
the previous 

  When a special order declares that at a certain time the previous 
question shall be considered as ordered on a bill to the final passage, 
it has usually, but not always, been held that a motion to commit is 
precluded (IV, 3207-3209). Under clause 4(b) of rule XI the Committee on 
Rules is prohibited from reporting such special order that precludes the 
motion to recommit in clause 4 of rule XVI (Sec. 729(a); VIII, 2260, 
2262-2264). Clause 4(b) was amended in the 104th Congress to further 
prohibit the Committee on Rules from denying the Minority Leader or his 
designee the right to include proper amendatory instructions in a motion 
to recommit (sec. 210, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). Where a 
special order providing for consideration of a matter in the House 
provides that the previous question shall be considered as ordered 
thereon without intervening motion, and does not simply state that the 
previous question be considered as ordered after debate, the previous 
question is considered as ordered from the beginning of the debate, 
precluding the consideration of any intervening motion (Mar. 12, 1980, 
pp. 5387-93).



Sec. 809. Relation of the previous question to other 
motions.

  The  motion to lay on the table may not be applied to the previous 
question (V, 5410, 5411); nor may it be applied to the main question 
after the previous question has been ordered (V, 5415-5422; VIII, 2655), 
or after the yeas and nays have been ordered on the demand for the 
previous question (V, 5408, 5409).



  The motion to postpone may not be applied to the main question after 
the previous question has been ordered (V, 5319-5321; VIII, 2617). The 
previous question may be applied both to the main question and a pending 
motion to refer (V, 5342; VI, 373).




Sec. 810. Relation of previous question to failure of a 
quorum.

  2.  A call of the House shall not be in order after the previous 
question is ordered, unless it shall appear upon an actual count by the 
Speaker that a quorum is not present.



[[Page 640]]

  This clause of the rule was adopted in 1860 (V, 5447).




Sec. 811. Questions of order pending the motion for the 
previous question.

  3.  All incidental questions of order arising after a 
motion is made for the previous question, and pending such motion, shall 
be decided, whether on appeal or otherwise, without debate.


  This clause was adopted in 1837 to prevent delay by debate on points 
of order after the demand for the previous question (V, 5448). Under the 
present practice, since debate on points or order is entirely within the 
control of the Chair, he may recognize and respond to a parliamentary 
inquiry although the previous question may have been demanded (Speaker 
pro tempore Snell, Mar. 27, 1926, p. 6469).





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  A question of privilege relating to the integrity of action of the 
House itself has been distinguished from ordinary questions of order and 
has been thrown open to debate after the ordering of the previous 
question (III, 2532).


                               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.



[[Page 641]]

  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).



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 (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). When proxy voting was permitted in committee, it was 
generally held that a member who was not present at a vote, but cast his 
vote by proxy, did 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).



[[Page 642]]

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 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 



[[Page 643]]



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). However, unanimous consent is required to initiate 
reconsideration of a measure passed by both Houses (IV, 3466-3469). 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. 25575).


  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 the motion to 
suspend the rules (V, 5645, 5646; VIII, 2781; Sept. 28, 1996, p. ----), 
although it is in order to reconsider an affirmative vote on that motion 
(Sept. 28, 1996, p. ----). It is not in order to reconsider 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 
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.


[[Page 644]]

(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. 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 undisposed 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, even though 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 




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).



[[Page 645]]

able (Sept. 25, 1990, p. 25575) 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. 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 debat-





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; * * *





Sec. 821. Requirement that reports of committees be in writing 
and 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).
   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 adopted in 1880 (V, 5647).





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[[Page 646]]
 
  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.


                                Rule XIX.


                             of amendments.




Sec. 822. Amendments to text and to title.

  When  a motion or 
proposition is under consideration a motion to amend and a motion to 
amend that amendment shall be in order, and it shall also be in order to 
offer a further amendment by way of substitute, to which one amendment 
may be offered, but which shall not be voted on until the original 
matter is perfected, but either may be withdrawn before amendment or 
decision is had thereon. Amendments to the title of a bill or resolution 
shall not be in order until after its passage, and shall be decided 
without debate.


  This rule was adopted in 1880, with an amendment adding the portion in 
relation to the title in 1893. The rule of 1880, however, merely stated 
in form of rule what had been the practice of the House for many years 
(V, 5753).


[[Page 647]]

a perfecting amendment to an amendment is disposed of, the original 
amendment, as amended or not, remains open to further perfecting 
amendment (June 20, 1991, p. 15610), and all such amendments are 
disposed of prior to voting on substitutes for the original amendment 
and amendments thereto (July 26, 1984, p. 21253). An amendment in the 
third degree is not specified by the rule and is not permissible (V, 
5754; VIII, 2580, 2888, 2891), even when the third degree is in the 
nature of substitute for an amendment to a substitute (V, 5791; VIII, 
2889). However, a substitute amendment may be amended by striking out 
all after its first word and inserting a new text (V, 5793, 5794), as 
this, while in effect a substitute, is not technically so, for the 
substitute always proposes to strike out all after the enacting or 
resolving words in order to insert a new text (V, 5785, footnote) or to 
replace all the words of an amendment; and the Chair will not look 
behind the form of the amendment in determining whether it is a 
perfecting amendment or a substitute (June 13, 1994, p. ----). To 
qualify as a substitute an amendment must treat in the same manner the 
same subject carried by the amendment for which offered (VIII, 2879), 
and for an amendment inserting new text in a bill, a proposition not 
only inserting similar language but also striking out original text of 
the bill is not in order as a substitute (VIII, 2880; Sept. 8, 1976, pp. 
29237-38). To an amendment adding a new section, an amendment making 
perfecting changes in the bill rather than in the amendment is not a 
proper perfecting amendment, but may if germane be offered as a 
substitute for the amendment (Apr. 26, 1984, p. 10213). Where, pursuant 
to a special rule, a committee amendment in the nature of a substitute, 
printed in the bill, is being read as original text for purpose of 
amendment, there may be pending to that text the four stages of 
amendment permitted by this rule (Apr. 23, 1969, p. 10066). An amendment 
in the nature of a substitute may be proposed before amendments to the 
pending portion of original text have been acted on, but may not be 
voted on until such amendments have been disposed of (V, 5753, 5787). 
When a bill is considered by sections or paragraphs an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute is properly offered after the reading for 
amendment is concluded (V, 5788). But when it is proposed to offer a 
single substitute for several paragraphs of a bill that is being 
considered by paragraphs, the substitute may be moved to the first 
paragraph, with notice that, if agreed to, motions will be made to 
strike out the remaining paragraphs (V, 5795; VIII, 2898, 2900-2903; 
July 29, 1969, pp. 21218-19). The substitute amendment, as well as the 
original proposition, may be perfected by amendments before the vote on 
it is taken (V, 5786). Where there is pending an amendment in the nature 
of a substitute, it is in order to offer a perfecting amendment to the 
pending portion of original text (VIII, 2861; Apr. 27, 1976, p. 11411; 
see also Procedure, ch. 27, sec. 13.8). An amendment in the nature of a 
substitute having been agreed to, the vote is then taken on the original 
proposition as amended (II, 983; V, 5799, 5800), and no further 
amendment is in order (Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 26, 1985, pp. 6274-75). The 
substitute provided for in this 

[[Page 648]]

rule has been construed as a substitute 
for the amendment and not as a substitute for the original text (VIII, 
2883). If a perfecting amendment to an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute, striking out all after the short title and inserting a new 
text, is agreed to, further amendments to the text so perfected are not 
in order, but amendments are in order to add new language at the end of 
the amendment in the nature of a substitute as amended (May 16, 1979, p. 
11420). An amendment offered as a substitute and rejected may again be 
offered as an original amendment without presenting an equivalent 
question, since in the first case the question is the relationship 
between the substitute and the amendment to which offered and in the 
second case the question is the relationship between the original 
amendment and the text of the bill (V, 5797; VIII, 2843), and an 
amendment considered with others en bloc and rejected may be offered 
separately at a subsequent time (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 9, ch. 27, 
sec. 35.15; Nov. 4, 1991, p. 29932). Thus, while an amendment that is 
amended by a substitute and then adopted as amended may not be reoffered 
in its original form if it would directly change the amended portion of 
the bill, where an amendment inserting new language in a bill is amended 
by a substitute inserting language in a different part of the bill and 
then adopted as amended, the original amendment may again be offered to 
the bill notwithstanding its displacement by the substitute, as the vote 
on the amendment as amended by the substitute is not equivalent to a 
direct vote on the original amendment (June 25, 1987, p. 17416). Under a 
``modified closed'' rule permitting only amendments printed in the 
report accompanying the rule, the Chair will permit an amendment to be 
offered in the form actually submitted for printing rather than 
requiring that it be offered in the erroneous form printed (Mar. 10, 
1994, p. ----). Under the five-minute rule, the proponent of an 
amendment may not yield to another to offer an amendment to the 
amendment; rather an amendment to the amendment may be offered after the 
proponent of the pending amendment has explained it (Sept. 7, 1995, p. 
----).


Sec. 823. Conditions of the motion to amend.

  It  is not in 
order to offer more than one motion to amend of the same nature at a 
time (V, 5755; VIII, 2831), and two independent amendments may be voted 
on at once only by unanimous consent of the House (V, 5779). Amendments 
en bloc, once pending, are open to perfecting amendment at any point 
(June 12, 1991, p. 14337). An amendment must contain instructions to the 
Clerk as to the portion of the bill it seeks to amend and is subject to 
a point of order if not in proper form (Oct. 3, 1985, pp. 25970-71). A 
Member may not amend or modify his own amendment except by unanimous 
consent (Oct. 1, 1985, p. 25453); and where the Chair recognizes the 
proponent of an amendment to propound such a unanimous-consent request 
before commencing debate, the Chair does not charge time consumed under 
a reservation of objection against the proponent's time for debate on 
the amendment (Feb. 3, 1993, p. ----; May 27, 1993, p. ----). Discrete 
propositions to strike out and insert provisions on diverse pages and 
lines of a bill and to insert a new section on a separate subject may 
constitute separate amendments which may be offered en bloc only by 
unanimous consent, even when the bill has been considered as read and 
open to amendment at any point (Sept. 16, 1981, Deschler's Precedents, 
vol. 9, ch. 27, sec. 11.26). But the four motions specified by the rule 
may be pending at one and the same time (V, 5793; VIII, 2883, 2887). Once 



[[Page 649]]



Sec. 823a. Relation of point of order to motion to 
amend.

  A  point of order against an amendment is timely if made or 
reserved prior to formal recognition of the proponent to commence debate 
thereon (July 16, 1991, p. 18391), but thereafter comes too late (V, 
6894, 6898-6899). To preclude a point of order, debate should be on the 
merits of the proposition (V, 6901). When enough of an amendment has 
been read to show that it is out of order, a point of order may be 
raised without waiting for the reading to be completed (V, 6886-6887; 
VIII, 2912, 3437), though the Chair may decline to rule until the entire 
proposition has been read (Dec. 14, 1973, pp. 41716-18). A timely 
reservation of a point of order by one Member inures to the benefit of 
any other Member who desires to press a point of order (V, 6906; July 
18, 1990, p. 17930).




Sec. 824. Withdrawal of the motion to amend.

  While  the rule 
provides that either an ordinary or substitute amendment may be 
withdrawn in the House (V, 5753) or ``in the House as in Committee of 
the Whole'' (IV, 4935; June 26, 1973, p. 21315), it may not be withdrawn 
or modified in Committee of the Whole except by unanimous consent (V, 
5221; VIII, 2564, 2859).




Sec. 825. Precedence of the motion to amend.

  Pursuant  to 
clause 4 of rule XVI, the motion for the previous question takes 
precedence of a motion to amend (Nov. 8, 1971, p. 39944); and if the 
previous question is not ordered, the motion to refer also has 
precedence of the motion to amend (V, 5555; VI, 373). Amendments 
reported by a committee are acted on before those offered from the floor 
(V, 5773; VIII, 2862, 2863), but a floor amendment to the text of a 
pending section is considered before a committee amendment adding a new 
section at the end of the pending section (Oct. 4, 1972, pp. 33779-82), 
and there is a question as to the extent to which the chairman of the 
committee reporting a bill should be recognized to offer amendments to 
perfect it in preference to other Members (II, 1450). Amendments may not 
be offered by proxy (VIII, 2830). The motion to strike out the enacting 
clause has precedence of the motion to amend, and may be offered while 
an amendment is pending (V, 5328-5331; VIII, 2622-2624); but the motion 
to amend takes precedence over a motion that the Committee of the Whole 
rise and report the bill with the recommendation that it pass (July 27, 
1937, p. 7699).




Sec. 826. Relation of the motion to amend to other 
motions.

  With  some exceptions an amendment may attach itself to secondary 
and privileged motions (V, 5754). Thus, the motions to postpone, refer, 
amend, for a recess, and to fix the day to which the House shall adjourn 
may be amended (V, 5754; VIII, 2824). But the motions for the previous 
question, to lay on the table, to adjourn (V, 5754) and to go into 
Committee of the Whole to consider a privileged bill may not be amended 
(IV, 3078, 3079; VI, 723-725).






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  An amendment to the title of a bill is not in order in Committee of 
the Whole (Jan. 29, 1986, p. 682).


                                Rule XX.


                      of amendments of the senate.


[[Page 650]]

that point: Provided, however, That a motion to disagree with the amendments 
of the Senate to a House bill or resolution and request or agree to a 
conference with the Senate, or a motion to insist on the House 
amendments to a Senate bill or resolution and request or agree to a 
conference with the Senate, shall always be in order if the Speaker, in 
his discretion, recognizes for that purpose and if the motion is made by 
direction of the committee having jurisdiction of the subject matter of 
the bill or resolution.



Sec. 827. Consideration of Senate amendments in Committee 
of the Whole; motion for conference.

  1.  Any amendment of the Senate to 
any House bill shall be subject to the point of order that it shall 
first be considered in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
the Union, if, originating in the House, it would be subject to 


  The first part of this rule was adopted in 1880 to prevent Senate 
amendments of the class described from escaping consideration in 
Committee of the Whole (IV, 4796). The first sentence of the proviso, 
added by the 89th Congress (H. Res. 8, Jan. 4, 1965, p. 21), provides a 
method whereby bills can be sent to conference by majority vote. As 
contained in section 126(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 
1970 (84 Stat. 1140) and adopted as part of the rules of the House in 
the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144), this clause 
included language relating to separate votes on nongermane Senate 
amendments that was, in the 93d Congress, modified and transferred to 
clause 5 of rule XXVIII (H. Res. 998, Apr. 9, 1974, pp. 10195-99).-


[[Page 651]]

has been held that each amendment is subject 
to general debate and amendment under the five-minute rule (V, 6193, 
6196). The requirement of this clause that certain Senate amendments be 
considered in Committee of the Whole applies only before the stage of 
disagreement has been reached on the Senate amendment, and it is too 
late to raise a point of order that Senate amendments should have been 
considered in Committee of the Whole after the House has disagreed 
thereto and the amendments reported from conference in disagreement 
(Oct. 20, 1966, p. 28240; Dec. 4, 1975, p. 38714). The Committee on 
Rules may recommend a special order of business providing that a Senate 
amendment pending at the Speaker's table and otherwise requiring 
consideration in Committee of the Whole under this clause be ``hereby'' 
adopted, which special order, if adopted, would obviate the requirement 
of this clause (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 6, ch. 21, sec. 16.11; Feb. 
4, 1993, p. ----).-


Sec. 828a1. Consideration of Senate amendments in 
Committee of the Whole.

  While  a Senate amendment that is merely a 
modification of a House proposition, like the increase or decrease of 
the amount of an appropriation, and does not involve new and distinct 
expenditure, may not be required to be considered in Committee of the 
Whole (IV, 4797-4806; VIII, 2382-2385), where the question was raised 
against a Senate amendment which on its face apparently placed a charge 
upon the Treasury the Speaker held it devolved upon those opposing the 
point of order to cite proof to the contrary (VIII, 2387). When in the 
House an amendment is offered to provide an appropriation for another 
purpose than that of the Senate amendment, the House goes into Committee 
of the Whole to consider it (IV, 4795). When an amendment is referred, 
the entire bill goes to the Committee of the Whole (IV, 4808), but the 
committee considers only the Senate amendment (V, 6192). It usually 
considers all the amendments, although they may not all be within the 
rule requiring such consideration (V, 6195). In Committee of the Whole a 
Senate amendment, even though it be very long, is considered as an 
entirety and not by paragraphs or sections (V, 6194). When reported from 
the Committee of the Whole, Senate amendments are voted on en bloc and 
only those amendments are voted on severally on which a separate vote is 
demanded (VIII, 3191). It 





Sec. 828a2. Motion for conference.

  The motion to  send a bill 
to conference under this clause is in order notwithstanding the fact 
that the stage of disagreement has not been reached (Aug. 1, 1972, p. 
26153). On a bill that has been jointly referred and reported in the 
House, the motion must be authorized by all committees reporting thereon 
(Sept. 26, 1978, p. 31623), but a committee discharged from a sequential 
referral need not authorize a motion made by direction of the committee 
that reported the bill (Oct. 4, 1994, p. ----). Where such a motion has 
been rejected by the House, it may be repeated if the committee having 
jurisdiction over the subject matter again authorizes its chairman to 
make the motion (Oct. 3, 1972, pp. 33502-03; see also Procedure, ch. 32, 
sec. 5). The motion to send to conference is in order only if the 
Speaker in his discretion recognized for that purpose, and the Speaker 
will not recognize for the motion where he has referred a non-germane 
Senate amendment in question to a House committee with jurisdiction and 
they have not yet had the opportunity to consider the amendment (June 
28, 1984, p. 19770).



[[Page 652]]

request for a conference to the Senate (Speaker Albert, Sept. 16, 1976, 
p. 30868).



Sec. 828b. Stage of disagreement between Houses.

  When  the 
stage of disagreement has been reached on a bill with amendments of the 
other House, motions to dispose of said amendments are privileged in the 
House (IV, 3149, 3150; VI, 756; VIII, 3185, 3194). The stage of 
disagreement between the two Houses is reached after the House in 
possession of the papers has either disagreed to the amendment(s) of the 
other House or has insisted on its own amendment to a measure of the 
other House (Sept. 16, 1976, p. 30868), and not merely where the other 
House has returned a bill with an amendment (Dec. 7, 1977, pp. 38728-
29). Thus where the House concurred in a Senate amendment to a House 
bill with an amendment, insisted on the amendment and requested a 
conference, and the Senate then concurred in the House amendment with a 
further amendment, the matter was privileged in the House for further 
disposition since the House had communicated its insistence and 





Sec. 829. Conferees may not agree to certain Senate 
amendments.

  2.  No amendment of the Senate to a general appropriation bill 
which would be in violation of the provisions of clause 2 of rule XXI, 
if said amendment had originated in the House, nor any amendment of the 
Senate providing for an appropriation upon any bill other than a general 
appropriation bill, shall be agreed to by the managers on the part of 
the House unless specific authority to agree to such amendment shall be 
first given by the House by a separate vote on every such amendment.


  This clause of the rule was adopted on June 1, 1920 (pp. 8109, 8120).

  While the rule provides for a motion authorizing the managers on the 
part of the House to agree to amendments of the Senate in violation of 
clause 2 of rule XXI, such as a motion to recommit a conference report 
on a general appropriation bill with instructions to agree to a 
legislative Senate amendment (Speaker Albert, Dec. 19, 1973, p. 42565), 
it does not permit a motion to recommit a conference report on a general 
appropriation bill to include instructions to add legislation to that 
contained in a Senate amendment (Nov. 13, 1973, p. 36847). It is 
customary after a conference on a general appropriation bill with 
numbered Senate amendments for the managers to report certain Senate 
amendments in technical disagreement, and after the partial conference 
report (consisting of agreement on those Senate amendments not in 
violation of clause 2 of rule XXI) is disposed of, the remaining 
amendments are taken up in order and disposed of directly in the House 
by separate motion. When Senate amendments in disagreement are 
considered in this fashion, they are not subject to a point of order 
under this clause (Dec. 4, 1975, p. 38714); and a motion to (recede and) 
concur in the Senate amendment with a further amendment is also in 
order, even if the proposed amendment is also legislation on an 
appropriation bill. The only test is whether the proposed amendment is 
germane to the Senate amendment reported in disagreement (IV, 3909; 
VIII, 3188, 3189; Speaker McCormack, Dec. 15, 1970, pp. 41504-05; Aug. 
1, 1979, pp. 22007-11; Speaker O'Neill, Dec. 12, 1979, pp. 35520-21; 
June 30, 1987, p. 18308).


[[Page 653]]

the conference report should the managers on the part of the 
House violate the provisions of clause 2 of rule XX (VII, 1574). But 
where a special rule in the House waives points of order against 
portions of an appropriation bill that are unauthorized by law, and the 
bill passes the House with those provisions included therein and goes to 
conference, the conferees may report back their agreement to those 
provisions even though they remain unauthorized, since the waiver in the 
House of points of order under clause 2 of rule XXI carries over to the 
consideration of the same provisions when the conference report is 
before the House (Dec. 20, 1969, pp. 40445-48, consideration of 
conference report; Dec. 9, 1969, p. 37948, adoption of special rule 
waiving points of order against the bill in the House). The rule is a 
restriction upon the managers on the part of the House only, and does 
not provide for a point of order against a Senate amendment when it 
comes up for action by the House (VII, 1572). Managers may be authorized 
to agree to an appropriation by a resolution reported from the Committee 
on Rules (VII, 1577). House managers may include in their report a 
modification of a Senate amendment that eliminates the appropriation in 
that amendment (June 8, 1972, pp. 20280-81); and the prohibition in this 
clause applies only to language in Senate amendments. Thus the conferees 
may without violating this clause agree to language in a Senate bill 
which was sent to conference (Speaker Albert, Jan. 25, 1972, pp. 1076, 
1077; June 30, 1976, pp. 21632-34) or agree to language in a House bill 
which was permitted to remain and which constitutes an appropriation on 
a legislative bill (Speaker Albert, May 1, 1975, p. 12752).
  In the event an appropriation bill with Senate amendments in violation 
of clause 2 of rule XXI is sent to conference by unanimous consent, such 
procedure does not thereby prevent a point of order being sustained 
against 





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 654-694]
[DOCID:hrmanual-81]                         

[[Page 654]]
 
  A provision in a Senate amendment included in a conference report on 
an authorization bill considered after the relevant appropriation has 
been enacted into law, directing that funds appropriated pursuant to the 
authorization be obligated and expended on a project not specifically 
funded in the appropriation, is itself an appropriation and may not be 
agreed to by House conferees (Nov. 29, 1979, pp. 34113-15); and House 
conferees were held to have violated this clause when they had agreed to 
a provision in a Senate amendment not only authorizing appropriations to 
pay judgments against the U.S. for the award of attorney fees and other 
court costs, but also requiring that where such payments were not paid 
out of appropriated funds, payment be made in the same manner as 
judgments under 28 U.S.C. 2414 and 2517 (payable directly out of the 
Treasury pursuant to a direct appropriation previously provided by law 
in 31 U.S.C. 1304) (Oct. 1, 1980, pp. 28637-40).


                                Rule XXI.


                                on bills.




Sec. 830. Reading, engrossment, and passage of 
bills.

  1. Bills and  joint resolutions on their passage shall be read the first time 
by title and the second time in full, when, if the previous question is 
ordered, the Speaker shall state the question to be: Shall the bill be 
engrossed and read a third time? and, if decided in the affirmative, it 
shall be read the third time by title, and the question shall then be 
put upon its passage.


  This rule was adopted in 1789, amended in 1794, 1880 (IV, 3391), and 
on Jan. 4, 1965 (H. Res. 8, 89th Cong.). This latest amendment 
eliminated the provision which permitted a Member to demand the reading 
in full of the engrossed copy of a House bill.



Sec. 831. First and second readings.

  Formerly a  bill was 
read for the first time by title at the time of its introduction, but 
since 1890 all bills have been introduced by filing them with the Clerk, 
thus rendering a reading by title impossible at that time (IV, 3391). 
But the titles of all bills introduced are printed in the Journal and 
Record, thus carrying out the real purposes of the rule.



[[Page 655]]

  The second reading of a bill is in full and occurs when the bill is 
considered in the House (IV, 3391) or in the Committee of the Whole 
(Apr. 28, 1977, p. 12635). The initial step of consideration in the 
Committee of the Whole is sometimes referred to as the ``first reading'' 
and is customarily dispensed with by unanimous consent or special rule. 
Thus, the second reading of a bill comprises its reading for amendment 
in the Committee of the Whole (Apr. 28, 1977, p. 12635). Any Member may 
demand a full reading of a bill before general debate begins in the 
Committee of the Whole or, if considered in the House, when first taken 
up for action (IV, 3391, 4738). However, the second reading is normally 
affected by unanimous consent, suspension of the rules, or a special 
rule providing for the consideration of the bill. A motion to dispense 
with the reading of a bill in full is not in order (VIII, 2335, 2436). 
The Speaker may object to a request for unanimous consent that a bill 
may be acted on without being read (IV, 3390; VII, 1054).



Sec. 832. The third reading after 
engrossment.

  The right to  demand the reading in full of the engrossed copy of a 
bill formerly guaranteed by the rule, existed only immediately after it 
had passed to be engrossed and before it had been read a third time by 
title (IV, 3400, 3403, 3404; VII, 1061); or before the yeas and nays had 
been ordered on passage (IV, 3402). The right to demand the reading in 
full caused the bill to be laid aside until engrossed even though the 
previous question had been ordered (IV, 3395-3399; VII, 1062). A 
privileged motion may not intervene before the third reading (IV, 3405), 
and the question on engrossment and third reading is not subject to a 
demand for division of the question (Aug. 3, 1989, p. 18544). A vote on 
passage must first be reconsidered to remedy the omission to read a bill 
a third time (IV, 3406). Senate bills are not engrossed in the House; 
but are ordered to a third reading. The demand for the reading of the 
engrossed copy of a Senate bill cannot be made in the House (VIII, 
2426).





Sec. 833. Voting on bills.

  A bill in  the House (as 
distinguished from the Committee of the Whole) is amended pending the 
engrossment and third reading (V, 5781; VI, 1051, 1052). The question on 
engrossment and third reading being decided in the negative the bill is 
rejected (IV, 3420, 3421). A bill must be considered and voted on by 
itself (IV, 3408). Where the two Houses pass similar but distinct bills 
on the same subject it is necessary that one or the other House act 
again on the subject (IV, 3386). The requirement of a two-thirds vote 
for proposed constitutional amendments has been construed in the later 
practice to apply only to the vote on the final passage (V, 7029, 7030; 
VIII, 3504). A bill having been rejected by the House, a similar but not 
identical bill on the same subject was afterwards held to be in order 
(IV, 3384).




Sec. 834a. Unauthorized appropriations in reported 
general appropriation bills or amendments thereto.

  2. (a)  No appropriation 
shall be reported in a general appropriation bill, or shall be in order 
as an amendment thereto, for any expenditure not previously authorized 
by law, except to continue appropriations for public works and objects 
which are already in progress.



[[Page 656]]

propriation, except germane provisions that retrench expenditures by 
the reduction of amounts of money covered by the bill, which may include 
those recommended to the Committee on Appropriations by direction of a 
legislative committee having jurisdiction over the subject matter 
thereof, and except rescissions of appropriations contained in 
appropriation Acts.


Sec. 834b. Legislation in reported general appropriation 
bills; exceptions.

  (b)  No provision changing existing law shall be 
reported in a general appropriation bill, including a provision making 
the availability of funds contingent on the receipt or possession of 
information not required by existing law for the period of the 
ap-




Sec. 834c. Legislation or limitations in amendments to 
general appropriation bills.

  (c)  No amendment to a general appropriation 
bill shall be in order if changing existing law, including an amendment 
making the availability of funds contingent on the receipt or possession 
of information not required by existing law for the period of the 
appropriation. Except as provided in paragraph (d), no amendment shall 
be in order during consideration of a general appropriation bill 
proposing a limitation not specifically contained or authorized in 
existing law for the period of the limitation.



[[Page 657]]

amounts of money covered by the bill may be 
considered; but after the vote on any such amendment, the privileged 
motion made in order under this paragraph may be renewed.


Sec. 834d. Motion to rise and report as preferential to 
limitation or retrenchment amendments.

  (d)  After a general appropriation 
bill has been read for amendment, motions that the Committee of the 
Whole rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as may 
have been adopted shall, if offered by the Majority Leader or a 
designee, have precedence over motions to further amend the bill. If any 
such motion is rejected, amendments proposing limitations not 
specifically contained or authorized in existing law for the period of 
the limitation or proposing germane amendments which retrench 
expenditures by reduction of 




Sec. 834e. Designated emergencies in reported 
appropriation bills.

  (e)  No provision shall be reported in any 
appropriation bill or joint resolution containing an emergency 
designation for purposes of section 251(b)(2)(D) or section 252(e) of 
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, or shall be in 
order as an amendment thereto, if the provision or amendment is not 
designated as an emergency, unless the provision or amendment rescinds 
budget authority or reduces direct spending, or reduces an amount for a 
designated emergency.





Sec. 834f. Offsetting amendments en bloc to appropriation 
bills.

  (f)  During the reading of any appropriation bill for amendment in 
the Committee of the Whole, it shall be in order to consider en bloc 
amendments proposing only to transfer appropriations among objects in 
the bill without increasing the levels of budget authority or outlays in 
the bill. When considered en bloc pursuant to this paragraph, such 
amendments may amend portions of the bill not yet read for amendment 
(following the disposition of any points of order against such portions) 
and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the 
House or in the Committee of the Whole.



[[Page 658]]

of contention over propositions of legislation. In 1838 
that Congress added the exception to permit unauthorized appropriations 
for continuation of works in progress and for contingencies for carrying 
on departments of the Government. The rule remained in that form until 
the 44th Congress in 1876, when William S. Holman of Indiana persuaded 
the House to amend the rule to permit germane legislative retrenchments. 
In 1880, the 46th Congress dropped the exception which permitted 
unauthorized appropriations for contingencies of Government departments, 
and modified the ``Holman Rule'' to define retrenchments as the 
reduction of the number and salary of officers of the United States, the 
reduction of compensation of any person paid out of the Treasury of the 
United States, or the reduction of the amounts of money covered by the 
bill. That form of the retrenchment exception remained in place until 
the 49th Congress in 1885, when it was dropped until the 52d Congress in 
1891, and then re-inserted through the 53d Congress until 1894. It was 
again dropped in the 54th Congress from 1895 until re-inserted in the 
62d Congress in 1911 (IV, 3578; VII, 1125).


Sec. 834g. Clause 2 of rule XXI, generally.

  The  25th 
Congress in 1837 was the first to adopt a rule prohibiting 
appropriations in a general appropriation bill or amendment thereto not 
previously authorized by law, in order to prevent delay of appropriation 
bills because 


  The clause remained unamended until January 3, 1983, when the 98th 
Congress restructured it in the basic form of paragraphs (a)-(d).

  Paragraph (a) retained the prohibition against unauthorized 
appropriations in general appropriation bills and amendments thereto 
except in continuation of works in progress.

  Paragraph (b) narrowed the ``Holman Rule'' exception from the 
prohibition against legislation to cover only retrenchments reducing 
amounts of money included in the bill as reported, and permitted 
legislative committees with proper jurisdiction to recommend such 
retrenchments to the Appropriations Committee for discretionary 
inclusion in the reported bill. The last exception in paragraph (b), 
permitting the inclusion of legislation rescinding appropriations in 
appropriation Acts, was added in the 99th Congress by the Balanced 
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (sec. 228(a), P.L. 99-
177). The latter feature of the paragraph does not extend to a 
rescission of contract authority provided by a law other than an 
appropriation Act (Sept. 22, 1993, p. ----; p. ----; May 15, 1997, p. --
--; July 23, 1997, p. ----). In the 105th Congress paragraph (b) was 
amended to treat as legislation a provision reported in a general 
appropriation bill that makes funding contingent on whether 
circumstances not made determinative by existing law are ``known'' (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 659]]

appropriation Act, and not 
merely where the limitation is alleged to be ``consistent with existing 
law'' (June 28, 1988, p. 16267). Although the Committee on 
Appropriations may include a limitation in its reported bill, if it is 
stricken with other legislative language on a point of order it may be 
reinserted during the reading only if in compliance with clause 2(c) or 
in accordance with clause 2(d) (June 18, 1991, p. 15199).
  Paragraph (c) retained the prohibition against amendments changing 
existing law but permitted limitation amendments during the reading of 
the bill by paragraph only if specifically authorized by existing law 
for the period of the limitation. In the 105th Congress paragraph (c) 
was amended to treat as legislation an amendment to a general 
appropriation bill that makes funding contingent on whether 
circumstances not made determinative by existing law are ``known'' (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). The exception for limitations is 
strictly construed to apply only where existing law requires or permits 
the inclusion of limiting language in an 


[[Page 660]]

the Committee of the Whole rise and report 
to the House with the recommendation that the enacting clause be 
stricken out takes precedence over the motion to amend under clause 7 of 
rule XXIII and thus over the motion to rise and report under clause 2(d) 
(July 24, 1986, p. 17641).
  Paragraph (d) provided a new procedure for consideration of 
retrenchment and other limitation amendments only when reading of a 
general appropriation bill has been completed and only if the Committee 
of the Whole does not adopt a motion to rise and report the bill back to 
the House (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1983, p. 34). In the 104th Congress 
paragraph (d) was amended to limit the availability of its preferential 
motion to rise and report to the Majority Leader or his designee (sec. 
215(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress it was 
further amended to make the motion preferential to any motion to amend 
at that stage (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). Where the reading of a 
general appropriation bill for amendment has been completed (or 
dispensed with), including the last paragraph of the bill containing the 
citation to the short title (July 30, 1986, p. 18214), the Chair (under 
the former form of the rule, which made the preferential motion 
available to any Member) might first inquire whether any Member sought 
to offer an amendment (formerly, one not prohibited by clauses 2(a) or 
(c)) prior to recognizing Members to offer limitation or retrenchment 
amendments (June 2, 1983, p. 14317; Sept. 22, 1983, p. 25406; Oct. 27, 
1983, p. 29630), including pro forma amendments (Aug. 2, 1989, p. 
18126). Pursuant to clause 2(d), a motion that the Committee rise and 
report the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been 
adopted is not debatable (Apr. 23, 1987, p. 9613) and takes precedence 
over any amendment (formerly only a limitation or retrenchment 
amendment) (July 30, 1985, p. 21534; July 23, 1986, p. 17431; Apr. 23, 
1987, p. 9613), but only after completion of the reading and disposition 
of amendments not otherwise precluded (June 30, 1992, p. ----). Thus a 
motion that the Committee rise and report the bill to the House with the 
recommendation that it be recommitted, with instructions to report back 
to the House (forthwith or otherwise) with an amendment proposing a 
limitation, does not take precedence over the motion to rise and report 
the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been adopted 
(sustained on appeal, Sept. 19, 1983, p. 24647). An amendment not only 
reducing an amount in a paragraph of an appropriation bill but also 
limiting expenditure of those funds on a particular project (i.e., a 
limitation not contained in existing law) was held not in order during 
the reading of that paragraph but only at the end of the bill under 
clause 2(d) (July 23, 1986, p. 17431; June 15, 1988, p. 14719). Where 
language of limitation was stricken from a general appropriation bill on 
a point of order that it changed existing law, an amendment proposing to 
reinsert the limitation without its former legislative content was held 
not in order before completion of the reading for amendment (Sept. 23, 
1993, p. ----). A motion that 

  Paragraphs (e) and (f) were added in the 104th Congress (sec. 215, H. 
Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).



Sec. 835. Points of order on general appropriation 
bills.

  As the rule  applies only to general appropriation bills, which are not 
enumerated or defined in the rules (VII, 1116) bills appropriating only 
for one purpose have been held not to be ``general'' within the meaning 
of this rule (VII, 1122). Neither a resolution providing an 
appropriation for a single government agency (Jan. 31, 1962, p. 1352), 
nor a joint resolution only containing continuing appropriations for 
diverse agencies to provide funds until regular appropriation bills are 
enacted (Sept. 21, 1967, p. 26370), nor a joint resolution providing an 
appropriation for a single government agency and permitting a transfer 
of a portion of those funds to another agency (Oct. 25, 1979, pp. 29627-
28), nor a joint resolution transferring funds already appropriated from 
one specific agency to another (Mar. 26, 1980, pp. 6716-17), nor a joint 
resolution transferring unobligated balances to the President to be 
available for specified purposes but containing no new budget authority 
(Mar. 3, 1988, p. 3239), are ``general appropriation bills'' within the 
purview of this clause. A point of order under this rule does not apply 
to a special order reported from the Committee on Rules ``self-
executing'' the adoption in the House of an amendment changing existing 
law (July 27, 1993, p. ----).


  As all bills making or authorizing appropriations require 
consideration in Committee of the Whole, it follows that the enforcement 
of the rule must ordinarily occur during consideration in Committee of 
the Whole, where the Chair, in response to a point of order, may rule 
out any portion of the bill in conflict with the rule (IV, 3811; Sept. 
8, 1965, pp. 23140, 23182). Portions of the bill thus stricken are not 
reported back to the House.


[[Page 661]]

ruled on the ground that the Chairman 
of the Committee of the Whole lacked authority to pass upon the question 
(Apr. 8, 1943, pp. 3150-51, 3153). The enforcement of the rule also 
occurs in the House in that a motion to recommit a general appropriation 
bill may not propose an amendment containing legislation (Sept. 1, 1976, 
pp. 28883-84) or a limitation not considered in the Committee of the 
Whole (Speaker Foley, Aug. 1, 1989, p. 17159; Aug. 3, 1989, p. 18546); 
and such amendment is precluded whether the Committee of the Whole has 
risen and reported automatically pursuant to a special rule or, instead, 
by a motion at the end of the reading for amendment (June 22, 1995, p. 
----).
  Prior to the adoption of clause 8 of rule XXI in the 104th Congress 
(see Sec. 848a, infra), it was necessary that some Member reserve points 
of order when a general appropriation bill was referred to the calendar 
of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, in order 
that provisions in violation of the rule could be stricken in the 
Committee (V, 6921-6925; VIII, 3450; Chairman Chindblom, Feb. 6, 1926, 
p. 3456). Where points of order had been reserved pending a unanimous-
consent request that the committee be permitted to file its report when 
the House would not be in session, it was not necessary that they be 
reserved again when the report ultimately was presented as privileged 
when the House was in session, as the initial reservation carried over 
to the subsequent filing (Mar. 1, 1983, p. 3241). In an instance where 
points of order were not reserved against an appropriation bill when it 
was reported to the House and referred to the Committee of the Whole, 
points of order in the Committee of the Whole against a proposition in 
violation of this clause were over-

  By unanimous consent the Committee of the Whole may vacate proceedings 
under specified points of order (June 7, 1991, p. 13973).


[[Page 662]]

chapter (June 11, 1985, p. 15181). It is too 
late to rule out the entire paragraph after points of order against 
specific portions have been sustained and an amendment to the paragraph 
has been offered (June 27, 1974, pp. 21670-72).
  Points of order against unauthorized appropriations or legislation on 
general appropriation bills may be made as to the whole or only a 
portion of a paragraph (IV, 3652; V, 6881). The fact that a point is 
made against a portion of a paragraph does not prevent another point 
against the whole paragraph (V, 6882; July 31, 1985, p. 21895). If a 
portion of a proposed amendment is out of order, it is sufficient for 
the rejection of the whole amendment (V, 6878-6880); and if a point of 
order is sustained against any portion of a package of amendments 
considered en bloc, all the amendments are ruled out of order and must 
be reoffered separately, or those which are not subject to a point of 
order may be considered en bloc by unanimous consent (Sept. 16, 1981, 
pp. 20735-38; June 21, 1984, p. 17687). Where a point is sustained 
against the whole of a paragraph the whole must go out, but it is 
otherwise when the point is made only against a portion (V, 6884, 6885). 
General appropriation bills are read ``scientifically'' only by 
paragraph headings and appropriation amounts, and points of order 
against a paragraph must be made before an amendment is offered thereto 
or before the Clerk reads the next paragraph heading and amount 
(Deschler's Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 2.26). A point of order 
against a paragraph under this clause may be made only after that 
paragraph has been read by the Clerk, and not prior to its reading 
pending consideration of an amendment inserting language immediately 
prior thereto (June 6, 1985, pp. 14605, 14609). Where the reading of a 
paragraph of a general appropriation bill has been dispensed with by 
unanimous consent, the Chair inquires whether there are points of order 
against the paragraph before entertaining amendments or directing the 
Clerk to read further, but he does not make such an inquiry where the 
Clerk has actually read the paragraph (May 31, 1984, p. 14608). Where 
the bill is considered as having been read and open to amendment by 
unanimous consent, points of order against provisions in the bill must 
be made before amendments are offered, and cannot be reserved pending 
subsequent action on amendments (Dec. 1, 1982, p. 28175). Where a 
chapter is considered as read by unanimous consent and open to amendment 
at any point, no amendments are offered and the Clerk begins to read the 
next chapter, it is too late to make a point of order against a 
paragraph in the preceding 


[[Page 663]]

  In the administration of the rule, it is the practice that those 
upholding an item of appropriation should have the burden of showing the 
law authorizing it (IV, 3597; VII, 1179, 1233, 1276). Thus the burden of 
proving the authorization for language carried in an appropriation bill, 
or that the language in the bill constitutes a valid limitation which 
does not change existing law, falls on the proponents and managers of 
the bill (May 28, 1968, p. 15357; Nov. 30, 1982, p. 28062). Where a 
provision is susceptible to more than one interpretation, that burden 
may be met by a showing that only the requirements of existing law, and 
not any new requirements, are recited in the language (Sept. 23, 1993, 
p. ----). The Chair may overrule a point of order that appropriations 
for a certain agency are unauthorized upon citation to an organic 
statute creating the agency, absent any showing that the organic law has 
been overtaken by a scheme of periodic reauthorization; the Chair may 
hear further argument and reverse his ruling, however, where existing 
law not previously called to the Chair's attention would require the 
ruling to be reversed (VIII, 3435; June 8, 1983, p. 14854, where a law 
amending the statute creating the Bureau of the Mint with the express 
purpose of requiring annual authorizations was subsequently called to 
the Chair's attention). Reported provisions in a general appropriation 
bill described in the accompanying report (pursuant to clause 3 of rule 
XXI) as directly or indirectly changing the application of existing law 
are presumably legislation, absent rebuttal by the committee (May 31, 
1984, p. 14591). The burden of proof to show that an appropriation 
contained in an amendment is authorized by law is on the proponent of 
the amendment (May 11, 1971, p. 14471; Oct. 29, 1991, p. 28791; July 26, 
1995, p. ----; July 27, 1995, pp. ----, ----; July 31, 1995, p. ----; 
May 15, 1997, p. ----) and the burden is on the proponent of an 
amendment to a general appropriation bill to prove that language offered 
under the guise of a limitation does not change existing law (July 17, 
1975, p. 23239; June 16, 1976, pp. 18666-67; July 18, 1995, p. ----). If 
the amendment is susceptible to more than one interpretation, it is 
incumbent upon the proponent to show that it is not in violation of the 
rule (Procedure, ch. 25, sec. 6.3; July 28, 1980, pp. 19924-25). The 
mere recitation in an amendment that a determination is to be made 
pursuant to existing laws and regulations, absent a citation to the law 
imposing such responsibility, is not sufficient proof by the proponent 
of an amendment to overcome a point of order that the amendment 
constitutes legislation (Sept. 16, 1980, pp. 25606-07). The 
authorization must be enacted before the appropriation may be included 
in an appropriation bill; thus delaying the availability of an 
appropriation pending enactment of an authorization does not protect the 
item of appropriation against a point of order under this clause (Apr. 
26, 1972, p. 14455).

  Where an unauthorized appropriation or legislation is permitted to 
remain in a general appropriation bill by failure to raise or by waiver 
of a point of order, an amendment merely changing that amount and not 
adding legislative language or earmarking separate funds for another 
unauthorized purpose is in order (July 27, 1954, p. 12287; Oct. 1, 1975, 
p. 31058; June 8, 1977, pp. 17941-42; July 17, 1985, p. 19435), but an 
amendment adding further unauthorized items of appropriation or 
earmarking for another unauthorized purpose or adding legislation in the 
form of new duties or broadening the application of a legislative 
provision permitted to remain to other funds is not in order (Dec. 8, 
1971, p. 45487; Aug. 7, 1978, pp. 24710-12; July 30, 1985, p. 21532; 
July 17, 1986, p. 16918; July 23, 1986, p. 17446; June 26, 1987, p. 
17655; May 25, 1988, p. 12256; June 28, 1988, pp. 16203, 16213).

  To a legislative provision permitted to remain conferring assistance 
on a certain class of recipients, an amendment adding another class is 
further legislation and is not merely perfecting in nature (June 22, 
1983, p. 16851). An amendment to a general appropriation bill is not 
subject to a point of order as adding legislation if containing, 
verbatim, a legislative provision already contained in the bill and 
permitted to remain (Aug. 27, 1980, p. 23519).


[[Page 664]]

  Where by unanimous consent an amendment is offered en bloc to a 
paragraph containing an unauthorized amount not yet read for amendment, 
the amendment increasing that unauthorized figure is subject to a point 
of order since at that point it is not being offered to a paragraph 
which has been read and permitted to remain (June 21, 1984, p. 17687). 
As required by clause 2(f), the Chair will query for points of order 
against the provisions of an appropriation bill not yet reached in the 
reading but addressed by an amendment offered en bloc under that clause 
as budget authority and outlay neutral (July 22, 1997, p. ----). An 
amendment adding a new paragraph indirectly increasing an unauthorized 
amount contained in a prior paragraph passed in the reading is subject 
to a point of order because the new paragraph is adding a further 
unauthorized amount not textually protected by the waiver (July 12, 
1995, p. ----; July 16, 1997, p. ----, p.----; Sept. 9, 1997, p. ----). 
However, a new paragraph indirectly reducing an unauthorized amount 
permitted to remain in a prior paragraph passed in the reading is not 
subject to a point of order because it is not adding a further 
unauthorized amount (July 16, 1997, p. ----). To a legislative provision 
in a general appropriation bill, permitted to remain, exempting cases 
where the life of the mother would be endangered if a fetus were carried 
to term from a denial of funds for abortions, an amendment exempting 
instead cases where the health of the mother would be endangered if the 
fetus were carried to term was held not to constitute further 
legislation, since determinations on the endangerment of life 
necessarily subsume determinations on the endangerment of health, and 
the amendment did not therefore require any different or more onerous 
determinations (June 27, 1984, p. 19113).

  The inclusion of funds in a general appropriation bill in the form of 
a ``not to exceed'' limitation does not obviate a point of order that 
the funds are not authorized by law (June 21, 1988, p. 15440). The fact 
that legislative jurisdiction over the subject matter of an amendment 
may rest with the Committee on Appropriations does not immunize the 
amendment from the application of clause 2(c) of rule XXI (July 17, 
1996, p. ----; July 24, 1996, p. ----). The ``works in progress 
exception'' under clause 2(a) of rule XXI is a defense to a point of 
order against an unauthorized appropriation reported in a general 
appropriation bill and is not a defense to a point of order under clause 
2(c) of rule XXI that an amendment to an appropriation bill constitutes 
legislation (July 24, 1996, p.----).


[[Page 665]]

thorizing additional 
employment contained in an appropriation bill enacted for that fiscal 
year, constituted sufficient authorization for a lump sum supplemental 
appropriation for the White House for the same fiscal year (Nov. 30, 
1973, pp. 38854-55). By a general provision of law appropriations for 
investigations and the acquisition and diffusion of information by the 
Agricultural Department on subjects related to agriculture are generally 
in order in the agricultural appropriation bill (IV, 3649). It has once 
been held that this law would also authorize appropriations for the 
instrumentalities of such investigations (IV, 3615); but these would not 
include the organization of a bureau to conduct the work (IV, 3651). The 
law does not authorize general investigations by the department (IV, 
3652), or cooperation with state investigations (IV, 3650; VII, 1301, 
1302), or the investigation of foods in relation to commerce (IV, 3647, 
3648; VII, 1298), or the compiling of tests at an exposition (IV, 3653). 
A paragraph of a general appropriation bill both establishing and 
funding a commission was ruled out as constituting legislation and 
carrying unauthorized appropriations (June 29, 1988, p. 16470). A 
paragraph appropriating funds for matching-grants to States was held 
unauthorized where the authorizing law did not require State matching 
funds (June 28, 1993, p. ----). A paragraph funding a project from the 
Highway Trust Fund was held unauthorized where such funding was 
authorized only from the general fund (Sept. 23, 1993, p. ----).


Sec. 836. Authorization of law for 
appropriations.

  The authorization  by existing law required in the rule to justify 
appropriations may be made also by a treaty if it has been ratified by 
both the contracting parties (IV, 3587); however, where existing law 
authorizes appropriations for the U.S. share of facilities to be 
recommended in an agreement with another country containing specified 
elements, an agreement in principle with that country predating the 
authorization law and lacking the required elements is insufficient 
authorization (June 28, 1993, p. ----). An executive order does not 
constitute sufficient authorization in law absent proof of its 
derivation from a statute enacted by Congress authorizing the order and 
expenditure of funds (June 15, 1973, p. 19855; June 25, 1974, p. 21036). 
Thus a Reorganization Plan submitted by the President pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 906 has the status of statutory law when it becomes effective and 
is sufficient authorization to support an appropriation for an office 
created by executive order issued pursuant to the Reorganization Plan 
(June 21, 1974, pp. 20595-96). A resolution of the House has been held 
sufficient authorization for an appropriation for the salary of an 
employee of the House (IV, 3656-3658) even though the resolution may 
have been agreed to only by a preceding House (IV, 3660). Previous 
enactment of items of appropriation unauthorized by law does not justify 
similar appropriations in subsequent bills (VII, 1145, 1150, 1151) 
unless if through appropriations previously made, a function of the 
government has been established which would bring it into the category 
of continuation of works in progress (VII, 1280), or unless legislation 
in a previous appropriation act has become permanent law (May 20, 1964, 
p. 11422). The omission to appropriate during a series of years for an 
object authorized by law does not repeal the law, and consequently an 
appropriation when proposed is not subject to the point of order (IV, 
3595). The law authorizing each head of a department to employ such 
numbers of clerks, messengers, copyists, watchmen, laborers, and other 
employees as may be appropriated for by Congress from year to year is 
held to authorize appropriations for those positions not otherwise 
authorized by law (IV, 3669, 3675, 4739); but this law does not apply to 
offices not within departments or not at the seat of government (IV, 
3670-3674). A permanent law authorizing the President to appoint certain 
staff, together with legislative provisions au-


  The failure of Congress to enact into law separate legislation 
specifically modifying eligibility requirements for grant programs under 
existing law does not necessarily render appropriations for those 
programs subject to a point of order, where more general existing law 
authorizes appropriations for all of the programs proposed to be 
modified by new legislation pending before Congress (June 8, 1978, p. 
16778). But whether organic statutes or general grants of authority in 
law constitute sufficient authorization to support appropriations 
depends on whether the general laws applicable to the function or 
department in question require specific or annual authorizations (June 
14, 1978, pp. 17616, 17622, 17626, 17630) or on whether a periodic 
authorization scheme has subsequently occupied the field (Sept. 9, 1997, 
p. ----). An authorization of ``such sums as may be necessary'' is 
sufficient to support any dollar amount, but has no tendency to relieve 
other conditions of the authorization law (June 28, 1993, p. ----). 
Where existing law authorizes certain appropriations from a particular 
trust fund without fiscal year limitation, language that such an 
appropriation remain available until expended does not constitute 
legislation (July 15, 1993, p. ----).


[[Page 666]]

  Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XLVIII, no funds may be appropriated to 
certain agencies carrying out intelligence and intelligence-related 
activities, unless such funds have been authorized by law for the fiscal 
year in question.



Sec. 837. Authorization for claims and 
salaries.

  Judgments of  courts certified to Congress in accordance with law or 
authorized by treaty (IV, 3634, 3635, 3644) and audited under authority 
of law have been held to be authorization for appropriations for the 
payment of claims (IV, 3634, 3635). But unadjudicated claims (IV, 3628), 
even though ascertained and transmitted by an executive officer (IV, 
3625-3640), and findings filed under the Bowman Act do not constitute 
authorization (IV, 3643).


  An appropriation for an object not otherwise authorized does not 
constitute authorization to justify a continuance of the appropriation 
another year (IV, 3588, 3589; VII, 1128, 1145, 1149, 1191), and the mere 
appropriation for a salary does not create an office so as to justify 
appropriations in succeeding years (IV, 3590, 3672, 3697), it being a 
general rule that propositions to appropriate for salaries not 
established by law or to increase salaries fixed by law are out of order 
(IV, 3664-3667, 3676-3679). But an exception to these general principles 
is found in the established practice that in the absence of a general 
law fixing a salary the amount appropriated in the last appropriation 
bill has been held to be the legal salary (IV, 3687-3696). A law having 
established an office and fixed a salary, it is not in order to provide 
for an unauthorized office and salary in lieu of it (IV, 3680).


[[Page 667]]



Sec. 838. Authorizations for public works.

  An  appropriation 
for a public work in excess of a fixed limit of cost (IV, 3583, 3584; 
VII, 1133), or for extending a service beyond the limits assigned by an 
executive officer exercising a lawful discretion (IV, 3598), or by 
actual law (IV, 3582, 3585), or for purposes prohibited by law are out 
of order (IV, 3580, 3581, 3702), as is an appropriation from the Highway 
Trust Fund where the project is specifically authorized from the general 
fund (Sept. 23, 1993, p. ----). But the mere appropriation of a sum ``to 
complete'' a work does not fix a limit of cost such as would exclude 
future appropriations (IV, 3761). A declaration of policy in an act 
followed by specific provisions conferring authority upon a governmental 
agency to perform certain functions is not construed to authorize 
appropriations for purposes germane to the policy but not specifically 
authorized by the act (VII, 1200). A point of order will not lie against 
an amendment proposing to increase a lump sum for public works projects 
where language in the bill limits use of the lump sum appropriation to 
``projects as authorized by law'' (Procedure, ch. 25, sec. 5.5), but 
where language in the bill limits use of the lump sum both to projects 
``authorized by laws'' and ``subject, where appropriate, to enactment of 
authorizing legislation,'' that paragraph constitutes an appropriation 
in part for some unauthorized projects and is not in order (June 6, 
1985, p. 14617).




Sec. 839. Continuation of a public work by 
appropriations.

  The rule  requiring appropriations to be authorized by existing 
law excepts those ``in continuance of appropriations for such public 
works and objects as are already in progress'' (IV, 3578); and the 
``works in progress'' exception has historically been applied only in 
cases of general revenue funding (Sept. 22, 1993, pp. ----; Sept. 23, 
1993, pp. ----). But an appropriation in violation of existing law or to 
extend a service beyond a fixed limit is not in order as the continuance 
of a public work (IV, 3585, 3702-3724; VII, 1332; Sept. 23, 1993, pp. --
--; June 8, 1983, Deschler's Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 8.9). The 
``works in progress'' exception may not be invoked to fund a project 
governed by a lapsed authorization and may not be invoked to fund a 
project that is not yet under construction (July 31, 1995, p. ----). 
Where existing law (40 U.S.C. 606) specifically prohibits the making of 
an appropriation to construct or alter any public building involving 
more than $500,000 unless approved by the House and Senate Public Works 
Committees, an appropriation for such purposes not authorized by both 
committees is out of order notwithstanding the ``works in progress'' 
exemption, since the law specifically precludes the appropriation from 
being made (June 8, 1983, p. 14855). An appropriation from the Highway 
Trust Fund for an ongoing project was held not in order under the 
``works in progress'' exception where the Internal Revenue Code 
``occupied the field'' with a comprehensive authorization scheme not 
embracing the specified project (Sept. 22, 1993, pp. ----; Sept. 23, 
1993, pp. ----). Interruption of a work does not necessarily remove it 
from the privileges of the rule (IV, 3705-3708); but the continuation of 
the work must not be so conditioned in relation to place as to become a 
new work (IV, 3704). It has been held that a work has not been begun 
within the meaning of the rule when an appropriation has been made for a 
site for a public building (IV, 3785), or when a commission has been 
created to select a site or when a site has actually been selected for a 
work (IV, 3762-3763), or when a survey has been made (IV, 3782-3784). By 
``public works and objects already in progress'' are meant tangible 
matters like buildings, roads, etc., and not duties of officials in 
executive departments (IV, 3709-3713), or the continuance of a work 
indefinite as to completion and intangible in nature like the gauging of 
streams (IV, 3714, 3715). A general system of roads on which some work 
has been done cannot be admitted as a work in progress (VII, 1333), nor 
can an extension of an existing road (Sept. 22, 1993, p. ----). 
Concerning reappropriation for continuation of public works in progress, 
see Sec. 847, infra.



[[Page 668]]

tions (IV, 3719; VII, 1345), duties of a commission (IV, 3720; 
VII, 1344), extension of foreign markets for goods (IV, 3722), printing 
of a series of opinions indefinite in continuance (IV, 3718), free 
evening lectures in the District of Columbia (IV, 3789), certain ongoing 
projects from the Highway Trust Fund (Sept. 22, 1993, pp. ----; Sept. 
23, 1993, pp. ----), extension of an existing road (Sept. 22, 1993, p. 
----), continuation of an extra compensation for ordinary facility for 
carrying the mails (IV, 3808), although the continuation of certain 
special mail facilities has been admitted (IV, 3804-3806). But 
appropriations for rent and repairs of buildings or Government roads 
(IV, 3793, 3798) and bridges (IV, 3803) have been admitted as in 
continuation of a work (IV, 3777, 3778), although it is not in order as 
such to provide for a new building in place of one destroyed (IV, 3606). 
Nor is it in order to repair paving adjacent to a public building but in 
a city street, although it may have been laid originally by the 
Government (IV, 3779). The purchase of adjoining land for a work already 
established has been admitted under this principle (IV, 3766-3773) and 
also additions to existing buildings in cases where no limits of cost 
have been shown (IV, 3774, 3775). But the purchase of a separate and 
detached lot of land is not admitted (IV, 3776). The continuation of 
construction at the Kennedy Library, a project owned by the United 
States and funded by a prior year's appropriation, has been admitted 
notwithstanding the absence of any current authorization (June 14, 1988, 
p. 14335). A provision of law authorizing Commissioners of the District 
of Columbia to take over and operate the fish wharves of the city of 
Washington was held insufficient authority to admit an appropriation for 
reconstructing the fish wharf (VII, 1187).


Sec. 840. Examples illustrating the continuation of a 
public work.

  Thus the  continuation of the following works has been admitted: A 
topographical survey (IV, 3796, 3797; VII, 1382), a geological map (IV, 
3795), marking of a boundary line (IV, 3717), marking graves of soldiers 
(IV, 3788), a list of claims (IV, 3717), and recoinage of coins in the 
Treasury (IV, 3807); but the following works have not been admitted: 
Investigation of materials, like coal (IV, 3721), scientific investiga-




Sec. 841a. New buildings at existing 
institutions as in continuance of a public work.

  Appropriations for  new buildings at 
Government institutions have sometimes been admitted (IV, 3741-3750) 
when intended for the purposes of the institution (IV, 3747); but later 
decisions, in view of the indefinite extent of the practice made 
possible by the early decisions, have ruled out propositions to 
appropriate for new buildings in navy yards (IV, 3755-3759) and other 
establishments (IV, 3751-3754). Appropriations for new schoolhouses in 
the District of Columbia (IV, 3750; VII, 1358), for new Army hospitals 
(IV, 3740), for new lighthouses (IV, 3728), armor-plate factories (IV, 
3737-3739), and for additional playgrounds for children in the District 
of Columbia (IV, 3792) have also been held not to be in continuation of 
a public work.



[[Page 669]]

former interpretation was confined to naval vessels, and did 
not apply to vessels in other services, like the Coast and Geodetic 
Survey or Lighthouse Service (IV, 3725, 3726), or to floating or 
stationary dry docks (IV, 3729-3736). The construction of a submarine 
cable in extension of one already laid was held not to be the 
continuation of a public work (IV, 3716), but an appropriation for the 
Washington-Alaska military cable has been held in order (VII, 1348).


Sec. 841b. New vessel for naval and other services 
as in continuation of a public work.

  By a former  broad construction of the rule an 
appropriation of a new and not otherwise authorized vessel of the Navy 
had been held to be a continuance of a public work (IV, 3723, 3724); but 
this line of decisions has been overruled (VII, 1351; Chairman Lehlbach, 
Jan. 22, 1926, p. 2621). While appropriations for new construction and 
procurement of aircraft and equipment for the Navy are not in order, 
appropriations for continuing experiments and development work on all 
types of aircraft are in order (Chairman Lehlbach, Jan. 22, 1926, p. 
2623). This 




Sec. 842a. Legislation on appropriation bills 
generally.

  The provision of  the rule forbidding in any general appropriation bill a 
``provision changing existing law'' is construed to mean the enactment 
of law where none exists (IV, 3812, 3813), such as permitting funds to 
remain available until expended or beyond the fiscal year covered by the 
bill, where existing law permits no such availability (Aug. 1, 1973, pp. 
27288-89), or immediately upon enactment (July 29, 1986, p. 17981; June 
28, 1988, p. 16255) or merely permits availability to the extent 
provided in advance in appropriation Acts but not explicitly beyond the 
fiscal year in question (July 21, 1981, p. 16687). Language waiving the 
provisions of existing law that did not specifically permit inclusion of 
such a waiver in an appropriation bill (Nov. 13, 1975, p. 36271; June 
20, 1996, p. ----), has been ruled out, as has language identical to 
that contained in an authorization bill previously passed by the House 
but not yet signed into law (Aug. 4, 1978, p. 24436), or a proposition 
for repeal of existing law (VII, 1403). Although clause 2(b) permits the 
Committee on Appropriations to report rescissions of appropriations, an 
amendment proposing a rescission constitutes legislation under clause 
2(c) (May 26, 1993, p. ----). A proposal to amend existing law to 
provide for automatic continuation of appropriations in the absence of 
timely enactment of a regular appropriation bill constitutes legislation 
in contravention of clause 2(c) (July 17, 1996, p. ----; July 24, 1996, 
p. ----).


  Existing law may be repeated verbatim in an appropriation bill (IV, 
3814, 3815), but the slightest change of the text causes it be ruled out 
(IV, 3817; VII, 1391, 1394; June 4, 1970, p. 18405). It is in order to 
include language descriptive of authority provided in law for the 
operation of government agencies and corporations so long as the 
description is precise and does not change that authority in any respect 
(June 15, 1973, pp. 19843-44; Aug. 3, 1978, p. 24249); and while 
language merely reciting the applicability of current law to the use of 
earmarked funds is permitted, an amendment that elevates existing 
guidelines to mandates for spending has been ruled out (July 12, 1989, 
p. 14432).


[[Page 670]]

year to year of a law intended to apply during the year of its 
enactment only is not relieved, however, from the point that it is 
legislation (IV, 3822).
  Although the object to be appropriated for may be described without 
violating the rule (IV, 3864), an amendment proposing an appropriation 
under a heading that indicates an unauthorized purpose as its object has 
been ruled out (Oct. 29, 1991, p. 28814). The fact that an item has been 
carried in appropriation bills for many years does not exempt it from a 
point of order as being legislation (VII, 1445, 1656). The reenactment from 

  Limits of cost for public works may not be made or changed (IV, 3761, 
3865-3867; VII, 1446), or contracts authorized (IV, 3868-3870; May 14, 
1937, p. 4595).

  The Chair may examine legislative history established during debate on 
an amendment against which a point of order has been reserved to resolve 
any ambiguity therein when ruling on the eventual point of order (June 
14, 1978, p. 17651), and may inquire after its author's intent when 
attempting to construe an ambiguous amendment (Oct. 29, 1991, p. 28818).



Sec. 842b. Contingencies and congressional 
actions.

  An  amendment making an appropriation contingent upon a 
recommendation (June 27, 1979, pp. 17054-55) or action not specifically 
required by law (July 23, 1980, pp. 19295-97; July 29, 1980, pp. 20098-
20100) is legislation. For example, a provision limiting the use of 
funds in a bill ``unless'' or ``until'' an action contrary to existing 
law is taken constitutes legislation (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 
26, sec. 47.1; July 24, 1996, p. ----). Where existing law requires an 
agency to furnish certain information to congressional committees upon 
request, without a subpoena, it is not in order on an appropriation bill 
to make funding for that agency contingent upon its furnishing 
information to subcommittees upon request (July 29 and July 30, 1980, 
pp. 20475-76), or contingent upon submission of an agreement by a 
Federal official to Congress and Congressional review thereof (July 31, 
1986, p. 18370). Similarly, it is not in order on a general 
appropriation bill to condition funds on legal determinations to be made 
by a federal court and an executive department (June 28, 1988, p. 16261; 
see Deschler's Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 47.2).



[[Page 671]]

tive branch policy determinations not required by law (Nov. 2, 1983, p. 
30503); an amendment changing a permanent appropriation in existing law 
to restrict its availability until all general appropriation bills are 
presented to the President was held to constitute legislation (June 29, 
1987, p. 18083); and an amendment limiting funds in the bill for certain 
peacekeeping operations unless authorized by Congress was held to 
constitute legislation (June 27, 1994, p. ----).
  Amendments making the availability of funds in a general appropriation 
bill contingent upon subsequent Congressional action have, under the 
most recent precedents, been ruled out as legislation. An amendment 
prohibiting the availability of funds to enforce certain executive 
orders, unless those orders were approved by concurrent resolutions of 
the Congress, was held to be legislation imposing new requirements of 
further legislative action (June 30, 1942, p. 5826). An amendment 
providing that a certain appropriation did not grant authority for a 
certain use of funds unless specific approval of Congress was 
subsequently granted was held to be legislation (May 15, 1947, p. 5378). 
Two subsequent rulings upholding the admissibility of amendments making 
the availability of funds in a general appropriation bill contingent 
upon subsequent Congressional action (June 11, 1968, p. 16692; Sept. 6, 
1979, pp. 23360-61) have, in turn, been superseded by four more recent 
rulings. A provision making the availability of certain funds contingent 
upon subsequent Congressional action on legislative proposals resolving 
the policy issue was held to constitute legislation (Nov. 18, 1981, p. 
28064); an amendment making the availability of funds therein contingent 
upon subsequent enactment of legislation containing specified findings 
was ruled out as legislation requiring new legislative and execu-

  It is not in order on a general appropriation bill to require a 
congressional committee to promulgate regulations to limit the use of an 
appropriation (June 13, 1979, pp. 14670-71), or otherwise to direct the 
activities of a committee (June 24, 1992, pp. ----); nor is it in order 
to direct the Selective Service Administration to issue regulations to 
bring its classifications into conformance with a Supreme Court decision 
(July 20, 1989, p. 15405). Also a proposition to change a rule of the 
House is subject to the point of order (IV, 3819). A provision 
constituting Congressional disapproval of a deferral of budget authority 
proposed by the President pursuant to the Impoundment Control Act is not 
in order if included in a general appropriation bill rather than in a 
separate resolution of disapproval under that Act (July 29, 1982, pp. 
18625, 18626). An amendment making the availability of funds in a 
general appropriation bill contingent upon a substantive determination 
by a state or local government official or agency which is not otherwise 
required by existing law has been ruled out as legislation (July 25, 
1985, p. 20569).



Sec. 842c. Construing or amending existing 
law.

  A provision  proposing to construe existing law is itself legislative and 
therefore not in order (IV, 3936-3938; May 2, 1951, pp. 4747-48; July 
26, 1951, p. 8982). However, an official's general responsibility to 
construe the language of a limitation on the use of funds, absent 
imposition of an affirmative direction not required by law, does not 
destroy the validity of the limitation (June 27, 1974, pp. 21687-94).


  Where it is asserted that duties ostensibly occasioned by a limitation 
are already imposed by existing law, the Chair may take cognizance of 
judicial decisions and rule the limitation out on the basis that the 
case law is not uniform, current, or finally dispositive (June 16, 1977, 
pp. 19365-74; June 7, 1978, p. 16676). For example, a limitation 
prohibiting the use of funds for an inspection conducted by a regulatory 
agency without a search warrant has been held out of order as imposing a 
new duty not uniformly required by case law (June 16, 1977, pp. 19365-
74). Similarly, an amendment denying the use of funds for an agency to 
apply certain provisions of law under court decisions in effect on a 
prior date has been held out of order as requiring the official to apply 
non-current case law (June 7, 1978, p. 16655). A paragraph of a general 
appropriation bill changing existing law concerning Federal diversity 
jurisdiction is legislation (July 1, 1987, p. 18638).


[[Page 672]]

sion construing a limitation in a bill by 
affirmatively declaring the meaning of the prohibition (May 17, 1988, p. 
11305). Similarly, a limitation that prescribes definitions for terms 
contained in the limitation may be legislation (Deschler's Precedents, 
vol. 8, ch. 26, secs. 25.7, 25.11). On the other hand, language 
excepting certain appropriations from the sweep of a broader limitation 
may be in order (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 25.2). It 
also has been held in order to except from the operation of a specific 
limitation on expenditures certain of those expenditures which are 
authorized by law by prohibiting a construction of the limitation in a 
way which would prevent compliance with that law (Deschler's Precedents, 
vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 25.10; June 18, 1991, p. 15218).
  A provision in an appropriation bill prescribing a rule of 
construction is legislation (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 
25.15) as is a provi-

  The mere recitation in an amendment that a determination is to be made 
pursuant to existing laws and regulations, absent a citation to the law 
imposing such responsibility, is not sufficient proof by the proponent 
of an amendment to overcome a point of order that the amendment 
constitutes legislation (Sept. 16, 1980, pp. 25606-07; May 8, 1986, p. 
10156). A limitation denying the use of funds to apply certain 
provisions of the Internal Revenue Code other than under regulations in 
effect on a prior date is legislation since requiring an official to 
apply regulations no longer current in order to render an appropriation 
available (June 7, 1978, p. 16655; Aug. 19, 1980, pp. 21978-80).



Sec. 842d. Imposing duties or requiring 
determinations.

  Propositions to  establish affirmative directions for executive 
officers (IV, 3854-3859; VII, 1443; July 31, 1969, p. 21675; June 18, 
1979, pp. 15286-87; July 1, 1987, pp. 18654 and 18655; June 27, 1994, p. 
----), even in cases where they may have discretion under the law so to 
do (IV, 3853; June 4, 1970, p. 18401; Aug. 8, 1978, pp. 24959-60), or to 
affirmatively take away an authority or discretion conferred by law (IV, 
3862, 3863; VII, 1975; Mar. 30, 1955, pp. 4065-66; June 21, 1974, p. 
20600; July 31, 1985, p. 21909), are subject to the point of order. 
While any limitation in an appropriation bill (see Sec. 483, supra) 
places some minimal duties on Federal officials, who must determine the 
effect of such a limitation on appropriated funds, an amendment or 
language in an appropriation bill may not impose additional duties, not 
required by law, or make the appropriation contingent upon the 
performance of such duties (May 28, 1968, p. 15350). Language in the 
form of a conditional limitation requiring determinations by Federal 
officials will be held to change existing law unless the proponent can 
show that the new duties are merely incidental to functions already 
required by law and do not involve substantive new determinations (July 
26, 1985, p. 20807).



[[Page 673]]

the words ``in order to overcome racial imbalance'' 
were held to impose additional duties, and Nov. 30, 1982, p. 28062, 
where the words ``to interfere with'' the rulemaking authority of any 
regulatory agency were held to implicitly require the Office of 
Management and Budget to make determinations not discernibly required by 
law in evaluating and executing its responsibilities). An amendment 
limiting funds for an agency or any ``successor agency'' requires a 
determination of ``successor agency'' status (Sept. 26, 1997, p. ----).
  Where an amendment to or language in a general appropriation bill 
implicitly places new duties on officers of the government or implicitly 
requires them to make investigations, compile evidence, or make 
judgments and determinations not otherwise required of them by law, such 
as to judge intent or motives, then it assumes the character of 
legislation and is subject to a point of order (July 31, 1969, pp. 
21653, 21675, where 


[[Page 674]]

the official being consulted to make determinations not specifically 
required by law (July 22, 1980, pp. 19087-88).
  An amendment authorizing the President to reduce each appropriation in 
the bill by not more than ten percent was ruled out as legislation 
conferring new authority on the President (May 31, 1984, p. 14617; June 
6, 1984, p. 15120). A limitation on the use of funds, or an exception 
therefrom, may not be accompanied by language stating or requiring a 
finding of a motive or purpose in carrying out the limitation (Aug. 8, 
1978, pp. 24969-70; July 22, 1980, pp. 19087-88; Sept. 16, 1980, p. 
25604; Sept. 22, 1981, p. 21577). A paragraph prohibiting the use of 
funds to perform abortions except where the mother's life would be 
endangered if the fetus were carried to term is legislation, since 
requiring Federal officials to make new determinations and judgments not 
required of them by law, regardless whether private or State officials 
administering the funds in question routinely make such determinations 
(June 17, 1977, p. 1969; June 30, 1993, p. ----). The fact that such a 
provision relating to abortion funding may have been included in 
appropriation Acts in prior years applicable to funds in those laws does 
not permit the inclusion of similar language requiring such 
determinations, not required by law, with respect to funds for the 
fiscal year in question (Sept. 22, 1983, p. 25406); and where the 
provision, applicable to Federal funds, was permitted to remain in a 
bill (no point of order having been made), an amendment striking the 
word ``Federal,'' and thereby broadening the provision to include 
District of Columbia funds as well, was ruled out (Nov. 15, 1989, p. 
29004). But to such a provision permitted to remain in a general 
appropriation bill, an amendment exempting instead cases where the 
health of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to 
term was held not to constitute further legislation by requiring any 
different or more onerous determinations (June 27, 1984, p. 19113). An 
amendment prohibiting the use of funds in an appropriation bill for the 
General Services Administration to dispose of U.S.-owned 
``agricultural'' land declared surplus was ruled out as legislation, 
since the determination whether surplus lands are ``agricultural'' was 
not required by law (Aug. 20, 1980, pp. 22156-58); but a limitation 
precluding funds for any transit project exceeding a specified cost-
effectiveness index was held not to impose new duties where the Chair 
was persuaded that the limitation applied to projects for which indexes 
were already required by law (Sept. 23, 1993, p. ----). The fact that an 
executive official may have been directed by an executive order to 
consult another executive official prior to taking an action does not 
permit inclusion of language directing 

  An amendment limiting use of funds in a bill may not condition the 
availability of funds or the exercise of contract authority upon an 
interpretation of local law where that interpretation is not required by 
existing law (July 17, 1981, p. 16327); may not require new 
determinations of full Federal compliance with mandates imposed upon 
States (July 22, 1981, p. 16829); may not require the evaluation of the 
theoretical basis of a program (July 22, 1981, p. 16822); may not 
require new determinations of propriety or effectiveness (Oct. 6, 1981, 
p. 23361; May 25, 1988, p. 12275), or satisfactory quality (Aug. 1, 
1986, p. 18647) or incorporate by reference determinations already made 
in administrative processes not affecting programs funded by the bill 
(Oct. 6, 1981, p. 23361); may not require new determinations of rates of 
interest payable (July 29, 1982, p. 18624; Dec. 9, 1982, p. 29691); may 
not apply standards of conduct to foreign entities where existing law 
requires such conduct only by domestic entities (July 17, 1986, p. 
16951); may not require the enforcement of a standard where existing law 
only requires inspection of an area (July 30, 1986, p. 18189); may not 
prohibit the availability of funds for the purchase of ``nondomestic'' 
goods and services (Sept. 12, 1986, p. 23178); may not mandate 
contractual provisions (May 18, 1988, p. 11389); may not authorize the 
adjustment of wages of government employees (June 21, 1988, p. 15451; 
Apr. 26, 1989, p. 7525) or permit an increase in Members' office 
allowances only ``if requested in writing'' (Oct. 21, 1990, p. ----); 
may not convert an existing legal prerequisite for the issuance of a 
regulatory permit into a prerequisite for even the preliminary 
processing of such a permit (July 22, 1992, p. ----); may not mandate 
reductions in various appropriations by a variable percentage calculated 
in relation to ``overhead'' (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 
5.6; June 24, 1992, p. ----); may not require an agency to investigate 
and determine whether private airports are collecting certain fees for 
each enplaning passenger (Sept. 23, 1993, p. ----); and may not require 
an agency to investigate and determine whether a person or entity 
entering into a contract with funds under the pending bill is subject to 
a legal proceeding commenced by the Federal government and alleging 
fraud (Sept. 17, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 675]]

17, 1996, p. ----). In the 105th Congress this entire line of precedent 
was overtaken by changes in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this clause that 
treat as legislation a provision that makes funding contingent on 
whether circumstances not determinative under existing law are ``known'' 
(H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----; July 15, 1997, p. ----; July 24, 1997, 
p. ----).
  Over a period dating from 1908, the House had developed a line of 
precedent to the effect that language restricting the availability of 
funds in a general appropriation bill could be a valid limitation if, 
rather than imposing new duties on a disbursing official or requiring 
new determinations of that official, it simply and passively addressed 
the state of knowledge of the official (VII, 1695; cf. Aug. 1, 1989, p. 
17156, and June 22, 1995, p. ---- [limitations in recommittal ruled out 
on basis of form rather than of legislative content]). This reasoning 
culminated in a ruling in the 104th Congress admitting as a valid 
limitation an amendment prohibiting the use of funds in the bill to 
execute certain accounting transactions when specified conditions were 
``made known'' to the disbursing official (July 



Sec. 842e. Mandating expenditures.

  A provision  which 
mandates a distribution of funds in contravention of an allocation 
formula in existing law is legislation (July 29, 1982, pp. 18637, 18638; 
Oct. 5, 1983, p. 27335; Aug. 2, 1989, p. 18123; July 24, 1995, p. ----), 
as is an amendment which by such a mandate interferes with an executive 
official's discretionary authority (Mar. 12, 1975, p. 6338), as in an 
amendment requiring not less than a certain sum to be used for a 
particular purpose where existing law does not mandate such expenditure 
(June 18, 1976, p. 19297; July 29, 1982, p. 18623), or where an 
amendment earmarks appropriated funds to the arts to require their 
expenditure pursuant to standards otherwise applicable only as 
guidelines (July 12, 1989, p. 14432). Where existing law directed a 
Federal official to provide for sale of certain government property to a 
private organization in ``necessary'' amounts, an amendment providing 
that no such property be withheld from distribution from qualifying 
purchasers is legislation, since requiring disposal of all property and 
restricting discretionary authority to determine ``necessary'' amounts 
(Aug. 7, 1978, p. 24707). An amendment directing the use of funds to 
assure compliance with an existing law, where existing law does not so 
mandate, also is legislation (June 24, 1976, p. 20370). So-called 
``hold-harmless'' provisions which mandate a certain level of 
expenditure for certain purposes or recipients, where existing law 
confers discretion or makes ratable reductions in such expenditures, 
also constitute legislation (Apr. 16, 1975, p. 10357; June 25, 1976, p. 
20557). A transfer of available funds from one Department to another 
with directions as to the use to which those funds must be put is 
legislation (and also a reappropriation in violation of clause 6 of this 
rule) (Dec. 8, 1982, p. 29449). A provision requiring states to match 
funds provided in an appropriation bill was held to constitute 
legislation where existing law contained no such requirement (June 28, 
1993, p. ----). Where existing law prescribes a formula for the 
allocation of funds among several categories, an amendment merely 
reducing the amount earmarked for one of the categories is not 
legislation, so long as it does not textually change the statutory 
formula (July 24, 1995, p. ----).



[[Page 676]]

1988, p. 14341), but this does not permit an amendment which 
adds additional legislation (IV, 3836, 3837, 3862; VII, 1402-1436; Dec. 
9, 1971, pp. 4595-96; Aug. 1, 1973, pp. 27291-92; June 10, 1977, p. 
1802; June 28, 1988, pp. 16203, 16213; Aug. 2, 1989, p. 18172; Nov. 15, 
1989, p. 29004), or earmarks for unauthorized purposes (July 17, 1985, 
p. 19435; July 17, 1986, p. 16918; July 26, 1995, p. ----; June 5, 1996, 
p. ----), or earmarks by directing a new use of funds not required by 
law (July 26, 1985, pp. 20811, 20813), or increases an unauthorized 
amount indirectly by inserting new language at another portion of the 
bill (July 12, 1995, p. ----). An amendment to a general appropriation 
bill is not subject to a point of order as adding legislation if 
containing, verbatim, a legislative provision already contained in the 
bill and permitted to remain (Aug. 27, 1980, p. 23519). To a paragraph 
permitted to remain though containing a legislative proviso restricting 
the obligation of funds until a date within the fiscal year, an 
amendment striking the delimiting date, thus applying the restriction 
for the entire year, was held to be perfecting (July 30, 1990, p. 
20442); but striking the date and inserting a new trigger (the enactment 
of other legislation), was held to be additional legislation (July 30, 
1990, p. 20442). An amendment in the form of a motion to strike that 
would extend the legislative reach of the pending text was held to 
propose additional legislation (July 17, 1996, p. ----). To a 
legislative title permitted to remain, which placed certain restrictions 
on recipients of a defined set of Federal payments and benefits, an 
amendment extending the restrictions to persons benefiting from a 
certain tax status determined on wholly unrelated criteria was held to 
add further legislation (Aug. 3, 1995, p. ----).


Sec. 842f. Waivers; amending legislation permitted 
to remain.

  The House  may, by agreeing to a report from the Committee on Rules or 
by adopting an order under suspension of the rules, allow legislation on 
general appropriation bills (IV, 3260-3263, 3839-3845). A paragraph 
which proposes legislation or an unauthorized appropriation being 
permitted to remain, by special order or by failure to raise a point of 
order, may be perfected by germane amendment (IV, 3823-3835, 3838; VII, 
1405, 1413-1415; June 9, 1954, pp. 5963-64; Sept. 11, 1985, p. 23398; 
June 14, 




Sec. 842g. Senate amendments.

  The principle  seems to be 
generally well accepted that the House proposing legislation on a 
general appropriation bill should recede if the other House persists in 
its objection (IV, 3904-3908), and clause 2 of rule XX (Sec. 829, supra) 
prohibits House conferees from agreeing to a Senate amendment which 
proposes legislation on an appropriation bill without specific authority 
from the House. But where a Senate amendment proposing legislation on a 
general appropriation bill is, pursuant to the edict of clause 2 of rule 
XX, reported back from conference in disagreement, a motion to concur in 
the Senate amendment with a further amendment is in order, even if the 
proposed amendment adds legislation to that contained in the Senate 
amendment, and the only test is whether the proposed amendment is 
germane to the Senate amendment reported in disagreement (IV, 3909; 
VIII, 3188, 3189; Speaker McCormack, Dec. 15, 1970, pp. 41504-05; Aug. 
1, 1979, pp. 22007-11; Speaker O'Neill, Dec. 12, 1979, pp. 35520-21; 
June 30, 1987, p. 18308).



[[Page 677]]

priate for a purpose authorized by law, so may it by limitation 
prohibit the use of the money for part of the purpose while 
appropriating for the remainder of it (IV, 3936; VII, 1595). The 
language of the limitation provides that no part of the appropriation 
under consideration shall be used for a certain designated purpose (IV, 
3917-3926; VII, 1580). And this designated purpose may reach the 
question of qualifications, for while it is not in order to legislate as 
to the qualifications of the recipients of an appropriation the House 
may specify that no part of the appropriation shall go to recipients 
lacking certain qualifications (IV, 3942-3952; VII, 1655; June 4, 1970, 
pp. 18412-13; June 27, 1974, p. 21662; Oct. 9, 1974, p. 34712; June 9, 
1978, p. 16990). The limitation must apply solely to the money of the 
appropriation under consideration (VII, 1597, 1600, 1720; Feb. 26, 1958, 
p. 2895), and may not be made applicable to money appropriated in other 
acts (IV, 3927, 3928; VII, 1495, 1525; June 28, 1971, pp. 22442-43; June 
27, 1974, pp. 21670-72; May 13, 1981, p. 9663), and may not require 
funds available to an agency in any future fiscal year for a certain 
purpose be subject to limitations specified in advance in appropriations 
Acts (May 8, 1986, p. 10156). A restriction on authority to incur 
obligations is legislative in nature and not a limitation on funds (July 
13, 1987, p. 19507; Sept. 23, 1993, p. ----).


Sec. 843a. Limitations on appropriation bills 
generally.

  Although the  rule forbids on any general appropriation bill a provision 
``changing existing law,'' which is construed to mean legislation 
generally, the practice of the House has established the principle that 
certain ``limitations'' may be admitted. Just as the House may decline 
to appro-


  The fact that existing law authorizes funds to be available until 
expended or without regard to fiscal year limitation does not prevent 
the Committee on Appropriations from limiting their availability to the 
fiscal year covered by the bill unless existing law mandates 
availability beyond the fiscal year (June 25, 1974, p. 21040; see also 
Procedure, ch. 25, secs. 9-17). The fact that a provision would 
constitute legislation for only a year does not make it a limitation in 
order under the rule (IV, 3936). Nor may a proposition to construe a law 
be admitted (IV, 3936-3938). Care should also be taken that the language 
of limitation be not such as, when fairly construed, would change 
existing law (IV, 3976-3983) or justify an executive officer in assuming 
an intent to change existing law (IV, 3984; VII, 1706). Although the 
Committee on Appropriations may include in a general appropriation bill 
language not in existing law limiting the use of funds in the bill, if 
such language also constitutes an appropriation it must be authorized by 
law (June 21, 1988, p. 15439). A provision limiting the use of funds in 
a bill ``unless'' or ``until'' a specified action not required by 
existing law has been taken constitutes legislation (Deschler's 
Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 47.1; July 24, 1996, p. ----).


[[Page 678]]

may be left unsatisfied thereby (IV, 3987; July 10, 1975, p. 
22005); but coupling a denial of an appropriation with a negative 
restriction on official duties constitutes by reason of the use of a 
double negative an affirmative direction and is not in order (VII, 1690-
1692). Similarly, using a double negative to limit the availability of 
funds to prohibit the obligation of funds for an unauthorized project 
(effectively authorizing an unauthorized project) is not in order (Sept. 
23, 1993, p. ----).


Sec. 843b. Effect of limitation on executive 
discretion.

  The limitation  may not be applied directly to the official functions of 
executive officers (IV, 3957-3966; VII, 1673, 1678, 1685), but it may 
restrict executive discretion so far as this may be done by a simple 
negative on the use of the appropriation (IV, 3968-3972; VII, 1583, 
1653, 1694; Sept. 14, 1972, pp. 30749-50; June 21, 1974, pp. 20601-02; 
Oct. 9, 1974, p. 34716). An appropriation may be withheld from a 
designated object by a negative limitation on the use of funds, although 
contracts 


  But such limitations must not give affirmative directions (IV, 3854-
3859, 3975; VII, 1637), and must not impose new duties upon an executive 
officer (VII, 1676; June 11, 1968, p. 16712; July 31, 1969, pp. 21631-
33); and may not directly interfere with discretionary authority in law 
by establishing a level of funding below which expenditures may not be 
made (VII, 1704; July 20, 1978, p. 21856).

  In construing a proposed limitation, if the Chair finds the purpose to 
be legislative, in that the intent is to restrict executive discretion 
to a degree that may be fairly termed a change in policy rather than a 
matter of administrative detail, he should sustain the point of order, 
as where a limitation is accompanied by language stating a legislative 
motive or purpose in carrying out the limitation (Aug. 8, 1978, p. 
24969), or where existing law and the Constitution require a census to 
be taken of all persons and an amendment seeks to preclude the use of 
funds to exclude another class ``known'' to the Secretary (Aug. 1, 1989, 
p. 17156). However, language in a general appropriation bill may, by 
negatively refusing to include funds for all or part of an authorized 
executive function, thereby affect policy to the extent of its denial of 
availability of funds (VII, 1694; Oct. 9, 1974, p. 34716).

  It is not in order, even by language in the form of a limitation, to 
restrict not the use or amount of appropriated funds but the 
discretionary authority conferred by law to administer their 
expenditure, such as by limiting the percentage of funds that may be 
apportioned for expenditure within a certain period of time (Deschler's 
Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 51.23), or by precluding the obligation 
of certain funds in the bill until funds provided by another Act have 
been obligated (Deschler's Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 48.8). The 
burden is on the proponent to show that such a proposal does not change 
existing law by restricting the timing of the expenditure of funds 
rather than their availability for specified objects (Deschler's 
Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, secs. 64.23 and 80.5).


[[Page 679]]

collected by the District of Columbia, pursuant to the D.C. Code (July 
17, 1979, p. 19066).
  As long as a limitation on the use of funds restricts the expenditure 
of Federal funds carried in the bill without changing existing law, the 
limitation is in order, even if the Federal funds in question are 
commingled with non-Federal funds which would have to be accounted for 
separately in carrying out the limitation (Aug. 20, 1980, pp. 22171-72). 
An amendment providing that no Federal funds provided in the District of 
Columbia general appropriation bill be used to perform abortions is not 
legislation, since Federal officials have the responsibility to account 
for all appropriations for the annual Federal payment and for 
disbursement of all taxes 


[[Page 680]]

more general terms, was held in order as not containing legislation 
(June 27, 1979, pp. 17033-35), as was an exception from a valid 
limitation prohibiting construction of that limitation in such a way as 
to prevent funding of a particular authorized activity (Mar. 24, 1944, 
p. 3095; June 18, 1991, p. 15218). An amendment prohibiting the use of 
funds in the bill by the Forest Service to construct roads or prepare 
timber sales in certain roadless areas was held not to impose new 
duties, where the executive was already charged by law with ongoing 
responsibility to maintain a comprehensive and detailed inventory of all 
land and renewable resources of the National Forest System (July 18, 
1995, p. ----). The following amendments also have been in order as 
merely constricting the range of objects for which funds might be used: 
denying use of funds to eliminate an existing legal requirement for 
sureties on custom bonds (June 27, 1984, p. 19101); denying use of funds 
by any Federal official in any manner which would prevent a provision of 
existing law from being enforced (relating to import restrictions) (June 
27, 1984, p. 19101); denying use of funds for any reduction in Customs 
Service regions or for any consolidation of Customs Service offices 
(June 27, 1984, p. 19102); denying use of funds to carry out (or pay the 
salaries of persons who carry out) tobacco crop and insurance programs 
(July 20, 1995, p. ----). An amendment in the form of a limitation 
prohibiting the use of funds in a general appropriation bill for the 
construction of certain facilities unless such construction were subject 
to a project agreement was held not in order during the reading of the 
bill, even though existing law directed Federal officials to enter into 
such project agreements, on the ground that limitation amendments are in 
order during the reading only where existing law requires or permits the 
inclusion of limiting language in an appropriation Act, and not merely 
where the limitation is alleged to be ``consistent with existing law'' 
(June 28, 1988, p. 16267). Similarly, language in a general 
appropriation bill containing an averment necessary to qualify for 
certain scorekeeping under the Budget Act was conceded to be legislation 
(July 20, 1989, p. 15374), even though the Budget Act contemplates that 
expenditures may be mandated to occur before or following a fiscal 
period if the law making those expenditures specifies that the timing is 
the result of a ``significant'' policy change (July 20, 1989, p. 15374).



Sec. 843c. Limitations consistent with existing 
law.

  An amendment  denying the use of funds in the bill to pay the salaries of 
Federal officials who perform certain functions under existing law is a 
proper limitation if the description of those duties precisely follows 
existing law and does not require them to perform new duties (June 24, 
1976, p. 20373), just as an amendment denying such funds to a Federal 
official not in compliance with an existing law which he is charged with 
enforcing is a valid limitation placing no new duties on that Federal 
official (Sept. 10, 1981, p. 20110). The fact that a limitation on the 
use of funds may indirectly interfere with an executive official's 
discretionary authority by denying the use of funds (June 24, 1976, p. 
20408) or may impose certain incidental burdens on executive officials 
(Aug. 25, 1976, p. 27737) does not destroy the character of the 
limitation as long as it does not directly amend existing law and is 
descriptive of functions and findings already required to be undertaken 
by existing law. As it is in order by way of a limitation to deny the 
use of funds for implementation of an executive order, an amendment 
precisely describing the contents of the executive order does not 
constitute legislation solely for that reason (Mar. 16, 1977, p. 7748). 
And the fact that the regulation for which funds are denied may have 
been promulgated pursuant to court order and pursuant to constitutional 
provisions is an argument on the merits of the amendment and does not 
render it legislative in nature (Aug. 19, 1980, pp. 21981-84). An 
amendment prohibiting the use of funds to carry out any ruling of the 
Internal Revenue Service which rules that taxpayers are not entitled to 
certain charitable deductions was held in order as a limitation, since 
merely descriptive of an existing ruling already promulgated and not 
requiring any new determinations as to the applicability of the 
limitation to other categories of taxpayers (July 16, 1979, pp. 18808-
10). An amendment reducing the availability of funds for trade 
adjustment assistance by amounts of unemployment insurance entitlements 
was held in order where the law establishing trade adjustment assistance 
already required the disbursing agency to take into consideration levels 
of unemployment insurance in determining payment levels (June 18, 1980, 
pp. 15355-56). A limitation precluding funds for any transit project 
exceeding a specified cost-effectiveness index was held not to impose 
new duties where the Chair was persuaded that the limitation applied to 
projects for which indexes were already required by law (Sept. 23, 1993, 
p. ----). A limitation precluding the use of funds to enforce FAA 
regulations to require domestic air carriers to surrender more than a 
specified number of ``slots'' at a given airport in preference of 
international air carriers was held not to impose new duties on FAA 
officials because existing regulations already required the FAA to 
determine the origin of withdrawn slots (Sept. 23, 1993, p. ----). An 
exception stating that the limitation does not prohibit the use of funds 
for designated Federal activities which are already authorized by law in 



               ``holman rule'' on retrenching expenditures


[[Page 681]]

and 843, supra). Under the modern practice, the 
``Holman Rule'' only applies where an obvious reduction is achieved by 
the provision in question and does not apply to limiting language 
unaccompanied by a reduction of funds in the bill (July 16, 1979, pp. 
18808-10). It has no application to an amendment to an appropriation 
bill which does not legislate but is merely a negative limitation citing 
but not changing existing law (June 18, 1980, pp. 15355-56).


Sec. 844a. Legislation reducing 
expenditures.

  Decisions under  the so-called ``Holman Rule'' in clause 2 of rule XXI 
have been rare in the modern practice of the House. The trend in 
construing language in general appropriation bills or amendments thereto 
has been to minimize the importance of the ``Holman Rule'' in those 
cases where the decision can be made on other grounds. The practice of 
using limitations in appropriation bills has been perfected in recent 
years so that most modern decisions by the Chair deal with distinctions 
between such limitations and matters which are deemed to be legislation 
(see Sec. Sec. 842 


  A paragraph containing legislation reported in an appropriation bill 
to be in order must on its face show a retrenchment of a type which 
conforms to the requirements of the rule (Chairman Lehlbach, Mar. 17, 
1926, p. 5804).

  The reduction of expenditure must appear as a necessary result, in 
order to bring an amendment or provision within the exception to the 
rule. It is not sufficient that such reduction would probably, or would 
in the opinion of the Chair, result therefrom (IV, 3887; VII, 1530-
1534). Thus, an amendment to a general appropriation bill providing that 
appropriations made in that act are hereby reduced by $7 billion, though 
legislative in form, was held in order under the ``Holman Rule'' 
exception (Apr. 5, 1966, p. 7689), but an amendment providing for 
certain reductions of appropriations carried in the bill based on the 
President's budget estimates was held not to show a reduction on its 
face and to provide merely speculative reductions (Deschler's 
Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 5.6; June 24, 1992, p. ----). An 
amendment authorizing the President to reduce each appropriation in the 
bill by not more than ten percent was ruled out as legislation 
conferring new authority on the President (May 31, 1984, p. 14617; June 
6, 1984, p. 15120). An amendment reducing an unauthorized amount 
permitted to remain in a general appropriation bill is in order as a 
retrenchment under this clause (Oct. 1, 1975, p. 31058). An amendment to 
a general appropriation bill denying the availability of funds to 
certain recipients but which requires Federal officials to make 
additional determinations as to the qualifications of recipients is 
legislation and is not a retrenchment of expenditures where it is not 
apparent that the prohibition will reduce the amounts covered by the 
bill (June 26, 1973, p. 21389).

  The amendment must not only show on its face an attempt to retrench 
but must also be germane to some provision in the bill even though 
offered by direction of the committee having jurisdiction of the subject 
matter of the amendment (VII, 1549; Dec. 16, 1911, p. 442). An amendment 
providing that appropriations ``herein and heretofore made'' shall be 
reduced by $70 million through the reduction of Federal employees as the 
President determines was held to be legislative and not germane to the 
bill, since it went to funds other than those carried therein, and was 
therefore not within the ``Holman Rule'' exception (Oct. 18, 1966, p. 
27425).


[[Page 682]]

ment of expenditures even if assumed to be legislative (July 13, 1979, 
pp. 18453-55).
  An amendment reducing an amount in an appropriation bill for the 
Postal Service and prohibiting the use of funds therein to implement 
special bulk third-class rates for political committees was held in 
order since not specifically requiring new determination and since 
constituting a retrench-

  As long as an amendment calls for an obvious reduction at some point 
in time during the fiscal year, the amendment is in order under the 
``Holman Rule'' even if the reduction takes place in the future in an 
amount actually determined when the reduction takes place (for example, 
by formula) (VII, 1491, 1505; July 30, 1980, pp. 20499-20503). To an 
amendment that is in order under the ``Holman Rule,'' containing 
legislation but retrenching expenditures by formula for every agency 
funded by the bill, an amendment exempting from that reduction several 
specific programs does not add further legislation and is in order (July 
30, 1980, pp. 20499-20503).

  A motion to recommit the District of Columbia appropriation bill with 
instructions to reduce the proportion of the fund appropriated from the 
Public Treasury from one-half, as provided in the bill, to one-fourth of 
the entire appropriation is in order, since the effect of the amendment 
if adopted would reduce the expenditure of public money although not 
reducing the amount of the appropriation (VII, 1518).

  The term ``retrenchment'' means the reduction of the amount of money 
to be taken out of the Federal Treasury by the bill, and therefore a 
reduction of the amount of money to be contributed toward the expenses 
of the District of Columbia is in order as a retrenchment (VII, 1502).

  An amendment proposed to an item for the recoinage of uncurrent 
fractional silver, which amendment struck out the amount appropriated 
and added a provision for the coinage of all the bullion in the Treasury 
into standard silver dollars, the cost of such coinage and recoinage to 
be paid out of the Government's seigniorage, was held not to be in order 
under the rule; first, because not germane to the subject matter of the 
bill (the sundry civil); second, because it did not appear that any 
retrenchment of expenditure would result, the seigniorage being the 
property of the Government as other funds in the Treasury (VII, 1547).

  To an item of appropriation for inland transportation of mails by star 
routes an amendment was offered requiring the Postmaster General to 
provide routes and make contracts in certain cases, with the further 
provision ``and the amount of appropriation herein for star routes is 
hereby reduced to $500.'' A point of order made against the first or 
legislative part of the amendment was sustained, which decision was, on 
appeal, affirmed by the committee (VII, 1555).

  To a clause appropriating for the foreign mail service an amendment 
reducing the appropriation, and in addition repealing the act known as 
the ``subsidy act,'' was held not in order because the repealing of this 
act was not germane to the appropriation bill; and that to be in order 
both branches of the amendment must be germane to the bill (VII, 1548).


[[Page 683]]

of Agriculture is out of order, being a provision changing 
law and not retrenching expenditure (IV, 3886).
  A provision in the agricultural appropriation bill transferring the 
supervision of the importation of animals from the Treasury to the 
Department 

  Where a paragraph containing new legislation provides in one part for 
a discharge of employees, which means a retrenchment, and in another 
part embodies legislation to bring about the particular retrenchment 
which in turn shows on its face an expenditure the amount of which is 
not apparent, the Chair is unable to hold that the net result will 
retrench expenditures. But where the additional legislation does not 
show on its face an additional expenditure, the Chair will not speculate 
as to a possible expenditure under the additional legislation (VII, 
1500).


  As explained in the annotation in Sec. 834, supra, the amendment of 
clause 2(b) in the 98th Congress narrowed the ``Holman Rule'' exception 
to the general prohibition against legislation to cover only 
retrenchments reducing amounts of money covered by the bill, and not 
retrenchments resulting from reduction of the number and salary of 
officers of the United States or of the compensation of any person paid 
out of the U.S. Treasury. Accordingly, the Chair held out of order an 
amendment mandating the reduction of certain Federal salaries and 
expenses as not confined to a reduction of funds in the bill (June 17, 
1994, p. ----). Paragraph (b) also eliminated separate authority 
conferred upon legislative committees or commissions with proper 
jurisdiction to report amendments retrenching expenditures, and 
permitted legislative committees to recommend such retrenchments by 
reduction of amounts covered by the bill to the Appropriations Committee 
for discretionary inclusion in the reported bill. Paragraph (d) as added 
in the 98th Congress provides a new procedure for consideration of all 
retrenchment amendments only when reading of the bill has been completed 
and only if the Committee of the Whole does not adopt a motion to rise 
and report the bill back to the House. Other decisions which involved 
interpretation of the ``Holman Rule,'' but which do not reflect the 
current form or interpretation of that rule, are found in IV, 3846, 
3885-3892; VII, 1484, 1486-1492, 1498, 1500, 1515, 1563, 1564, 1569; 
June 1, 1892, p. 4920.


[[Page 683]]

(except for classified intelligence or national security programs, 
projects, or activities).



Sec. 844b. Content of reports on appropriation 
bills.

  3. A report  from the Committee on Appropriations accompanying any general 
appropriation bill making an appropriation for any purpose shall contain 
a concise statement describing fully the effect of any provision of the 
accompanying bill which directly or indirectly changes the application 
of existing law, and shall contain a list of all appropriations 
contained in the bill for any expenditure not previously authorized by law 



  This clause became a part of the rules under the Committee Reform 
Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., 
Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), and the subsequent clauses of this rule were 
renumbered at that time. This clause was amended on January 14, 1975 (H. 
Res. 5, 94th Cong., p. 32) to confine its applicability to general 
appropriation bills, and again in the 104th Congress to add the last 
requirement concerning unauthorized items (sec. 215(d), H. Res. 6, Jan. 
4, 1995, p. ----).




Sec. 845. Restriction on the reference of 
claims.

  4. No bill  for the payment or adjudication of any private claim against 
the Government shall be referred, except by unanimous consent, to any 
other than the following committees, namely: To the Committee on 
International Relations or to the Committee on the Judiciary.



  The present form of this clause was made effective January 2, 1947, as 
a part of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812), was 
further amended on March 19, 1975 to reflect the change of the name of 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs to International Relations by H. Res. 
163 (p. 7343), was again amended on February 5, 1979 to change 
International Relations back to Foreign Affairs (H. Res. 89, pp. 1848-
49), and was once again amended on January 4, 1995, to change the name 
back to International Relations (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, 104th Cong., p. 
----). The old rule, adopted in 1885 and amended May 29, 1936, provided 
that private claims bills be referred to a Committee on Invalid 
Pensions, Claims, War Claims, Public Lands, and Accounts, in addition to 
the Committees on Foreign Affairs (now International Relations) and the 
Judiciary. Certain private bills, resolutions and amendments are barred 
(see Sec. 852, infra). Under this clause unanimous consent is required 
for the reference of a bill for the payment of a private claim to a 
committee other than the Committee on the Judiciary or the Committee on 
International Relations (May 4, 1978, p. 12615).


[[Page 685]]

be in order during the consideration of a bill or joint resolution 
reported by a committee not having that jurisdiction. A question of 
order on an appropriation in any such bill, joint resolution, or 
amendment thereto may be raised at any time.



Sec. 846a. Restriction of power to report 
appropriations.

  5. (a) No  bill or joint resolution carrying appropriations shall 
be reported by any committee not having jurisdiction to report 
appropriations, nor shall an amendment proposing an appropriation 


  This portion of the rule was adopted June 1, 1920 (VII, 2133).

  A point of order under this rule cannot be raised against a motion to 
suspend the rules (VIII, 3426), against a motion to discharge a 
nonappropriating committee from consideration of a bill carrying an 
appropriation (VII, 2144), or against a Senate amendment to an 
appropriation bill (VII, 1572), but it may be directed against an item 
of appropriation in a Senate bill (VII, 2136, 2147; July 30, 1957, pp. 
13056, 13181-82), and if the House deletes a provision in a Senate bill 
under this rule, the bill is messaged to the Senate with the deletion in 
the form of an amendment. The point of order may be made against an 
appropriation in a Senate bill that, although not reported in the House, 
is considered in lieu of a reported House ``companion bill'' (VII, 2137; 
Mar. 29, 1933, p. 988). This clause applies to an amendment proposed to 
a Senate amendment to a House bill not reported from the Committee on 
Appropriations (Oct. 1, 1980, pp. 28638-42). The rule does not apply to 
private bills since the committees having jurisdiction of bills for the 
payment of private claims may report bills making appropriations within 
the limits of their jurisdiction (VII, 2135; Dec. 12, 1924, p. 538). The 
point of order under this rule does not apply to an appropriation in a 
bill which has been taken away from a nonappropriating committee by a 
motion to discharge (VII, 1019a). The point of order under this rule 
does not apply to a special order reported from the Committee on Rules 
``self-executing'' the adoption in the House to a reported bill of an 
amendment containing an appropriation, since the amendment is not 
separately before the House during consideration of the special order 
(Feb. 24, 1993, p. ----).


[[Page 686]]

is limited to 
language originally contained in a Senate amendment where the House 
conferees have not been specifically authorized to agree thereto (May 1, 
1975, p. 12752). Where the House has adopted a resolution waiving points 
of order against certain appropriations in a legislative bill, a point 
of order may nevertheless be raised against an amendment to the bill 
containing an identical provision, since under this rule a point of 
order may be raised against the amendment ``at any time'' (Apr. 23, 
1975, p. 11512). A point of order against a direct appropriation in a 
bill initially reported from a legislative committee and then 
sequentially referred to and reported adversely by the Committee on 
Appropriations was conceded and sustained as in violation of this clause 
(Nov. 10, 1975, p. 35611).
  The provision in this clause that a point of order against an 
amendment containing an appropriation to a legislative bill may be made 
``at any time'' has been interpreted to require that the point of order 
be raised during the pendency of the amendment under the five-minute 
rule (Mar. 18, 1946, p. 2365; Apr. 28, 1975, pp. 12043-44), and a point 
of order will lie against an amendment during its pendency, even in its 
amended form, although the point of order is against the amendment as 
amended by a substitute and no point of order was raised against the 
substitute prior to its adoption (Apr. 23, 1975, p. 12043). But the 
point of order must be raised during the initial consideration of the 
bill or amendment under the five-minute rule, and a point of order 
against similar language permitted to remain in the House version and 
included in a conference report on a bill will not lie, since the only 
rule prohibiting such inclusion (clause 2 of rule XX) 

  The point of order should be directed to the item of appropriation in 
the bill and not to the act of reporting the bill (VII, 2143), and 
cannot be directed to the entire bill (VII, 2142; Apr. 28, 1975, p. 
12043).


[[Page 687]]

use of funds of the Shipping Board is not in order (VII, 2147). A 
direction to pay out of Indian trust funds is not in order (VII, 2149). 
A provision in an authorization bill making excess foreign currencies 
immediately available for a new purpose is in violation of clause 5 of 
rule XXI (Aug. 3, 1971, pp. 29109-10). Provisions authorizing the 
collection of fees or user charges by Federal agencies and making the 
revenues collected therefrom available without further appropriation 
have been ruled out in violation of this clause (June 17, 1937, pp. 
5915-18; Mar. 29, 1972, pp. 10749-51), and the transfer of existing 
Federal funds into a new Treasury trust fund to be immediately available 
for a new purpose has been construed as an appropriation (June 20, 1974, 
pp. 20273-75), as has a provision in a legislative bill transferring 
unexpended balances of appropriations from an existing agency to a new 
agency created therein (Apr. 9, 1979, pp. 7774-75). A provision in an 
omnibus reconciliation bill reported by the Budget Committee (pursuant 
to section 310(c)(2) of the Budget Act upon recommendation from the 
Energy and Commerce Committee) making a direct appropriation to carry 
out a part of the Energy Security Act was ruled out in violation of this 
clause (Oct. 24, 1985, p. 28812). An amendment requiring the diversion 
of previously appropriated funds in lieu of the enactment of new budget 
authority if a maximum deficit amount under the Deficit Control Act of 
1985 is exceeded, though its stated purpose may be to avoid the 
sequestration of funds, may nevertheless be in violation of clause 5(a) 
as an appropriation on a legislative bill (Aug. 10, 1988, p. 21719).
  The point of order provided for in this clause is not applicable to 
propositions authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to use proceeds 
from the sale of bonds under the Second Liberty Bond Act (public debt 
transactions) for the purpose of making loans, since such loans do not 
constitute ``appropriations'' within the purview of the rule (June 28, 
1949, pp. 8536-38; Aug. 2, 1950, p. 11599), and is not applicable to 
language exempting loan guarantees in a legislative bill from statutory 
limitations on expenditures (July 16, 1974, p. 23344). Legislation 
authorizing the availability of certain loan receipts is not an 
appropriation where it can be shown that the actual availability of 
those receipts remains contingent upon subsequent enactment of an 
appropriation act (Sept. 10, 1975, p. 28300). The term ``appropriation'' 
in the rule means the payment of funds from the Treasury, and the words 
``warranted and make available for expenditure for payments'' are 
equivalent to ``is hereby appropriated'' and therefore not in order 
(VII, 2150). The words ``available until expended,'' making an 
appropriation already made for one year available for ensuing years, are 
not in order (VII, 2145). Language reappropriating, making available, or 
diverting an appropriation or a portion of an appropriation already made 
for one purpose to another (VII, 2146; Mar. 29, 1933, p. 988; Aug. 10, 
1988, p. 21719), or for one fiscal year to another (Mar. 26, 1992, p. --
--), is not in order. An amendment expanding the definition in existing 
law of recipients under a Federal subsidy program was held to permit a 
new use of funds already appropriated in violation of this clause (May 
11, 1976, pp. 13409-11); and a provision in a legislative bill 
authorizing the use, without a subsequent appropriation, of funds 
directly appropriated by a previous statute for a new purpose 
constitutes an appropriation prohibited by this clause (Oct. 1, 1980, 
pp. 28637-40). But a modification of such a provision making payments 
for such new purposes ``effective only to the extent and in such amounts 
as are provided in advance in appropriation acts'' does not violate this 
clause (Oct. 1, 1980, pp. 28638-42). A direction to a departmental 
officer to pay a certain sum out of unexpended balances is equivalent to 
an appropriation and not in order (VII, 2154). Language authorizing the 


  An amendment increasing the duties of a commission is not necessarily 
an appropriation (VII, 1578). Language authorizing payment from an 
appropriation to be made or authorizing payment from an appropriation 
that has not yet been made is in order (Jan. 31, 1923, p. 2794). Section 
401(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 317) prohibits 
consideration in the House of any bill or resolution or amendment which 
provides new spending authority (as that term is defined in that 
section) unless that measure also provides that such new spending 
authority is to be available only to the extent provided in 
appropriation Acts (see Sec. 1007, infra). See also Procedure, ch. 25, 
sec. 3, addressing appropriations on legislative bills generally.


[[Page 688]]

not having that jurisdiction. A question of order on a tax or 
tariff measure in any such bill, joint resolution, or amendment thereto 
may be raised at any time.



Sec. 846b. Restriction on bills and amendments carrying 
taxes or tariffs.

  (b) No  bill or joint resolution carrying a tax or tariff 
measure shall be reported by any committee not having jurisdiction to 
report tax and tariff measures, nor shall an amendment in the House or 
proposed by the Senate carrying a tax or tariff measure be in order 
during the consideration of a bill or joint resolution reported by a 
committee 


  Paragraph (b) was added in the 98th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1983, 
p. 34). A point of order under this paragraph against a provision in a 
bill is in order at any time during consideration of the bill for 
amendment in Committee of the Whole (Aug. 1, 1986, p. 18649). On October 
4, 1989, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, before ruling on 
several points of order under this paragraph, enunciated several 
guidelines to distinguish taxes and tariffs on the one hand and user or 
regulatory fees and other forms of revenue on the other (p. 23260). On 
the opening day of the 102d Congress Speaker Foley inserted in the 
Congressional Record a statement of jurisdictional concepts underlying 
those same distinctions and indicated his intention to exercise his 
referral authority under rule X in a manner consistent with this 
paragraph (Jan. 3, 1991, p. 64; see also Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----).

  Although in the case of most points of order against provisions in 
bills or against amendments the burden is on the proponent of the 
provision to show that it does not violate the cited rule, in the case 
of a point of order under clause 5(b) against a provision in or an 
amendment to a general appropriation bill affecting the use of funds 
therein (otherwise traditionally in order if admissible under clause 2 
of rule XXI), the burden is on the Member making the point of order to 
show a necessary, certain, and inevitable change in revenue collections 
or tax statuses or liabilities (Sept. 12, 1984, pp. 25108, 25109, 25120; 
July 26, 1985, p. 20806; Aug. 1, 1986, pp. 18649-50; July 13, 1990, p. 
17473; June 18, 1991, p. 15189). Thus, in determining whether a 
limitation in a general appropriation bill constitutes a tax or tariff 
measure proscribed by clause 5(b), the Chair will consider argument as 
to whether the limitation effectively and inevitably changes revenue 
collections and tax status or liability (Aug. 1, 1986, p. 18649). 
Similarly, in determining whether an amendment to a general 
appropriation bill proposing a change in IRS funding priorities 
constitutes a tax measure proscribed by clause 5(b), the Chair will 
consider argument as to whether the change would necessarily or 
inevitably result in a loss or gain in tax liability and in tax 
collection (June 18, 1991, p. 15189).


[[Page 689]]

and owing by law or require collection of revenue 
not legally due or owing (July 26, 1985, p. 20806; Aug. 1, 1986, pp. 
18649, 18650; July 17, 1996, p. ----); and (2) where a provision in a 
general appropriation bill prohibited the use of funds to impose or 
assess certain taxes due under specified portions of the Internal 
Revenue Code (July 13, 1990, p. 17473). In the 98th Congress, the Chair 
sustained points of order under clause 5(b) against motions to concur in 
three Senate amendments to a general appropriation bill (not reported by 
the Committee on Ways and Means): (1) an amendment denying the use of 
funds in that or any other Act by the IRS to impose or assess any tax 
due under a designated provision of the Internal Revenue Code, thereby 
rendering the tax uncollectable through the use of any funds available 
to the agency (Sept. 12, 1984, p. 25108); (2) an amendment directing the 
Secretary of the Treasury to admit free of duty certain articles 
imported by a designated organization (Sept. 12, 1984, p. 25109); and 
(3) an amendment to the Tariff Act of 1930 to expand the authority of 
the Customs Service to seize and use the proceeds from the sale of 
contraband imports to defray operational expenses, and to offset owed 
customs duties under one section of that law (Sept. 12, 1984, p. 25120). 
An amendment to a general appropriation bill proposing to divert an 
increase in funding for the IRS from spot-checks to targeted audits was 
held not to constitute a tax within the meaning of clause 5(b) because 
it did not necessarily affect revenue collection levels or tax 
liabilities (June 18, 1991, p. 15189).
  A limitation on the use of funds contained in a general appropriation 
bill was held to violate clause 5(b) by denying the use of funds by the 
Customs Service to enforce duty-free entry laws with respect to certain 
imported commodities, thereby requiring the collection of revenues not 
otherwise provided for by law (Oct. 27, 1983, p. 29611). Similar rulings 
were issued: (1) where it was shown that the imposition of the 
restriction on IRS funding for the fiscal year would effectively and 
inevitably preclude the IRS or the Customs Service from collecting 
revenues otherwise due 


[[Page 690]]

revenues to be transferred to the Department of Labor for 
the enforcement of that law (Oct. 5, 1989, p. 23328).
  In the 99th Congress, the following provisions in a reconciliation 
bill reported from the Budget Committee were ruled out as tax measures 
not reported from the Committee on Ways and Means: (1) containing a 
recommendation from the Committee on Education and Labor (now the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce) excluding certain interest on 
obligations from the Student Loan Marketing Association from application 
of the Internal Revenue Code, affecting interest deductions against 
income taxes (Oct. 24, 1985, pp. 28776, 28827); and (2) containing a 
recommendation from the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries 
expanding tax benefits available to shipowners through a capital 
construction fund (Oct. 24, 1985, pp. 28802, 28827). In the 101st 
Congress, the following provisions in an omnibus budget reconciliation 
bill were ruled out: (1) a fee per passenger on cruise vessels, with 
revenues credited as proprietary receipts of the Coast Guard to be used 
for port safety, security, navigation, and antiterrorism activities 
(Oct. 4, 1989, p. 23260); (2) a per acre ``ocean protection fee'' on oil 
and gas leaseholdings in the Outer Continental Shelf, with receipts to 
be used to offset costs of various ocean protection programs (Oct. 4, 
1989, p. 23261); (3) an amendment to the Internal Revenue Code relating 
to the tax deductibility of pension fund contributions (Oct. 4, 1989, p. 
23262); (4) a fee incident to termination of employee benefit plans, 
with receipts to be applied to enforcement and administration of plans 
remaining with the system (Oct. 4, 1989, p. 23262); and (5) a fee 
incident to the filing of various pension benefit plan reports required 
by law, with 


  To a bill reported from the Committee on Education and Labor (now the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce) authorizing financial 
assistance to unemployed individuals for employment opportunities, an 
amendment providing instead for tax incentives to stimulate employment 
was held to be a tax measure in violation of this paragraph (Sept. 21, 
1983, p. 25145). A provision in a bill reported from the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs (now the Committee on International Relations) imposing 
a uniform fee at ports of entry to be collected by the Customs Service 
as a condition of importation of a commodity was held to constitute a 
tariff within the meaning of this paragraph (June 4, 1985, p. 14009), as 
was an amendment to a bill reported from that committee amending the 
tariff schedules to deny ``most favored nation'' trade treatment to a 
certain nation (July 11, 1985, p. 18590). A provision in a general 
appropriation bill creating a new tariff classification was held to 
constitute a tariff under this paragraph (June 15, 1994, p. ----). A 
motion to concur in a Senate amendment constituting a tariff measure 
(imposing an import ban on certain dutiable goods) to a bill reported by 
a committee not having tariff jurisdiction was ruled out under this 
paragraph (Sept. 30, 1988, p. 27316). A proposal to increase a fee 
incident to the filing of a securities registration statement, with the 
proceeds to be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury as 
offsetting receipts, was held to constitute a tax within the meaning of 
this paragraph because the amount of revenue derived and the manner of 
its deposit indicated a purpose to defray costs of government, generally 
(Oct. 23, 1990, p. 32650). To a bill reported by the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, an amendment increasing a user fee 
was ruled out as a tax measure where the fee overcollected to offset a 
reduction in another fee, thus attenuating the relationship between the 
amount of the fee and the cost of the government activity for which it 
was assessed (May 9, 1995, p. ----). To a bill reported by the Committee 
on Science, Space, and Technology, an amendment proposing sundry changes 
in the Federal income tax by direct amendments to the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 was ruled out of order as carrying a tax measure in 
violation of this paragraph (Sept. 16, 1992, p. ----).


[[Page 691]]

amendment to subsection (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) of section 1, or to 
section 11(b) or 55(b), of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that 
imposes a new percentage as a rate of tax and thereby increases the 
amount of tax imposed by any such section.



Sec. 846c. Threefifths vote to increase income tax 
rates.

  (c) No  bill or joint resolution, amendment, or conference report 
carrying a Federal income tax rate increase shall be considered as 
passed or agreed to unless so determined by a vote of not less than 
three-fifths of the Members voting. For purposes of the preceding 
sentence, the term ``Federal income tax rate increase'' means any 



  Paragraph (c) was added in the 104th Congress (sec. 106(a), H. Res. 6, 
Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress it was amended to clarify 
the definition of ``Federal income tax rate increase'' (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
7, 1997, p. ----) . On one occasion the Chair held that a provision 
repealing a ceiling on total tax liability attributable to a net capital 
gain was not subject to this paragraph (Apr. 5, 1995, p. ----). This 
paragraph does not apply to a concurrent resolution (Speaker Gingrich, 
May 18, 1995, p. ----). A resolution reported from the Rules Committee 
waiving clause 5(c) may be adopted by majority vote (Oct. 26, 1995, p. 
----). The Speaker rules on the applicability of clause 5(c) only 
pending the question of final passage of a measure alleged to carry a 
Federal income tax rate increase, and not in advance upon adoption of a 
special order waiving that provision (Oct. 26, 1995, p. ----).



Sec. 846d. Prohibition against retroactive income tax 
rate increase.

  (d) It  shall not be in order to consider any bill, joint 
resolution, amendment, or conference report carrying a retroactive 
Federal income tax rate increase. For purposes of the preceding 
sentence--


          (1) the term ``Federal income tax rate increase'' means any 
amendment to subsection (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) of section 1, or to 
section 11(b) or 55(b), of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that 
imposes a new percentage as a rate of tax and thereby increases the 
amount of tax imposed by any such section; and


[[Page 692]]

          (2) a Federal income tax rate increase is retroactive if it 
applies to a period beginning prior to the enactment of the provision.


  Paragraph (d) was added in the 104th Congress (sec. 106(b), H. Res. 6, 
Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress it was amended to clarify 
the definition of ``Federal income tax rate increase'' (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
7, 1997, p. ----) .




Sec. 847. Reappropriations 
prohibited.

  6. No general  appropriation bill or amendment thereto shall be received 
or considered if it contains a provision reappropriating unexpended 
balances of appropriations; except that this provision shall not apply 
to appropriations in continuation of appropriations for public works on 
which work has commenced, and shall not apply to transfers of unexpended 
balances within the department or agency for which they were originally 
appropriated, reported by the Committee on Appropriations.


  This provision from section 139(c) of the Legislative Reorganization 
Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 190f(c)) was made part of the standing rules in 
the 83d Congress (Jan. 3, 1953,p. 24). Previously, a reappropriation of 
an unexpended balance for an object authorized by law was in order on a 
general appropriation bill (IV, 3591, 3592; VII, 1156, 1158). This 
clause was amended in the 99th Congress by section 228(b) of the 
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-177, 
Dec. 12, 1985) to permit the Committee on Appropriations to report 
certain transfers of unexpended balances. Consistent with clause 2 of 
rule XXI, violations of this clause are enforced only against specific 
provisions in general appropriation bills containing reappropriations 
rather than against consideration of the bill (see, e.g., Procedure, ch. 
25, sec. 18).


[[Page 693]]

tions may be 
authorized in law for a specified object does not permit an amendment to 
a general appropriation bill to include legislative language mandating 
the reappropriation of funds from other Acts (July 28, 1992, p. ----).
  A provision in a general appropriation bill, or an amendment thereto, 
providing that funds for a certain purpose are to be derived by 
continuing the availability of funds previously appropriated for a prior 
fiscal year is in violation of clause 6 of rule XXI (Aug. 20, 1951, pp. 
10393-94; Mar. 29, 1960, p. 6862; June 17, 1960, p. 13138; June 20, 
1973, pp. 20530-31; July 29, 1982, p. 18625; June 28, 1988, p. 16255), 
and a reappropriation of unexpended prior year balances prohibited by 
this clause is not in order under the guise of a ``Holman Rule'' 
exception to clause 2 of rule XXI (Oct. 18, 1966, pp. 27424-25). An 
amendment to a general appropriation bill making any appropriations 
which are available for the current fiscal year available for certain 
new purposes was held out of order under this clause since it was not 
confined to the funds in the bill and would permit reappropriation of 
unexpended balances (Oct. 1, 1975, p. 31090). That appropria-

  This rule, however, is not applicable when the reappropriation 
language is identical to legislative authorization language enacted 
subsequent to the adoption of the rule, since the law is a more recent 
expression of the will of the House (Sept. 5, 1961, p. 18133), nor when 
a measure transferring unobligated balances of previously appropriated 
funds contains legislative provisions and rules changes but no 
appropriation of new budget authority and is neither in the form of an 
appropriation bill nor the subject of a privileged report by the 
Committee on Appropriations under rule XI (Mar. 3, 1988, p. 3239).


  The return of an unexpended balance to the Treasury is in order (IV, 
3594).




Sec. 848. Printed hearings and reports on 
appropriation bills.

  7. No general  appropriation bill shall be considered in the 
House until printed committee hearings and a committee report thereon 
have been available for the Members of the House for at least three 
calendar days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays except 
when the House is in session on such a day).



  This provision from section 139(a) of the Legislative Reorganization 
Act of 1946 was made a part of the standing rules January 3, 1953 (p. 
24), and was amended (by the addition of the parenthetical clause) on 
January 22, 1971 (p. 144). In counting the ``three calendar days'' 
specified in the clause, the date the bill is filed or the date on which 
it is to be called up for consideration are counted, but not both (May 
26, 1969, pp. 13720-21). Clause 2(l)(6) of rule XI became applicable to 
all other reports from the Committee on Appropriations under the 
Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 
988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). In the 104th Congress it was 
amended to count as a ``calendar day'' any day on which the House is in 
session (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----).




Sec. 848a. Reservation of points of order.

  8.  At the time 
any appropriation bill is reported, all points of order shall be 
considered as reserved.



[[Page 694]]

reserve points of order when a general appropriation bill was 
referred to the calendar of the Committee of the Whole House on the 
state of the Union, in order that provisions in violation of rule XXI 
could be stricken in the Committee of the Whole (see Sec. 835, supra).




[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 694-702]
[DOCID:hrmanual-82]                         
 
  Clause 8 was added in the 104th Congress (sec. 215(e), H. Res. 6, Jan. 
4, 1995, p. ----), rendering unnecessary the former practice that a Member 


                               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).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 702-725]
[DOCID:hrmanual-83]                         
 
  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.


                               Rule XXIII.


                    of committees of the whole house.




Sec. 861a. Selection of Chairman of Committee of the 
Whole; and his power to preserve order.

  1. (a) In  all cases, in forming a 
Committee of the Whole House, the Speaker shall leave his chair after 
appointing a Member as Chairman to preside, who shall, in case of 
disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries or lobby, have power 
to cause the same to be cleared.



[[Page 703]]

in two instances during the 103d Congress (Oct. 6, 
1994, p. ----; Oct. 7, 1994, p. ----).
  This provision, adopted in 1880, was made from two older rules dating 
from 1789 and modified in 1794 to provide for the appointment of the 
Chairman instead of the inconvenient method of election by the committee 
(IV, 4704). It was amended in the 103d Congress to permit Delegates and 
the Resident Commissioner to preside in the Committee of the Whole (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----), but that authority was repealed in the 
104th Congress (sec. 212(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). 
Delegates presided 




Sec. 861b. Functions of the Chairman of the Committee of 
the Whole.

  The  Sergeant-at-Arms attends the sittings of the Committee of 
the Whole and, under direction of the Chairman, maintains order (I, 
257). His decisions on questions of order may be appealed; and in 
stating the appeal, the question is put as in the House: ``Shall the 
decision of the Chair stand as the judgment of the Committee?'' and a 
majority vote sustains the ruling (Aug. 1, 1989, p. 17159). In rare 
cases wherein the Chairman has been defied or insulted he has directed 
the committee to rise, left the chair and, on the chair being taken by 
the Speaker, has reported the facts to the House (II, 1350, 1651, 1653). 
While the Committee of the Whole does not control the Congressional 
Record, the Chairman may direct the exclusion of disorderly words spoken 
by a Member after he has been called to order (V, 6987), but may not 
determine the privileges of a Member under general ``leave to print'' 
(V, 6988). The Chairman decides questions of order arising in the 
committee independently of the Speaker (V, 6927, 6928), but has declined 
to consider a question that had arisen in the House just before the 
committee began to sit (IV, 4725, 4726) or a question that may arise in 
the House in the future (June 21, 1995, p. ----). He recognizes for 
debate (V, 5003); but like the Speaker is forbidden to recognize for 
requests to suspend the rule of admission to the floor (V, 7285). He may 
direct the committee to rise when the hour previously fixed for 
adjournment of the House arrives, or when the hour previously fixed by 
the House for consideration of other business arrives, in which case he 
reports in the regular way (IV, 4785; VIII, 2376; Aug. 22, 1974, p. 
30077); but if the committee happens to be in session at the hour fixed 
for the meeting of the House on a new legislative day, it rests with the 
committee and not with the Chairman to determine whether or not the 
committee shall rise (V, 6736, 6737).



[[Page 704]]

vening motion, unless the resolution in question provides otherwise.



Sec. 862. Speaker's declaration into Committee 
of the Whole pursuant to special order.

  (b) After the  House has adopted a special 
order of business resolution reported by the Committee on Rules 
providing for the consideration of a measure in the Committee of the 
Whole House on the state of the Union, the Speaker may at any time 
within his discretion, when no question is pending before the House, 
declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the 
state of the Union for the consideration of that measure without inter-


  Paragraph (b) was added in the 98th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1983, 
p. 34).


[[Page 705]]

less than five minutes 
the period of time within which a recorded vote on the pending question 
may be taken if such a vote is ordered. If, at any time during the 
conduct of a quorum call in a Committee of the Whole, the Chairman 
determines that a quorum is present, he may, in his discretion and 
subject to his prior announcement, declare that a quorum is constituted. 
Proceedings under the call shall then be considered as vacated, and the 
Committee shall not rise but shall continue its sitting and resume its 
business.



Sec. 863. Failure of a quorum in Committee of the 
Whole.

  2. (a) A  quorum of a Committee of the Whole shall consist of one hundred 
Members. The first time that a Committee of the Whole finds itself 
without a quorum during any day, the Chairman shall invoke the procedure 
for the call of the roll under clause 5 of rule XV, unless, in his 
discretion, he orders a call of the Committee to be taken by the 
procedure set forth in clause 1 or clause 2(b) of rule XV: Provided, 
That the Chairman may in his discretion refuse to entertain a point of 
order that a quorum is not present during general debate only. If on 
such call, a quorum shall appear, the Committee shall continue its 
business; but if a quorum does not appear, the Committee shall rise and 
the Chairman shall report the names of the absentees to the House. After 
the roll has been once called to establish a quorum during such day, the 
Chairman may not entertain a point of order that a quorum is not present 
unless the Committee is operating under the five-minute rule and the 
Chairman has put the pending motion or proposition to a vote; and if the 
Chairman sustains a point of order that a quorum is not present after 
putting the question on such a motion or proposition, he may announce 
that following a regular quorum call conducted pursuant to the previous 
provisions of this clause, he will reduce to not 


  It was the early practice for the Committee of the Whole to rise on 
finding itself without a quorum (IV, 2977), and it was not until 1847 
that a rule was adopted. The rule was amended in 1880, again in 1890 
(which included the concept that a quorum in the Committee should be one 
hundred rather than a quorum of the House (IV, 2966)), and in 1971 (Jan. 
22, 1971, p. 144). On October 13, 1972 (H. Res. 1123, p. 36012) the rule 
was amended to reflect the installation of the electronic voting system 
in the House Chamber, and on January 4, 1977 (H. Res. 5, 95th Cong., pp. 
53-70) clause 2 was substantially changed to allow quorum calls only 
under the five-minute rule where the Chairman has put the question on a 
pending proposition, after a quorum of the Committee of the Whole has 
been once established on that day. The Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole must entertain a point of order of no quorum during the five-
minute rule if a quorum has not yet been established in the Committee on 
the bill then pending (and the fact that a quorum of the Committee has 
previously been established on another bill on that day is irrelevant 
during consideration (Sept. 19, 1984, p. 26082)). Where a recorded vote 
on a prior amendment or motion during the five-minute rule on that bill 
on that day has established a quorum, a subsequent point of no quorum 
during debate is precluded (June 3, 1992, p. ----), although a 
subsequent call of the Committee may be ordered by unanimous consent 
(May 10, 1984, p. 11869; Dec. 17, 1985, p. 37469; June 25, 1986, p. 
15551).


[[Page 706]]

under this clause (July 22, 1994, p. ----). In the 97th 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, p. 98) the rule was amended to allow 
the Chairman the discretion whether or not to entertain a point of order 
of no quorum during general debate only.
  The clause was amended again in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 
1979, pp. 7-16) to permit the Committee to continue its business 
following the appearance of a quorum so that the Speaker need not take 
the chair to receive the Committee's report of absentees as in previous 
practice, and to enable the Chairman to reduce to five minutes the 
period for a recorded vote immediately following a regular quorum call. 
A vote by division is not such intervening business as would preclude a 
five-minute vote 

  The last two sentences of the clause, permitting the Chair to vacate 
proceedings under the call in his discretion when a quorum appears, were 
added in the 93d Congress (H. Res. 998, Apr. 9, 1974, pp. 10195-99). The 
Speaker interpreted the last two sentences of this clause to permit the 
Chairman of the Committee of the Whole to announce in advance, at the 
time that the absence of a quorum is ascertained, that he will vacate 
proceedings when a quorum appears, and to convert to a regular quorum 
call if a quorum does not appear at any time during the call (May 13, 
1974, pp. 14148-49).

  The Chair need not convert to a regular quorum call precisely at the 
expiration of 15 minutes if 100 Members have not responded on a 
``notice'' quorum call but may continue to exercise his discretion to 
vacate proceedings at any time during the entire period permitted for 
the conduct of the call by clause 5 of rule XV (July 17, 1974, p. 
23673).

  Under the modern practice, when a Committee of the Whole finds itself 
without a quorum, the Chairman normally directs that Members record 
their presence by electronic device. The Chair may however, in his 
discretion, order that Members respond by the alternative procedures in 
clause 1 of rule XV (alphabetical call of the roll) or clause 2(b) of 
rule XV (clerk tellers) (for the use of clerk tellers for a ``notice'' 
quorum call in Committee of the Whole, see July 13, 1983, p. 18858).


[[Page 707]]

and on his observation of several Members present but not voting 
on the division vote in finding the presence of a quorum of the 
Committee of the Whole (June 29, 1988, p. 16504). No quorum being 
present when a vote is taken in Committee of the Whole, and the 
committee having risen before a quorum appeared, such vote is invalid, 
and the question is put de novo when the committee resumes its business 
(VI, 676, 677). While an ``automatic'' roll call (under clause 4 of rule 
XV) is not in order in Committee of the Whole, a point of order of no 
quorum may intervene between the announcement of a division vote result 
and prior to transaction of further business, and a demand for a 
recorded vote following the quorum call is not thereby precluded (Oct. 
9, 1975, p. 32598). Where a recorded vote is refused but the Chair has 
not announced the result of a voice vote on an amendment, and the demand 
for a division or teller vote remains possible, the question remains 
pending and the Chair is obligated to entertain a point of order of no 
quorum under clause 2(a) of rule XXIII (June 6, 1979, p. 13648).
  Before the installation of the electronic system, a quorum in the 
Committee was established by a call of the roll. At one time the roll 
was called but once (IV, 2967); but in the later practice it was called 
twice as on other roll calls (VI, 668). Where the Committee has risen to 
report the absence of a quorum, it resumes its session by direction of 
the Speaker on the appearance of a quorum (IV, 2968; VI, 674). The 
quorum which must appear to permit the committee to continue its 
business is a quorum of the committee and not of the House (IV, 2970, 
2971) but if such quorum fails to appear, a quorum of the House is 
required (VI, 674). It was formerly held that after the committee has 
risen and reported its roll call, a motion to adjourn is in order before 
direction as to resumption of the session (IV, 2969), but under the 
later practice the committee immediately resumed its session without 
intervening motion or unanimous-consent requests (VI, 672, 673; VIII, 
2377, 2379, 2436). The failure of a quorum of the House to answer on 
this roll call does not interfere with the authority of the Speaker to 
direct the committee to resume its session (IV, 2969). The Chairman's 
count of a quorum is not subject to verification by tellers (VIII, 2369, 
2436), may not be challenged by an appeal (July 24, 1974, p. 25012), and 
he may count those present and not voting in determining whether a 
quorum is present (VI, 641). On a division vote totaling less than 100, 
the Chair has relied on his immediately prior count on a point of no quorum 



Sec. 864. Rising and reports of Committee of the 
Whole.

  The presence  of a quorum is not necessary for adoption of a motion that the 
Committee of the Whole rise (IV, 2975, 2976, 4914; clause 6(b) of rule 
XV; Mar. 5, 1980, pp. 4801-02; Oct. 3, 1985, p. 26096; May 21, 1992, p. 
----); but when the committee rises without a quorum, it may not report 
the bills it has acted on (IV, 2972, 2973), and such bills as have been 
laid aside to be reported remain in the committee until the next 
occasion, when the committee rises without question as to a quorum (IV, 
4913). A simple motion that the Committee of the Whole rise is 
privileged (VIII, 2369) and takes precedence over a motion to amend (May 
21, 1992, p. ----); however the motion cannot interrupt a Member who has 
the floor (VIII, 2370-2371) and may be ruled out when dilatory (VIII, 
2800). For a further discussion of the motion to rise, see Sec. 334, 
supra.



[[Page 708]]

  Under clause 6 of rule XV, as added in the 93d Congress (H. Res. 998, 
Apr. 9, 1974, p. 10199), a point of order of no quorum may not be 
entertained, on a day on which a quorum has been established, during the 
period after the Committee of the Whole has risen after completing its 
consideration of a bill or resolution and before the Chairman of the 
Committee has reported the bill or resolution back to the House. The 
fact that the vote whereby the committee rises does not show a quorum 
(IV, 4914) or that a point of no quorum has been made without an 
ascertainment thereof (IV, 2974), does not prevent a report of the bills 
already acted on. The Chairman having announced the absence of a quorum 
in Committee of the Whole, a motion to rise is in order and if a quorum 
develops on the vote by which the motion is rejected the roll is not 
called and the committee proceeds with its business (VIII, 2369). The 
passage of a bill by the House is not invalidated by the fact that the 
Committee of the Whole reported it on an erroneous supposition that a 
record vote had disclosed a quorum (IV, 2972).


  (b) In the Committee of the Whole, the Chair shall order a recorded 
vote on request supported by at least twenty-five Members.


-  (c) In the <> Committee of the Whole, the Chairman may, in his discretion, 
reduce to not less than five minutes the period of time within which a 
rollcall vote by electronic device may be taken without any intervening 
business or debate on any or all pending amendments after the vote has 
been taken on the first pending amendment.

  This clause was adopted in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 
1979, pp. 7-16).


  This paragraph was added in the 102d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 
1991, p. 39). A vote by division is not such intervening business as 
would preclude a five-minute vote under this clause (July 22, 1994, p. 
----).



Sec. 864b. Former provision for de novo vote where Delegates 
decisive.

    When the 103d Congress enabled voting by the Delegates and 
the Resident Commissioner in the Committee of the Whole, it also added a 
paragraph (d) to clause 2 of rule XXIII to provide for immediate 
reconsideration in the House of questions resolved in the Committee of 
the Whole House on the state of the Union by a margin within which the 
votes of Delegates and the Resident Commissioner have been decisive (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----). When the 104th Congress repealed the 
authority for the Delegates and the Resident Commissioner to vote in the 
Committee of the Whole, it also repealed clause 2(d) (sec. 212(c), H. 
Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).



[[Page 709]]

  Under the former paragraph (d), whether the votes cast by the 
delegates were decisive was determined by a ``but for'' test, the 
question being whether the result would have been different if their 
votes were not counted (May 19, 1993, p. ----). An amendment adopted by 
immediate proceedings de novo in the House under the former paragraph 
(d) did not disturb the sequence of a ``king-of-the-hill'' procedure 
established by a special rule waiving all points of order against 
subsequent amendments (Mar. 17, 1994, p. ----).




Sec. 865. Subjects requiring consideration in 
Committee of the Whole.

  3. All motions  or propositions involving a tax or charge upon 
the people, all proceedings touching appropriations of money, or bills 
making appropriations of money, or property, or requiring such 
appropriation to be made, or authorizing payments out of appropriations 
already made, or releasing any liability to the United States for money 
or property, or referring any claim to the Court of Claims, shall be 
first considered in a Committee of the Whole, and a point of order under 
this rule shall be good at any time before the consideration of a bill 
has commenced.


  The first form of this rule was adopted in 1794, and it has been 
perfected by amendments in 1874 and 1896 (IV, 4792).


[[Page 710]]

bills (IV, 4793, 4794; VIII, 2331), and also to 
any portion of a bill requiring an appropriation, even though it be 
merely incidental to the bill's main purpose (IV, 4825). Under the later 
practice general (as well as private and special) bills providing for 
the adjudication and payment of claims are held to be within the 
requirements of the rule (IV, 4856-4859).


Sec. 866. Construction of the rule, requiring 
consideration in Committee of the Whole.

  To require  consideration in Committee of 
the Whole, a bill must show on its face that it falls within the 
requirements of the rule (IV, 4811-4817; VIII, 2391), but where the 
expenditure is a mere matter of speculation (IV, 4818-4821; VIII, 2388), 
or where the bill might involve a charge, but does not necessarily do so 
(IV, 4809, 4810), the rule does not apply. In passing upon the question 
as to whether a proposition involves a charge upon the Treasury, the 
Speaker is confined to the provisions of the text and may not take into 
consideration personal knowledge not directly deducible therefrom (VIII, 
2386, 2391). Resolutions reported by the Committee on House 
Administration (now House Oversight) appropriating from the contingent 
fund (now referred to as ``applicable accounts of the House described in 
clause 1(h)(1) of rule X'') of the House are considered in the House 
(VIII, 2415, 2416). Authorizations of expenditures from the contingent 
fund, under the later ruling (IV, 4862-4867) do not fall within the 
specifications of the rule (IV, 4868). A bill providing for an 
expenditure which is to be borne otherwise than by the Government (IV, 
4831; VIII, 2400), or relating to money in the Treasury in trust (IV, 
4835, 4836, 4853; VIII, 2413), is not governed by the rule. But where a 
bill sets in motion a train of circumstances destined ultimately to 
involve certain expenditures, it must be considered in Committee of the 
Whole (IV, 4827; VIII, 2399), as must also bills ultimately authorizing 
officials in certain contingencies to part with property belonging to 
the United States (VIII, 2399). The requirements of the rule apply to 
amendments as well as to 




Sec. 867. Subjects not requiring consideration in 
Committee of the Whole.

  The  House may consider in Committee of the Whole 
subjects not specified in the rule (IV, 4822); for example, major 
amendments to the rules of the House have been considered in Committee 
of the Whole pursuant to special orders (H. Res. 988, Committee Reform 
Amendments of 1974, considered in Committee of the Whole pursuant to H. 
Res. 1395, Sept. 30, 1974, p. 32953; H.R. 17654, Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1970, considered in Committee of the Whole 
pursuant to H. Res. 1093, July 13, 1970, p. 23901). While conference 
reports were formerly considered in Committee of the Whole, they may not 
be sent there on the suggestion of the point of order that they contain 
matter ordinarily requiring consideration therein (V, 6559-6561). When a 
bill is made a special order (IV, 3216-3224), or when unanimous consent 
is given for its consideration (IV, 4823; VIII, 2393), the effect is to 
discharge the Committee of the Whole and bring the bill before the House 
itself for its consideration (IV, 3216; VII, 788), and in such event the 
bill is considered ``in the House as in the Committee of the Whole'' 
(VIII, 2393). When a bill once considered in Committee of the Whole is 
recommitted, it is not, when again reported, necessarily subject to the 
point of order that it must be considered in Committee of the Whole (IV, 
4828, 4829; V, 5545, 5546, 5591).




Sec. 868. General practice as to consideration in 
Committee of the Whole.

  Provisions  placing liability jointly on the United States 
and the District of Columbia (IV, 4833), granting an easement on public 
lands or in streets belonging to the United States (IV, 4840-4842), 
dedicating public land to be forever used as a public park (IV, 4837, 
4838), providing site for statue (VIII, 2405), confirming grants of 
public lands (IV, 4843) and creating new offices (IV, 4824, 4846), have 
been held to require consideration in Committee of the Whole. Indian 
lands have not been considered ``property'' of the Government within the 
meaning of the rule (IV, 4844, 4845; VIII, 2413). And while a bill 
removing the rate of postage has been held to be within the rule as 
``involving a tax or charge'' (IV, 4861), taxes on bank circulation have 
not been so considered (IV, 4854, 4855).



[[Page 711]]

  The mere making of a unanimous-consent request to dispense with the 
reading of an amendment and to revise and extend remarks thereon is not 
such intervening business as would render a point of order untimely, 
where the Member making the point of order is on his feet seeking 
recognition (July 16, 1991, p. 18391; see Procedure, ch. 31, sec. 5.7).




Sec. 869. Order of business in Committee of the 
Whole.

  4. In  Committees of the Whole House business on their calendars may 
be taken up in regular order, or in such order as the committee may 
determine, unless the bill to be considered was determined by the House 
at the time of going into committee, but bills for raising revenue, 
general appropriation bills, and bills for the improvement of rivers and 
harbors shall have precedence.


  This rule applies to the two committees of the whole which have been 
established by the practice of the House (IV, 4705), the Committee of 
the Whole House on the state of the Union, which considers public bills, 
and the Committee of the Whole House, which considers private business 
(IV, 3115). The early practice left the order of taking up bills to be 
determined entirely by the committee, but in 1844 the House began by 
rule to regulate the order, and in 1880 adopted the present rule (IV, 
4729). The latter portion of the rule is rarely used, since the ordinary 
practice is to consider general appropriation bills under clause 9 of 
rule XVI, which gives privilege to motions to go into committee to 
consider a designated bill of this class (IV, 3072).


  The power of the committee to determine the order of considering bills 
on its calendar is construed to authorize a motion to establish an order 
(IV, 4730) or a motion to take up a specified bill out of its order (IV, 
4731, 4732; VIII, 2333). Except in cases wherein the rules make specific 
provisions therefor a motion is not in order in the House to fix the 
order in which business on the calendars of the Committee of the Whole 
shall be taken up (IV, 4733). The Committee of the Whole having voted to 
consider a particular bill, and consideration having begun, a motion to 
reconsider or change that vote is not in order (IV, 4765). When there is 
unfinished business in Committee of the Whole, it is usually first in 
order (IV, 4735; VIII, 2334).


[[Page 712]]

debate shall be allowed in favor of and against any amendment that 
may be offered to an amendment; and neither an amendment nor an 
amendment to an amendment shall be withdrawn by the mover thereof unless 
by the unanimous consent of the committee. Upon the offering of any 
amendment by a Member, when the House is meeting in the Committee of the 
Whole, the Clerk shall promptly transmit to the majority committee table 
five copies of the amendment and five copies to the minority committee 
table. Further, the Clerk shall deliver at least one copy of the 
amendment to the majority cloak room and at least one copy to the 
minority cloak room.



Sec. 870. General debate and amendment under the 
fiveminute rule in Committee of the Whole.

  5. (a) When  general debate is closed by 
order of the House, any Member shall be allowed five minutes to explain 
any amendment he may offer, after which the Member who shall first 
obtain the floor shall be allowed to speak five minutes in opposition to 
it, and there shall be no further debate thereon, but the same privilege of 



[[Page 713]]

in this clause is not grounds for a point of order against the 
amendment (June 21, 1974, p. 20609; Mar. 25, 1976, p. 7997).
  A rule of 1789 provided that bills should be read and debated in 
Committee of the Whole and in the House by clauses. Although that rule 
has disappeared, the practice continues in Committee of the Whole, 
although not in the House. Originally there was unlimited debate in 
Committee of the Whole both as to the bill generally and also as to any 
amendment; but in 1841 the rule that no Member should speak more than an 
hour was applied both to the Committee of the Whole and the House. At 
the same time another rule was adopted to prevent indefinite 
prolongation of debate in Committee of the Whole by permitting the House 
by majority vote to order the discharge of the Committee of the Whole 
from the consideration of a bill after acting, without debate, on 
pending amendments and any other amendments that might be offered. The 
effect of this was to empower the House to close general debate at any 
time after it had actually begun in the committee; and thereby to 
require amendments to be voted on without debate. In 1847 a rule 
provided that any Member proposing an amendment should have five minutes 
in which to explain it, and in 1850 an amendment to the rule also 
permitted five minutes in opposition and guarded against abuse by 
forbidding the withdrawal of an amendment when once offered (V, 5221). 
In the 104th Congress the Speaker announced his intention to strictly 
enforce time limitations on debate (Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). The last two 
sentences of this clause, placing upon the Clerk the responsibility for 
providing copies of amendments, was part of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1970 (sec. 124; 84 Stat. 1140) and was added to 
the rule in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144). The 
fact that copies of an amendment have not been made available as 
required 



Sec. 871. Motion to close general debate in 
Committee of the Whole.

  The motion  to close general debate in Committee of the 
Whole, successor in the practice to the motion to discharge provided by 
the rule of 1841, is made in the House pending the motion that the House 
resolve itself into committee, and not after the House has voted to go 
into committee (V, 5208); and though not debatable, the previous 
question is sometimes ordered on it to prevent amendment (V, 5203); and 
in case the previous question is ordered, the 40 minutes debate under 
clause 2 of rule XXVII is not allowed (VIII, 2555, 2690). General debate 
must have already begun in Committee of the Whole before the motion to 
limit it is in order in the House (V, 5204-5206). The motion may not 
apply to a series of bills (V, 5209) and the motion in the House to 
limit debate on a bill in the Committee of the Whole must apply to the 
whole and not to a part of a bill (V, 5207). A proposition for a 
division of time may not be made as a part of it (V, 5210, 5211). The 
motion may not be made in Committee of the Whole (V, 5217; VIII, 2548); 
but, in absence of an order by the House, the Committee of the Whole may 
by unanimous consent determine as to general debate (V, 5232; VIII, 
2553). Where the House has fixed the time the committee may not, even by 
unanimous consent, extend it (V, 5212-5216; VIII, 2321, 2550; Mar. 27, 
1984, p. 6599). The general debate must close before amendments may be 
offered (IV, 4744; V, 5221); and it is closed by the fact that no Member 
desires to participate further (IV, 4745). Where no member of a 
committee designated to control time is present at the appropriate time 
during general debate in Committee of the Whole, the Chair may presume 
the time to have been yielded back (June 11, 1984, p. 15744). Motions 
for disposition of the bill are not in order before general debate is 
closed (IV, 4778); nor may a Member, in time yielded to him for general 
debate, move that the Committee rise (May 25, 1967, p. 14121) or yield 
to another for such motion (Feb. 22, 1950, p. 2178).-



[[Page 714]]

must also be read in its entirety 
and is then open to amendment at any point, and a unanimous-consent 
request in Committee of the Whole that it be read by sections for 
amendment is not in order (Mar. 25, 1975, p. 8490). The Committee of the 
Whole may not, even by unanimous consent, prohibit the offering of an 
amendment otherwise in order under the five-minute rule (July 31, 1984, 
p. 21701; Mar. 7, 1995, p. ----). When a paragraph or section has been 
passed it is not in order to return thereto (IV, 4742, 4743) except by 
unanimous consent (IV, 4746, 4747; Deschler's Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 
26, sec. 2.26) or when, the reading of the bill being concluded and a 
motion to rise being decided in the negative, the committee on motion 
votes to return (IV, 4748). Where a bill is considered as read and open 
to amendment at any point, adoption of an amendment adding a new section 
at the end of the bill does not preclude subsquent amendments to 
previous sections of the bill (Apr. 17, 1986, p. 7861). But the chairman 
may direct a return to a section whereon, by error, no action was had on 
a pending amendment (IV, 4750). Points of order against a paragraph 
should be made before the next paragraph is read (V, 6931; VIII, 2351). 
The paragraph or section having been read, and an amendment offered, the 
right to explain or oppose that amendment has precedence of a motion to 
amend it (IV, 4751). In this debate recognitions are governed by the 
conditions of the pending question rather than by the general relations 
of majority and minority (V, 5223). The Member recognized may not yield 
time (V, 5035-5037; May 8, 1987, p. 11832; Dec. 10, 1987, p. 34686) and 
must confine himself to the subject (V, 5240-5256; VIII, 2591). Where 
debate on an amendment is limited or allocated by special order to a 
proponent and an opponent, the five-minute rule is abrogated and the 
Members controlling the debate may yield and reserve time; whereas 
debate time on amendments under the five-minute rule cannot be reserved 
(Aug. 1, 1990, p. 21425). A Member recognized under the five-minute rule 
may not yield to another Member to offer an amendment (Dec. 12, 14, 
1973, pp. 41171, 41716; Sept. 8, 1976, p. 29243; Mar. 7, 1995, p. ----).


Sec. 872. Reading and amendment under the 
fiveminute rule.

  The reading  of the bill for amendment is not specifically 
required by the present form of the rule; but is done under a practice 
which was originally instituted by the rule of 1789 and has continued, 
although the rule was eliminated, undoubtedly by inadvertence, in the 
codification of 1880 (V, 5221). Revenue, general appropriation, 
lighthouse, and river and harbor bills are generally read by paragraphs; 
other bills by sections (IV, 4738, 4740); and while the matter is very 
largely in the discretion of the Chair (VIII, 2341, 2344, 2346), the 
Committee of the Whole has overruled his decision (VIII, 2347). A bill 
(or the remainder of a bill) may be considered as having been read and 
open to amendment by unanimous consent but not by motion (June 18, 1976, 
p. 19296). A Senate amendment, however, is read in entirety, and not by 
either paragraphs or sections (V, 6194) and an amendment in the nature 
of a substitute offered from the floor 


  Where the Chair recognizes the proponent of an amendment to propound a 
unanimous-consent request to modify the text of the amendment before 
commencing debate thereon, the Chair does not charge time consumed under 
a reservation of objection against the proponent's time for debate on 
the amendment (Feb. 3, 1993, p. ----; May 27, 1993, p. ----).-


[[Page 715]]

may not during that time offer a substantive amendment but must be 
separately recognized for that purpose by the Chair (Nov. 19, 1987, p. 
32880). A Member may speak in opposition to a pending amendment and 
subsequently offer a pro forma amendment and debate that (June 30, 1955, 
p. 9614); a Member may offer a second degree amendment and then offer a 
pro forma amendment to debate the underlying first degree amendment 
(June 28, 1995, p. ----); and a Member who has debated a substantive 
amendment may thereafter rise in opposition to a pro forma amendment 
thereto (July 20, 1951, p. 8566). A Member who has offered a substantive 
amendment and then debated it for five minutes may not extend his time 
by offering a pro forma amendment, as it is not in order for the offeror 
of an amendment to amend his own amendment except by unanimous consent 
(Oct. 14, 1987, p. 27898). A pro forma amendment may be offered after a 
substitute has been adopted and before the vote on the amendment, as 
amended, by unanimous consent only, since the amendment has been amended 
in its entirety and no further amendments, including pro forma 
amendments, are in order (Oct. 18, 1983, p. 28185; June 28, 1995, p. --
--). A Member recognized on a pro forma amendment may not allocate or 
reserve time, though he may in yielding indicate to the Chair when he 
intends to reclaim his time (May 19, 1987, p. 12811; July 13, 1994, p. 
----). The Chair endeavors to alternate recognition to offer pro forma 
amendments between majority and minority Members (giving priority to 
committee members) rather than between sides of the question (Mar. 21, 
1994, p. ----).



Sec. 873a. Pro forma amendments under the fiveminute 
rule.

  The pro  forma amendment to ``strike out the last word'' has long been 
used for purposes of debate or explanation where an actual amendment is 
not contemplated (V, 5778; VIII, 2591); but a pro forma amendment must 
be voted on unless withdrawn (VIII, 2874). A Member who has occupied 
five minutes on a pro forma amendment may not lengthen this time by 
making another pro forma amendment (V, 5222; VIII, 2560), nor may he 
then extend this time by offering a substantive amendment while other 
Members are seeking recognition (July 28, 1965, p. 18631). A Member 
recognized to offer a pro forma amendment under the five-minute rule 





Sec. 873b. Motion to dispense with reading.

  (b) It  shall be 
in order to move in the Committee of the Whole to dispense with the 
reading of an amendment if the amendment has been printed in the bill as 
reported from a committee, or if any Member shall have caused the 
amendment to be printed in the Congressional Record, and to be submitted 
to the clerk, or to any responsible staff member designated by the 
Chairman, of the reporting committee or committees, at least one day 
prior to floor consideration, and said motion shall be decided without 
debate.



[[Page 716]]

  Paragraph (b) was added in the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, 
pp. 98-113) to permit a motion to dispense with the reading of certain 
amendments in the Committee of the Whole.



Sec. 873c. Unfunded mandates.

  (c)(1) In the  Committee of the 
Whole, an amendment proposing only to strike an unfunded mandate from 
the portion of the bill then open to amendment, if otherwise in order, 
may be precluded from consideration only by specific terms of a special 
order of the House.



  (2) In this paragraph, ``unfunded mandate'' means a Federal 
intergovernmental mandate the direct costs of which exceed the threshold 
otherwise specified for a reported bill or joint resolution in section 
424(a)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.


  Paragraph (c) was added by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(sec. 107(a), P.L. 104-4; 109 Stat. 63). It was amended later in the 
104th Congress to effect a technical correction (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 
1995, p. ----), and in the 105th Congress to clarify that it applies to 
intergovernmental mandates (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 717]]

amendment to be printed in the Record shall be given 
five minutes in which to explain such amendment, after which the first 
person to obtain the floor shall be given five minutes in opposition to 
it, and there shall be no further debate thereon; but such time for 
debate shall not be allowed when the offering of such amendment is 
dilatory. Material placed in the Record pursuant to this provision shall 
indicate the full text of the proposed amendment, the name of the 
proponent Member, the number of the bill to which it will be offered and 
the point in the bill or amendment thereto where the amendment is 
intended to be offered, and shall appear in a portion of the Record 
designated for that purpose. All amendments to a specified measure 
submitted for printing in that portion of the Record shall be given 
numerical designations in the order printed.



Sec. 874a. Closing the fiveminute debate in 
Committee of the Whole.

  6. The committee  may, by the vote of a majority of the Members 
present, at any time after the five minutes' debate has begun upon 
proposed amendments to any section or paragraph of a bill, close all 
debate upon such section or paragraph or, at its election, upon the 
pending amendments only (which motion shall be decided without debate); 
but this shall not preclude further amendment, to be decided without 
debate. However, if debate is closed on any section or paragraph under 
this clause before there has been debate on any amendment which any 
Member shall have caused to be printed in the Congressional Record at 
least one day prior to floor consideration of such amendment, the Member 
who caused such 


  This clause was adopted in 1860, with amendments in 1880 and 1885 (V, 
5221, 5224). The second sentence of the clause, permitting ten minutes 
for debate on an amendment that has been printed in the Record even 
after the Committee of the Whole closes debate, was inserted in the 92d 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144) following the enactment of 
an identical provision in section 119 of the Legislative Reorganization 
Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140). In the 105th Congress that sentence was 
amended to accommodate the printing of amendments to measures not yet 
reported (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). The third sentence, 
relating to the procedure for submitting and the printing of amendments, 
was added in the 93d Congress (H. Res. 1387, Nov. 25, 1974, p. 37270). 
The last sentence, relating to the numbering of printed amendments, was 
added in the 104th Congress (sec. 217, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 718]]

thereafter (July 18, 1968, p. 22110), debate on an 
amendment printed in the Record may nevertheless proceed for 10 minutes 
under this clause (Aug. 2, 1973, p. 27715). Printing an amendment in the 
Record under this clause permits debate notwithstanding a limitation of 
debate only if the amendment has been properly offered, and does not 
permit the offering of an amendment not otherwise in order under the 
rules (Apr. 23, 1975, p. 11491); and the guaranteed five minutes may be 
claimed only if the offeror of the amendment is the Member who caused it 
to be printed under the rule (June 1, 1976, p. 16044; June 29, 1989, p. 
13928; June 19, 1991, p. ----). The guaranteed time applies to an 
amendment offered as a substitute for another amendment, rather than as 
a primary amendment, if offered in the precise form printed (June 26, 
1979, p. 16682), but where such a substitute amendment has not been 
printed in the Record it may not be debated unless time is yielded 
within the original 10 minutes (Dec. 10, 1987, p. 34710). Where a 
special order requires amendments to be printed in the Record to qualify 
during the consideration of a bill under the five-minute rule, but makes 
no designation concerning offerors, any printed amendment may be offered 
by any Member (Mar. 22, 1990, p. 5017); but only the Member causing the 
amendment to be printed is entitled to the time for debate guaranteed by 
this clause.
  The Speaker announced that amendments to be printed in the Record 
pursuant to this clause must be deposited in a separate box at the 
Rostrum or with the Official Reporters of Debates within 15 minutes 
following adjournment, and must bear the Member's original signature 
(Nov. 25, 1974, p. 37270). Although ordinarily the expiration of time 
for debate on a bill and all amendments thereto precludes debate on 
amendments offered 

  The motion to close five-minute debate is not in order until such 
debate has begun (V, 5225; VIII, 2567), which means after one five-
minute speech (V, 5226; VIII, 2573). The motion to strike the enacting 
clause under clause 7 of this rule is preferential to the motion to 
close debate (June 28, 1995, p. ----; July 13, 1995, p. ----). Although 
any Member may move, or request unanimous consent, to limit debate under 
the five-minute rule, the manager of the bill has priority in 
recognition for such purpose (June 19, 1984, p. 17055). The House, as 
well as the Committee of the Whole, may close five-minute debate after 
it has begun (V, 5229, 5231), but rarely exercises this right. The 
motion to close debate, while not debatable (Apr. 23, 1975, p. 11534; 
June 5, 1975, p. 17187), may be amended (V, 5227; VIII, 2578). A time 
limitation imposed by the Committee of the Whole under this clause may 
be rescinded or modified only by unanimous consent (Sept. 17, 1975, p. 
28904). While the Committee of the Whole may limit debate on amendments, 
it may not restrict the offering of amendments in contravention of a 
special order adopted by the House (June 25, 1985, p. 17201). The motion 
may be ruled out when dilatory (V, 5734).


[[Page 719]]

amendment to) the motion to strike 
remains separately debatable outside the limitation (July 20, 1995, p. 
----). Where five-minute debate has been limited to a certain number of 
minutes without reference to a time certain, the time consumed by 
reading of amendments, quorum calls, points of order and votes does not 
reduce the amount of time remaining for debate (Oct. 3, 1969, pp. 28459-
60; Nov. 9, 1971, pp. 40060-61); but where debate has been limited to a 
time certain, such activities as reading and voting obviously consume 
time otherwise allocable to Members wishing to speak (May 6, 1970, p. 
14452; Oct. 7, 1976, pp. 26305-06). Unlike time placed under a Member's 
``control,'' five-minute debate (or time derived therefrom under a 
limitation) may not be reserved or yielded in blocks except by unanimous 
consent (Mar. 2, 1976, p. 4992; May 11, 1976, p. 13416; June 14, 1977, 
p. 18833). A motion to limit debate on a pending amendment may neither 
allocate the time proposed to remain nor vary the order of recognition 
to close debate, though the Committee of the Whole may do either 
separately by unanimous consent (July 12, 1988, p. 17767). The Committee 
of the Whole may: (1) by motion, limit debate on a pending committee 
amendment in the nature of a substitute (considered as read) and on all 
amendments thereto to a time certain; and then (2) by unanimous-consent 
request or motion, separately limit debate on each perfecting amendment 
as it is offered (Mar. 16, 1983, p. 5794).
  The closing of debate on the last section of a bill does not preclude 
debate on a substitute for the whole text (V, 5228). Where there is a 
time limitation on debate on a pending amendment in the nature of a 
substitute and all amendments thereto, but not on the underlying 
original text, debate on perfecting amendments to the original text 
proceeds under the five-minute rule absent another time limitation (Apr. 
13, 1983, p. 8402). Where the time for debate on a pending amendment in 
the form of a motion to strike ``and all amendments thereto'' has been 
limited, a subsequently offered perfecting amendment considered as 
preferential to (rather than as an 

  Under a limitation on debate the Chair may, in his discretion, either: 
(1) permit continued debate under the five-minute rule; (2) divide the 
remaining time among those desiring to speak; or (3) divide the 
remaining time between a proponent and an opponent to be yielded by them 
to other Members (May 25, 1982, p. 11672). The Chair also may, in his 
discretion, give priority in recognition under a limitation to those 
Members seeking to offer amendments, over other Members standing at the 
time the limitation was agreed to (May 26, 1977, pp. 16950-52). Where 
the Committee of the Whole has limited time for debate on a bill and all 
amendments thereto to a time certain several hours away, the Chair may, 
in his discretion, continue to proceed under the five-minute rule until 
he desires to allocate remaining time on possible amendments, and may 
then divide that time among proponents of anticipated amendments and 
committee members opposing those amendments (July 16, 1981, p. 16044). 
The Chair has discretion to reallocate time to conform to the limit set 
by unanimous consent of the Committee of the Whole (Mar. 16, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 720]]

  Except as indicated in Sec. 762, supra, the manager of the bill, and 
not the proponent of the pending amendment, has the right to close 
controlled debate on an amendment (July 16, 1981, p. 16043), even where 
he is also the proponent of a pending amendment to the amendment (Mar. 
16, 1983, p. 5792).




Sec. 875. The motion to strike out the enacting words of 
a bill.

  7. A  motion to strike out the enacting words of a bill shall have 
precedence of a motion to amend, and, if carried, shall be considered 
equivalent to its rejection. Whenever a bill is reported from a 
Committee of the Whole with an adverse recommendation and such 
recommendation is disagreed to by the House, the bill shall stand 
recommitted to the said committee without further action by the House, 
but before the question of concurrence is submitted it is in order to 
entertain a motion to refer the bill to any committee, with or without 
instructions, and when the same is again reported to the House it shall 
be referred to the Committee of the Whole without debate.


  The practice of rejecting a bill by striking out the enacting words 
dates from a time as early as 1812, but the first rule on the subject 
was not adopted until 1822. By amendments in 1860, 1870, and 1880 the 
rule has been brought into its present form (V, 5326). The rule before 
1880 applied in the House as well as in Committee of the Whole. In the 
revision of 1880 for the first time it was classified among the rules 
relating to the Committee of the Whole, but there is nothing to indicate 
that this change was intended to limit the scope of the motion. It was 
probably a recognition merely of the fact that the motion was used most 
frequently in Committee of the Whole (V, 5326, 5332). The motion must be 
in writing and in the proper form (July 24, 1986, p. 17641; Aug. 15, 
1986, p. 22071; Sept. 12, 1986, p. 23178).


[[Page 721]]

to strike out the enacting words is in 
order (VII, 787); contra (IV, 3215), but after the stage of amendment 
has been passed the motion to strike out the enacting words is not in 
order (IV, 4782; VIII, 2368). Where a bill is being considered under a 
special order which permits only committee amendments and no amendments 
thereto, a motion that the committee rise and report with the 
recommendation that the enacting clause be stricken is not in order 
where no committee amendments are in fact offered (Apr. 16, 1970, p. 
12092).


Sec. 876a. Practice as to use of the motion to 
strike out the enacting clause.

  The motion  may not be made until the first 
section of the bill has been read (V, 5327; VIII, 2619). Having 
precedence of a motion to amend, it may be offered while an amendment is 
pending (V, 5328-5331; VIII, 2622, 2624, 2627). The motion takes 
precedence over the motion to amend and therefore over the motion to 
rise and report at the end of the reading of a general appropriation 
bill for amendment under clause 2(d) of rule XXI (July 24, 1986, p. 
17641). The motion also takes precedence over a motion to limit debate 
on pending amendments (June 28, 1995, p. ----; July 13, 1995, p. ----). 
Where a special order provides that a bill shall be open to amendment in 
Committee of the Whole, a motion 


  The motion is debatable as to the merits of the bill, but may not go 
beyond its provisions (V, 5336). The debate on the motion is, in 
Committee of the Whole, governed by the five-minute rule (V, 5333-5335; 
VIII, 2618, 2628-2631); only two five-minute speeches are in order (V, 
5335; VIII, 2629), and time may not be reserved (May 22, 1991, p. 
11830); thus where a Member recognized for five minutes in opposition to 
the motion yields back his time another Member may not claim the unused 
portion thereof (Mar. 3, 1988, p. 3241). Members of the committee 
managing the bill have priority in recognition for debate in opposition 
to the motion (May 5, 1988, p. 9955; June 26, 1991, p. 16436). The Chair 
will not announce in advance the Member to be recognized in opposition 
to the motion (July 17, 1996, p. ----). The motion is not debatable 
after the expiration of time for debate on the pending bill and all 
amendments thereto (July 9, 1965, p. 16280; July 19, 1973, p. 24961; 
June 19, 1975, p. 19785), but it is debatable where the limitation is 
only on an amendment in the nature of a substitute being read as an 
original bill for the purpose of amendment under a special order (June 
20, 1975, p. 19966). For more concerning debate on the motion, see 
Deschler's Precedents, vol. 5, ch. 19, sec. 12.

  A second motion on the same legislative day to strike out the enacting 
clause is not entertained in the absence of any material modification of 
the bill (VIII, 2636), but the motion may be repeated on a subsequent 
legislative day without change in the bill (May 6, 1950, p. 6571). The 
rejection of a proposed amendment to the bill does not qualify as a 
modification of the bill (June 21, 1962, p. 11369), nor does the 
adoption of an amendment to a proposed amendment to the bill. However, 
adoption of an amendment to an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
read as an original bill pursuant to a special order does qualify as a 
modification of the bill (June 20, 1975, p. 19970). A motion that is 
withdrawn by unanimous consent rather than voted on by the Committee 
does not preclude the offering of another motion on the same day without 
a material modification of the bill (May 9, 1996, p. ----).


[[Page 722]]

to lay on the table is not in order (V, 5337). The 
previous question may be moved on the motion to concur without applying 
to further action on the bill (V, 5342). When the House disagrees to the 
action of the committee in striking out the enacting words and does not 
refer it under the provisions of the rule, it goes back to the Committee 
of the Whole, where it becomes unfinished business (V, 5326, 5345, 5346; 
VIII, 2633). Notwithstanding that consideration of the pending bill was 
governed by a ``modified closed rule'' permitting only specified 
amendments, pending the concurrence of the House with a recommendation 
of the Committee of the Whole that the enacting clause be stricken, the 
House could by instructions in a motion to refer under this clause 
direct the Committee of the Whole to consider additional germane 
amendments (Apr. 14, 1994, p. ----). When the enacting words of a bill 
are stricken out the bill is rejected (V, 5326); and when the enacting 
clause of a Senate measure is stricken, the bill is rejected (V, 5326), 
and the Senate is so informed (IV, 3423; VIII, 2638; June 20, 1946, p. 
7211; Oct. 4, 1972, p. 33787).
  A point of order against the motion should be made before debate 
thereon has begun (V, 6902; VIII, 3442; May 6, 1950, p. 6571), and when 
challenged the Member offering the motion must qualify as being opposed 
to the bill (Mar. 13, 1942, p. 2439; May 6, 1950, p. 6571; June 14, 
1979, p. 14995; Jan. 26, 1995, p. ----). When a bill is reported from 
the Committee of the Whole with the recommendation that the enacting 
words be stricken out, the motion to strike out is debatable (V, 5337-
5340), but a motion 


  When, on Calendar Wednesday, the House disagrees to the recommendation 
of the Committee of the Whole that the enacting words be stricken out, 
the House automatically resolves itself into Committee of the Whole for 
its further consideration (VII, 943). When the bill is thus again taken 
up in Committee of the Whole it is taken up as unfinished business and 
is open to amendment, and the motion to strike out the enacting words 
may be again offered (VIII, 2633).


[[Page 723]]

the matter set forth in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 301(a) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. It shall not be in order in the House 
or in a Committee of the Whole to consider an amendment to a concurrent 
resolution on the budget, or any amendment to an amendment thereto, 
which changes the amount of the appropriate level of the public debt set 
forth in the concurrent resolution as reported; except that the 
amendments to achieve mathematical consistency which are permitted under 
section 305(a)(6) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 may include an 
amendment, offered by or at the direction of the Committee on the 
Budget, to adjust the amount of such level to reflect any changes made 
in the other figures contained in the resolution.



Sec. 876b. Reading concurrent resolution on budget 
for amendment.

  8. At the  conclusion of general debate in a Committee of the 
Whole on any concurrent resolution on the budget pursuant to section 
305(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the concurrent 
resolution shall be considered as having been read for amendment. It 
shall not be in order in the House or in a Committee of the Whole to 
consider an amendment to a concurrent resolution on the budget, or any 
amendment to an amendment thereto, unless the concurrent resolution as 
amended by such amendment or amendments (a) would be mathematically 
consistent (except to the extent that the amendment involved is limited 
by the third sentence of this clause); and (b) would contain all 



  The first sentence of this clause was added to the rules on January 4, 
1977 (H. Res. 5, 95th Cong., pp. 53-70). The second sentence was adopted 
in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16). In the 96th 
Congress the second sentence was amended further and the third sentence 
added by Public Law 96-78 (93 Stat. 589) and was originally intended to 
apply to concurrent resolutions on the budget for fiscal years beginning 
on or after October 1, 1980 (fiscal 1980). However, in the 96th Congress 
the provisions of that public law amending the rules of the House were 
made applicable to the third concurrent resolution on the budget for 
fiscal year 1980 as well as the first concurrent resolution on the 
budget for fiscal year 1981 (H. Res. 642, Apr. 23, 1980, pp. 8789-90).




Sec. 877. Application of rules of the House to the 
Committee of the Whole.

  9. The  rules of proceeding in the House shall be 
observed in Committees of the Whole House so far as they may be 
applicable.


  This clause was adopted in 1789 (IV, 4737).


[[Page 724]]

imous-consent requests may not be entertained in the 
Committee of the Whole: (1) to permit a perfecting amendment to be 
offered to the underlying bill where a special rule permitted its 
consideration only as a perfecting amendment to a committee amendment 
(Aug. 2, 1977, p. 26161); (2) to permit a substitute to be read by 
sections for amendment where the special rule did not so provide (Dec. 
12, 1973, p. 41153); (3) to extend the time limitation for consideration 
of amendments beyond that set by a special order requiring the Chair to 
put the question on the pending amendments at the expiration of certain 
hours of consideration (Apr. 10, 1986, p. 7079; Oct. 30, 1991, p. 
29213); (4) to restrict ``en blocking'' authority granted in a special 
order (Sept. 11, 1986, p. 22871; June 21, 1989, p. 12744); (5) to change 
the control (Oct. 9, 1986, p. 29984) or duration (Aug. 1, 1989, p. 
17143; Mar. 12, 1991, p. 5799; Mar. 17, 1993, p. ----) of general debate 
specified by the House; (6) to reduce below 15 minutes the minimum time 
for recorded votes in the Committee of the Whole (June 18, 1987, p. 
16764); (7) to postpone and cluster votes on amendments (July 13, 1995, 
p. ----; Sept. 27, 1995, p. ----); (8) to preempt the Chair's discretion 
(granted by a special order) to postpone and cluster votes or to 
schedule further consideration of a pending measure to a subsequent day 
(June 4, 1992, p. ----; July 13, 1995, p. ----); (9) to permit an 
amendment offered by another Member to an amendment rendered unamendable 
by a special order or to permit a subsequent amendment changing such 
unamendable amendment already adopted (Nov. 18, 1987, p. 32643; July 26, 
1989, p. 16411; July 24, 1996, p. ----); (10) to permit consideration of 
an amendment out of the order specified in a special rule (May 25, 1988, 
p. 12275; Oct. 3, 1990, p. 27354; Oct. 31, 1991, p. 29359; Nov. 19, 
1993, p. ----); (11) to permit consideration of an additional amendment 
or to authorize a supplemental report from the Committee on Rules in 
lieu of the original report referred to in the special order (July 28, 
1988, p. 19491; (Speaker Wright, Aug. 11, 1988, p. 22105); (12) to 
permit another to offer an amendment vested in a specified Member (May 
1, 1990, p. 9030); or (13) to permit a division of the question on an 
amendment rendered indivisible by a special order (July 16, 1996, p. ----).


Sec. 877a. Modification of special 
orders.

  Unanimous consent  requests may not be entertained in the Committee of the Whole 
by the Chair if their effect is to materially modify procedures required 
by a special rule or order adopted by the House. For example, the 
following unan-



[[Page 725]]

p. 11646; Mar. 22, 1995, p. ----; June 27, 1995, p. 
----; Nov. 2, 1995, p. ----); (6) to permit en bloc consideration of 
several amendments under a ``modified closed'' special order providing 
for the sequential consideration of designated separate amendments (Aug. 
10, 1994, p. ----); (7) to permit one of two committees controlling time 
for general debate pursuant to a special order to yield control of its 
time to the other (Aug. 18, 1994, p. ----); and (8) to permit the 
offering of pro forma amendments for the purposes of debate under a 
``modified-closed'' special order limiting both amendments and debate 
thereon (July 17, 1996, p. ----; July 24, 1996, p. ----).
  Unanimous consent requests have been entertained in Committee of the 
Whole: (1) to permit the modification of a designated amendment made in 
order by a special rule, once offered (Sept. 1, 1976, p. 28877; Nov. 19, 
1993, p. ----; July 24, 1996, p. ----); (2) to permit a page reference 
to be included in a designated amendment made in order as printed where 
the printed amendment did not include that reference (Apr. 1, 1976, p. 
9091); (3) to permit a supporter of an amendment to claim debate time 
allocated by special order to an opponent, where no opponent seeks 
recognition (May 23, 1990, p. 11988); (4) to shorten the time set by 
special order for debate on a particular amendment (Aug. 1, 1990, p. 
21510; Mar. 29, 1995, p. ----); (5) to lengthen the time set by special 
order for debate on a particular amendment under terms of control 
congruent with those set by the order of the House (May 11, 1988, p. 
10495; May 21, 1991, 





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 725-741]
[DOCID:hrmanual-84]                         
 
  By unanimous consent the House may delegate to the Committee of the 
Whole authority to entertain unanimous-consent requests to change 
procedures contained in an adopted special order (Aug. 11, 1986, p. 
20633). The Member offering an amendment in the Committee of the Whole 
pursuant to a special order of the House has the burden of proving that 
it meets the description of the amendment made in order (July 17, 1996, 
p. ----).


                                Rule XXIV.


                           order of business.



Sec. 878. The rule for the order of business in the House.

  1. The daily order of business shall be as follows:
   
First. Prayer by the Chaplain. l  Second. Reading and approval of the 
Journal, unless postponed pursuant to the provisions of clause 5(b)(1) 
of rule I.


  Third. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

  Fourth. Correction of reference of public bills.

  Fifth. Disposal of business on the Speaker's table.

  Sixth. Unfinished business.

  Seventh. The morning hour for the consideration of bills called up by 
committees.

  Eighth. Motions to go into Committee of the Whole House on the state 
of the Union.


[[Page 726]]

  Ninth. Orders of the day.

  Originally the House had no rule prescribing an order of business, but 
certain simple usages were gradually established by practice before the 
first rule on the subject was adopted in 1811. The rule was amended 
frequently in an endeavor so to arrange the business as to give the 
House as large a freedom as possible in selecting for consideration and 
completing the consideration of the bills that it deems most important. 
The basic form of the rule has been in place since 1890 (IV, 3056). The 
98th Congress made a conforming change to the second order of business 
relating to the postponement of the vote on approval of the Journal (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1983, p. 34). The 104th Congress added the present third 
order of business respecting the Pledge of Allegiance (sec. 218, H. Res. 
6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

  The Speaker does not entertain a point of no quorum before the prayer 
is offered (VI, 663). Under clause 6 of rule XV, a point of no quorum 
may not be entertained before or during the offering of prayer or unless 
a question is pending (see Sec. 774c, supra).



Sec. 879. Privileged interruptions of the order of 
business in the House.

  This rule  does not, however, bind the House to a daily 
routine, since the system of making certain important subjects 
privileged (see clause 4(a) of rule XI, clause 9 of rule XVI, and rule 
XXVIII) permits the interruption of the order of business by matters 
which, in fact, often supplant it entirely for days at a time. But on 
any day, when the order of business is interrupted by a privileged 
matter, the business in order goes on from the place of interruption 
(IV, 3070, 3071) unless the House adjourn. After an adjournment the 
House begins again at the beginning. While privileged matters may 
interrupt the order of business, they may do so only with the consent of 
a majority of the House, expressed as to appropriation bills by the vote 
on going into Committee of the Whole to consider such bills, and as to 
matters like conference reports, questions of privilege, etc., by 
raising and voting on the question of consideration. The only exceptions 
to the principle that a majority may prevent interruption is contained 
in clauses 6 and 7 of rule XXIV, providing for a call of the private 
calendar on the first Tuesday of each month and a call of committees on 
Wednesdays. By this combination of an order of business with privileged 
interruptions the House is enabled to give precedence to its most 
important business without at the same time losing the power by majority 
vote to go to any other bills on its calendars.
<>   The privileged matters which may interrupt the order of 
business are as follows: l  (1) General appropriation bills (clause 9 of 
rule XVI; IV, 3072). l  (2) Conference reports (clause 1(a) of rule 
XXVIII; V, 6443) and motions to discharge or instruct conferees (clause 
1(b) of rule XXVIII).



[[Page 727]]

  (3) Special orders reported by the Committee on Rules for 
consideration by the House (clause 4(b) of rule XI; IV, 3070-3076, 
4621).

  (4) Consideration of amendments between the Houses after disagreement 
(IV, 3149, 3150).

  (5) Questions of privilege (rule IX; III, 2521).

  (6) Privileged bills reported under the right to report at any time 
(clause 4(a) of rule XI; IV, 3142-3144, 4621; clause 5 of rule XXII).

  (7) Call of committees on Wednesdays for bills on House and Union 
Calendars (clause 7 of rule XXIV).

  (8) Private business on Tuesday (clause 6 of rule XXIV).

  (9) Motions on the second and fourth Mondays of the month to discharge 
committees on public bills and resolutions (clause 3 of rule XXVII), and 
consideration of District of Columbia business (clause 8 of rule XXIV; 
IV, 3304).

  (10) Consideration of bills on the Corrections Calendar (clause 4 of 
rule XIII), and motions to suspend the rules and pass bills out of the 
regular order (clause 1 of rule XXVII; V, 6790).

  (11) Bills coming over from a previous day with the previous question 
ordered (V, 5510-5517).

  (12) Bills returned with the objections of the President (IV, 3534-
3536).

  (13) Motions to send a bill to conference (under clause 1 of rule XX; 
Aug. 1, 1972, p. 26153).

  In addition to these matters, the House by practice permits its order 
of business to be interrupted, at the discretion of the Speaker, for the 
reception of messages (V, 6602). Addressing the House out of order by 
unanimous consent, the Speaker announced that on at least two subsequent 
days he would recognize designated Members after approval of the Journal 
to lead the House in the pledge of allegiance to the flag (Speaker 
Wright, Sept. 9, 1988, p. 23310). Requests of Members for leaves of 
absence are in practice put before the House at the time of adjournment 
(IV, 3151).


[[Page 728]]

June 23, 1992, p. ----). The Speaker, however, usually signifies his 
objection by declining to put the request of the Member, thus saving the 
time of the House. The Speaker's guidelines for recognition for 
unanimous-consent requests for consideration of unreported measures are 
issued pursuant to clause 2 of rule XIV and are discussed in Sec. 757, 
supra. The request for unanimous consent began to be used about 1832 
when the House first felt a pressure of business and the necessity of 
adhering to a fixed order (IV, 3155-3159). In 1909, by the adoption of 
clause 4 of rule XIII, a Consent Calendar was established, which was 
abolished in the 104th Congress (H. Res. 168, June 20, 1995, p. ----). 
For discussion of unanimous-consent requests and reservations of 
objections, see Procedure, ch. 23, sec. 2, and Sec. 757, supra. 
Unanimous consent for the immediate consideration of a measure in the 
House does not preclude a demand for a record vote when the Chair puts 
the question on final passage, since it merely permits consideration of 
a matter not otherwise privileged (Dec. 16, 1987, p. 35816).

<>   2. 
Business on the Speaker's table shall be disposed of as follows:    
Messages from the President shall be referred to the appropriate 
committees without debate. Reports and communications from heads of 
departments, and other communications addressed to the House, and bills, 
resolutions, and messages from the Senate may be referred to the 
appropriate committees in the same manner and with the same right of 
correction as public bills presented by Members; but House bills with 
Senate amendments which do not require consideration in a Committee of 
the Whole may be at once disposed of as the House may determine, as may 
also Senate bills substantially the same as House bills already 
favorably reported by a committee of the House, and not required to be 
considered in Committee of the Whole, be disposed of in the same manner 
on motion directed to be made by such committee.

[[Page 729]]



Sec. 881. The interruption of the order of business 
by the request for unanimous consent.

  When the  House has no rule establishing 
an order of business, as at the beginning of a session before the 
adoption of rules, it is in order for any Member who is recognized by 
the Chair to offer a proposition relating to the order of business 
without asking consent of the House (IV, 3060). But after the adoption 
of the rule for the order of business, interruptions are confined to 
matters privileged to interrupt or to cases wherein the House gives 
unanimous consent for an interruption. A request for unanimous consent 
to consider a bill is in effect a request to suspend the order of 
business temporarily (IV, 3059). Therefore any Member, including the 
Speaker, may object, or reserve the right to object and inquire, for 
example, about the reasons for the request, or demand the ``regular 
order'' (IV, 3058). Debate under a reservation of objection proceeds at 
the sufferance of the House and may not continue after a demand for the 
regular order (see, e.g., Speaker Foley, Nov. 14, 1991, p. 32128; Dec. 
15, 1995, p. ----). A Member objecting to a unanimous-consent request or 
demanding the regular order when another has reserved the right to 
object must stand to be observed by the Chair (Nov. 7, 1991, p. 30633; 


  A rule to govern disposition of business on the Speaker's table (to be 
distinguished from the table of the House, which is the Clerk's table) 
was adopted in 1832. In 1880 and 1885 efforts were made to so modify the 
rule as to prevent delays in business on the Speaker's table, but it was 
not until 1890 that the present rule was adopted (IV, 3089).


[[Page 730]]

by the committee (VI, 734, 735). The House bill must be correctly on the 
House Calendar (VI, 736). In determining whether the House bill is 
substantially the same as the Senate bill, amendments recommended by the 
House committee must be considered (VI, 734, 736). The rule applies to 
private as well as to public Senate bills (IV, 3101), and to concurrent 
resolutions as well as to bills (IV, 3097). Although a committee must 
authorize the calling up of the Senate bill (VI, 739), the actual motion 
need not be made by a member of the committee (IV, 3100). The authority 
of a committee to call up a bill must be given at a formal meeting of 
the committee (VIII, 2211, 2212, 2222).


Sec. 883. Matters on Speaker's table for action by the 
House or by the Speaker alone.

  Such  portions of messages from the Senate as 
require action by the House, all messages from the President except 
those transmitting his objections to bills (IV, 3534-3536), and all 
communications and reports from the heads of departments go to the 
Speaker's table when received, to be disposed of under this rule. Simple 
resolutions of the Senate that do not require any action by the House 
are not referred (VII, 1048). All of the President's messages and such 
portions of Senate messages as, being House bills with Senate 
amendments, do not require consideration in Committee of the Whole are 
laid before the House for action; but communications other than messages 
from the President, all portions of Senate messages requiring 
consideration in Committee of the Whole (IV, 3101), and Senate bills of 
all kinds (with the exception noted in the rule) are referred to the 
appropriate standing committees under direction of the Speaker without 
action by the House (IV, 3107, 3111; VI, 727). A House bill returned 
with Senate amendments involving a new matter of appropriation, whether 
with or without a request for a conference, may be referred directly to 
a standing committee (VI, 731), and on being reported therefrom is 
referred directly to the Committee of the Whole (IV, 3094, 3095, 3108-
3110). The usual practice, however, is to take from the Speaker's table 
and send to conference by unanimous consent (VI, 732). The Speaker's 
authority under this clause includes the discretionary authority to 
refer from the Speaker's table Senate amendments to House passed bills, 
to standing committees, under any conditions permitted under clause 5 of 
rule X for referral of introduced bills; he may for example impose a 
time limitation for consideration only of a portion of the Senate 
amendment, not germane to the original House bill, by the standing 
committee with subject-matter jurisdiction, without referring the 
remainder of the Senate amendment to the House committee with 
jurisdiction over the original House bill (Speaker O'Neill, H.R. 31, 
Mar. 26, 1981, p. 5397). The Speaker announced his policy regarding 
referral of nongermane Senate amendments to committee (Jan. 3, 1983, p. 
54; Jan. 6, 1987, p. 21); and his policy regarding recognition for 
unanimous-consent requests to dispose of Senate amendments at the 
Speaker's table (Apr. 26, 1984, p. 10194; Feb. 4, 1987, p. 2676) 
discussed in Sec. 757, supra. A Senate bill to come before the House 
directly from the table must conform to the conditions prescribed by the 
rule (IV, 3098, 3099; VI, 727, 734, 737), and must have come to the 
House after and not before the House bill ``substantially the same'' has 
been placed on the House Calendar (IV, 3096; VI, 727, 736, 738). In the 
event the House bill has passed before the Senate bill is received, the 
Senate bill may nevertheless be disposed of on motion directed 





Sec. 884. Reference of President's messages from the 
Speaker's table.

  A  message of the President on the Speaker's table is 
regularly laid before the House only at the time prescribed by the order 
of business (V, 6635-6638). While it is always read in full and entered 
on the Journal and the Congressional Record (V, 6963), the accompanying 
documents are not read on demand of a Member or entered in the Journal 
or Record (V, 5267-5271; VII, 1108). The annual message of the President 
is usually referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
the Union by the House on motion (V, 6631). In the earlier practice it 
was distributed to appropriate standing committees by resolutions 
reported from the Committee on Ways and Means (V, 6621, 6622) but since 
the first session of the 64th Congress the practice has been 
discontinued (VIII, 3350). A portion of the annual message has been 
referred directly to a select committee (V, 6628). A message other than 
an annual message is usually referred directly to a standing committee 
by direction of the Speaker (IV, 4053; VIII, 3346), but may be referred 
by the House itself on motion by a Member (V, 6631; VIII, 3348), and 
such motion is privileged (VIII, 3348). This reference may be to a 
select as well as to a standing committee (V, 6633, 6634).





Sec. 885. Unfinished business.

  3. The  consideration of the 
unfinished business in which the House may be engaged at an adjournment, 
except business in the morning hour, shall be resumed as soon as the 
business on the Speaker's table is finished, and at the same time each 
day thereafter until disposed of, and the consideration of all other 
unfinished business shall be resumed whenever the class of business to 
which it belongs shall be in order under the rules.



[[Page 731]]

satisfactory, because of delays caused by it, and in 1890 the present 
form was adopted (IV, 3112).
  The first rule relating to unfinished business was adopted in 1794. 
Changes were made in 1860 and 1880, but the rule finally became un-



Sec. 886. Construction of rule as to unfinished 
business.

  The ``business  in which the House may be engaged at an adjournment'' means, 
literally, business in the House, as distinguished from the Committee of 
the Whole; and it further means business in which the House is engaged 
in its general legislative time, as distinguished from the special 
periods set aside for classes of business, like the morning hour for 
calls of committee, Tuesdays for private bills, etc. In general, all 
business unfinished in the general legislative time goes over as 
unfinished business under the rule, but there are a few exceptions. 
Thus, a motion relating to the order of business does not recur as 
unfinished business on a succeeding day, even though the yeas and nays 
may have been ordered on it (IV, 3114). The question of consideration, 
also, when not disposed of at an adjournment, does not recur as 
unfinished business on a succeeding day (V, 4947, 4948), but may be 
again raised on a subsequent day when the matter is again called up as 
unfinished business (VIII, 2438). Where the House adjourns during the 
consideration of a report from the Committee on Rules, further 
consideration of the report becomes the unfinished business on the 
following day, and debate resumes from the point where interrupted 
(Sept. 27, 1993, p. ----; Sept. 28, 1993, p. ----). When the House 
adjourns on the second legislative day after postponement of a question 
under this clause without resuming proceedings thereon, the question 
remains the unfinished business on the next legislative day (Oct. 1, 
1997, p. ----). When the House adjourns while a motion to instruct under 
clause 1 of rule XXVIII is pending, the motion to instruct becomes 
unfinished business on the next day and does not need to be renoticed 
(Oct. 1, 1997, p. ----).



[[Page 732]]



Sec. 887. Effect of previous question.

  When the  House 
adjourns before voting on a proposition on which the previous question 
has been ordered, either directly or by the terms of a special order 
(IV, 3185), the matter comes up the next day as unfinished business (V, 
5510-5517; VIII, 2691; Aug. 2, 1989, p. 18187). If several bills come 
over in this situation, they have precedence in the order in which the 
several motions for the previous question were made (V, 5518). When the 
previous question is ordered on a bill undisposed of at adjournment on 
Friday, the bill comes up for disposition on the next legislative day 
(VIII, 2694). A bill going over from Calendar Wednesday with the 
previous question ordered on it should be disposed of on the next 
legislative day (VII, 967), but when the previous question is ordered on 
a bill undisposed of when the House adjourns Tuesday, the bill goes over 
until Thursday (VII, 890-894; VIII, 2674, 2691). A bill coming over from 
a preceding day with the previous question ordered was of equal 
privilege with business on the former Consent Calendar (VII, 990).




Sec. 888. Business unfinished in periods set apart 
for classes of business.

  The rule  excepts by its terms certain classes of 
business which are considered in periods set apart for classes of 
business, viz: l  (a) Bills considered in the morning hour and on 
Calendar Wednesday for the call of committees. l  (b) Bills in Committee 
of the Whole.


  (c) Private bills considered on Tuesdays.

  (d) District of Columbia bills.

  (e) Bills brought up under the rule setting apart days for motions to 
suspend the rules, the Corrections Calendar, motions to discharge 
committees, and bills under consideration after a committee has been 
discharged.

  A bill brought up in the morning hour and undisposed of when the call 
ceases for the day remains as unfinished business in the morning hour 
(IV, 3113, 3120), i.e., it is considered when the House next goes to a 
call of committees. Business unfinished when the Committee of the Whole 
rises remains unfinished, to be considered first in order when the House 
next goes into Committee of the Whole to consider that business (IV, 
4735, 4736). Private bills unfinished on a Tuesday go over to the next 
Tuesday, and must be considered before the motion to go into Committee 
of the Whole House to consider other private bills. But when public 
business is considered on a Tuesday the unfinished business goes over 
until the next legislative day.


  On District of Columbia day business unfinished on the preceding 
District day is in order for consideration, but does not come before the 
House unless called up (IV, 3307; VII, 879). Unless postponed under 
clause 5 of rule I, a motion to suspend the rules, which is undisposed 
of on one suspension day, goes over as unfinished business to the next 
suspension day, individual motions going over to a committee day, and 
vice versa (V, 6814-6816; VII, 1005; VIII, 3411, 3412).


[[Page 733]]

two days, it shall not be in order to call up any other bill 
until the other committees have been called in their turn.



Sec. 889. The morning hour for the call of 
committees.

  4. After the  unfinished business has been disposed of, the Speaker 
shall call each standing committee in regular order, and then select 
committees, and each committee when named may call up for consideration 
any bill reported by it on a previous day and on the House Calendar, and 
if the Speaker shall not complete the call of the Committees before the 
House passes to other business, he shall resume the next call where he 
left off, giving preference to the last bill under consideration: 
Provided, That whenever any committee shall have occupied the morning 
hour on 


  The ``morning hour'' is one of the oldest devices of the rules for 
devoting an early portion of the session to a specific class of 
business. Until 1885 it was the hour for the reception of reports from 
committees. In 1890 it was provided that reports should be filed with 
the clerk, and the morning hour was by this rule devoted to a call of 
committees for the consideration of House Calendar bills (IV, 3181). 
Since the adoption of the Calendar Wednesday rule (clause 7 of rule 
XXIV), the ``morning hour'' has been used but rarely.




Sec. 890. Procedure in the morning 
hour.

  Originally the  morning hour was a fixed period of sixty minutes (IV, 3118); but 
under the present rules (clause 4 of rule XXIV) it does not terminate 
until the call is exhausted or until the House adjourns (IV, 3119), 
unless the House on motion made at the end of sixty minutes votes to go 
into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union (clause 5 of 
rule XXIV; IV, 3134), or unless other privileged matter intervenes (IV, 
3131, 3132). Before the expiration of the sixty minutes the Speaker has 
declined to permit the call to be interrupted by a privileged report 
(IV, 3132) or by unanimous consent (IV, 3130). Where the business for 
which the call is interrupted is concluded, the call is resumed unless 
there be other interrupting business or the House adjourns (IV, 3133). A 
bill once brought up on the call continues before the House in that 
order of business until disposed of (IV, 3120), unless withdrawn by 
authority of the committee before action which puts it in possession of 
the House (IV, 3129); and may not be made a special order for a future 
day by a motion to postpone to a day certain (IV, 3164). In order to be 
called up in this order a bill must actually be on the House Calendar, 
and properly there, in order to be considered (IV, 3122-3126), and a 
bill on the Union Calendar may not be brought up on call of committees 
under this clause (VI, 753). If the authority of the committee to call 
up a bill is disputed, the Chair does not consider it his duty to decide 
the question (IV, 3127), but the Chair may base its decision on 
statements from the chairman and other members of the committee (IV, 
3128).



[[Page 734]]

by a committee, to go into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
the Union to consider a particular bill, to which motion one amendment 
only, designating another bill, may be made; and if either motion be 
determined in the negative, it shall not be in order to make either 
motion again until the disposal of the matter under consideration or 
discussion.



Sec. 891. Interruption of the call of committees by 
motion to go into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the 
Union.

  5. After  one hour shall have been devoted to the consideration of bills 
called up by committees, it shall be in order, pending consideration or 
discussion thereof, to entertain a motion to go into Committee of the 
Whole House on the state of the Union, or, when authorized 


  This portion of the rule was adopted in 1890 as part of the plan for 
enabling the House at will to go at any time to any public bill on its 
calendars (IV, 3134).




Sec. 892. Conditions of the motion to go into 
Committee of the Whole at the end of one hour.

  The words  of the rule ``one hour 
after'' have been interpreted to mean a less time in case the call of 
committees shall have exhausted itself before the expiration of one hour 
(IV, 3135); but not otherwise (IV, 3141). After the House has been in 
Committee of the Whole under this order and has risen and reported, and 
the report has been acted on by the House, other motions to go into 
committee to consider other bills are in order (IV, 3136). The motion to 
go into committee generally may be made by the individual Member (IV, 
3138), but when it is proposed to designate a particular bill he must 
have the authority of a committee (IV, 3138). The amendment to the 
motion to consider a particular bill must refer to a bill on the Union 
Calendar (IV, 3139). This order of business is used entirely for non-
privileged bills and is not used in the House for consideration of bills 
in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union if otherwise 
privileged (such as general appropriation bills, which have priority for 
consideration under clause 9 of rule XVI, and bills reported under the 
leave to report to the House at any time pursuant to clause 4(a) of rule 
XI).



[[Page 735]]

reported the bill or resolution, and no reservation of objection shall be 
entertained by the Speaker. Such bills and resolutions, if considered, 
shall be considered in the House as in the Committee of the Whole. No other 
business shall be in order on this day unless the House, by two-thirds 
vote on motion to dispense therewith, shall otherwise determine. On such 
motion debate shall be limited to five minutes for and five minutes 
against said motion.


Sec. 893. Interruption of the regular order on 
Tuesdays for consideration of the Private Calendar.

  6. On the  first Tuesday of 
each month after disposal of such business on the Speaker's table as 
requires reference only, the Speaker shall direct the Clerk to call the 
bills and resolutions on the Private Calendar. Should objection be made 
by two or more Members to the consideration of any bill or resolution so 
called, it shall be recommitted to the committee which 


  On the third Tuesday of each month after the disposal of such business 
on the Speaker's table as requires reference only, the Speaker may 
direct the Clerk to call the bills and resolutions on the Private 
Calendar, preference to be given to omnibus bills containing bills or 
resolutions which have previously been objected to on a call of the 
Private Calendar. All bills and resolutions on the Private Calendar so 
called, if considered, shall be considered in the House as in the 
Committee of the Whole. Should objection be made by two or more members 
to the consideration of any bill or resolution other than an omnibus 
bill, it shall be recommitted to the committee which reported the bill 
or resolution and no reservation of objection shall be entertained by 
the Speaker.


[[Page 736]]

  Omnibus bills shall be read for amendment by paragraph, and no 
amendment shall be in order except to strike out or to reduce amounts of 
money stated or to provide limitations. Any item or matter stricken from 
an omnibus bill shall not thereafter during the same session of Congress 
be included in any omnibus bill.

  Upon passage of any such omnibus bill, said bill shall be resolved 
into the several bills and resolutions of which it is composed, and such 
original bills and resolutions, with any amendments adopted by the 
House, shall be engrossed, where necessary, and proceedings thereon had 
as if said bills and resolutions had been passed in the House severally.


  In the consideration of any omnibus bill the proceedings as set forth 
above shall have the same force and effect as if each Senate and House 
bill or resolution therein contained or referred to were considered by 
the House as a separate and distinct bill or resolution.



Sec. 894. Tuesday as a day for private 
business.

  This  provision was adopted in the 62d Congress in lieu of special 
orders under which pension and private business formerly had been 
considered. The rule was amended on April 23, 1932 (VII, 846) and was 
adopted in its present form on March 27, 1935, pp. 4480-89, 4538. A 
Member serving as an ``official objector'' for the Private Calendar has 
periodically included in the Record an explanation of how bills on the 
Private Calendar are considered (see, e.g., Dec. 5, 1995, p. ----; June 
17, 1997, p. ----). Clause 2 of rule XXII prohibits consideration of 
certain private bills. Under clause 6(e)(2) of rule XV, the Speaker may 
in his discretion recognize a Member to move a call of the House prior 
to the call of the Private Calendar (July 8, 1987, p. 18972).




Sec. 895. Methods of considering omnibus 
bills.

  During the  consideration of omnibus bills the Chair declines to recognize 
Members for unanimous-consent requests to address the House (Speaker pro 
tempore O'Connor, May 7, 1935, p. 7100); motions to strike out the last 
word are not in order, and requests for extension of time under the 
five-minute rule are not entertained (Speaker Byrns, Mar. 17, 1936, pp. 
3890, 3894-95).



[[Page 737]]

or reducing amounts of money carried in the bill or 
to provide limitations, and debate on those permissible motions was 
under the five-minute rule. After the passage of an omnibus bill, it is 
resolved into the various private bills of which it is composed and each 
is engrossed and messaged to the Senate as if individually passed; thus 
it is possible, after passage of the omnibus bill, to lay on the table a 
private House or Senate bill which was included therein (by unanimous 
consent) (Sept. 17, 1968, pp. 27184-85).
  An omnibus private bill is normally passed over by the Clerk when the 
Private Calendar is called on the first Tuesday of the month, but the 
House may prescribe, by special order, that such omnibus bills shall be 
passed over (June 27, 1968, p. 19106). During the consideration of the 
First Omnibus Bill of 1968, seven roll calls occurred and seven of the 
15 bills carried therein were stricken by motion (Sept. 17, 1968, pp. 
27165-84). Amendments to the bill were strictly limited by the rule to 
those striking out 


  On the third Tuesday of the month, the calendar is not called unless 
the Speaker so directs (Oct. 16, 1990, p. 29646); and when he does 
direct the Clerk to call the Private Calendar, omnibus bills on the 
Calendar are called before individual bills thereon (Feb. 17, 1970, pp. 
3605-13). A motion to dispense with the call of the Private Calendar on 
the third Tuesday of each month, when the call of the Calendar is within 
the discretion of the Chair, is likewise in order in the Chair's 
discretion (although this clause only specifically provides for a motion 
to dispense with the call on the first Tuesday of each month), since no 
rule or precedent prohibits the motion and it is consistent with the 
discretionary authority of the Chair to dispense with the call of the 
entire Calendar (appeal from the Chair's ruling laid on the table) (Nov. 
17, 1981, pp. 27770-71).


[[Page 738]]

than two hours of general debate shall be permitted on any 
measure called up on Calendar Wednesday, and all debate must be confined 
to the subject matter of the bill, the time to be equally divided 
between those for and against the bill: Provided further, That whenever 
any committee shall have occupied one Wednesday it shall not be in 
order, unless the House by a two-thirds vote shall otherwise determine, 
to consider any unfinished business previously called up by such 
committee, unless the previous question had been ordered thereon, upon 
any succeeding Wednesday until the other committees have been called in 
their turn under this rule: Provided, That when, during any one session 
of a Congress, all of the committees of the House are not called under 
the Calendar Wednesday rule, at the next session of that Congress the 
call shall commence where it left off at the end of the preceding 
session.



Sec. 897. Calendar Wednesday business.

  7. On  Wednesday of 
each week no business shall be in order except as provided by clause 4 
of this rule unless the House by a two-thirds vote on motion to dispense 
therewith shall otherwise determine. On such a motion there may be 
debate not to exceed five minutes for and against. On a call of 
committees under this rule bills may be called up from either the House 
or the Union Calendar, excepting bills which are privileged under the 
rules; but bills called up from the Union Calendar shall be considered 
in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. This rule 
shall not apply during the last two weeks of the session. It shall not 
be in order for the Speaker to entertain a motion for a recess on any 
Wednesday except during the last two weeks of the session: Provided, 
That not more 




Sec. 898. Decisions on Calendar Wednesday.

  The first  portion 
of this rule was adopted March 1, 1909, and amended March 15, 1909. The 
first and second provisos were adopted January 18, 1916. The last 
proviso was adopted December 8, 1931 (VII, 881), and was amended in the 
102d Congress to specify that the alphabetical call of the committees 
under Calendar Wednesday resumes where left off between sessions within 
a Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). The rule applies to 
unprivileged bills only, and when a bill otherwise unprivileged is given 
a privileged status by unanimous consent or by rule it is automatically 
rendered ineligible for consideration on Calendar Wednesday (VII, 932-
935). House Calendar bills have no preference over Union Calendar bills 
(VII, 938). The motion to dispense with a call of committees under this 
rule is privileged and may be made prior to the consideration of 
District of Columbia business under clause 8 of this rule (June 11, 
1973, pp. 19028-30).



[[Page 739]]

when a Union Calendar bill is the unfinished business the Speaker 
declares the House in Committee of the Whole without motion (VII, 940, 
942).
  When a bill on the Union Calendar is called up on Calendar Wednesday 
the House automatically resolves itself into the Committee of the Whole 
House on the state of the Union (VII, 939; Jan. 25, 1984, p. 358), and 

  The question of consideration may be raised on a bill on the House 
Calendar on Calendar Wednesday, even after one Wednesday has been 
devoted to its consideration (VIII, 2447), and the question of 
consideration is properly raised on Union Calendar bills in the House 
before automatically going into Committee of the Whole House on the 
state of the Union (VII, 952).

  During the 61st and 62d Congresses it was held that the call of 
committees rested where the call left off on the preceding day, whether 
the last call was on a Wednesday or during the morning hour on another 
day, thus making but one committee call under the two rules. But under 
the later practice there have been two distinct calls of committees, one 
under clause 4 of rule XXIV, the morning hour, and another under clause 
7 of rule XXIV, Calendar Wednesday (VII, 944). Prior to the adoption of 
the second proviso of the rule, it was held that one committee could not 
occupy more than two Calendar Wednesdays (except for unfinished 
business) until other committees were called, notwithstanding the fact 
that the call rested on said committee (VII, 944), but the adoption of 
the second proviso of the rule has defined the status of debate and 
unfinished business more explicitly. It was formerly held that a bill 
undisposed of on Calendar Wednesday became the unfinished business on 
the following Calendar Wednesday (VII, 965), but since the adoption of 
the second proviso of the rule, one committee can occupy but one 
Calendar Wednesday for the consideration of its business (unless the 
House by two-thirds vote shall otherwise determine).

  The same rule of debate applies to House Calendar bills called up on 
Calendar Wednesday as on other days, and the Member in charge of the 
bill may move the previous question at any time (VII, 955).

  The previous question having been ordered on a bill undisposed of when 
the House adjourns Tuesday, the bill goes over as unfinished business 
until Thursday, and is not in order for consideration on Calendar 
Wednesday (VII, 890-894). The previous question having been ordered on a 
bill on Calendar Wednesday, the bill becomes the unfinished business on 
Thursday (VII, 895, 967).


[[Page 740]]

before the call of committees on Calendar Wednesday (Mar. 28, 1984, 
p. 6869). District of Columbia business is eligible for consideration 
on Calendar Wednesday (VII, 937). Once the call of committees on 
Calendar Wednesday is completed, other business may be conducted 
(VII, 921).
  It is in order to consider a vetoed bill on Calendar Wednesday, since 
such a question is privileged under the Constitution of the United 
States (VII, 912), but a bill privileged by reason of the rules of the 
House cannot be called up on Calendar Wednesday (VII, 932); for example, 
a general appropriation bill (VII, 904), or a bill under consideration 
by reason of a special order, unless the special order expressly sets 
aside Calendar Wednesday (VII, 773), or a conference report (VII, 899). 
A motion to reconsider an action taken on a bill on Tuesday may be 
entered, but may not be considered on Calendar Wednesday (VII, 905). 
Privileged bills may be reported but not considered on Calendar 
Wednesday (VII, 907), except by unanimous consent (Jan. 25, 1984, p. 
357). The Speaker has entertained a unanimous-consent request for 
business (to send a bill to conference) 

  The Committee on Rules cannot report a rule which is aimed strictly or 
directly toward setting aside Calendar Wednesday, but the committee is 
not thereby prevented from reporting a resolution couched in general 
terms which may indirectly accomplish that ultimate result, such as a 
resolution providing for six days' suspension of the rules (VIII, 2267).

  The motion to grant a committee an additional Wednesday under the 
second proviso of the Calendar Wednesday rule is in order prior to the 
Wednesday on which the committee is called (VII, 946).

  It has been held that if no Member opposed to the bill desires to 
claim the hour specified in the rule for general debate against the 
bill, the time may be claimed by some Member who is in favor of the bill 
(VII, 962), but this principle has been questioned (VII, 961).


  Clause 2(l)(1)(A) of rule XI, requiring the chairman of each committee 
to report or cause to be reported promptly measures approved by his 
committee and to take such necessary steps to bring the matter to a 
vote, is sufficient authority for the chairman to call up a bill on 
Calendar Wednesday, but any other committee member must obtain specific 
authority of his committee to call up a reported bill on Calendar 
Wednesday (IV, 3128; VII, 928, 929; Feb. 22, 1950, p. 2162; Feb. 1, 
1984, p. 1193; Sept. 12, 1984, p. 25100). Prior to the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 and the subsequent adoption of clause 
2(l)(1)(A) of rule XI, authority to call up a bill on Calendar Wednesday 
must have been given to a chairman by his committee (IV, 3127). A Member 
not authorized to do so may not call up such bill under the Calendar 
Wednesday rule (IV, 3128; VII, 928, 929).




Sec. 899. District of Columbia.

  8. The  second and fourth 
Mondays in each month, after the disposition of motions to discharge 
committees and after the disposal of such business on the Speaker's 
table as requires reference only, shall, when claimed by the Committee 
on Government Reform and Oversight, be set apart for the consideration 
of such business relating to the District of Columbia as may be 
presented by said committee.



[[Page 741]]

8 was amended to reflect that the jurisdiction of the former 
Committee on the District of Columbia had been subsumed within the 
amalgamated jurisdiction of the newly designated Committee on Government 
Reform and Oversight (sec. 202, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).
  The first rule allocating a fixed day for District of Columbia 
business was adopted in 1870. In 1890 the rule was amended (IV, 3304). 
It was again amended December 8, 1931 (VII, 872). In the 104th Congress 
clause 

  The Committee on Government Reform and Oversight may not, on a 
District day, call up a bill reported from another committee (IV, 3311). 
If certain of the committee's bills are on one of the calendars of the 
Committees of the Whole, a motion to go into committee to consider them 
is in order (IV, 3310). Bills reported from the District Committee are 
not so privileged as to prevent their being take up under call of 
committees on Wednesday (VII, 937). Business unfinished on one District 
day does not come up on the next unless called up (IV, 3307; VII, 879, 
880). The question of consideration may not be demanded against District 
business generally, but may be demanded against any bill as it is 
presented (IV, 3308, 3309).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Page 741]
[DOCID:hrmanual-85]                         
 
  On District days it is in order to go into the Committee of the Whole 
to consider revenue or general appropriation bills (VI, 716-718; VII, 
876, 1123). Consideration of conference reports is in order on District 
Monday (VIII, 3202). District of Columbia business is in order on the 
second and fourth Mondays of the month before or after other business 
(such as motions to suspend the rules), and the fact that the House has 
considered some District of Columbia business before motions to suspend 
the rules does not affect the eligibility of further such business after 
suspensions have been completed (Sept. 17, 1984, p. 25523).


                                Rule XXV.


<>   All questions relating to the priority of business 
shall be decided by a majority without debate.

                          priority of business.

  This rule was adopted in 1803 to prevent obstructive debate (IV, 
3061). The question of consideration under clause 3 of rule XVI and the 
motion that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole are 
not debatable (VIII, 2447; IV, 3062, 3063).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Page 742]
[[Page 742]]
[DOCID:hrmanual-86]                         
 
  This rule may not be invoked to establish an order of business or to 
inhibit the Speaker's power of recognition (Speaker Albert, July 31, 
1975, p. 26249). It has been held that appeals from decisions of the 
Chair as to priority of business are not debatable under this rule (V, 
6952).


                               Rule XXVI.


                   unfinished business of the session.




Sec. 901. Resumption of business of a preceding 
session.

  All business  before committees of the House at the end of one session 
shall be resumed at the commencement of the next session of the same 
Congress in the same manner as if no adjournment had taken place.


  At first the Congress attempted to follow the rule of the English 
Parliament that business unfinished in one session should begin anew at 
the next; but in 1818, after an investigation of a joint committee in 
1816, a rule was adopted that House bills remaining undetermined in the 
House should be continued at the next session after six days. This rule 
did not reach House bills sent to the Senate; but in 1848 the two Houses 
remedied this omission by a joint rule. Business referred to committees 
of the House was still subject to the old rule of Parliament; but in 
1860 the present rule was adopted as a supplement to the rule of 1818. 
In 1890, desiring to do away with the limitation of the six days and 
apparently overlooking the main purpose of the rule of 1818, the House 
rescinded that portion of this rule which dated from 1818. Also, in 1876 
the joint rules were abrogated, leaving no provision, except the 
headline of the rule, for the continuance of business not before 
committees. The practice, however, had become so well established that 
no question has ever been raised (V, 6727).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 742-753]
[DOCID:hrmanual-87]                         
 
  The business of conferences between the two Houses is not interrupted 
by an adjournment of a session which does not terminate the Congress (V, 
6260-6262), and even where one House asks a conference at one session 
the other may agree to it in the next session (V, 6286). Where bills 
were enrolled and signed by the presiding officers of the two Houses at 
the close of one session they were sent to the President and approved at 
the beginning of the next session (IV, 3486-3488).


                               Rule XXVII.


                     change or suspension of rules.


[[Page 743]]

the rules except on Mondays and Tuesdays, and during the last six days of a 
session.



Sec. 902. Motions to suspend the rules.

  1. No rule  shall be 
suspended except by a vote of two-thirds of the Members voting, a quorum 
being present; nor shall the Speaker entertain a motion to suspend 


  This rule has been built up gradually on an old rule of 1794, which 
provided that no rule should be rescinded without one day's notice. In 
1822 a clause was added that no rule should be suspended except by a 
two-thirds vote; and in 1828 it was provided that the ``order of 
business, as established by the rules,'' should not be changed except by 
a two-thirds vote. This rule marks the great purpose of the motion, 
which was to give a means of getting consideration for bills which could 
not get forward under the rule for the order of business. Originally in 
order on any day, the motion was, in 1847, restricted to Mondays of each 
week, and, in 1880, to the first and third Mondays of each month. In 
1874 the old limit of 10 days at the end of the session was reduced to 
six days. In the 93d Congress, the rule was amended to permit the 
Speaker to recognize for such motions on the first and third Mondays and 
on the Tuesdays immediately following those days and to eliminate the 
distinction between days on which committees and individuals has 
preference (H. Res. 6, Jan. 3, 1973, pp. 26, 27); and in the 95th 
Congress, the rule was amended to permit the Speaker to recognize for 
such motions on every Monday and Tuesday (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, 95th 
Cong., pp. 53-70). Originally of great use in establishing the order of 
business, when the older and more defective rules for the order of 
business existed, the use of the motion has changed since the House in 
1890 adopted rules for the order of business which enables the House on 
any day to go to any public bills on its calendars. Also about the same 
time the perfection of the process of getting bills before the House out 
of order by a majority vote through a report from the Committee on Rules 
still further diminished the importance of the motion to suspend the 
rules (V, 6790).


[[Page 744]]

vote (V, 5278-5284). While it has been 
held that the right of a Member to have read the paper on which he is 
called to vote is not changed by the fact that the procedure is by 
suspension of the rules (V, 5277; VIII, 3400), the precedents are not 
uniform in this regard, and in earlier instances the separate motion to 
suspend the rules and dispense with reading of pendings bills, 
amendments and Senate amendments was held in order (V, 5278-84). Under 
the modern practice, only the motion ``to suspend the rules and pass'' 
is itself read and is held to suspend all rules inconsistent with its 
purposes, including a rule requiring that a recess be taken (V, 5752), 
or that a quorum be present when a bill is reported from committee 
(Sept. 22, 1992, p. ----). Thus only the title of the bill is normally 
read by the Clerk, and amendments included in the motion are not 
reported separately, but the Chair may, in his discretion, where 
objection is made to that procedure, require the reading of an amendment 
which is not printed or otherwise available (July 17, 1950, pp. 10448-
49). Where a motion to suspend the rules and agree to a resolution which 
provided for concurring in a Senate amendment with an amendment 
consisting of the text of a bill introduced in the House, the Speaker 
ruled that reading of the resolution itself was sufficient and that it 
could be re-read to the House only by unanimous consent (Dec. 21, 1973, 
pp. 43251-63). It may be used also to change a rule (V, 6862), or to 
make a new rule, as was more frequently done in the earlier years of the 
House when it was the only way for making a special order except by 
unanimous consent (IV, 3152-3162). In the later practice special orders 
may still be made by motion to suspend the rules (IV, 3154); but usually 
they are made by majority vote of the House on a report from the 
Committee on Rules (IV, 3169). The motion to suspend may include a 
series of actions, as the discharge of a committee from consideration of 
a bill and the passage of it (V, 6850), the reconsideration of the vote 
passing a bill, amendment of it, and passage again (V, 6849), the 
permission to a committee to report several bills (V, 6857), an order to 
the Clerk to incorporate in the engrossment of a general appropriation 
bill a provision not otherwise in order (IV, 3845), an authorization to 
the House to entertain a specified motion to suspend the rules on a 
future day, not a suspension day (IV, 3845), a motion to take a bill (V, 
6288; VIII, 3425), or a motion to reconsider, from the table (V, 5640). 
A motion to suspend the rules may provide for the passage of a bill 
regardless of whether it has been reported or referred to any calendar 
or even previously introduced (VIII, 3421, July 16, 1996, p. ----), may 
include an amendment without the formality of committee approval (June 
22, 1992, p.  ----), and may provide for agreeing to a conference report 
which has been ruled out of order by the Speaker (Dec. 20, 1974, p. 
41860). One motion to suspend the rules having been rejected, the 
Speaker may recognize for a similar motion (Dec. 21, 1973, pp. 43270-
81).

[[Page 745]]



Sec. 903. Nature of the motion to suspend the 
rules.

  While originally  the motion was used to suspend the rule on the order of 
business in order to consider a particular bill (V, 6852, 6853), in the 
later practice it is more usual to move ``to suspend the rules and 
pass'' the bill (V, 6846, 6847), and a division of the question may not 
be demanded, either as to the two branches of the motion or as to 
distinct substantive propositions in the subject of the motion (V, 6141-
6143). The motion may not be amended (V, 5322, 5405, 6858; Dec. 21, 
1973, pp. 43251-63; June 4, 1985, pp. 13983, 13986, 13989), postponed 
(V, 5322), or laid on the table (V, 5405). The motion to reconsider may 
not be applied to a negative vote on the motion (V, 5645, 5646; VIII, 
2781; Sept. 28, 1996, p. ----), although it may be applied to an 
affirmative vote (Sept. 28, 1996, p. ----). The motion to refer may not 
be applied to the bill which it is proposed to pass under suspension of 
the rules (V, 6860). The motion to suspend the rules applied to the 
parliamentary law of Jefferson's Manual as well as to the other rules of 
the House (V, 6796), and may even be used to deny the right to have read 
a paper on which the House is to 



[[Page 746]]

or prohibiting the introduction of persons in 
the galleries (Sec. 764; VI, 197). Where a special rule requires that 
the object of a motion to suspend the rules be announced on the floor at 
least one hour prior to the Chair's entertaining the motion, unanimous 
consent is required to permit the Chair to entertain the motion prior to 
that time (Sept. 28, 1996, p. ----).


Sec. 904. Precedence of the motion to suspend the 
rules.

  In the  early practice, when the motion to suspend the rules was used 
to enable a matter to be taken up for consideration out of order, it was 
not admitted when a subject was already before the House (V, 5278, 6836, 
6837, 6852, 6853). A bill taken up under this early practice might be 
amended (V, 6842, 6856) by the House, or withdrawn by the mover, in 
which case another Member might not present it (V, 6854, 6855). In the 
later practice, where the motion includes both suspension of the rules 
and action on the subject it is admitted, although another matter be 
pending (V, 6834), although the yeas and nays may have been demanded on 
another highly privileged motion (V, 6835), or although the previous 
question may have been ordered or moved on another matter (V, 6827; see 
also Sept. 17, 1990, p. 24695; V, 6831-6833; VIII, 3418). Earlier 
rulings, however, did not, while a series of Senate amendments were 
pending, permit a motion to suspend the rules in order to permit a vote 
to be taken on the amendments in gross (V, 6828, 6830). But in the 
earlier practice, also, while a matter was pending a motion to suspend 
the rules in order to dispense with the reading otherwise required was 
admitted (V, 5278). The motion to suspend the rules has been ruled out 
of order when the House is considering a bill under a special order (V, 
6838); and when a question of high privilege under rule IX is before the 
House a motion to suspend the rules and consider another matter is not 
in order (V, 6825, 6826; VI, 553, 565). But the motion to suspend the 
rules has been held of equal privilege with the motion to instruct 
conferees after 20 days of conference, which under clause 1(c) of rule 
XXVIII is ``of the highest privilege'' (Mar. 1, 1988, pp. 2749, 2751, 
2754). A motion to suspend the rules and approve the Journal was held in 
order, although the Journal had not been read and the then highly 
privileged motion to fix the day to which the House should adjourn was 
pending (IV, 2758). While the motion is of high privilege, it may be 
superseded by a question of the privilege of the House (III, 2553; VI, 
565). Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XVI the Speaker may entertain one 
motion to adjourn pending a motion to suspend the rules, but after that 
vote shall not entertain any other motion until the vote is taken on the 
motion to suspend the rules. Moreover, in the absence of a motion to 
suspend, the ordinary motions relating to business of the House may be 
made on suspension days as on other days (IV, 3080). The motion to 
suspend the rules may be made on days other than suspension days by 
unanimous consent (V, 6795) or by adoption of a resolution reported by 
the Rules Committee. On ``suspension days'' the motion to suspend the 
rules has been admitted at the discretion of the Speaker since 1881 (V, 
6791-6794, 6845; VIII, 3402-3404), and no appeal may be taken from the 
Speaker's denial of recognition (II, 1425), and no advance notice to 
Members of bills to be called up under suspension of the rules is 
required (Mar. 20, 1978, pp. 7535-36), but the rules forbid the Speaker 
to entertain a motion to suspend the rules relating to the privilege of 
the floor (Sec. 919; V, 7283; VIII, 3634), the use of the Hall of the 
House (Sec. 918; V, 7270) 




Sec. 905. Individual and committee motions to suspend 
the rules.

  Prior to  the 93d Congress, the rule gave to individuals preference 
on the first Monday of the month for making motions to suspend the 
rules, and preference on the third Mondays for committees to make the 
motion (V, 6790). In rare instances the Speaker has called the 
committees in regular order for motions to suspend the rules, but this 
method is not required (V, 6810, 6811). In the earlier practice the 
committee motion must have been formally and specifically authorized by 
the committee (V, 6805-6807); but after the motion was seconded and 
debate had begun it was too late to raise a question as to the 
authorization (V, 6808). Under the later practice authorization by a 
committee is not required (VIII, 3410). The committee may not present a 
bill which has not been referred to it (V, 6813) and is not within its 
jurisdiction (V, 6848). A bill offered on a committee suspension day, in 
the early practice, could carry with it only such amendments as were 
authorized by a committee (V, 6812), but in the modern practice the 
formality of committee approval is not required (June 22, 1992, p. ----
). If on a committee day an individual motion was made and seconded, it 
was then too late to make a point of order (V, 6809).



[[Page 747]]

21, 1973, pp. 43251-63). Where the Chair 
allocates the time in opposition to the motion to the ranking minority 
member of the reporting committee, a challenge that that member does not 
qualify by being opposed, in order to control such time, must be made 
when the time is allocated by the Chair (May 15, 1984, p. 12215; Speaker 
Wright, June 2, 1987, p. 14223). The motion to suspend the rules may be 
withdrawn at any time before the Chair puts the question and a voice 
vote is taken thereon (July 27, 1981, p. 17563; July 16, 1996, p. ----).



Sec. 906. The second of the motion to suspend the 
rules.

  Prior to  the 102d Congress, certain motions to suspend the rules were 
required to be seconded, if demanded, by a majority by tellers, but this 
requirement was eliminated from the rule in the 102d Congress (H. Res. 
5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). This requirement for a second was adopted in 
1874, was rescinded two years later, but was again adopted in 1880. The 
object of it was to prevent consumption of the time of the House by 
forcing consideration of undesirable propositions (V, 6797). The 
requirement (formerly clause 2) was amended in the 96th Congress (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16) so that a second was not required where 
printed copies of the proposed measure were available. Copies of reports 
on bills considered under suspension are not required to be available in 
advance. The Constitutional right of a Member to demand the yeas and 
nays, or the right of a Member under clause 5(a) of rule I to demand a 
recorded vote, did not exist on the question of ordering a second under 
the former clause 2, which only permited the ordering of a second by 
tellers if a quorum was present (V, 6032-6036; VIII, 3109; Dec. 16, 
1981, p. 31851). The fact that a majority of the Members of the House 
did not pass between the tellers on the question of ordering a second 
did not conclusively show that a quorum was not present in the Chamber, 
and the Speaker could count the House to determine whether a quorum was 
actually present (Dec. 16, 1981, p. 31851). But where a quorum failed on 
the vote for a second, under clause 4 of rule XV the yeas and nays were 
ordered (IV, 3053-3055; Dec. 





Sec. 907. The forty minutes of debate on motion to 
suspend the rules.

  2. When a  motion to suspend the rules has been submitted to 
the House, it shall be in order, before the final vote is taken thereon, 
to debate the proposition to be voted upon for forty minutes, one-half 
of such time to be given to debate in favor of, and one-half to debate 
in opposition to, such proposition; and the same right of debate shall 
be allowed whenever the previous question has been ordered on any 
proposition on which there has been no debate.


  Formerly clause 3, this provision was amended and redesignated in the 
102d Congress to conform to the repeal of the former clause 2, relating 
to the requirement of a second (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). Before 
the adoption of this clause in 1880 (V, 6821) the motion to suspend the 
rules was not debatable (V, 5405, 6820). The 40 minutes of debate is 
divided between the mover and a Member opposed to the bill, unless it 
develops that the mover is opposed to the bill, in which event some 
Member in favor is recognized for debate (VIII, 3416). Where recognition 
for the 20 minutes in opposition is contested, the Speaker will accord 
priority first on the basis of true opposition, then on the basis of 
committee membership, and only then on the basis of party affiliation, 
the latter preference inuring to the minority party (VIII, 3415; Nov. 
18, 1991, p. 32510; Sept. 27, 1996, p. ----). When the mover and the 
opponent divide their time with others, the practice as to alternation 
of recognitions is not insisted on so rigidly as in other debate (II, 
1442). Debate should be confined to the object of the motion and may not 
range to the merits of a bill not scheduled for suspension on that day 
(Nov. 23, 1991, p. 34189).


[[Page 748]]

Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16). The 
paragraph was deleted entirely in the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 
1981, pp. 98-113) when all of the Speaker's postponing authorities were 
consolidated into clause 5 of rule I.
  This clause formerly included a paragraph (b) dealing with the 
Speaker's authority to postpone further proceedings on motions to 
suspend the rules and pass bills or resolutions. Paragraph (b) was added 
in the 93d Congress (H. Res. 998, Apr. 9, 1974, pp. 10195-99), amended 
in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70), and amended 
further in the 96th 




Sec. 907a. The forty minutes of debate on other 
propositions.

  The last  provision of this clause allows 40 minutes of debate 
when the previous question is ordered on a proposition on which there 
has been no debate (V, 6821; Mar. 22, 1990, p. 4996). However, any 
previous debate on the merits of the main proposition precludes the 40 
minutes (V, 5499-5502). The demand for 40 minutes of debate: must come 
before the vote is taken on the main question (V, 5496); is not 
available when the question on which the previous question is ordered is 
otherwise nondebatable, such as the motion to close debate (VIII, 2555, 
2690); is not available on an undebated amendment where the motion for 
the previous question covers both the amendment and the original 
proposition, which has been debated (V, 5504); and is not available on 
incidental motions (V, 5497-5498), on propositions previously debated in 
Committee of the Whole (V, 5505), on conference reports accompanying 
measures that were debated before being sent to conference (V, 5506-
5507), or on ancillary measures, such as a concurrent resolution to 
correct an enrolled bill (V, 5508). Debate allowed under this provision 
is equally divided and controlled between the person demanding the time 
and a Member representing the opposition (Sept. 13, 1965, pp. 23602-06; 
May 8, 1985, p. 11073). Priority in recognition for time in opposition 
is accorded to a Member truly opposed (VIII, 2689).



[[Page 749]]

vided, That a Member may not file a motion to 
discharge the Committee on Rules from consideration of a resolution 
providing for the consideration of more than one public bill or 
resolution, or admitting or effecting a nongermane amendment to a public 
bill or resolution: Provided further, That said resolution from which it 
is moved to discharge the Committee on Rules has been referred to that 
committee at least seven days prior to the filing of the motion to 
discharge. The motion shall be placed in the custody of the Clerk, who 
shall arrange some convenient place for the signature of Members. A 
signature may be withdrawn by a Member in writing at any time before the 
motion is entered on the Journal. Once a motion to discharge has been 
filed, the Clerk shall make the signatures a matter of public record. 
The Clerk shall cause the names of the Members who have signed a 
discharge motion during any week to be published in a portion of the 
Congressional Record designated for that purpose on the last legislative 
day of that week. The Clerk shall make available each day for public 
inspection in an appropriate office of the House cumulative lists of 
such names. The Clerk shall devise a means by which to make such lists 
available to offices of the House and to the public in electronic form. 
When a majority of the total membership of the House shall have signed 
the motion, it shall be entered on the Journal, printed with the 
signatures thereto in the Congressional Record, and 

[[Page 750]]

referred to the Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees.


Sec. 908. Motion to discharge a committee.

  3. A Member  may 
present to the Clerk a motion in writing to discharge a committee from 
the consideration of a public bill or resolution which has been referred 
to it thirty days prior thereto (but only one motion may be presented 
for each bill or resolution). Under this rule it shall also be in order 
for a Member to file a motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from 
further consideration of any resolution providing a special rule for the 
consideration of a public bill or resolution reported by a standing 
committee, or a special rule for the consideration of a public bill or 
resolution which has remained in a standing committee thirty or more 
days without action: Pro-


  On the second and fourth Mondays of each month except during the last 
six days of any session of Congress, immediately after the approval of 
the Journal, any Member who has signed a motion to discharge which has 
been on the calendar at least seven days prior thereto, and seeks 
recognition, shall be recognized for the purpose of calling up the 
motion, and the House shall proceed to its consideration in the manner 
herein provided without intervening motion except one motion to adjourn. 
Recognition for the motions shall be in the order in which they have 
been entered on the Journal.


[[Page 751]]

eration of such bill or resolution (such 
motion not being debatable), and such motion is hereby made of high 
privilege; and if it shall be decided in the affirmative, the bill shall 
be immediately considered under the general rules of the House, and if 
unfinished before adjournment of the day on which it is called up it 
shall remain the unfinished business until it is fully disposed of. 
Should the House by vote decide against the immediate consideration of 
such bill or resolution, it shall be referred to its proper calendar and 
be entitled to the same rights and privileges that it would have had had 
the committee to which it was referred duly reported same to the House 
for its consideration: Provided, That when any perfected motion to 
discharge a committee from the consideration of any public bill or 
resolution has once been acted upon by the House it shall not be in 
order to entertain during the same session of Congress any other motion 
for the discharge from that committee of said measure, or from any other 
committee of any other bill or resolution substantially the same, 
relating in substance to or dealing with the same subject matter, or 
from the Committee on Rules of a resolution providing a special order of 
business for the consideration of any other such bill or resolution, in 
order that such action by the House on a motion to discharge shall be 
res adjudicata for the remainder of that session: Provided further, That 
if before any one motion to discharge a committee has been acted upon by 
the House there are on the Calendar of Motions to Dis-

[[Page 752]]

charge Committees other motions to discharge committees from the 
consideration of bills or resolutions substantially the same, relating 
in substance to or dealing with the same subject matter, after the House 
shall have acted on one motion to discharge, the remaining said motions 
shall be stricken from the Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees 
and not acted on during the remainder of that session of Congress.

  When any motion under this rule shall be called up, the bill or 
resolution shall be read by title only. After twenty minutes' debate, 
one-half in favor of the proposition and one-half in opposition thereto, 
the House shall proceed to vote on the motion to discharge. If the 
motion prevails to discharge the Committee on Rules from any resolution 
pending before the committee, the House shall immediately consider such 
resolution, the Speaker not entertaining any dilatory motion except one 
motion to adjourn, and, if such resolution is adopted, the House shall 
immediately proceed to its execution. If the motion prevails to 
discharge one of the standing committees of the House from any public 
bill or resolution pending before the committee, it shall then be in 
order for any Member who signed the motion to move that the House 
proceed to the immediate consid-

  This clause was adopted December 8, 1931 and amended January 3, 1935 
(VII, 1007). It displaced a rule providing for a motion to instruct a 
committee to report a public bill or resolution. The first discharge 
rule was adopted June 17, 1910, pp. 8439, 8445. It was amended during 
the 62d Congress (Apr. 4-5, 1911, pp. 18, 80). It was further amended in 
the 62d Congress (H. Res. 407, Feb. 3, 1912, p. 1685), the 68th Congress 
(H. Res. 146, Jan. 18, 1924, p. 1143), and the 69th Congress (H. Res. 6, 
Dec. 7, 1925, p. 383). Formerly clause 4, this provision was 
redesignated in the 102d Congress to conform to the repeal of the former 
clause 2, relating to the requirement of a second; it was at the same 
time amended to enable debate on a resolution discharged from the 
Committee on Rules (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). Under the previous 
form of the rule, where the Committee on Rules was discharged from 
further consideration of a resolution the House immediately voted on 
adoption of the resolution (Speaker Rayburn, Jan. 24, 1944, pp. 631-32).

  In the 103d Congress, after a successful petition under this clause 
placed on the calendar a motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from 
further consideration of a resolution to require publication of the 
names of Members who had signed pending discharge petitions, the clause 
was so amended (H. Res. 134, Sept. 28, 1993, p. ----). In the 104th 
Congress the clause was amended to ensure the periodic publication of 
such names (sec. 219, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). Before the 103d 
Congress signatures on a motion to discharge a committee were not made 
public until the requisite number had signed the motion (VII, 1008; Apr. 
12, 1934, p. 6489). In the 105th Congress the clause was amended to 
clarify that, to be a proper object of a discharge petition, a 
resolution providing a special rule must address the consideration of 
only one measure and must not propose to admit or effect a nongermane 
amendment (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 753]]

Bankhead, Dec. 10, 1937, p. 1300). The rule does not authorize 
signature of discharge motions by proxy (VII, 1014).
  The phrase ``a majority of the total membership of the House'' was 
construed to mean 218 Members (Speaker Byrns, Apr. 15, 1936, p. 5509). 
The word ``days'' has been construed to mean ``legislative days'' 
(Speaker 

  The rule does not apply to a bill that has been reported by a 
committee during the interval between the placing of a motion to 
discharge on the calendar and the day when such motion is called up for 
action in the House (Apr. 23, 1934, p. 7156). The Committee on Rules may 
not be discharged from further consideration of a resolution providing 
for an investigating committee (Apr. 23, 1934, p. 7161).

  The death or resignation of a Member who has signed a motion does not 
invalidate his signature (May 31, 1934, p. 10159). It may be withdrawn 
by his successor (Dec. 7, 1943, p. 10388; Jan. 17, 1946, p. 96; Mar. 5, 
1946, p. 1968; July 30, 1946, pp. 10464, 10491; Mar. 2, 1948, pp. 1993, 
2001; Jan. 16, 1950, p. 436). The seven days that the motion must be on 
the calendar before it may be called up begins to run as of the day the 
motion is placed on the calendar (Dec. 14, 1937, p. 1517). A discharge 
petition in the 102d Congress received the requisite number of 
signatures on the same day it was filed (May 20, 1992, p. ----), and 
subsequently by unanimous consent the House dispensed with the motion to 
discharge and agreed to consider the object of the petition (a special 
order of business resolution) on a date certain under the same terms as 
if discharged by motion (June 4, 1992, p. ----). In the 103d Congress a 
discharge petition also received the requisite number of signatures on 
the same day it was filed (Feb. 24, 1994, p. ----).

  The right to close twenty minute debate on a motion to discharge a 
Committee is reserved to the proponents of the motion (VII, 1010a); and 
the chairman of the committee being discharged, if opposed to the 
motion, has been recognized to control the ten minutes in opposition 
(Aug. 10, 1970, p. 27999).

  Where a measure not requiring consideration in the Committee of the 
Whole House on the State of the Union is brought before the House by a 
successful motion to discharge, the Member moving its consideration is 
recognized in the House under the hour rule (Aug. 10, 1970, p. 28004).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 754-775]
[DOCID:hrmanual-88]                         

[[Page 754]]
 
  The point of order provided in clause 5(a) of rule XXI does not apply 
to an appropriation in a bill taken away from a committee by the motion 
to discharge (VII, 1019a).


                              Rule XXVIII.


                           conference reports.




Sec. 909. High privilege of conference reports; and 
form of accompanying statement.

  1. (a) The  presentation of reports of committees 
of conference shall always be in order, except when the Journal is being 
read, while the roll is being called, or the House is dividing on any 
proposition.


  The practice of giving conference reports privilege dates from 1850, 
having had its origin in a temporary rule. This practice was continued 
by rulings of the Chair until this rule was adopted in 1880 (V, 6443-
6446, 6454).


[[Page 755]]

  Under the language of the rule a conference report may be presented 
while a Member is occupying the floor in debate (V, 6451; VIII 3294), 
while a bill is being read (V, 6448), after the yeas and nays have been 
ordered (V, 6457), after the previous question has been demanded or 
ordered (V, 6449, 6450); during a call of the House if a quorum be 
present (V, 6456) and on Calendar Wednesday (VII, 907), but 
consideration of such reports yields to Calendar Wednesday business 
(VII, 899). It even takes precedence of the motion to reconsider (V, 
5605), motions to go into the Committee of the Whole for consideration 
of general appropriation bills (VIII, 3291), consideration of District 
of Columbia business on Monday (VIII, 3292), unfinished business 
(Speaker O'Neill, Oct. 4, 1978, p. 33473), and motions to adjourn (V, 
6451-6453), although as soon as the report is presented the motion to 
adjourn may be put (V, 6451-6453). Also the consideration of a 
conference report may be interrupted, even in the midst of the reading 
of the Statement, by the arrival of the hour previously fixed for a 
recess (V, 6524). While it may not be presented while the House is 
dividing, it may be presented after a vote by tellers and pending the 
question of ordering the yeas and nays (V, 6447). It also has precedence 
of a report from the Committee on Rules (V, 6449), and has been 
permitted to intervene when a special order provides that the House 
shall consider a certain bill ``until the same is disposed of'' (V, 
6454). Of course, a question of privilege which relates to the integrity 
of the House as an agency for action may not be required to yield 
precedence to a matter entitled to priority merely by the rules relating 
to the order of business (V, 6454). The question of consideration under 
clause 3 of rule XVI may be demanded against a conference report before 
points of order against the report are raised (VIII, 2439; Speaker 
Albert, Sept. 28, 1976, p. 33019). The motion to lay on the table may 
not be applied to a conference report (V, 6540).

  While the rule provides that the managers of the House asking for 
conference shall leave the papers with the managers of the other 
(Sec. Sec. 555-556, supra), if the managers on the part of the House 
agreeing to a conference surrender the papers to the House asking the 
conference, the report may be received first by the House asking the 
conference (VIII, 3330).


  For further discussion of conference reports, see provisions of 
Jefferson's Manual at Sec. Sec. 527-559, supra.




Sec. 909a. Time for debate on motions to 
instruct.

  (b) The time  allotted for debate on any motion to instruct House 
conferees shall be equally divided between the majority and minority 
parties, except that if the proponent of the motion and the Member from 
the other party are both supporters of the motion, one-third of such 
debate time shall be allotted to a Member who is opposed to said motion.



  This paragraph was added in the 101st Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 
1989, p. 72). The division of debate time specified in this clause does 
not apply to an amendment to a motion after defeat of the previous 
question thereon, and the proponent of such an amendment is recognized 
for one hour under clause 2 of rule XIV (Oct. 3, 1989, p. 22863; July 
14, 1993, p. ----; Aug. 1, 1994, p. ----). The proponent of a motion to 
instruct conferees has the right to close debate (July 28, 1994, p. ----; 
July 26, 1996, p. ----).


[[Page 756]]

motion announces to the House his 
intention to do so and the form of the motion); and, further, during the 
last six days of any sessions of Congress, it shall be a privileged 
motion to move to discharge, appoint, or instruct, House conferees after 
House conferees shall have been appointed thirty-six hours without 
having made a report.



Sec. 910. Motions privileged after 20 calendar days 
of conference.

  (c) After  House conferees on any bill or resolution in conference 
between the House and Senate shall have been appointed for twenty 
calendar days and shall have failed to make a report, it is hereby declared 
to be a motion of the highest privilege to move to discharge said House 
conferees and to appoint new conferees, or to instruct said House 
conferees (but in either case only at a time or place designated by the 
Speaker in the legislative schedule of the day after the calendar day on 
which the Member offering the 



  This clause was adopted December 8, 1931 (VIII, 3225). The notice 
requirement was added on January 3, 1989 (H. Res. 5, 101st Cong., p. 
72), and amended on January 5, 1993 (H. Res. 5, 103d Cong., p. ----) to 
clarify that both the motion to discharge conferees and appoint new 
conferees and the motion to instruct conferees after 20 days in 
conference are subject to one day's notice, and to authorize the Speaker 
to designate a time in that day's legislative schedule for the 
consideration of a noticed motion to discharge or instruct conferees. 
The motion to instruct conferees under this clause may be repeated 
notwithstanding prior disposition of an identical motion to instruct, 
since any number of proper motions to instruct are in order after 
conferees have not reported within 20 days (Speaker Albert, July 22, 
1974, pp. 24448-49; July 10, 1985, p. 18440), and the motion remains 
available when a conference report, filed after 20 or more days in 
conference, is recommitted by the first House to act thereon, since the 
conferees are not discharged and the original conference remains in 
being (June 28, 1990, p. 16156). A motion under this clause may instruct 
House conferees to insist on holding conference sessions under just and 
fair conditions, and in executive session if desirable (Aug. 1, 1935, p. 
12272), and may instruct House conferees to meet with Senate conferees 
(May 2, 1984, p. 10732). The motion to instruct conferees under this 
clause is of equal privilege with the motion to suspend the rules on a 
suspension day (Mar. 1, 1988, pp. 2749, 2751, 2754). The motion to 
adjourn is in order while a motion to instruct under this paragraph is 
pending (Sept. 30, 1997, p. ----), and, if adopted, renders the motion 
to instruct unfinished business on the next day and does not need to be 
renoticed (Oct. 1, 1997, p. ----).


[[Page 757]]

Such statement shall be sufficiently detailed and explicit to 
inform the House as to the effect which the amendments or propositions 
contained in such report will have upon the measure to which those 
amendments or propositions relate.



Sec. 911. The statement accompanying a conference 
report.

  (d) Each  report made by a committee of conference to the House shall be 
printed as a report of the House. As so printed, such report shall be 
accompanied by an explanatory statement prepared jointly by the 
conferees on the part of the House and the conferees on the part of the 
Senate. 


  The original rule requiring the submission of a statement was adopted 
in 1880 (V, 6443) and remained in effect through the 91st Congress. The 
following precedents are in interpretation of that rule, which required 
only that the statement be signed by a majority of the House managers 
(V, 6505, 6506), and did not anticipate a statement jointly prepared by 
the managers on the part of the House and those on the part of the 
Senate. The Speaker may require the statement to be in proper form (V, 
6513), but it is for the House and not the Speaker to determine whether 
or not it conforms to the rule in other respects (V, 6511, 6512). A 
report may not be received without the accompanying statement (V, 6504, 
6514, 6515). A quorum among the managers on the part of the House at a 
committee of conference is established by their signatures on the 
conference report and joint explanatory statement (Oct. 4, 1994, p. ----
).


  The rule was revised in the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 
(sec. 125(b); 84 Stat. 1140) and made a part of the standing rules of 
the House in its present form in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 
1971, p. 144).




Sec. 911a. Unfunded mandates.

  The  Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4; 109 Stat. 48 et seq.) added a new part B to 
title IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658-658g) 
that requires a committee of conference to ensure that the Director of 
that Office prepares a statement with respect to unfunded costs of any 
additional Federal mandate contained in the conference agreement. See 
Sec. 1007, infra.



[[Page 758]]

such report and statement shall have been filed; but the preceding 
provisions of this sentence do not apply during the last six days of 
the session. Nor shall it be in order to consider any conference report 
unless copies of the report and accompanying statement have been 
available to Members for at least two hours before the beginning 
of such consideration: Provided, however, That it shall always be 
in order to call up for consideration, notwithstanding the provisions 
of clause 4(b) of rule XI, a report from the Committee on Rules only 
making in order the consideration of a conference report notwithstanding 
this restriction. The time allotted for debate in the consideration of 
any such report shall be equally divided between the majority party 
and the minority party, except that if the floor manager for the 
majority and the floor manager for the minority are both supporters 
of the conference report, one third of such debate time shall be 
allotted to a Member who is opposed to said conference report.



Sec. 912a. Consideration of conference 
reports.

  2. (a) It shall  not be in order to consider the report of a committee of 
conference until the third calendar day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, 
or legal holidays except when the House is in session on such a day) 
after such report and the accompanying statement shall have been filed 
in the House, and such consideration then shall be in order only if such 
report and accompanying statement shall have been printed in the daily 
edition of the Congressional Record for the day on which 


  The original rule requiring that conference reports be printed in the 
Record was adopted in 1902 (V, 6516). The three-day layover requirement 
in paragraph (a), as well as its provisions relating to the availability 
of copies of the conference report and the division of time for debate, 
were added by section 125(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 
1970 and made part of the rules in the 92d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 
1971, p. 144). The first sentence was amended again the next year to 
clarify the manner of counting the three days for the layover period (H. 
Res. 1153, Oct. 13, 1972, p. 36023). In the 104th Congress it was 
amended once more to count as a ``calendar day'' any day on which the 
House is in session (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 759]]

mittee on Rules waiving that requirement. For an 
example of a resolution reported from the Committee on Rules only 
waiving the availability requirement of this clause and called up the 
same day reported without a two-thirds vote, see August 10, 1984 (p. 
23978).
  The second sentence in paragraph (a) was amended, and its third 
sentence added, in the 94th Congress (Feb. 26, 1976, p. 4625) to require 
copies of conference reports to be available for two hours before 
consideration and to allow for the immediate consideration of a 
resolution from the Com-

  When managers report that they have been unable to agree, the report 
is not acted on by the House (V, 6562; VIII, 3329; Aug. 23, 1957, p. 
15816).

  Paragraph (a) was amended in the 99th Congress to provide that if both 
the floor manager for the majority and the floor manager for the 
minority support a conference report, the hour of debate thereon be 
divided three ways among the managers and a Member who is opposed (H. 
Res. 7, Jan. 3, 1985, p. 393). Recognition of one Member in opposition 
does not depend upon party affiliation and is within the discretion of 
the Speaker (Dec. 11, 1985, p. 36069; Dec. 16, 1985, p. 36716; Oct. 15, 
1986, p. 31631), who accords priority in recognition to a member of the 
conference committee (Speaker Wright, Dec. 21, 1987, pp. 37093, 37516). 
The Chair will assume that the minority manager supports a conference 
report if the manager signed the report and is not immediately present 
to claim the contrary (Oct. 12, 1995, p. ----). Where the time is 
divided three ways, the right to close debate falls to the majority 
manager calling up the conference report, preceded by the minority 
manager, preceded in turn by the Member in opposition--i.e., the reverse 
order of the recognition to begin debate (Aug. 4, 1989, p. 19301).


  Following rejection of a conference report on a point of order, debate 
on a motion to dispose of the Senate amendment remaining in disagreement 
is evenly divided between the majority and minority under the rationale 
contained in clause 2(b) (Speaker Albert, Sept. 30, 1976, pp. 34074-
34100).


[[Page 760]]

report and accompanying statement shall have been printed in the daily 
edition of the Congressional Record for the day on which such report and 
statement shall have been filed; but the preceding provisions of this 
sentence do not apply during the last six days of the session. Nor shall 
it be in order to consider any such amendment unless copies of the 
report and accompanying statement, together with the text of such 
amendment, have been available to Members for at least two hours before 
the beginning of such consideration: Provided, however, That it shall 
always be in order to call up for consideration, notwithstanding the 
provisions of clause 4(b) of rule XI, a report from the Committee on 
Rules only making in order the consideration of such an amendment 
notwithstanding this restriction. The time allotted for debate on any 
such amendment shall be equally divided between the majority party and 
the minority party, except that if the floor manager for the majority 
and the floor manager for the minority are both supporters of the 
original motion offered by the floor manager for the majority to dispose 
of the amendment, one third of such debate time shall be allotted to a 
Member who is opposed to said motion.



Sec. 912b. Consideration of amendments in 
disagreement.

  (b)(1) It  shall not be in order to consider any amendment 
(including an amendment in the nature of a substitute) proposed by the 
Senate to any measure reported in disagreement between the two Houses, 
by a report of a committee of conference that the committee has been 
unable to agree, until the third calendar day (excluding Saturdays, 
Sundays, or legal holidays except when the House is in session on such a 
day) after such report and accompanying statement shall have been filed 
in the House, and such consideration then shall be in order only if such 



[[Page 761]]

(H. Res. 868, Feb. 26, 1976, p. 4625). In the 104th Congress 
the first sentence was amended to count as a ``calendar day'' any day on 
which the House is in session (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. ----).
  Paragraph (b)(1), relating to the consideration of amendments reported 
from conference in disagreement, was added to the rule as paragraph (b) 
in 1972 (H. Res. 1153, Oct. 13, 1972, p. 36023) and became effective at 
the end of the 92d Congress. In the 94th Congress the second sentence 
was amended and the third sentence was added to require copies of 
amendments reported from conference in disagreement to be available for 
two hours before consideration and to allow for the immediate 
consideration of a resolution from the Committee on Rules waiving that 
requirement 

  Paragraph (b) was amended in the 99th Congress to provide that if both 
the floor manager for the majority and the floor manager for the 
minority support the original motion offered to dispose of an amendment 
reported from conference in disagreement, the hour of debate thereon be 
divided three ways, among the managers and a Member who is opposed (H. 
Res. 7, Jan. 3, 1985, p. 393). Recognition of one Member in opposition 
does not depend upon party affiliation and is within the discretion of 
the Speaker (Dec. 11, 1985, p. 36069; Dec. 16, 1985, p. 36716; Oct. 15, 
1986, p. 31631), who accords priority in recognition to a member of the 
conference committee (Speaker Wright, Dec. 21, 1987, pp. 37093, 37516). 
The right to close the debate where the time is divided three ways falls 
to the manager offering the motion (Nov. 21, 1989, p. 30814).

  The custom has developed, however, of equally dividing between 
majority and minority parties the time on all motions to dispose of 
amendments emerging from conference in disagreement, whether reported in 
disagreement or before the House upon rejection of a conference report 
by a vote or on a point of order (Speaker Albert, Sept. 27, 1976, pp. 
32719-26; Sept. 30, 1976, pp. 34074-34100), upon rejection of an initial 
motion to dispose of the amendment (July 2, 1980, pp. 18357-59; Aug. 6, 
1993, p. ----), on a motion to concur in a new Senate amendment where 
the Senate had receded with an amendment from one of its amendments 
reported from conference in disagreement (Mar. 24, 1983, p. 7301), or on 
a motion to dispose of a further stage of amendment which is 
subsequently before the House (Aug. 1, 1985, p. 22561; Dec. 19, 1985, p. 
38360). A Member offering a preferential motion does not thereby control 
one-half of the time, as all debate is allotted under the original 
motion (May 14, 1975, p. 14385), subject to a possible three-way split 
among the majority and minority managers and a Member opposed to the 
motion (Sept. 12, 1994, p. ----). The minority Member in charge controls 
30 minutes for debate only and can only yield to other Members for 
debate (Dec. 4, 1975, p. 38716). Where time for debate on such a motion 
is equally divided, the previous question may not be moved by the Member 
first recognized so as to prevent the Member from the other party from 
controlling half the debate and from offering a proper preferential 
motion to dispose of the Senate amendment (July 2, 1980, p. 18360).

  The division of time for debate on a motion to dispose of a Senate 
amendment reported from conference in disagreement under clause 2(b)(1) 
does not extend to separate debate on an amendment thereto, which is 
governed by clause 2 of rule XIV, the general hour rule in the House 
(Sept. 17, 1992, p. ----).


[[Page 762]]

  Until the adoption of paragraph (b), a report in total disagreement 
was not printed in the Record before the amendment in disagreement was 
again taken up in the House (VIII, 3299, 3332).




Sec. 912c. Certain motions to insist as 
preferential.

  (2) During  consideration of such an amendment to a general 
appropriation bill, if the original motion offered by the floor manager 
proposes to change existing law, then pending such original motion and 
before debate thereon one motion to insist on disagreement to the 
amendment proposed by the Senate shall be preferential to any other 
motion to dispose of that amendment if offered by the chairman of a 
committee having jurisdiction of the subject matter of the amendment or 
by a designee. Such a preferential motion shall be separately debatable 
for one hour equally divided between its proponent and the proponent of 
the original motion. The previous question shall be considered as 
ordered on such a preferential motion to its adoption without 
intervening motion.



  Paragraph (b)(2) was added in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 
1993, p. ----) to make preferential and separately debatable a motion to 
insist on disagreement to a Senate amendment to a general appropriation 
bill, if: (1) the Senate amendment has been reported from conference in 
disagreement; (2) the original motion to dispose of the Senate amendment 
proposes to change existing law; and (3) the motion to insist is timely 
offered by the chairman of a committee of jurisdiction or a designee. 
The Committee on Post Office and Civil Service (now the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight) has jurisdiction under clause 1 of rule 
X over the subject of a Senate legislative amendment entitling Forest 
Service employees to separation pay, enabling the chairman of that 
committee to offer a preferential motion to insist under this clause 
(Oct. 20, 1993, p. ----).


[[Page 763]]



Sec. 912d. Certain conference reports considered as 
read.

  (c) Any  conference report and Senate amendment in disagreement which has 
been available as provided in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this clause 
shall be considered as having been read when called up for 
consideration.



  Paragraph (c) was added in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 
1979, pp. 7-16).




Sec. 913a. Conferees may report germane 
modification of amendment in nature of substitute.

  3. Whenever a  disagreement to an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute has been committed to a 
conference committee it shall be in order for the Managers on the part 
of the House to propose a substitute which is a germane modification of 
the matter in disagreement, but the introduction of any language in that 
substitute presenting a specific additional topic, question, issue, or 
proposition not committed to the conference committee by either House 
shall not constitute a germane modification of the matter in 
disagreement. Moreover, their report shall not include matter not 
committed to the conference committee by either House, nor shall their 
report include a modification of any specific topic, question, issue, or 
proposition committed to the conference committee by either or both 
Houses if that modification is beyond the scope of that specific topic, 
question, issue, or proposition as so committed to the conference 
committee.



[[Page 764]]

House managers do 
not exceed their authority under this rule by including in the report 
the amount authorized by one House for the first year and the other 
House for the subsequent year, even though the total authorization 
resulting from this compromise exceeds that possible under either 
version (June 8, 1972, pp. 20281-82). Where a House version authorized 
endowment payments for certain colleges and the Senate version conferred 
land-grant college status on those institutions and contained a higher 
endowment figure, House conferees remained within their authority under 
this clause by accepting the Senate provision on land-grant status and 
the lower House figure for endowment payments (Speaker Albert, June 8, 
1972, pp. 20280-81). Where the House version of a bill contained 
provisions for local funding of merit schools, but neither version 
contained a provision for State funding, a motion to recommit to 
conference with instructions to provide State funding for merit schools 
was held to exceed the scope of the differences committed to conference 
(Sept. 30, 1992, p. ----).
  This provision is derived from section 135(a) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812) and originally was made a part 
of the standing rules on January 3, 1953 (p. 24). The clause was revised 
on January 22, 1971 (p. 144) following the passage of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1140) which carried a similar 
provision in section 125(b). Where one House strikes out of a bill of 
the other all after the enacting clause and inserts a new text, House 
managers, under the restrictions of this clause, may not agree to the 
deletion of certain language committed to conference if the effect of 
such deletion results in broadening the scope of the matter in 
disagreement (Dec. 14, 1971, pp. 46779-80). Where one House authorizes 
certain funds for a fiscal year and the other House authorizes a lesser 
amount for that year as well as additional funds for the subsequent 
year, and neither version contains an overall amount, 

  While the scope of differences committed to conference--where one 
House has amended an existing law and the other House has implicitly 
taken the position of existing law by remaining silent on the subject--
may properly be measured between those issues presented in the amending 
language and comparable provisions of existing law, the inclusion in a 
conference report of new matter not specifically contained in the 
amending version and not demonstrably contained in existing law may be 
ruled out as an additional issue not committed to conference in 
violation of this clause (Speaker Albert, Dec. 20, 1974, pp. 41849-50). 
Thus where one House has amended an existing law and the other House has 
implicitly taken the position of existing law by only authorizing sums 
for the purpose of existing law, the scope of differences committed to 
conference may be measured between issues presented in the amending 
language and relevant provisions of the existing law; but the inclusion 
in a conference report of requirements and issues incorporated into 
existing law which were not contained in either version and which are 
not repetitive of existing law may be ruled out in violation of this 
paragraph (Speaker O'Neill, Oct. 14, 1977, pp. 33770-73).


[[Page 765]]

position of the other House) 
(Speaker Albert, July 29, 1975, p. 25515) and may confer broader 
authority on an official than that contained in one House's version if 
such authority is co-extensive with the authority contained in existing 
law which the other House has retained (Speaker pro tempore McFall, Apr. 
13, 1976, p. 10803). Where the Senate version authorized citizen suits 
to enforce existing law except where Federal officials were pursuing 
enforcement proceedings and the House version, with no comparable 
provision, retained existing law which did not permit such suits, the 
conferees exceeded the scope of the differences by further prohibiting 
citizen suits where State officials were pursuing enforcement 
proceedings--a new exception allowing State pre-emption of citizen suits 
(Speaker pro tempore McFall, Sept. 27, 1976, p. 33019). A point of order 
was sustained against a motion to instruct conferees since directing the 
conferees to agree to matter violating this clause: the House bill 
created an energy trust fund composed of certain revenues to be 
distributed by subsequent legislation; the Senate amendment created a 
similar trust fund with suggested but not mandated distribution, and the 
motion directed House conferees to insist on a mandatory allocation of 
revenues in question among specified purposes, some of which were not 
addressed in the Senate amendment (Feb. 28, 1980, pp. 4304-05).
  A mere change in phraseology in a conference report (from language in 
either the House or Senate version) may be permitted to achieve 
legislative consistency where it is not shown that its effect is to 
broaden the scope of the language beyond the differences committed to 
conference, as where the report waives provisions of law for all 
programs in the bill and the House version waives those provisions for 
one section of the bill only (the Senate having no comparable provision) 
but the scope of programs covered by the report was co-extensive with 
those in the designated section of the House version (Speaker Albert, 
May 1, 1975, p. 12752). The conferees may include language clarifying 
and limiting the duties imposed on an official by one House's version 
where that modification does not expand the authority conferred in that 
version or contained in existing law (the 


[[Page 766]]

do not incorporate additional topics, issues, or propositions not 
committed to conference (Speaker Albert, Sept. 28, 1976, pp. 33020-23).

  Prior to the 1971 revision of this clause, where one House struck out 
of a bill of the other all after the enacting clause and inserted a new 
text, conferees could discard language occurring both in the bill and 
substitute (VIII, 3266) and exercise broad discretion in incorporating 
germane amendments (VIII, 3263-3265), even to the extent of reporting a 
new bill germane to the subject (V, 6421, 6423, 6424; VIII, 3248). But 
the present language of the rule prohibits the inclusion in a conference 
report or in a motion to instruct House conferees of additional topics 
not committed to conference by either House or beyond the scope of the 
differences committed to conference, and the precedents predating the 
adoption of this clause in 1971 must be read in light of the explicit 
restrictions now contained in the clause (Speaker pro tempore McFall, 
Sept. 27, 1976, pp. 32719-20); a conference report may not include a new 
topic or issue that, although germane, was not committed to conference 
by either House (Mar. 25, 1992, p. ----; Apr. 9, 1992, p. ----). For 
example, a motion to instruct conferees on a general appropriation bill 
may not instruct the conferees to include a funding limitation not 
contained in the House bill or Senate amendment (Sept. 13, 1994, p. ----
). Similarly, a motion to recommit a conference report may not instruct 
conferees to expand definitions to include classes not covered under the 
House bill or Senate amendment (Sept. 29, 1994, p. ----) or to include 
provisions not contained in the House bill or Senate amendment (Dec. 21, 
1995, p. ----). Some latitude, however, remains to House managers to 
eliminate specific words or phrases contained in either version and add 
words or phrases not included in either version so long as they remain 
within the scope of the differences committed to conference and 



Sec. 913b. Nongermane matter in conference 
agreements.

  4. (a) With  respect to any report of a committee of conference called 
up before the House containing any matter which would be in violation of 
the provisions of clause 7 of rule XVI if such matter had been offered 
as an amendment in the House, and which--


          (1) is contained in any Senate amendment to that measure 
(including a Senate amendment in the nature of a substitute for the text 
of that measure as passed by the House) accepted by the House conferees 
or agreed to by the conference committee with modification; or

          (2) is contained in any substitute agreed to by the conference 
committee;
it shall be in order, at any time after the reading of the report has 
been completed or dispensed with and before the reading of the 
statement, or immediately upon consideration of a conference report if 
clause 2(c) of this rule applies, to make a point of order that such 
nongermane matter, as described above, which shall be specified in the 
point of order, is contained in the report. For the purposes of this 
clause, matter which--

          (A) is contained in any substitute agreed to by the conference 
committee;


[[Page 767]]

          (B) is not proposed by the House to be included in the measure 
concerned as passed by the House; and

          (C) would be in violation of clause 7 of rule XVI if such 
matter had been offered in the House as an amendment to the provisions 
of that measure as so proposed in the form passed by the House;
shall be considered in violation of such clause 7.

  (b) If such point of order is sustained, it then shall be in order for 
the Chair to entertain a motion, which is of high privilege, that the 
House reject the nongermane matter covered by the point of order. It 
shall be in order to debate such motion for forty minutes, one-half of 
such time to be given to debate in favor of, and one-half in opposition 
to, the motion.

  (c) Notwithstanding the final disposition of any point of order made 
under paragraph (a), or of any motion to reject made pursuant to a point 
of order under paragraph (b), of this clause, it shall be in order to 
make further points of order on the ground stated in such paragraph (a), 
and motions to reject pursuant thereto under such paragraph (b), with 
respect to other nongermane matter in the report of the committee of 
conference not covered by any previous point of order which has been 
sustained.

  (d) If any such motion to reject has been adopted, after final 
disposition of all points of order and motions to reject under the 
preceding provisions of this clause, the conference report shall be 
considered as rejected and the question then pending before the House 
shall be--


[[Page 768]]

which shall consist of that portion of the conference 
report not rejected; or
          (1) whether to recede and concur in the Senate amendment with 
an amendment 


          (2) if the last sentence of paragraph (a) of this clause 
applies, whether to insist further on the House amendment.
If all such motions to reject are defeated, then, after the allocation 
of time for debate on the conference report as provided in clause 2(a) 
of this rule, it shall be in order to move the previous question on the 
adoption of the conference report.

  The last sentence of clause 4(a) was added and clause 4(d) was amended 
on April 9, 1974 (H. Res. 998, 93d Cong., pp. 10195-99), to become 
effective on the thirtieth day after the adoption of the resolution, in 
order to make this clause applicable to provisions originally contained 
in Senate bills sent to conference, and not merely to Senate amendments 
to House bills in conference. The original clause 4 was included as part 
of the revision of rules XX and XXVIII that took place effective at the 
end of the 92d Congress (H. Res. 1153, Oct. 13, 1972, p. 36023). The 
same resolution repealed the existing clause 3 of rule XX, which had 
been enacted as part of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 to 
restrict the authority of House conferees to agree without prior 
permission of the House to Senate amendments that would violate clause 7 
of rule XVI if offered in the House. The clause was further amended in 
the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16) to provide that 
if the conference report is considered read under clause 2(c) of this 
rule, a point of order under this clause must be made immediately upon 
consideration of the conference report.

  The procedure provided in this clause was first utilized on September 
11, 1973 (pp. 29243-46), when the Chair sustained two points of order 
against portions of a conference report which were modifications of 
portions of a Senate amendment in the nature of a substitute not germane 
to a House bill. If any motion to reject is adopted under this clause 
and the matter then pending before the House consists of numbered Senate 
amendments in disagreement, the pending question is whether to dispose 
of each Senate amendment not rejected as recommended in the conference 
report and to insist on disagreement to those amendments which have been 
rejected.


[[Page 769]]

p. 40671). The Member representing the conference committee in 
opposition to a motion to reject under this clause, and not the 
proponent of the motion, has the right to close debate thereon (Oct. 15, 
1986, p. 31502).
  Under paragraph (b) of this clause where a point of order against a 
portion of a conference report has been sustained under this clause, the 
Speaker will not entertain another point of order against the report or 
against another portion thereof until a motion to reject the portion 
held nongermane (if made) has been disposed of (Speaker Albert, Dec. 15, 
1975, 

  Once a motion to reject a nongermane portion has been adopted by the 
House and the Speaker has recognized a Member to offer a motion 
comprising the pending question under this clause, the report is 
rejected and it is too late to make a point of order against the entire 
conference report under clause 3 of this rule (Speaker Albert, Dec. 15, 
1975, p. 40671).


  Where possible, the Speaker rules on points of order against 
conference reports which if sustained will vitiate the entire conference 
report (as under clause 3 of this rule or under the Congressional Budget 
Act) before entertaining points of order under this clause (Speaker 
Albert, Sept. 23, 1976, pp. 32099-32100).



Sec. 913c. Nongermane matter in amendments in 
disagreement.

  5. (a)(1) With  respect to any amendment (including an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute) which--


          (A) is proposed by the Senate to any measure and thereafter--

              (i) is reported in disagreement between the two Houses by 
a committee of conference; or

              (ii) is before the House, the stage of disagreement having 
been reached; and


[[Page 770]]

          (B) contains any matter which would be in violation of the 
provisions of clause 7 of rule XVI if such matter had been offered as an 
amendment in the House;
it shall be in order, immediately after a motion is offered that the 
House recede from its disagreement to such amendment proposed by the 
Senate and concur therein and before debate is commenced on such motion, 
to make a point of order that such nongermane matter, as described 
above, which shall be specified in the point of order, is contained in 
such amendment proposed by the Senate.

  (2) If such point of order is sustained, it then shall be in order for 
the Chair to entertain a motion, which is of high privilege, that the 
House reject the nongermane matter covered by the point of order. It 
shall be in order to debate such motion for forty minutes, one-half of 
such time to be given to debate in favor of, and one-half in opposition 
to, the motion.

  (3) Notwithstanding the final disposition of any point of order made 
under subparagraph (1), or of any motion to reject made pursuant to a 
point of order under subparagraph (2), of this paragraph, it shall be in 
order to make further points of order on the ground stated in such 
subparagraph (1), and motions to reject pursuant thereto under such 
subparagraph (2), with respect to other nongermane matter in the 
amendment proposed by the Senate not covered by any previous point of 
order which has been sustained.

  (4) If any such motion to reject has been adopted, after final 
disposition of all points of order and motions to reject under the 
preceding provisions of this clause, the motion to recede and concur 
shall be considered as rejected, and further motions--


[[Page 771]]

on the floor when such motion is offered and is under consideration);
          (A) to recede and concur in the Senate amendment with an 
amendment, where appropriate (but the offering of which is not in order 
unless copies of the language of the Senate amendment, as proposed to be 
amended by such motion, are then available 

          (B) to insist upon disagreement to the Senate amendment and 
request a further conference with the Senate; and

          (C) to insist upon disagreement to the Senate amendment;
shall remain of high privilege for consideration by the House. If all 
such motions to reject are defeated, then, after the allocation of time 
for debate on the motion to recede and concur as provided in clause 2(b) 
of this rule, it shall be in order to move the previous question on such 
motion.

  (b)(1) With respect to any such amendment proposed by the Senate as 
described in paragraph (a) of this clause, it shall not be in order to 
offer any motion that the House recede from its disagreement to such 
Senate amendment and concur therein with an amendment, unless copies of 
the language of the Senate amendment, as proposed to be amended by such 
motion, are then available on the floor when such motion is offered and 
is under consideration.


[[Page 772]]

amended by such motion, copies of which are then available on the floor.
  (2) Immediately after any such motion is offered and is in order and 
before debate is commenced on such motion, it shall be in order to make 
a point of order that nongermane matter, as described in subparagraph 
(1) of paragraph (a) of this clause, which shall be specified in the 
point of order, is contained in the language of the Senate amendment, as 
proposed to be 

  (3) If such point of order is sustained, it then shall be in order for 
the Chair to entertain a motion, which is of high privilege, that the 
House reject the nongermane matter covered by the point of order. It 
shall be in order to debate such motion for forty minutes, one-half of 
such time to be given to debate in favor of, and one-half in opposition 
to, the motion.

  (4) Notwithstanding the final disposition of any point of order under 
subparagraph (2), or of any motion to reject made pursuant to a point of 
order under subparagraph (3), of this paragraph, it shall be in order to 
make further points of order on the ground stated in subparagraph (1) of 
paragraph (a) of this clause, and motions to reject pursuant thereto 
under subparagraph (3) of this paragraph, with respect to other 
nongermane matter in the language of the Senate amendment, as proposed 
to be amended by the motion described in subparagraph (1) of this 
paragraph, not covered by any previous point of order which has been 
sustained.

  (5) If any such motion to reject has been adopted, after final 
disposition of all points of order and motions to reject under the 
preceding provisions of this paragraph, the motion to recede and concur 
in the Senate amendment with an amendment shall be considered as 
rejected, and further motions--


[[Page 773]]

propriate (but the offering of which is not in order 
unless copies of the language of the Senate amendment, as proposed to be 
amended by such motion, are then available on the floor when such motion 
is offered and is under consideration);
          (A) to recede and concur in the Senate amendment with an 
amendment, where ap-

          (B) to insist upon disagreement to the Senate amendment and 
request a further conference with the Senate; and

          (C) to insist upon disagreement to the Senate amendment;
shall remain of high privilege for consideration by the House. If all 
such motions to reject are defeated, then, after the allocation of time 
for debate on the motion to recede and concur in the Senate amendment 
with an amendment as provided in clause 2(b) of this rule, it shall be 
in order to move the previous question on such motion.


[[Page 774]]

  (c) If, on a division of a motion that the House recede and concur, 
with or without amendment, from its disagreement to any such Senate 
amendment as described in paragraph (a)(1) of this clause, the House 
agrees to recede, then, before debate is commenced on concurring in such 
Senate amendment, or on concurring therein with an amendment, it shall 
be in order to make and dispose of points of order and motions to reject 
with respect to such Senate amendment in accordance with applicable 
provisions of this clause and to effect final determination of these 
matters in accordance with such provisions.


  This clause was added on April 9, 1974 (H. Res. 998, 93d Cong., pp. 
10195-99) which deleted from clause 1 of rule XX and transferred to this 
clause the procedures concerning disposition of Senate non-germane 
amendments. Clause 5(b) was first utilized on July 31, 1974, p. 26083, 
when the Chair sustained a point of order against a portion of a motion 
to recede and concur in a Senate amendment (reported from conference in 
disagreement) with a further amendment, on the ground that that portion 
of the Senate amendment contained in the motion was not germane to the 
House-passed measure, and a motion rejecting that portion of the motion 
to recede and concur with an amendment was offered and defeated. Clause 
5(b) is not applicable to a provision contained in a motion to recede 
and concur with an amendment which was not contained in any form in the 
Senate version and which is not therefore a modification of the Senate 
provision, the only requirement in such circumstances being that the 
motion as a whole be germane to the Senate amendment as a whole under 
clause 7 of rule XVI (Speaker pro tempore Kazen, Oct. 4, 1978, p. 33502; 
June 30, 1987, p. 18294). A point of order under clause 5(a) of rule XXI 
(appropriations on a legislative bill) against a motion to dispose of a 
Senate amendment in disagreement which, if sustained, would vitiate the 
entire motion, must be disposed of prior to a point of order under this 
clause which, if sustained, would merely permit a separate vote on 
rejection of that portion of the motion (Oct. 1, 1980, pp. 28638-42).



Sec. 913d. Open conference meetings.

  6. (a) Each  conference 
committee meeting between the House and Senate shall be open to the 
public except when the House, in open session, has determined by a 
rollcall vote of a majority of those Members voting that all or part of 
the meeting shall be closed to the public.


  (b)(1) After the reading of the report and before the reading of the 
joint statement, or immediately upon consideration of a conference 
report if clause 2(c) of this rule applies, a point of order may be made 
that the committee of conference making the report to the House has 
failed to comply with paragraph (a) of this clause.


[[Page 775]]

upon its amendment(s) or upon disagreement to the amendment(s) 
of the Senate, as the case may be, and to have requested a further 
conference with the Senate, and the Speaker shall be authorized to 
appoint new conferees without intervening motion.

  (2) If such point of order is sustained, the conference report shall 
be considered as rejected, the House shall be considered to have 
insisted 

  This clause as originally added to rule XXVIII on January 14, 1975 (H. 
Res. 5, 94th Cong., p. 20) provided that conference committee meetings 
be open except where a majority of the managers of the House or Senate 
voted to close the meeting, and provided that the clause not become 
effective until the Senate adopted a similar rule. The Senate adopted an 
identical rule on November 5, 1975, p. 35203. The clause was 
substantially changed on January 4, 1977 (H. Res. 5, 95th Cong., pp. 53-
70) to require that conference meetings be open except where the House 
by rollcall vote determines that a meeting may be closed, to allow a 
point of order against a conference report where the conferees have 
violated this clause, and to provide for subsequent disposition of the 
matter reported from conference should such a point of order be 
sustained, and was further amended in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
5, 1979, pp. 7-16) to provide that if the conference report is 
considered read under clause 2(c) of this rule, a point of order under 
this clause must be made immediately upon consideration of the 
conference report.

  At any time after a bill has been sent to conference and conferees 
have been appointed by the Speaker, a motion pursuant to this clause 
authorizing a conference committee to close its meetings to the public 
is privileged for consideration in the House, is debatable for one hour 
within the control of the Member offering the motion, and must be voted 
on by a rollcall vote (Speaker O'Neill, May 23, 1977, pp. 15880-84; Apr. 
13, 1978, p. 10128). While the Chair does not normally look behind 
signatures of conferees to determine the propriety of conference 
procedure, if proposed conferees have signed a conference report before 
they have been formally appointed in both Houses and do not meet 
formally in open session after such appointment, the conference report 
is subject to a point of order under this clause resulting in an 
automatic request for a further conference (Dec. 20, 1982, p. 32896). 
Although a motion to close a conference committee meeting ``to the 
public'' would, under the precedents (see V, 6254, fn.), exclude Members 
who were not conferees, a motion may be offered as privileged under this 
clause to authorize a conference committee to close its meetings to the 
public, except to Members of Congress (Speaker O'Neill, May 23, 1977, 
pp. 15880-84).





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[DOCID:hrmanual-89]                         

[[Page 776]]
 
  Clause 11 of rule XLVIII, adopted on July 14, 1977 (H. Res. 658, pp. 
22932-49), provides that this paragraph does not apply to conference 
committee meetings respecting legislation (or any part thereof) reported 
from the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.


                               Rule XXIX.


                             secret session.




Sec. 914. Secret session of the 
House.

  Whenever confidential  communications are received from the President of the United 
States, or whenever the Speaker or any Member shall inform the House 
that he has communications which he believes ought to be kept secret for 
the present, the House shall be cleared of all persons except the 
Members and officers thereof, and so continue during the reading of such 
communications, the debates and proceedings thereon, unless otherwise 
ordered by the House.


  This rule, in a somewhat different form, was adopted in 1792, although 
secret sessions had been held by the House before that date. They 
continued to be held at times with considerable frequency until 1830. In 
1880, at the time of the general revision of the rules, the House 
concluded to retain the rule, although it had been long in disuse (V, 
7247; VI, 434).

  The two Houses have legislated in secret session, transmitting their 
messages also in secrecy (V, 7250); but the House has declined to be 
bound to secrecy by act of the Senate (V, 7249). Motions to remove the 
injunction of secrecy should be made with closed doors (V, 7254). In 
1843 a confidential message from the President was referred without 
reading; but no motion was made for a secret session (V, 7255).

  The House and not the Committee of the Whole determines whether the 
Committee may sit in executive session, and an inquiry relative to 
whether the Committee of the Whole should sit in secret session is 
properly addressed to the Speaker and not to the Chairman of the 
Committee of the Whole (May 9, 1950, p. 6746; June 6, 1978, p. 16376; 
June 20, 1979, pp. 15710-11). A Member seeking to offer the motion that 
the House resolve itself into secret session must qualify, as provided 
by the rule, by asserting that the Member has a secret communication to 
make to the House (June 6, 1978, p. 16376).


[[Page 777]]

of the secret session that the galleries would be cleared 
of all persons, that the Chamber would be cleared of all persons except 
Members and those officers and employees specified by the Speaker whose 
attendance was essential to the functioning of the secret session, who 
would be required to sign an oath of secrecy, and that all proceedings 
in the secret session must be kept secret until otherwise ordered by the 
House (June 20, 1979, pp. 15711-13). Where the House has concluded a 
secret session and has not voted to release the transcripts of that 
session, the injunction of secrecy remains and the Speaker may 
informally refer the transcripts to appropriate committees for their 
evaluation and report to the House as to ultimate disposition to be made 
(June 20, 1979, pp. 15711-13).
  On June 20, 1979, the House adopted by voice vote a motion that the 
House resolve itself into secret session pursuant to this rule (the 
first such occasion since 1830), where the Member offering the motion 
had ensured the Speaker that he had confidential communications to make 
to the House as required by the rule (Speaker pro tempore Wright, pp. 
15711-13). The Speaker pro tempore announced on that occasion before the 
commencement 

  The following procedures apply during a secret session. The motion for 
a secret session is not debatable. The Member who offers the motion may 
be recognized for one hour of debate after the House resolves into 
secret session, and the normal rules of debate, including the principle 
that no motions would be in order unless he yields for that purpose, 
apply. The Speaker having found that a Member has qualified to make the 
motion for a secret session, having confidential communications to make, 
no point of order lies that the material in question must be submitted 
to the Members to make that determination (the motion for a secret 
session having been adopted by the House). No point of order lies in 
secret session that employees designated by the Speaker as essential to 
the proceedings, who have signed an oath of secrecy, may not be present. 
A motion in secret session to make public the proceedings therein is 
debatable for one hour, within narrow limits of relevancy. At the 
conclusion of debate in secret session, a Member may be recognized to 
offer a motion that the session be dissolved (July 17, 1979, pp. 19057-
59).

  The House conducted another secret session in the 96th Congress to 
receive confidential communications consisting of classified information 
in the possession of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Permanent 
Select Committee on Intelligence, which those committees had authorized 
to be used in a secret session of the House if ordered; on that occasion 
the Speaker overruled a point of order against the motion for a secret 
session since the Speaker must rely on the assurance of a Member that he 
has confidential communications to make to the House, and since the 
Speaker was aware that the committee with possession of the materials 
had authorized those materials to be used in a secret session (Feb. 25, 
1980, pp. 3618-19). Another secret session was held in the 98th Congress 
pending consideration of a bill amending the Intelligence Authorization 
Act to prohibit U.S. support for military or paramilitary operations in 
Nicaragua (July 19, 1983, p. 19776).





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[DOCID:hrmanual-90]                         

[[Page 778]]
 
  The House may subsequently by unanimous consent order printed in the 
Congressional Record proceedings in secret session, with appropriate 
deletions and revisions agreeable to the Committees to which the secret 
transcript has been referred for review (July 17, 1979, p. 19049).


                                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. When the use of an exhibit in debate is objected to 
under this rule, the Chair immediately puts the question on whether use 
of the exhibit shall be permitted (unless determining a breach of 
decorum under clause 2 of rule I) (Nov. 1, 1995, p. ----; Nov. 10, 1995, 
p. ----; July 31, 1996, p. ----, ----). The Chair puts the question 
without debate, and without requiring the objecting Member to state the 
basis for the objection (Nov. 10, 1995, p. ----). As such, an objection 
under this rule is not a point of order: it may be resolved by 
withdrawal of the exhibit; that failing, it amounts to a demand that the 
Chair put to the House the question whether the exhibit may be used 
(July 31, 1996, p. ----). It is not a proper parliamentary inquiry to 
ask the Chair to judge the accuracy of the content of an exhibit (Nov. 
10, 1995, p. ----). The Chair has held that a second virtually 
consecutive invocation of rule XXX, resulting in a second pair of votes 
on use of a chart and on reconsideration thereof, was not dilatory under 
clause 10 of rule XVI or clause 4(b) of rule XI (July 31, 1996, p. ----
).


[[Page 779]]

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).


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 presented facts and conclusions but no legislative proposition, 
it was 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 


  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.





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[DOCID:hrmanual-91]                         
 


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 Sec. Sec. 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).



                               Rule XXXI.


                           hall of the house.


[[Page 780]]

of its Members, except upon occasions where the 
House by resolution agrees to take part in any ceremonies to be observed 
therein; and the Speaker shall not entertain a motion for the suspension 
of this rule.



Sec. 918. Use of the Hall of the House.

  The Hall  of the 
House shall be used only for the legislative business of the House and 
for the caucus meetings 






[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[DOCID:hrmanual-92]                         
 
  Rules relating to the use of the Hall were adopted as early as 1804. 
The present form of the rule dates from 1880 (V, 7270). It was 
renumbered January 3, 1953, p. 24.


                               Rule XXXII.


                       of admission to the floor.


[[Page 781]]

subject to the provisions of clause 3 
of this rule; and clerks of committees when business from their 
committee is under consideration and not more than one person from a 
Member's staff when that Member has an amendment under consideration, 
subject to the provisions of clause 4 of this rule; and one attorney to 
accompany any Member who is the respondent in an investigation 
undertaken by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct when the 
recommendation of such committee is under consideration; and it shall 
not be in order for the Speaker to entertain a request for the 
suspension of this rule or to present from the chair the request of any 
Member for unanimous consent.



Sec. 919. Persons and officials admitted to the 
floor during sessions of the House.

  1. The persons  hereinafter named, and none other, 
shall be admitted to the Hall of the House or rooms leading thereto, 
viz: The President and Vice President of the United States and their 
private secretaries, judges of the Supreme Court, Members of Congress 
and Members-elect, contestants in election cases during the pendency of 
their cases in the House, the Secretary and Sergeant-at-Arms of the 
Senate, heads of departments, foreign ministers, governors of States, 
the Architect of the Capitol, the Librarian of Congress and his 
assistant in charge of the Law Library, the Resident Commissioner to the 
United States from Puerto Rico, each Delegate to the House, such persons 
as have, by name, received the thanks of Congress, the Parliamentarian, 
elected officers and elected minority employees of the House (other than 
Members); and ex-Members of the House of Representatives, former 
Parliamentarians of the House, and former elected officers and elected 
minority employees of the House, 


  This rule was subjected to many changes from 1802 until 1880 (V, 7823; 
VIII, 3634), was renumbered in the 83d Congress (Jan. 3, 1953, p. 24), 
and was substantially amended in the 94th Congress (H. Res. 1435, Oct. 
1, 1976, pp. 35175-80). The latter amendment to the rule changed clause 
1 and added clause 3 to clarify the conditions under which former 
Members, officers and employees were entitled to admission to the floor. 
Clause 1 was amended by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 to permit floor 
privileges for one attorney for a Member-respondent during consideration 
of a disciplinary resolution (P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 1989).

  The portion of this clause which permits clerks of committees access 
to the floor during the consideration of business from their committee 
has been interpreted by the Speaker to allow four professional staff 
members and one clerk on the floor at one time (Speaker Albert, June 8, 
1972, p. 20318; Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 26, 1977, p. 2333). The 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, section 503(3) (84 Stat. 1140, 
1202; 2 U.S.C. 281b(3)) also allows two staff members of the Legislative 
Counsel access to the floor to assist the committee.


[[Page 782]]

adoption of this same resolution (H. Res. 1153, 92d Cong.) but had in 
fact, by custom, been permitted on the floor prior to this change in 
the rule.
  The rule was amended in the 92d Congress to include the Delegate from 
the District of Columbia among those having the privilege of the floor 
(H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144), and later in that same Congress was 
again revised to permit all Delegates to enjoy the privilege (H. Res. 
1153, Oct. 13, 1972, pp. 36021-23). The latter revision was necessary 
because of the enactment of Public Law 92-271, which created the 
positions of Delegate from Guam and Delegate from the Virgin Islands. 
Officers and elected employees, both present and former, were given 
floor privileges by the 

  The portion of the rule forbidding the Speaker to entertain requests 
for suspension of the rule applies also to the Chairman of the Committee 
of the Whole (V, 7285). ``Heads of departments'' means members of the 
President's Cabinet, and not subordinate executive officers, and 
``foreign ministers'' means ministers from foreign governments only. 
``Governors of States'' does not include governors of Territories (V, 
7283; VIII, 3634).


  An alleged violation of the rule relating to admission to the floor 
presents a question of privilege (III, 2624, 2625; VI, 579), but not a 
higher question of privilege than an election case (III, 2626). In one 
case where an ex-Member was abusing the privilege, he was excluded by 
direction of the Speaker (V, 7288), but in another case the Speaker 
declared it a matter for the House and not the Chair to consider (V, 
7286). In one case an alleged abuse was inquired into by a select 
committee (V, 7287). Former Members of the House do not have the 
privilege of the Hall of the House nor rooms leading thereto when they 
are personally interested in legislation being considered or who are in 
the employ of an organization that is interested in legislation before 
the Congress (Speaker Rayburn, Oct. 2, 1945, p. 9251). While former 
Members of Congress are entitled to the privilege of the floor they may 
not manifest approval or disapproval of the proceedings (VIII, 3635). 
The Speaker announced his intention to strictly enforce the rule to 
prevent a proliferation of committee and other staff on the floor (Aug. 
22, 1974, p. 30027; Jan. 19, 1981, p. 402; Jan. 25, 1983, p. 224). The 
Speaker announced that committee staff would be required to display 
staff badges on the floor in exchange for identification cards prior to 
admission to the floor (Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 21, 1986, p. 5; Jan. 5, 
1993, p. ----). It is not in order to refer to persons temporarily on 
the floor of the House as guests of the House, such as Members' children 
(Apr. 28, 1994, p. ----; Dec. 19, 1995, p. ----; Jan. 22, 1996, p. ----
), other children (May 18, 1995, p. ----), or Senators exercising floor 
privileges (May 18, 1995, p. ----).


[[Page 783]]

quest of Members, by card or in writing, may be admitted.



Sec. 920. Admission to the floor when the House 
is not sitting.

  2. There shall  be excluded at all times from the Hall of the House of 
Representatives and the cloakrooms all persons not entitled to the 
privilege of the floor during the session, except that until fifteen 
minutes of the hour of the meeting of the House persons employed in its 
service, accredited members of the press entitled to admission to the 
press gallery, and other persons on re-



  This clause was adopted in 1902 (V, 7346).




Sec. 921a. Former Members and officers.

  3. Ex-Members of  the 
House of Representatives, former Parliamentarians of the House, and 
former elected officers and former elected minority employees of the 
House, shall be entitled to the privilege of admission to the Hall of 
the House and rooms leading thereto only if they do not have any direct 
personal or pecuniary interest in any legislative measure pending before 
the House or reported by any committee of the House and only if they are 
not in the employ of, or do not represent, any party or organization for 
the purpose of influencing, directly or indirectly, the passage, defeat 
or amendment of any legislative measure pending before the House, 
reported by any committee of the House or under consideration in any of 
its committees or subcommittees. The Speaker shall promulgate such 
regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this rule 
and to ensure its enforcement.



[[Page 784]]

mittee or subcommittee (Speaker pro tempore Brademas, June 7, 1978, 
p. 16625). The essence of the rule is the former Member's status as 
one with a personal or pecuniary interest and not whether the former 
Member may have a present intent to lobby (Speaker Foley, June 9, 1994, 
p. ----). Intent to lobby will be assumed where the former Member is 
employed or retained as a lobbyist to influence legislative measures 
as described in (2) above (Aug. 1, 1996, p. ----). The Speaker has 
emphasized that the rule applies not only to the floor but also to 
``rooms leading thereto,'' and has construed the latter phrase to 
include the Speaker's Lobby and the cloakrooms (Speaker Gingrich, 
May 24, 1995, p. ----; Aug. 1, 1996, p. ----).
  This clause was added in the 94th Congress (H. Res. 1435, Oct. 1, 
1976, pp. 35175-80) to consolidate in one clause and to clarify the 
restrictions on admittance to the floor of former Members, officers and 
employees and to give the Speaker the power to promulgate regulations to 
enforce the rule. Pursuant to this authority, the Speaker issued 
regulations addressing former Members (Jan. 6, 1977, p. 321; June 7, 
1978, p. 16625; Speaker Foley, June 9, 1994, p. ----; Speaker Gingrich, 
May 24, 1995, p. ----; Speaker Gingrich, Aug. 1, 1996, p. ----). A 
former Member is not entitled to the privileges of the floor under this 
clause if he (1) has a direct personal or pecuniary interest in 
legislation under consideration in the House or reported by any 
committee, or (2) represents any party or organization for the purpose 
of influencing the disposition of legislation pending before the House, 
reported by any committee or under consideration in any com-


  A former Member must observe the rules of proper decorum while on the 
floor; and the Chair may direct the Sergeant at Arms to assist the Chair 
in maintaining such decorum (Sept. 17, 1997, p. ----). In the 105th 
Congress the House adopted a resolution offered as a question of the 
privileges of the House alleging indecorous behavior of a former Member 
and instructing the Sergeant-at-Arms to ban the former Member from the 
floor, and rooms leading thereto, until the resolution of a contested 
election to which he was party (H. Res. 233, Sept. 18, 1997, p. ----).




Sec. 921b. Members' staff.

  4. Persons from  Member's staffs 
admitted to the Hall of the House or rooms leading thereto under clause 
1 shall be admitted only upon prior notification to the Speaker. No such 
person or clerk of a committee so admitted under clause 1 shall engage 
in efforts in the Hall of the House or rooms leading thereto to 
influence Members with regard to the legislation being amended. Such 
persons and clerks shall remain at the desk and are admitted only to 
advise the Member or committee responsible for their admission. Any such 
person or clerk who violates this clause may be excluded during the 
session from the Hall of the House and rooms leading thereto by the 
Speaker.



[[Page 785]]

26, 1977 (p. 2333). In the 97th Congress, the 
Speaker announced that personal staff of Members did not have the 
privilege of the floor and that committee staff, permitted on the floor 
when business from their committees is under consideration, were 
required to remain unobtrusively by the committee tables (Aug. 18, 1982, 
p. 21934). Staff permitted on the floor under clause 4 are not permitted 
to pass out literature or otherwise attempt to influence Members in 
their votes (Aug. 1, 1990, p. 21519; Sept. 27, 1995, p. ----) and may 
not applaud during debate (June 14, 1995, p. ----).

  This clause of the rule was added in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, 
Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70) to extend the privilege of the floor to one 
person from the staff of a Member who has an amendment under 
consideration, but not of a measure's sponsor or during special order 
speeches. The Speaker promulgated regulations for the implementation of 
this clause on January 




Sec. 921c. Prohibition on distribution of campaign 
contributions.

  5. No  Member, officer, or employee of the House of 
Representatives, or any other person entitled to admission to the Hall 
of the House or rooms leading thereto by this rule, shall knowingly 
distribute any political campaign contribution in the Hall of the House 
or rooms leading thereto.






[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 785-786]
[DOCID:hrmanual-93]                         
 
  Clause 5 was added in the 105th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. 
----).


                              Rule XXXIII.


                     of admission to the galleries.


[[Page 786]]

tors, and no other person shall be admitted to this 
section.



Sec. 922. The various galleries and admission 
thereto.

  The Speaker  shall set aside a portion of the west gallery for the use of 
the President of the United States, the members of his Cabinet, justices 
of the Supreme Court, foreign ministers and suites, and the members of 
their respective families, and shall also set aside another portion of 
the same gallery for the accommodation of persons to be admitted on the 
card of Members. The southerly half of the east gallery shall be 
assigned exclusively for the use of the families of Members of Congress, 
in which the Speaker shall control one bench, and on request of a Member 
the Speaker shall issue a card of admission to his family, which shall 
include their visi-


  This rule was adopted in 1880 (V, 7302). It was renumbered January 3, 
1953, p. 24.





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 786-796]
[DOCID:hrmanual-94]                         
 
  On special occasions the House sometimes makes a special rule for 
admission to the galleries (V, 7303), as on the occasion of the 
electoral count (III, 1961), of an address by the President, and of 
public funerals.


                               Rule XXXIV.


                      official and other reporters.




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, 
subject to the direction and control of the Speaker.


  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:



[[Page 787]]

  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).

  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 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.

  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.


[[Page 788]]

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.
  8. Thirty-day limit.--The Public Printer shall not publish in the 
Congressional Record any speech or extension of remarks which has been 
withheld 

  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.

  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.


[[Page 789]]

cerpts 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.

  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) Ex-

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


            congressional record''--effective august 12, 1986

  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 words. Statements exceeding this will be printed 
following the business of the day.

  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.


[[Page 790]]

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.
  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 


  7. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XIV of the Rules of the House, the 
Congressional Record shall be a substantially verbatim account of 
remarks made during the proceedings of the House, subject only to 
technical, grammatical, and typographical corrections authorized by the 
Member making the remarks involved. Unparliamentary remarks may be 
deleted only by permission or order of the House. Consistent with rule 9 
of the Joint Committee on Printing Rules, any revision shall consist 
only of technical, grammatical, or typographical corrections of the 
original copy and shall not include deletions of correct material, 
substitutions for correct material, or additions of new subject matter. 
By obtaining unanimous consent to revise and extend, a Member will be 
able to relax the otherwise strict prohibition contained in clause 9 of 
rule XIV only in two respects: (1) to revise by technical, grammatical, 
and typographical corrections; and (2) to extend remarks in a 
distinctive type style to follow the remarks actually uttered. In no 
event would the actually uttered remarks be removable.



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 strictly to the requirement of 
rule 7 of the supplemental rules (Mar. 2, 1988, p. 2963; Feb. 3, 1993, 
p. ----; Jan. 3, 1996, 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. --
--).



[[Page 791]]

  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).




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 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).



[[Page 792]]

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. 37124). 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. ----).
  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. 37124). 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 

  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).



[[Page 793]]

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 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 colloquy with another Member 
(sec. 18.9). Mere 

  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).



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

  The traditional  practice to allow a Member, with 
the approval of the House and under conditions set forth by the Joint 
Committee on Printing, to revise his remarks before publication in the 
Congressional Record (V, 6971, 7024; VIII, 3500) should be interpreted 
in light of clause 9 of rule XIV and rule 7 of the supplemental rules of 
the Joint Committee on Printing, which require the Record to be a 
substantially verbatim account of remarks made during House proceedings 
(see Sec. Sec. 764a, 764b, 924, supra). In any event, a Member 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), and 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, the House corrected the 
Record (V, 6973).



[[Page 794]]

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; Dec. 15, 1995, p. ----). 
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 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. ----; Sept. 27, 1996, 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 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.


[[Page 795]]

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.
  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 


  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 796]]



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 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.



  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).




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 
control 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.






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[Page 797]
[[Page 797]]
[DOCID:hrmanual-95]                         
 
  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.


                               Rule XXXV.


                            pay of witnesses.




Sec. 931. Fees of witnesses before the House or 
committees.

  The rule  for paying witnesses to appear before the House or any of 
its committees shall be as follows: For each day a witness shall attend, 
the same per diem rate as established, authorized, and regulated by the 
Committee on House Oversight for Members and employees of the House, and 
actual expenses of travel in coming to or going from the place of 
examination; but no per diem shall be paid when a witness has been 
summoned at the place of examination.






[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[DOCID:hrmanual-96]                         

[Pages 797-801]
 
  This rule was adopted in 1872, with amendments in 1880 (III, 1825), 
1930 (VI, 393), April 19, 1955, p. 4722, August 12, 1969, p. 23355 (H. 
Res. 495, 91st Cong.), and July 28, 1975, p. 25258 (H. Res. 517, 94th 
Cong.). The last amendment eliminated the specific per diem and travel 
rate of reimbursement and allowed actual travel costs and per diem for 
witnesses requested or subpoenaed to appear at the same rate as 
established by the Committee on House Oversight for Members and 
employees. In the 104th Congress it was amended to reflect the new name 
of the Committee on House Oversight (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 
1995, p. ----). For further provisions relating to witnesses, see 
clauses 2(j) and (k) of rule XI (Sec. Sec. 711 and 712, supra).


                               Rule XXXVI.


    preservation and availability of noncurrent records of the house.


[[Page 798]]



Sec. 932. Duties of Clerk and committees as to 
custody of papers before committees.

  1. (a) At the  end of each Congress, the 
chairman of each committee of the House shall transfer to the Clerk any 
noncurrent records of such committee, including the subcommittees 
thereof.


  (b) At the end of each Congress, each officer of the House elected 
pursuant to rule II shall transfer to the Clerk any noncurrent records 
made or acquired in the course of the duties of such officer.

  2. The Clerk shall deliver the records transferred pursuant to clause 
1 of the rule, together with any other noncurrent records of the House, 
to the Archivist of the United States for preservation at the National 
Archives and Records Administration. Records so delivered are the 
permanent property of the House and remain subject to this rule and the 
orders of the House.

  3. (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of the clause, clause 4 of this rule, 
and orders of the House, the Clerk shall authorize the Archivist of the 
United States to make available for public use the records delivered to 
the Archivist under clause 2 of this rule.

  (b)(1) Any record that the House or a committee of the House (or a 
subcommittee thereof) makes available for public use before such record 
is delivered to the Archivist under clause 2 of this rule shall be made 
available immediately.


[[Page 799]]

able if such record has been in existence for 50 years.
  (2) Any investigative record that contains personal data relating to a 
specific living individual (the disclosure of which would be an 
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy), any administrative record 
with respect to personnel, and any record with respect to a hearing 
closed pursuant to clause 2(g)(2) of rule XI shall be avail-

  (3) Any record for which a time, schedule, or condition for 
availability is specified by order of the House shall be made available 
in accordance with that order. Except as otherwise provided by order of 
the House, any record of a committee for which a time, schedule, or 
condition for availability is specified by order of the committee 
(entered during the Congress in which the record is made or acquired by 
the committee) shall be made available in accordance with the order of 
the committee.

  (4) Any record (other than a record referred to in subparagraph (1), 
(2), or (3) of this paragraph) shall be made available if such record 
has been in existence for 30 years.

  4. (a) A record shall not be made available for public use under 
clause 3 of this rule if the Clerk determines that such availability 
would be detrimental to the public interest or inconsistent with the 
rights and privileges of the House. The Clerk shall notify in writing 
the chairman and the ranking minority party member of the Committee on 
House Oversight of any determination under the preceding sentence.

  (b) A determination of the Clerk under paragraph (a) is subject to 
later order of the House and, in the case of a record of a committee, 
later order of the committee.


[[Page 800]]

closure of any record if such disclosure is 
prohibited by law or executive order of the President.
  5. (a) This rule does not supersede rule XLVIII or rule L and does not 
authorize the public dis-

  (b) The Committee on House Oversight may prescribe guidelines and 
regulations governing the applicability and implementation of this rule.

  (c) A committee may withdraw from the National Archives and Records 
Administration any record of the committee delivered to the Archivist of 
the United States under this rule. Such withdrawal shall be on a 
temporary basis and for official use of the committee.

  6. As used in the rule the term ``record'' means any official, 
permanent record of the House, including--

          (a) with respect to a committee of the House, an official, 
permanent record of the committee (including any record of a 
legislative, oversight, or other activity of such committee or 
subcommittee thereof); and


          (b) with respect to an officer of the House elected pursuant 
to rule II, an official, permanent record made or acquired in the course 
of the duties of such officer. Such term does not include a record of an 
individual Member of the House.

  The predecessor to this provision was adopted in 1880 (V, 7260). The 
rule was renumbered in the 83d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1953, p. 
24), and was rewritten entirely in the 101st Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
3, 1989, p. 73) to incorporate the provisions of H. Res. 419 as reported 
from the Committee on Rules in the 100th Congress (H. Rept. 100-1054). 
In the 104th Congress it was amended to reflect the new name of the 
Committee on House Oversight (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 
----).


[[Page 801]]

of the standing rules January 3, 1953 (p. 24) and amended January 
22, 1971 (p. 144). The Clerk of the House has historically been 
authorized to permit the Administrator of General Services to make 
available for use certain records of the House transferred to the 
National Archives (H. Res. 288, June 16, 1953, p. 6641). In the 99th 
Congress the reference was changed from the General Services 
Administration to the National Archives and Records Administration (H. 
Res. 114, Oct. 14, 1986, p. 30821).
  Clause 2 of the former provision stemmed from section 140(a) of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812) and was made a part 





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Page 801]
[DOCID:hrmanual-97]                         
 
  Under rule XXXVI, an order of the House is required for the release of 
noncurrent records of the House (Mar. 22, 1991, p. 7549).


                              Rule XXXVII.


                          withdrawal of papers.




Sec. 933. Custody of papers in the files of the 
House.

  No memorial  or other paper presented to the House shall be withdrawn from 
its files without its leave, and if withdrawn therefrom certified copies 
thereof shall be left in the office of the Clerk; but when an act may 
pass for the settlement of a claim, the Clerk is authorized to transmit 
to the officer in charge with the settlement thereof the papers on file 
in his office relating to such claim, or may loan temporarily to an 
officer or bureau of the executive departments any papers on file in his 
office relating to any matter pending before such officer or bureau, 
taking proper receipt therefor.


  This rule was adopted in 1873 and amended in 1880 (V, 7256). It was 
renumbered January 3, 1953, p. 24.

  The House usually allows the withdrawal of papers only in cases where 
there has been no adverse report. As the rules for the order of business 
give no place to the motion to withdraw, it is made by unanimous consent 
(V, 7259). The House formerly adopted a privileged resolution at the 
beginning of each Congress authorizing the Clerk to furnish certified 
copies of certain types of House papers subpoenaed by courts upon 
determination of relevancy by the court, but not permitting production 
of executive session papers or transfer of original papers (Jan. 3, 
1973, pp. 30-31).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[Page 802]
[[Page 802]]
[DOCID:hrmanual-98]                         
 
  See rule L, infra for current procedure for response to subpoenas for 
papers of the House.


                              Rule XXXVIII.


                                 ballot.




Sec. 934. Elections by ballot.

  In all  cases of ballot a 
majority of the votes given shall be necessary to an election, and where 
there shall not be such a majority on the first ballot the ballots shall 
be repeated until a majority be obtained; and in all balloting blanks 
shall be rejected and not taken into the count in enumeration of votes 
or reported by the tellers.






[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[Page 802]
[DOCID:hrmanual-99]                         
 
  This rule was first adopted in 1789 and was amended in 1837 (V, 6003). 
It was renumbered January 3, 1953, p. 24. The last election by ballot 
seems to have occurred in 1868 (V, 6003).


                               Rule XXXIX.


                                messages.




Sec. 935. Entry of messages in the Journal 
and Record.

  Messages received  from the Senate and the President of the United States, 
giving notice of bills passed or approved, shall be entered in the 
Journal and published in the Record of that day's proceedings.


  This rule was adopted in 1867 and amended in 1880 (V, 6593). It was 
renumbered January 3, 1953, p. 24.





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[Page 803]
[[Page 803]]
[DOCID:hrmanual-100]                         
 
  The House may receive a message from the Senate when the Senate is not 
in session (VIII, 3338).


                                Rule XL.


                        executive communications.




Sec. 936. Reception and reference of executive 
communications, including estimates.

  Estimates of  appropriations and all other 
communications from the executive departments, intended for the 
consideration of any committees of the House, shall be addressed to the 
Speaker, and by him referred as provided by clause 2 of rule XXIV.


  This rule was adopted in 1867 and amended in 1880 (V, 6593). It was 
renumbered January 3, 1953, p. 24.





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[Page 803]
[DOCID:hrmanual-101]                         
 

  Formerly estimates of appropriations were transmitted through the 
Secretary of the Treasury (IV, 3573-3576, 4045), but under the Budget 
Act they are transmitted by the President.


                                Rule XLI.


                qualifications of officers and employees.




Sec. 937. Officers and employees not to be agents of 
claims.

  No person  shall be an officer or employee of the House, or continue in 
its employment, who shall be an agent for the prosecution of any claim 
against the Government or be interested in such claim otherwise than as 
an original claimant or than in the proper discharge of official duties.


  This rule was adopted in 1842 (V, 7227). It was renumbered January 3, 
1953, p. 24. It was amended by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 to include 
employees in the prohibition against prosecuting or having an interest 
in any claim against the government, to specify the inapplicability of 
that prohibition to the discharge of official duties, and to delete an 
obsolete reference to the Committee on House Administration (P.L. 101-
194, Nov. 30, 1989).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[Page 804]
[[Page 804]]
[DOCID:hrmanual-102]                         
 
  Several provisions of the Federal criminal code also address the 
conduct of Members, officers, and employees with respect to claims 
against the government (18 U.S.C. 203-207, 216).


                               Rule XLII.


                           general provisions.




Sec. 938. Relations of Jefferson's Manual and 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to the rules of the 
House.

  The rules of  parliamentary practice comprised in Jefferson's Manual and the 
provisions of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as amended, 
shall govern the House in all cases to which they are applicable, and in 
which they are not inconsistent with the standing rules and orders of 
the House and joint rules of the Senate and House of Representatives.






[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 804-809]
[DOCID:hrmanual-103]                         
 
  This rule was adopted in 1837 (V, 6757), and amended January 3, 1953, 
p. 24, when it was also renumbered. Joint rules have not been in force 
since the 43d Congress. Discussion of the importance of Jefferson's 
Manual as an authority in congressional procedure (VII, 1029, 1049; 
VIII, 2501, 2517, 2518, 3330).


                               Rule XLIII.


                        code of official conduct.

  There is hereby established by and for the House of Representatives 
the following code of conduct, to be known as the ``Code of Official 
Conduct'':



Sec. 939. Official conduct of Members, officers, 
or employees of the House.

  1. A Member,  officer, or employee of the House of 
Representatives shall conduct himself at all times in a manner which 
shall reflect creditably on the House of Representatives.



[[Page 805]]

  2. A Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives 
shall adhere to the spirit and the letter of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and to the rules of duly constituted committees thereof.

  3. A Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives 
shall receive no compensation nor shall he permit any compensation to 
accrue to his beneficial interest from any source, the receipt of which 
would occur by virtue of influence improperly exerted from his position 
in the Congress.

  4. A Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives 
shall not accept gifts except as provided by the provisions of rule LI 
(Gift Rule).

  5. A Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives 
shall accept no honorarium for a speech, writing for publication, or 
other similar activity.

  6. A Member of the House of Representatives shall keep his campaign 
funds separate from his personal funds. A Member shall convert no 
campaign funds to personal use in excess of reimbursement for legitimate 
and verifiable campaign expenditures and shall expend no funds from his 
campaign account not attributable to bona fide campaign or political 
purposes.

  7. A Member of the House of Representatives shall treat as campaign 
contributions all proceeds from testimonial dinners or other fund 
raising events.


[[Page 806]]

under the direct supervision of a Member other than a chairman, the 
chairman may require that such Member affirm in writing that the 
employees have complied with the preceding sentence (subject to clause 
6 of rule XI) as evidence of the chairman's compliance with this clause 
and with clause 6 of rule XI.
  8. A Member or officer of the House of Representatives shall retain no 
one under his payroll authority who does not perform official duties 
commensurate with the compensation received in the offices of the 
employing authority. In the case of committee employees who work 

  9. A Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives 
shall not discharge or refuse to hire any individual, or otherwise 
discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, 
conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's 
race, color, religion, sex (including marital or parental status), 
handicap, age, or national origin, but may take into consideration the 
domicile or political affiliation of such individual.

  10. A Member of the House of Representatives who has been convicted by 
a court of record for the commission of a crime for which a sentence of 
two or more years' imprisonment may be imposed should refrain from 
participation in the business of each committee of which he is a member 
and should refrain from voting on any question at a meeting of the 
House, or of the Committee of the Whole House, unless or until judicial 
or executive proceedings result in reinstatement of the presumption of 
his innocence or until he is reelected to the House after the date of 
such conviction.


[[Page 807]]

the words ``Congress of the United States,'' ``House of 
Representatives,'' or ``Official Business,'' or any combination of words 
thereof, on any letterhead or envelope.
  11. A Member of the House of Representatives shall not authorize or 
otherwise allow a non-House individual, group, or organization to use 

  12. (a) Except as provided by paragraph (b), any employee of the House 
of Representatives who is required to file a report pursuant to rule 
XLIV shall refrain from participating personally and substantially as an 
employee of the House of Representatives in any contact with any agency 
of the executive or judicial branch of Government with respect to 
nonlegislative matters affecting any nongovernmental person in which the 
employee has a significant financial interest.

  (b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply if an employee first advises his 
employing authority of his significant financial interest and obtains 
from his employing authority a written waiver stating that the 
participation of the employee is necessary. A copy of each such waiver 
shall be filed with the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

  13. Before any Member, officer, or employee of the House of 
Representatives may have access to classified information, the following 
oath (or affirmation) shall be executed:


[[Page 808]]

Copies of the executed oath shall be retained by the Clerk of the House 
as part of the records of the House.
        ``I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will not disclose any 
classified information received in the course of my service with the 
House of Representatives, except as authorized by the House of 
Representatives or in accordance with its Rules.''


  As used in this Code of Official Conduct of the House of 
Representatives--(a) the terms ``Member'' and ``Member of the House of 
Representatives'' include the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and 
each Delegate to the House; and (b) the term ``officer or employee of 
the House of Representatives'' means any individual whose compensation 
is disbursed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives.


[[Page 809]]

crimination rules to the Fair Employment 
Practices resolution adopted in the 100th Congress (now rule LI; see 
Sec. 946a, infra); (6) clause 12 was added to proscribe certain contacts 
as involving conflicts of interest; and (7) the last undesignated 
paragraph was amended to make conforming changes in the definition of 
``relative'' (P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 1989). The Act also established a 
civil cause of action against an individual who violates the limitations 
on outside earned income and employment (5 U.S.C. app. Sec. 504). The 
threshold and aggregate values in clause 4 were again adjusted by 
section 314(d) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act for fiscal 
year 1992 (P.L. 102-90, Aug. 14, 1991). Clause 13 was added in the 104th 
Congress (sec. 220, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 104th 
Congress clause 4 was rewritten, and a final undesignated paragraph 
defining terms for the former version of clause 4 was deleted, to 
reflect the adoption of a Gift Rule in rule LI (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 
1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress the rule was amended to effect 
three clerical corrections (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).
  This rule was adopted in the 90th Congress (H. Res. 1099, Apr. 3, 
1968, p. 8803). The jurisdiction of the Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct was redefined in the same resolution. The rule was 
amended in the 92d Congress to bring the Delegates from the District of 
Columbia, Guam and the Virgin Islands within the definition of 
``Member'' (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144; H. Res. 1153, Oct. 13, 
1972, pp. 36021-23). The rule was further amended in the 94th Congress 
by adding clause 9 (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20). Clause 10 was 
adopted in the 94th Congress (H. Res. 46, Apr. 16, 1975, p. 10340). In 
the 95th Congress: (1) clause 4 was amended to change the prohibition 
against acceptance of gifts of ``substantial value''; (2) clause 6 was 
amended to delete from the second sentence the exception ``unless 
specifically provided by law,'' which had been added in the 94th 
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1975, p. 20); (3) clause 7 was amended to 
eliminate an exception permitting sponsors to give notice of purpose; 
and (4) definitions for purposes of clause 4 were added (H. Res. 287, 
Mar. 2, 1977, pp. 5933-53). Clause 11 was adopted in the 96th Congress 
(H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16). In the 100th Congress clause 4 was 
again amended in the 100th Congress to increase from $35 to $50 the 
value of personal hospitality of an individual that is not to be counted 
when computing the aggregate amount of gifts per calendar year, and 
clause 9 was amended to prohibit discrimination in employment based upon 
age (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1987, p. 6). In the Ethics Reform Act of 1989: 
(1) clause 4 was again amended to revise the rules governing the 
acceptance of gifts, including value thresholds, waivers, and defined 
``relatives''; (2) clause 5 was amended to prohibit the acceptance of 
honoraria effective January 1, 1991; (3) clause 6 was amended to specify 
that campaign funds be used only for bona fide campaign or political 
purposes; (4) clause 8 was amended to broaden Members' accountability 
for the pay and performance of staff; (5) clause 9 was amended to 
conform existing staff anti-dis-

  For an in depth discussion of this rule prepared by the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct, see the House Ethics Manual (102d Cong., 
2d Sess.).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
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[Pages 809-832]
[DOCID:hrmanual-104]                         
 
  It is not a proper parliamentary inquiry to ask the Chair to interpret 
the application of a criminal statute to a Member's conduct, as it is 
for the House and not the Chair to judge the conduct of Members (Nov. 
17, 1987, p. 32153). The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct has 
opined that ``conviction'' in clause 10 includes a plea of guilty or a 
certified finding of guilty even though sentencing may occur later (H. 
Rept. 94-76).


                               Rule XLIV.


                          financial disclosure.


[[Page 810]]

have them printed as a House document, which document shall be 
made available to the public.


Sec. 940. Financial report disclosing certain 
financial interests.

  1. A copy of  each report filed with the Clerk under Title I of 
the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 shall be sent by the Clerk within 
the seven-day period beginning the date on which the report is filed to 
the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. By August 1 of each 
year, the Clerk shall compile all such reports sent to him by Members 
within the period beginning on January 1 and ending on June 15 of each 
year and 



  2. For the purposes of this rule, the provisions of Title I of the 
Ethics in Government Act of 1978 shall be deemed to be a rule of the 
House as it pertains to Members, officers, and employees of the House of 
Representatives.

  The original version of this rule was adopted in the 90th Congress, in 
the same resolution that redefined the jurisdiction of the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct (H. Res. 1099, Apr. 3, 1968, p. 8803). In 
the 91st Congress the rule was amended, effective for years after 1970, 
to require public disclosure of: (1) honoraria from a single source 
totaling $300 or more; and (2) each creditor to whom was owed an 
unsecured loan or other indebtedness of $10,000 or more outstanding for 
at least 90 days in the preceding calendar year (H. Res. 796, May 26, 
1970, pp. 17019-20). It was further amended in the 92d Congress to bring 
the Delegates from the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin 
Islands within the definition of ``Members'' in the final sentence of 
the rule (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144; H. Res. 1153, Oct. 13, 1972, 
pp. 36021-23), and was amended in the 95th Congress to delete an 
obsolete reference (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70).

  The rule was completely amended in the 95th Congress, effective July 
1, 1977, to: (1) broaden the sources and minimum amounts of income 
reported; (2) require reports to be filed with the Clerk as well as with 
the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct; and (3) make reports 
available to the public as printed House documents rather than having 
them maintained in the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (H. 
Res. 287, Mar. 2, 1977, pp. 5933-53). The rule was again amended in the 
96th Congress to incorporate by reference the relevant provisions of 
title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 as they pertain to 
Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16). Clause 1 was amended by the Ethics 
Reform Act of 1989 to make conforming changes in certain dates (P.L. 
101-194, Nov. 30, 1989).


  For an in depth discussion of this rule prepared by the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct, see the House Ethics Manual (102d Cong., 
2d Sess.).


[[Page 811]]

  Pertinent provisions of title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 
1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 6 Sec. Sec. 101-111) follow:


     Title I--Financial Disclosure Requirements of Federal Personnel


                        persons required to file


  Sec. 101. (a) Within thirty days of assuming the position of an 
officer or employee described in subsection (f), an individual shall 
file a report containing the information described in section 102(b) 
unless the individual has left another position described in subsection 
(f) within thirty days prior to assuming such new position or has 
already filed a report under this title with respect to nomination for 
the new position or as a candidate for the position.


                                  * * *

  (c) Within thirty days of becoming a candidate as defined in section 
301 of the Federal Campaign Act of 1971, in a calendar year for 
nomination or election to the office of President, Vice President, or 
Member of Congress, or on or before May 15 of that calendar year, 
whichever is later, but in no event later than 30 days before the 
election, and on or before May 15 of each successive year an individual 
continues to be a candidate, an individual other than an incumbent 
President, Vice President, or Member of Congress shall file a report 
containing the information described in section 102(b). Notwithstanding 
the preceding sentence, in any calendar year in which an individual 
continues to be a candidate for any office but all elections for such 
office relating to such candidacy were held in prior calendar years, 
such individual need not file a report unless he becomes a candidate for 
another vacancy in that office or another office during that year.

  (d) Any individual who is an officer or employee described in 
subsection (f) during any calendar year and performs the duties of his 
position or office for a period in excess of sixty days in that calendar 
year shall file on or before May 15 of the succeeding year a report 
containing the information described in section 102(a).

  (e) Any individual who occupies a position described in subsection (f) 
shall, on or before the thirtieth day after termination of employment in 
such position, file a report containing the information described in 
section 102(a) covering the preceding calendar year if the report 
required by subsection (d) has not been filed and covering the portion 
of the calendar year in which such termination occurs up to the date the 
individual left such office or position, unless such individual has 
accepted employment in another position described in subsection (f).

  (f) The officers and employees referred to in subsections (a), (d), 
and (e) are-- * * *

  (9) a Member of Congress as defined under section 109(12);


  (10) an officer or employee of the Congress as defined under section 
109(13);


[[Page 812]]

                                  * * *

  (g)(1) Reasonable extensions of time for filing any report may be 
granted under procedures prescribed by the supervising ethics office for 
each branch, but the total of such extensions shall not exceed ninety 
days. * * *

  (h) The provisions of subsections (a), (b), and (e) shall not apply to 
an individual who, as determined by the designated agency ethics 
official or Secretary concerned (or in the case of a Presidential 
appointee under subsection (b), the Director of the Office of Government 
Ethics), the congressional ethics committees, or the Judicial 
Conference, is not reasonably expected to perform the duties of his 
office or position for more than sixty days in a calendar year, except 
that if such individual performs the duties of his office or position 
for more than sixty days in a calendar year--

          (1) the report required by subsections (a) and (b) shall be 

        filed within fifteen days of the sixtieth day, and

          (2) the report required by subsection (e) shall be filed as 

        provided in such subsection.

  (i) The supervising ethics office for each branch may grant a publicly 
available request for a waiver of any reporting requirement under this 
section for an individual who is expected to perform or has performed 
the duties of his office or position less than one hundred and thirty 
days in a calendar year, but only if the supervising ethics office 
determines that--

          (1) such individual is not a full-time employee of the 

        Government,

          (2) such individual is able to provide services specially 

        needed by the Government,

          (3) it is unlikely that the individual's outside employment or 

        financial interests will create a conflict of interest, and

          (4) public financial disclosure by such individual is not 


        necessary in the circumstances.


                           contents of reports

  Sec. 102. (a) Each report filed pursuant to section 101 (d) and (e) 
shall include a full and complete statement with respect to the 
following:

  (1)(A) The source, type, and amount or value of income (other than 
income referred to in subparagraph (B)) from any source (other than from 
current employment by the United States Government), and the source, 
date, and amount of honoraria from any source, received during the 
preceding calendar year, aggregating $200 or more in value and, 
effective January 1, 1991, the source, date, and amount of payments made 
to charitable organizations in lieu of honoraria, and the reporting 
individual shall simultaneously file with the applicable supervising 
ethics office, on a confidential basis, a corresponding list of 
recipients of all such payments, together with the dates and amounts of 
such payments.


[[Page 813]]

  (B) The source and type of income which consists of dividends, rents, 
interest, and capital gains, received during the preceding calendar year 
which exceeds $200 in amount or value, and an indication of which of the 
following categories the amount or value of such item of income is 
within:

          (i) not more than $1,000,

          (ii) greater than $1,000 but not more than $2,500,

          (iii) greater than $2,500 but not more than $5,000,

          (iv) greater than $5,000 but not more than $15,000,

          (v) greater than $15,000 but not more than $50,000,

          (vi) greater than $50,000 but not more than $100,000,

          (vii) greater than $100,000 but not more than $1,000,000,

          (viii) greater than $1,000,000 but not more than $5,000,000, 

        or

          (ix) greater than $5,000,000.

  (2)(A) The identity of the source, a brief description, and the value 
of all gifts aggregating more than the minimal value as established by 
section 7342(a)(5) of title 5, United States Code, or $250, whichever is 
greater, received from any source other than a relative of the reporting 
individual during the preceding calendar year, except that any food, 
lodging, or entertainment received as personal hospitality of an 
individual need not be reported, and any gift with a fair market value 
of $100 or less, as adjusted at the same time and by the same percentage 
as the minimal value is adjusted, need not be aggregated for purposes of 
this subparagraph.

  (B) The identity of the source and a brief description (including a 
travel itinerary, dates, and nature of expenses provided) of 
reimbursements received from any source aggregating more than the 
minimal value as established by section 7342(a)(5) of title 5, United 
States Code, or $250, whichever is greater, and received during the 
preceding calendar year.

  (C) In an unusual case, a gift need not be aggregated under 
subparagraph (A) if a publicly available request for a waiver is 
granted.

  (3) The identity and category of value of any interest in property 
held during the preceding calendar year in a trade or business, or for 
investment or the production of income, which has a fair market value 
which exceeds $1,000 as of the close of the preceding calendar year, 
excluding any personal liability owed to the reporting individual by a 
spouse, or by a parent, brother, sister, or child of the reporting 
individual or of the reporting individual's spouse, or any deposits 
aggregating $5,000 or less in a personal savings account. For purposes 
of this paragraph, a personal savings account shall include any 
certificate of deposit or any other form of deposit in a bank, savings 
and loan association, credit union, or similar financial institution.

  (4) The identity and category of value of the total liabilities owed 
to any creditor other than a spouse, or a parent, brother, sister, or 
child of the reporting individual or of the reporting individual's 
spouse which exceed $10,000 at any time during the preceding calendar 
year, excluding--

          (A) any mortgage secured by real property which is a personal 

        residence of the reporting individual or his spouse; and

          (B) any loan secured by a personal motor vehicle, household 

        furniture, or appliances, which loan does not exceed the 


[[Page 814]]

With respect to revolving charge accounts, only those with an 
outstanding liability which exceeds $10,000 as of the close of the 
preceding calendar year need be reported under this paragraph.
        purchase price of the item which secures it.

  (5) Except as provided in this paragraph, a brief description, the 
date, and category of value of any purchase, sale or exchange during the 
preceding calendar year exceeds $1,000--

          (A) in real property, other than property used solely as a 

        personal residence of the reporting individual or his spouse; or

          (B) in stocks, bonds, commodities futures, and other forms of 


Reporting is not required under this paragraph of any transaction solely 
by and between the reporting individual, his spouse, or dependent 
children.
        securities.

  (6)(A) The identity of all positions held on or before the date of 
filing during the current calendar year (and, for the first report filed 
by an individual, during the two-year period preceding such calendar 
year) as an officer, director, trustee, partner, proprietor, 
representative, employee, or consultant of any corporation, company, 
firm, partnership, or other business enterprise, any nonprofit 
organization, any labor organization, or any educational or other 
institution other than the United States. This subparagraph shall not 
require the reporting of positions held in any religious, social, 
fraternal, or political entity and positions solely of an honorary 
nature.

  (B) If any person, other than the United States Government, paid a 
nonelected reporting individual compensation in excess of $5,000 in any 
of the two calendar years prior to the calendar year during which the 
individual files his first report under this title, the individual shall 
include in the report--

          (i) the identity of each source of such compensation; and

          (ii) a brief description of the nature of the duties performed 

        or services rendered by the reporting individual for each such 


The preceding sentence shall not require any individual to include in 
such report any information which is considered confidential as a result 
of a privileged relationship, established by law, between such 
individual and any person nor shall it require an individual to report 
any information with respect to any person for whom services were 
provided by any firm or association of which such individual was a 
member, partner, or employee unless such individual was directly 
involved in the provision of such services.
        source.

  (7) A description of the date, parties to, and terms of any agreement 
or arrangement with respect to (A) future employment; (B) a leave of 
absence during the period of the reporting individual's Government 
service; (C) continuation of payments by a former employer other than 
the United States Government; and (D) continuing participation in an 
employee welfare or benefit plan maintained by a former employer.


[[Page 815]]

cuted prior to July 24, 1995 and precludes the 
beneficiary from receiving information on the total cash value of any 
interest in the qualified blind trust.
  (8) The category of the total cash value of any interest of the 
reporting individual in a qualified blind trust, unless the trust 
instrument was exe-

  (b)(1) Each report filed pursuant to subsections (a), (b), and (c) of 
section 101 shall include a full and complete statement with respect to 
the information required by--

          (A) paragraph (1) of subsection (a) for the year of filing and 

        the preceding calendar year,

          (B) paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (a) as of the date 

        specified in the report but which is less than thirty-one days 

        before the filing date, and

          (C) paragraphs (6) and (7) of subsection (a) as of the filing 

        date but for periods described in such paragraphs.

  (2)(A) In lieu of filling out one or more schedules of a financial 
disclosure form, an individual may supply the required information in an 
alternative format, pursuant to either rules adopted by the supervising 
ethics office for the branch in which such individual serves or pursuant 
to a specific written determination by such office for a reporting 
individual.

  (B) In lieu of indicating the category of amount or value of any item 
contained in any report filed under this title, a reporting individual 
may indicate the exact dollar amount of such item.

  (c) In the case of any individual described in section 101(e), any 
reference to the preceding calendar year shall be considered also to 
include that part of the calendar year of filing up to the date of the 
termination of employment.

  (d)(1) The categories for reporting the amount or value of the items 
covered in paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (8) of subsection (a) are as 
follows:

          (A) not more than $15,000;

          (B) greater than $15,000 but not more than $50,000;

          (C) greater than $50,000 but not more than $100,000;

          (D) greater than $100,000 but not more than $250,000;

          (E) greater than $250,000 but not more than $500,000;

          (F) greater than $500,000 but not more than $1,000,000;

          (G) greater than $1,000,000 but not more than $5,000,000;

          (H) greater than $5,000,000 but not more than $25,000,000;

          (I) greater than $25,000,000 but not more than $50,000,000; 

        and

          (J) greater than $50,000,000.


[[Page 816]]

of specifying a category of value pursuant 
to paragraph (1) of this subsection. If the current value of any other 
item required to be reported under paragraph (3) of subsection (a) is 
not ascertainable without an appraisal, such individual may list the 
book value of a corporation whose stock is not publicly traded, the net 
worth of a business partnership, the equity value of an individually 
owned business, or with respect to other holdings, any recognized 
indication of value, but such individual shall include in his report a 
full and complete description of the method used in determining such 
value. In lieu of any value referred to in the preceding sentence, an 
individual may list the assessed value of the item for tax purposes, 
adjusted to reflect the market value of the item used for the assessment 
if the assessed value is computed at less than 100 percent of such 
market value, but a full and complete description of the method used in 
determining such assessed value shall be included in the report.
  (2) For the purposes of paragraph (3) of subsection (a) if the current 
value of an interest in real property (or an interest in a real estate 
partnership) is not ascertainable without an appraisal, an individual 
may list (A) the date of purchase and the purchase price of the interest 
in the real property, or (B) the assessed value of the real property for 
tax purposes, adjusted to reflect the market value of the property used 
for the assessment if the assessed value is computed at less than 100 
percent of such market value, but such individual shall include in his 
report a full and complete description of the method used to determine 
such assessed value, instead 

  (e)(1) Except as provided in the last sentence of this paragraph, each 
report required by section 101 shall also contain information listed in 
paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a) of this section respecting 
the spouse or dependent child of the reporting individual as follows:

          (A) The source of items of earned income earned by a spouse 

        from any person which exceed $1,000 and the source and amount of 

        any honoraria received by a spouse, except that, with respect to 

        earned income (other than honoraria), if the spouse is self-

        employed in business or a profession, only the nature of such 

        business or profession need be reported.

          (B) All information required to be reported in subsection 

        (a)(1)(B) with respect to income derived by a spouse or 

        dependent child from any asset held by the spouse or dependent 

        child and reported pursuant to subsection (a)(3).

          (C) In the case of any gifts received by a spouse or dependent 

        child which are not received totally independent of the 

        relationship of the spouse or dependent child to the reporting 

        individual, the identity of the source and a brief description 

        of gifts of transportation, lodging, food, or entertainment and 

        a brief description and the value of other gifts.

          (D) In the case of any reimbursements received by a spouse or 

        dependent child which are not received totally independent of 

        the relationship of the spouse or dependent child to the 

        reporting individual, the identity of the source and a brief 

        description of each such reimbursement.

          (E) In the case of items described in paragraphs (3) through 

        (5) of subsection (a), all information required to be reported 

        under these paragraphs other than items (i) which the reporting 

        individual certifies represent the spouse's or dependent child's 

        sole financial interest or responsibility and which the 

        reporting individual has no knowledge of, (ii) which are not in 

        any way, past or present, derived from the income, assets, or 


[[Page 817]]

        activities of the reporting individual, and 

        (iii) from which the reporting individual neither derives, nor 

        expects to derive, any financial or economic benefit.

          (F) For purposes of this section, categories with amounts or 

        values greater than $1,000,000 set forth in sections 

        102(a)(1)(B) and 102(d)(1) shall apply to the income, assets, or 

        liabilities of spouses and dependent children only if the 

        income, assets, or liabilities are held jointly with the 

        reporting individual. All other income, assets, or liabilities 

        of the spouse or dependent children required to be reported 

        under this section in an amount or value greater than $1,000,000 

        shall be categorized only as an amount or value greater than 


Reports required by subsections (a), (b), and (c) of section 101 shall, 
with respect to the spouse and dependent child of the reporting 
individual, only contain information listed in paragraphs (1), (3), and 
(4) of subsection (a), as specified in this paragraph.
        $1,000,000.

  (2) No report shall be required with respect to a spouse living 
separate and apart from the reporting individual with the intention of 
terminating the marriage or providing for permanent separation; or with 
respect to any income or obligations of an individual arising from the 
dissolution of his marriage or the permanent separation from his spouse.

  (f)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each reporting individual 
shall report the information required to be reported pursuant to 
subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section with respect to the 
holdings of and the income from a trust or other financial arrangement 
from which income is received by, or with respect to which a beneficial 
interest in principal or income is held by, such individual, his spouse, 
or any dependent child.

  (2) A reporting individual need not report the holdings of or the 
source of income from any of the holdings of--

          (A) any qualified blind trust (as defined in paragraph (3));

          (B) a trust--

                  (i) which was not created directly by such individual, 

                his spouse, or any dependent child, and

                  (ii) the holdings or sources of income of which such 

                individual, his spouse, and any dependent child have no 

                knowledge of; or

          (C) an entity described under the provisions of paragraph (8), 

        but such individual shall report the category of the amount of 

        income received by him, his spouse, or any dependent child from 

        the trust or other entity under subsection (a)(1)(B) of this 

        section.

  (3) For purpose of this subsection, the term ``qualified blind trust'' 
includes any trust in which a reporting individual, his spouse, or any 
minor or dependent child has a beneficial interest in the principal or 
income, and which meets the following requirements:

          (A)(i) The trustee of the trust and any other entity 

        designated in the trust instrument to perform fiduciary duties 

        is a financial institution, an attorney, a certified public 


[[Page 818]]

        accountant, a broker, or an investment advisor who--

                  (I) is independent of and not associated with any 

                interested party so that the trustee or other person 

                cannot be controlled or influenced in the administration 

                of the trust by any interested party;

                  (II) is not and has not been an employee of or 

                affiliated with any interested party and is not a 

                partner of, or involved in any joint venture or other 

                investment with, any interested party; and

                  (III) is not a relative of any interested party.

              (ii) Any officer or employee of a trustee or other entity 

            who is involved in the management or control of the trust--

                  (I) is independent of and not associated with any 

                interested party so that such officer or employee cannot 

                be controlled or influenced in the administration of the 

                trust by any interested party;

                  (II) is not a partner of, or involved in any joint 

                venture or other investment with, any interested party; 

                and

                  (III) is not a relative of any interested party.

          (B) Any asset transferred to the trust by an interested party 

        is free of any restriction with respect to its transfer or sale 

        unless such restriction is expressly approved by the supervising 

        ethics office of the reporting individual.

          (C) The trust instrument which establishes the trust provides 

        that--

                  (i) except to the extent provided in subparagraph (B) 

                of this paragraph, the trustee in the exercise of his 

                authority and discretion to manage and control the 

                assets of the trust shall not consult or notify any 

                interested party;

                  (ii) the trust shall not contain any asset the holding 

                of which by an interested party is prohibited by any law 

                or regulation;

                  (iii) the trustee shall promptly notify the reporting 

                individual and his supervising ethics office when the 

                holdings of any particular asset transferred to the 

                trust by any interested party are disposed of or when 

                the value of such holding is less than $1,000;

                  (iv) the trust tax return shall be prepared by the 

                trustee or his designee, and such return and any 

                information relating thereto (other than the trust 

                income summarized in appropriate categories necessary to 

                complete an interested party's tax return), shall not be 

                disclosed to any interested party;

                  (v) an interested party shall not receive any report 

                on the holdings and sources of income of the trust, 

                except a report at the end of each calendar quarter with 

                respect to the total cash value of the interest of the 

                interested party in the trust or the net income or loss 

                of the trust or any reports necessary to enable the 

                interested party to complete an individual tax return 


[[Page 819]]

                re-

                quired by law or to provide the information required 

                by subsection (a)(1) of this section, but such report 

                shall not identify any asset or holding;

                  (vi) except for communications which solely consist of 

                requests for distributions of cash or other unspecified 

                assets of the trust, there shall be no direct or 

                indirect communication between the trustee and an 

                interested party with respect to the trust unless such 

                communication is in writing and unless it relates only 

                (I) to the general financial interest and needs of the 

                interested party (including, but not limited to, an 

                interest in maximizing income or long-term capital 

                gain), (II) to the notification of the trustee of a law 

                or regulation subsequently applicable to the reporting 

                individual which prohibits the interested party from 

                holding an asset, which notification directs that the 

                asset not be held by the trust, or (III) to directions 

                to the trustee to sell all of an asset initially placed 

                in the trust by an interested party which in the 

                determination of the reporting individual creates a 

                conflict of interest or the appearance thereof due to 

                the subsequent assumption of duties by the reporting 

                individual (but nothing herein shall require any such 

                direction); and

                  (vii) the interested parties shall make no effort to 

                obtain information with respect to the holdings of the 

                trust, including obtaining a copy of any trust tax 

                return filed or any information relating thereto except 

                as otherwise provided in this subsection.

          (D) The proposed trust instrument and the proposed trustee is 

        approved by the reporting individual's supervising ethics 

        office.

          (E) For purposes of this subsection, ``interested party'' 

        means a reporting individual, his spouse, and any minor or 

        dependent child; ``broker'' has the meaning set forth in section 

        3(a)(4) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 

        78c(a)(4)); and ``investment adviser'' includes any investment 

        adviser who, as determined under regulations prescribed by the 

        supervising ethics office, is generally involved in his role as 

        such an adviser in the management or control of trusts.

          (F) Any trust qualified by a supervising ethics office before 

        the effective date of title II of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 

        shall continue to be governed by the law and regulations in 

        effect immediately before such effective date.

  (4)(A) An asset placed in a trust by an interested party shall be 
considered a financial interest of the reporting individual, for the 
purposes of any applicable conflict of interest statutes, regulations, 
or rules of the Federal Government (including section 208 of title 18, 
United States Code), until such time as the reporting individual is 
notified by the trustee that such asset has been disposed of, or has a 
value of less than $1,000.


[[Page 820]]

dependent child, or minor child of such a person, if the 
supervising ethics office for such reporting individual finds that--
  (B)(i) The provisions of subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect 
to a trust created for the benefit of a reporting individual, or the 
spouse, 

          (I) the assets placed in the trust consist of a well-

        diversified portfolio of readily marketable securities;

          (II) none of the assets consist of securities of entities 

        having substantial activities in the area of the reporting 

        individual's primary area of responsibility;

          (III) the trust instrument prohibits the trustee, 

        notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (3)(C) (iii) and 

        (iv) of this subsection, from making public or informing any 

        interested party of the sale of any securities;

          (IV) the trustee is given power of attorney, notwithstanding 

        the provisions of paragraph (3)(C)(v) of this subsection, to 

        prepare on behalf of any interested party the personal income 

        tax returns and similar returns which may contain information 

        relating to the trust; and

          (V) except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the trust 

        instrument provides (or in the case of a trust established prior 

        to the effective date of this Act which by its terms does not 

        permit amendment, the trustee, the reporting individual, and any 

        other interested party agree in writing) that the trust shall be 

        administered in accordance with the requirements of this 

        subsection and the trustee of such trust meets the requirements 


        of paragraph (3)(A).


                                  * * *

  (5)(A) The reporting individual shall, within thirty days after a 
qualified blind trust is approved by his supervising ethics office, file 
with such office a copy of--

          (i) the executed trust instrument of such trust (other than 

        those provisions which relate to the testamentary disposition of 

        the trust assets), and

          (ii) a list of the assets which were transferred to such 

        trust, including the category of value of each asset as 


This subparagraph shall not apply with respect to a trust meeting the 
requirements for being considered a qualified blind trust under 
paragraph (7) of this subsection.
        determined under subsection (d) of this section.

  (B) The reporting individual shall, within thirty days of transferring 
an asset (other than cash) to a previously established qualified blind 
trust, notify his supervising ethics office of the identity of each such 
asset and the category of value of each asset as determined under 
subsection (d) of this section.

  (C) Within thirty days of the dissolution of a qualified blind trust, 
a reporting individual shall--

          (i) notify his supervising ethics office of such dissolution, 


[[Page 821]]

        and

          (ii) file with such office a copy of a list of the assets of 

        the trust at the time of such dissolution and the category of 

        value under subsection (d) of this section of each such asset.

  (D) Documents filed under subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of this 
paragraph and the lists provided by the trustee of assets placed in the 
trust by an interested party which have been sold shall be made 
available to the public in the same manner as a report is made available 
under section 105 and the provisions of that section shall apply with 
respect to such documents and lists.

  (E) A copy of each written communication with respect to the trust 
under paragraph (3)(C)(vi) shall be filed by the person initiating the 
communication with the reporting individual's supervising ethics office 
within five days of the date of the communication.

  (6)(A) A trustee of a qualified blind trust shall not knowingly and 
willfully, or negligently, (i) disclose any information to an interested 
party with respect to such trust that may not be disclosed under 
paragraph (3) of this subsection; (ii) acquire any holding the ownership 
of which is prohibited by the trust instrument; (iii) solicit advice 
from any interested party with respect to such trust, which solicitation 
is prohibited by paragraph (3) of this subsection or the trust 
agreement; or (iv) fail to file any document required by this 
subsection.

  (B) A reporting individual shall not knowingly and willfully, or 
negligently, (i) solicit or receive any information with respect to a 
qualified blind trust of which he is an interested party that may not be 
disclosed under paragraph (3)(C) of this subsection or (ii) fail to file 
any document required by this subsection.

  (C)(i) The Attorney General may bring a civil action in any 
appropriate United States district court against any individual who 
knowingly and willfully violates the provisions of subparagraph (A) or 
(B) of this paragraph. The court in which such action is brought may 
assess against such individual a civil penalty in any amount not to 
exceed $10,000.

  (ii) The Attorney General may bring a civil action in any appropriate 
United States district court against any individual who negligently 
violates the provisions of subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph. 
The court in which such action is brought may assess against such 
individual a civil penalty in any amount not to exceed $5,000.

  (7) Any trust may be considered to be a qualified blind trust if--

          (A) the trust instrument is amended to comply with the 

        requirements of paragraph (3) or, in the case of a trust 

        instrument which does not by its terms permit amendment, the 

        trustee, the reporting individual, and any other interested 

        party agree in writing that the trust shall be administered in 

        accordance with the requirements of this subsection and the 

        trustee of such trust meets the requirements of paragraph 

        (3)(A); except that in the case of any interested party who is a 

        dependent child, a parent or guardian of such child may execute 


[[Page 822]]

        the agreement referred to in this subparagraph;

          (B) a copy of the trust instrument (except testamentary 

        provisions) and a copy of the agreement referred to in 

        subparagraph (A), and a list of the assets held by the trust at 

        the time of approval by the supervising ethics office, including 

        the category of value of each asset as determined under 

        subsection (d) of this section, are filed with such office and 

        made available to the public as provided under paragraph (5)(D) 

        of this subsection; and

          (C) the supervising ethics office determines that approval of 

        the trust arrangement as a qualified blind trust is in the 

        particular case appropriate to assure compliance with applicable 

        laws and regulations.

  (8) A reporting individual shall not be required to report the 
financial interests held by a widely held investment fund (whether such 
fund is a mutual fund, regulated investment company, pension or deferred 
compensation plan, or other investment fund), if--

          (A)(i) the fund is publicly traded; or

          (ii) the assets of the fund are widely diversified; and

          (B) the reporting individual neither exercises control over 

        nor has the ability to exercise control over the financial 

        interests held by the fund.

  (g) Political campaign funds, including campaign receipts and 
expenditures, need not be included in any report filed pursuant to this 
title.

  (h) A report filed pursuant to subsection (a), (d), or (e) of section 
101 need not contain the information described in subparagraphs (A), 
(B), and (C) of subsection (a)(2) with respect to gifts and 
reimbursements received in a period when the reporting individual was 
not an officer or employee of the Federal Government.

  (i) A reporting individual shall not be required under this title to 
report--

          (1) financial interests in or income derived from--

                  (A) any retirement system under title 5, United States 

                Code (including the Thrift Savings Plan under subchapter 

                III of chapter 84 of such title); or

                  (B) any other retirement system maintained by the 

                United States for officers or employees of the United 

                States, including the President, or for members of the 

                uniformed services; or


          (2) benefits received under the Social Security Act.


                            filing of reports


[[Page 823]]

  Sec. 103. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 
reports required under this title shall be filed by the reporting 
individual with the designated agency ethics official at the agency by 
which he is employed (or in the case of an individual described in 
section 101(e), was employed) or in which he will serve. The date any 
report is received (and the date of receipt of any supplemental report) 
shall be noted on such report by such official.


                                  * * *

  (g) Each supervising Ethics Office shall develop and make available 
forms for reporting the information required by this title.

  (h)(1) The reports required under this title shall be filed by a 
reporting individual with--

          (A)(i)(I) the Clerk of the House of Representatives, in the 

        case of a Representative in Congress, a Delegate to Congress, 

        the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, an officer or 

        employee of the Congress whose compensation is disbursed by the 

        Clerk of the House of Representatives, an officer or employee of 

        the Architect of the Capitol, the United States Botanic Garden, 

        the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Printing Office, 

        the Library of Congress, or the Copyright Royalty Tribunal 

        (including any individual terminating service, under section 

        101(e), in any office or position referred to in this 

        subclause), or an individual described in section 101(c) who is 

        a candidate for nomination or election as a Representative in 

        Congress, a Delegate to Congress, or the Resident Commissioner 


        from Puerto Rico;


                                  * * *

          (ii) in the case of an officer or employee of the Congress as 

        described under section 101(f)(10) who is employed by an agency 

        or commission established in the legislative branch after the 

        date of the enactment of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989--

                  (I) the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the 

                House of Representatives, as the case may be, as 

                designated in the statute establishing such agency or 

                commission; or

                  (II) if such statute does not designate such 

                committee, the Secretary of the Senate for agencies and 

                commissions established in even numbered calendar years, 

                and the Clerk of the House of Representatives for 

                agencies and commissions established in odd numbered 


                calendar years;


                                  * * *

          (2) The date any report is received (and the date of receipt 

        of any supplemental report) shall be noted on such report by 

        such committee.


[[Page 824]]

  (i) A copy of each report filed under this title by a Member or an 
individual who is a candidate for the office of Member shall be sent by 
the Clerk of the House of Representatives or Secretary of the Senate, as 
the case may be, to the appropriate State officer designated under 
section 316(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 of the State 
represented by the Member or in which the individual is a candidate, as 
the case may be, within the 30-day period beginning on the day the 
report is filed with the Clerk or Secretary.


  (j)(1) A copy of each report filed under this title with the Clerk of 
the House of Representatives shall be sent by the Clerk to the Committee 
on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives within 
the 7-day period beginning on the day the report is filed.


                                  * * *


  (k) In carrying out their responsibilities under this title with 
respect to candidates for office, the Clerk of the House of 
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall avail themselves 
of the assistance of the Federal Election Commission. The Commission 
shall make available to the Clerk and the Secretary on a regular basis a 
complete list of names and addresses of all candidates registered with 
the Commission, and shall cooperate and coordinate its candidate 
information and notification program with the Clerk and the Secretary to 
the greatest extent possible.


                 failure to file or filing false reports

  Sec. 104. (a) The Attorney General may bring a civil action in any 
appropriate United States district court against any individual who 
knowingly and willfully falsifies or who knowingly and willfully fails 
to file or report any information that such individual is required to 
report pursuant to section 102. The court in which such action is 
brought may assess against such individual a civil penalty in any 
amount, not to exceed $10,000.

  (b) The head of each agency, each Secretary concerned, the Director of 
the Office of Government Ethics, each congressional ethics committee, or 
the Judicial Conference, as the case may be, shall refer to the Attorney 
General the name of any individual which such official or committee has 
reasonable cause to believe has willfully failed to file a report or has 
willfully falsified or willfully failed to file information required to 
be reported.

  (c) The President, the Vice President, the Secretary concerned, the 
head of each agency, the Office of Personnel Management, a congressional 
ethics committee, and the Judicial Conference of the United States, may 
take any appropriate personnel or other action in accordance with 
applicable law or regulation against any individual failing to file a 
report or falsifying or failing to report information required to be 
reported.

  (d)(1) Any individual who files a report required to be filed under 
this title more than 30 days after the later of--

          (A) the date such report is required to be filed pursuant to 

        the provisions of this title and the rules and regulations 

        promulgated thereunder; or

          (B) if a filing extension is granted to such individual under 

        section 101(g), the last day of the filing extension period, 

        shall, at the direction of and pursuant to regulations issued by 

        the supervising ethics office, pay a filing fee of $200. All 

        such fees shall be deposited in the miscellaneous receipts of 

        the Treasury. The authority under this paragraph to direct the 


[[Page 825]]

        payment of a filing fee may be delegated by 

        the supervising ethics office in the executive branch to other 

        agencies in the executive branch.


  (2) The supervising ethics office may waive the filing fee under this 
subsection in extraordinary circumstances.


                 custody of and public access to reports


  Sec. 105. (a) Each agency, each supervising ethics office in the 
executive or judicial branch, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, 
and the Secretary of the Senate shall make available to the public, in 
accordance with subsection (b), each report filed under this title with 
such agency or office or with the Clerk or the Secretary of the Senate.


                                  * * *

  (b)(1) Except as provided in the second sentence of this subsection, 
each agency, each supervising ethics office in the executive or judicial 
branch, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the Secretary of 
the Senate shall, within thirty days after any report is received under 
this title by such agency or office or by the Clerk or the Secretary of 
the Senate, as the case may be, permit inspection of such report by or 
furnish a copy of such report to any person requesting such inspection 
or copy. With respect to any report required to be filed by May 15 of 
any year, such report shall be made available for public inspection 
within 30 calendar days after May 15 of such year or within 30 days of 
the date of filing of such a report for which an extension is granted 
pursuant to section 101(g). The agency, office, Clerk, or Secretary of 
the Senate, as the case may be may require a reasonable fee to be paid 
in any amount which is found necessary to recover the cost of 
reproduction or mailing of such report excluding any salary of any 
employee involved in such reproduction or mailing. A copy of such report 
may be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge if it is 
determined that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public 
interest.

  (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a report may not be made available 
under this section to any person nor may any copy thereof be provided 
under this section to any person except upon a written application by 
such person stating--

          (A) that person's name, occupation and address;

          (B) the name and address of any other person or organization 

        on whose behalf the inspection or copy is requested; and

          (C) that such person is aware of the prohibitions on the 


Any such application shall be made available to the public throughout 
the period during which the report is made available to the public.
        obtaining or use of the report.

  (c)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain or use a report--

          (A) for any unlawful purpose;

          (B) for any commercial purpose, other than by news and 


[[Page 826]]

        communications media for dissemination to the general public;

          (C) for determining or establishing the credit rating of any 

        individual; or

          (D) for use, directly or indirectly, in the solicitation of 

        money for any political, charitable, or other purpose.

  (2) The Attorney General may bring a civil action against any person 
who obtains or uses a report for any purpose prohibited in paragraph (1) 
of this subsection. The court in which such action is brought may assess 
against such person a penalty in any amount not to exceed $10,000. Such 
remedy shall be in addition to any other remedy available under 
statutory or common law.


  (d) Any report filed with or transmitted to an agency or supervising 
ethics office or to the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the 
Secretary of the Senate pursuant to this title shall be retained by such 
agency or office or by the Clerk or the Secretary of the Senate, as the 
case may be. Such report shall be made available to the public for a 
period of six years after receipt of the report. After such six-year 
period the report shall be destroyed unless needed in an ongoing 
investigation, except that in the case of an individual who filed the 
report pursuant to section 101(b) and was not subsequently confirmed by 
the Senate, or who filed the report pursuant to section 101(c) and was 
not subsequently elected, such reports shall be destroyed one year after 
the individual either is no longer under consideration by the Senate or 
is no longer a candidate for nomination or election to the Office of 
President, Vice President, or as a Member of Congress, unless needed in 
an ongoing investigation.


                            review of reports

  Sec. 106. (a)(1) Each designated agency ethics official or Secretary 
concerned shall make provisions to ensure that each report filed with 
him under this title is reviewed within sixty days after the date of 
such filing, except that the Director of the Office of Government Ethics 
shall review only those reports required to be transmitted to him under 
this title within sixty days after the date of transmittal.

  (2) Each congressional ethics committee and the Judicial Conference 
shall make provisions to ensure that each report filed under this title 
is reviewed within sixty days after the date of such filing.

  (b)(1) If after reviewing any report under subsection (a), the 
Director of the Office of Government Ethics, the Secretary concerned, 
the designated agency ethics official, a person designated by the 
congressional ethics committee, or a person designated by the Judicial 
Conference, as the case may be, is of the opinion that on the basis of 
information contained in such report the individual submitting such 
report is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, he shall 
state such opinion on the report, and shall sign such report.


[[Page 827]]

the congressional ethics committee, or a person designated by the 
Judicial Conference, after reviewing any report under subsection (a)--
  (2) If the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, the Secretary 
concerned, the designated agency ethics official, a person designated by 

          (A) believes additional information is required to be 

        submitted, he shall notify the individual submitting such report 

        what additional information is required and the time by which it 

        must be submitted, or

          (B) is of the opinion, on the basis of information submitted, 

        that the individual is not in compliance with applicable laws 

        and regulations, he shall notify the individual, afford a 

        reasonable opportunity for a written or oral response, and after 

        consideration of such response, reach an opinion as to whether 

        or not, on the basis of information submitted, the individual is 

        in compliance with such laws and regulations.

  (3) If the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, the Secretary 
concerned, the designated agency ethics official, a person designated by 
a congressional ethics committee, or a person designated by the Judicial 
Conference, reaches an opinion under paragraph (2)(B) that an individual 
is not in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the official 
or committee shall notify the individual of that opinion and, after an 
opportunity for personal consultation (if practicable), determine and 
notify the individual of which steps, if any, would in the opinion of 
such official or committee be appropriate for assuring compliance with 
such laws and regulations and the date by which such steps should be 
taken. Such steps may include, as appropriate--

          (A) divestiture,

          (B) restitution,

          (C) the establishment of a blind trust,

          (D) request for an exemption under section 208(b) of title 18, 

        United States Code, or

          (E) voluntary request for transfer, reassignment, limitation 


The use of any such steps shall be in accordance with such rules or 
regulations as the supervising ethics office may prescribe.
        of duties, or resignation.

  (4) If steps for assuring compliance with applicable laws and 
regulations are not taken by the date set under paragraph (3) by an 
individual in a position in the executive branch (other than in the 
Foreign Service or the uniformed services), appointment to which 
requires the advice and consent of the Senate, the matter shall be 
referred to the President for appropriate action.

  (5) If steps for assuring compliance with applicable laws and 
regulations are not taken by the date set under paragraph (3) by a 
member of the Foreign Service or the uniformed services, the Secretary 
concerned shall take appropriate action.


[[Page 828]]

agency, the congressional ethics committee, or the Judicial Conference, 
for appropriate action; except that in the case of the Postmaster General 
or Deputy Postmaster General, the Director of the Office of Government 
Ethics shall recommend to the Governors of the Board of Governors of the 
United States Postal Service the action to be taken.
  (6) If steps for assuring compliance with applicable laws and 
regulations are not taken by the date set under paragraph (3) by any 
other officer or employee, the matter shall be referred to the head of 
the appropriate 


  (7) Each supervising ethics office may render advisory opinions 
interpreting this title within its respective jurisdiction. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the individual to whom a 
public advisory opinion is rendered in accordance with this paragraph, 
and any other individual covered by this title who is involved in a fact 
situation which is indistinguishable in all material aspects, and who 
acts in good faith in accordance with the provisions and findings of 
such advisory opinion shall not, as a result of such act, be subject to 
any penalty or sanction provided by this title.


         confidential reports and other additional requirements

  Sec. 107. (a)(1) Each supervising ethics office may require officers 
and employees under its jurisdiction (including special Government 
employees as defined in section 202 of title 18, United States Code) to 
file confidential financial disclosure reports, in such form as the 
supervising ethics office may prescribe. The information required to be 
reported under this subsection by the officers and employees of any 
department or agency shall be set forth in rules or regulations 
prescribed by the supervising ethics office, and may be less extensive 
than otherwise required by this title, or more extensive when determined 
by the supervising ethics office to be necessary and appropriate in 
light of sections 202 through 209 of title 18, United States Code, 
regulations promulgated thereunder, or the authorized activities of such 
officers or employees. Any individual required to file a report pursuant 
to section 101 shall not be required to file a confidential report 
pursuant to this subsection, except with respect to information which is 
more extensive than information otherwise required by this title. 
Subsections (a), (b), and (d) of section 105 shall not apply with 
respect to any such report.

  (2) Any information required to be provided by an individual under 
this subsection shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed to the 
public.

  (3) Nothing in this subsection exempts any individual otherwise 
covered by the requirement to file a public financial disclosure report 
under this title from such requirement.

  (b) The provisions of this title requiring the reporting of 
information shall supersede any general requirement under any other 
provision of law or regulation with respect to the reporting of 
information required for purposes of preventing conflicts of interest or 
apparent conflicts of interest. Such provisions of this title shall not 
supersede the requirements of section 7342 of title 5, United States 
Code.


[[Page 829]]

of assets, liabilities, or positions; or the participation in 
transactions that are prohibited by law, Executive order, rule, or 
regulation.

  (c) Nothing in this Act requiring reporting of information shall be 
deemed to authorize the receipt of income, gifts, or reimbursements; the 
holding 


                    authority of comptroller general

  Sec. 108. (a) The Comptroller General shall have access to financial 
disclosure reports filed under this title for the purposes of carrying 
out his statutory responsibilities.


  (b) No later than December 31, 1992, and regularly thereafter, the 
Comptroller General shall conduct a study to determine whether the 
provisions of this title are being carried out effectively.


                               definitions

  Sec. 109. For the purposes of this title, the term--

  (1) ``congressional ethics committees'' means the Select Committee on 
Ethics of the Senate and the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 
of the House of Representatives;

  (2) ``dependent child'' means, when used with respect to any reporting 
individual, any individual who is a son, daughter, stepson, or 
stepdaughter and who--

          (A) is unmarried and under age 21 and is living in the 

        household of such reporting individual; or

          (B) is a dependent of such reporting individual within the 

        meaning of section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;


  (3) ``designated agency ethics official'' means an officer or employee 
who is designated to administer the provisions of this title within an 
agency;


                                  * * *

  (5) ``gift'' means a payment, advance, forbearance, rendering, or 
deposit of money, or any thing of value, unless consideration of equal 
or greater value is received by the donor, but does not include--

          (A) bequest and other forms of inheritance;

          (B) suitable mementos of a function honoring the reporting 

        individual;

          (C) food, lodging, transportation, and entertainment provided 

        by a foreign government within a foreign country or by the 

        United States Government, the District of Columbia, or a State 

        or local government or political subdivision thereof;

          (D) food and beverages which are not consumed in connection 

        with a gift of overnight lodging;

          (E) communications to the offices of a reporting individual, 

        including subscriptions to newspapers and periodicals; or

          (F) consumable products provided by home-State businesses to 

        the offices of a reporting individual who is an elected 

        official, if those products are intended for consumption by 


[[Page 830]]

        persons other than such reporting individual;

  (6) ``honoraria'' has the meaning given such term in section 505 of 
this Act;


  (7) ``income'' means all income from whatever source derived, 
including but not limited to the following items: compensation for 
services, including fees, commissions, and similar items; gross income 
derived from business (and net income if the individual elects to 
include it); gains derived from dealings in property; interest; rents; 
royalties; dividends; annuities; income from life insurance and 
endowment contracts; pensions; income from discharge of indebtedness; 
distributive share of partnership income; and income from an interest in 
an estate or trust;


                                  * * *

  (11) ``legislative branch'' includes--

          (A) the Architect of the Capitol;

          (B) the Botanic Gardens;

          (C) the Congressional Budget Office;

          (D) the General Accounting Office;

          (E) the Government Printing Office;

          (F) the Library of Congress;

          (G) the United States Capitol Police;

          (H) the Office of Technology Assessment; and

          (I) any other agency, entity, office, or commission 

        established in the legislative branch;

  (12) ``Member of Congress'' means a United States Senator, a 
Representative in Congress, a Delegate to Congress, or the Resident 
Commissioner from Puerto Rico;

  (13) ``officer or employee of the Congress'' means--

          (A) any individual described under subparagraph (B), other 

        than a Member of Congress or the Vice President, whose 

        compensation is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate or the 

        Clerk of the House of Representatives;

          (B)(i) each officer or employee of the legislative branch who, 

        for at least 60 days, occupies a position for which the rate of 

        basic pay is equal to or greater than 120 percent of the minimum 

        rate of basic pay payable for GS-15 of the General Schedule; and

          (ii) at least one principal assistant designated for purposes 

        of this paragraph by each Member who does not have an employee 

        who occupies a position for which the rate of basic pay is equal 

        to or greater than 120 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay 

        payable for GS-15 of the General Schedule;


[[Page 831]]

  (14) ``personal hospitality of any individual'' means hospitality 
extended for a nonbusiness purpose by an individual, not a corporation 
or organization, at the personal residence of that individual or his 
family or on property or facilities owned by that individual or his 
family;

  (15) ``reimbursement'' means any payment or other thing of value 
received by the reporting individual, other than gifts, to cover travel-
related expenses of such individual other than those which are--

          (A) provided by the United States Government, the District of 

        Columbia, or a State or local government or political 

        subdivision thereof;

          (B) required to be reported by the reporting individual under 

        section 7342 of title 5, United States Code; or

          (C) required to be reported under section 304 of the Federal 

        Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434);


  (16) ``relative'' means an individual who is related to the reporting 
individual, as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, 
aunt, great aunt, great uncle, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, 
wife, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, father-in-law, 
mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-
law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, 
stepsister, half brother, half sister, or who is the grandfather or 
grandmother of the spouse of the reporting individual, and shall be 
deemed to include the fiance or fiancee of the reporting individual;


                                  * * *

  (18) ``supervising ethics office'' means--

          (A) the Senate Committee on Ethics of the Senate, for 

        Senators, officers and employees of the Senate, and other 

        officers or employees of the legislative branch required to file 

        financial disclosure reports with the Secretary of the Senate 

        pursuant to section 103(h) of this title;

          (B) the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the 

        House of Representatives, for Members, officers and employees of 

        the House of Representatives and other officers or employees of 

        the legislative branch required to file financial disclosure 

        reports with the Clerk of the House of Representatives pursuant 

        to section 103(h) of this title;

          (C) the Judicial Conference for judicial officers and judicial 

        employees; and

          (D) the Office of Government Ethics for all executive branch 

        officers and employees; and


  (19) ``value'' means a good faith estimate of the dollar value if the 
exact value is neither known nor easily obtainable by the reporting 
individual.


        notice of actions taken to comply with ethics agreements


[[Page 832]]

the Government, that individual shall notify in 
writing the designated agency ethics official, the Office of Government 
Ethics, the appropriate committee of the Senate, the congressional 
ethics committee, or the Judicial Conference, as the case may be, of any 
action taken by the individual pursuant to that agreement. Such 
notification shall be made not later than the date specified in the 
agreement by which action by the individual must be taken, or not later 
than three months after the date of the agreement, if no date for action 
is so specified.
  Sec. 110. (a) In any case in which an individual agrees with that 
individual's designated agency ethics official, the Office of Government 
Ethics, a Senate confirmation committee, a congressional ethics 
committee, or the Judicial Conference, to take any action to comply with 
this Act of any other law or regulation governing conflicts of interest 
of, or establishing standards of conduct applicable with respect to, 
officers or employees of 


  (b) If an agreement described in subsection (a) requires that the 
individual recuse himself or herself from particular categories of 
agency or other official action, the individual shall reduce to writing 
those subjects regarding which the recusal agreement will apply and the 
process by which it will be determined whether the individual must 
recuse himself or herself in a specific instance. An individual shall be 
considered to have complied with the requirements of subsection (a) with 
respect to such recusal agreement if such individual files a copy of the 
document setting forth the information described in the preceding 
sentence with such individual's designated agency ethics official or the 
appropriate supervising ethics office within the time prescribed in the 
last sentence of subsection (a).


                      administration of provisions


  Sec. 111. The provisions of this title shall be administered by * * *


                                  * * *


  (2) the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate and the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives, as 
appropriate, with regard to officers and employees described in 
paragraphs (9) and (10) of section 101(f).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 832-833]
[DOCID:hrmanual-105]                         
 
                                  * * *


                                Rule XLV.


               prohibition of unofficial office accounts.

  1. No Member may maintain or have maintained for his use an unofficial 
office account.



Sec. 941.

  2. After the  date of adoption of this rule, no 
funds may be paid into any unofficial office account.



[[Page 833]]

cording Studio revolving fund for telecommunications satellite 
services, the Member may accept reimbursement from non-political 
entities in that amount for transmission to the Clerk of the House of 
Representatives for credit to the Official Expenses Allowance.
  3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this rule, if an amount from 
the Official Expenses Allowance of a Member is paid into the House Re-

  4. For purposes of this rule--

  (a) the term ``unofficial office account'' means an account or 
repository into which funds are received for the purpose of defraying 
otherwise unreimbursed expenses allowable under section 162(a) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as ordinary and necessary in the operation 
of a congressional office, and includes any newsletter fund referred to 
in section 527(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; and


  (b) the term ``Member'' means any Member of, Delegate to, or Resident 
Commissioner in, the House of Representatives.

  This rule was adopted in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 287, Mar. 2, 1977, 
pp. 5933-53). It was amended in the 102d Congress to permit Members to 
receive reimbursements to their expense allowances for recording studio 
charges attributable to nonpolitical organizations receiving the 
transmissions (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 833-836]
[DOCID:hrmanual-106]                         
 
  For an in depth discussion of this rule prepared by the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct, see the House Ethics Manual (102d Cong., 
2d Sess.).


                               Rule XLVI.


             limitations on the use of the frank.


[[Page 834]]

which assures that such mail will be 
sent by the most economical means practicable.


Sec. 942.

  1. Any  franked mail which is mailed by a Member 
under section 3210(d) of title 39, United States Code, shall be mailed 
at the equivalent rate of postage 


  2. A Member shall, before making any mass mailing, submit a sample or 
description of the mail matter involved to the House Commission on 
Congressional Mailing Standards for an advisory opinion as to whether 
such proposed mailing is in compliance with applicable provisions of 
law, rule, or regulation.

  3. Any mass mailing which otherwise is frankable by a Member under the 
provisions of section 3210(e) of title 39, United States Code, shall not 
be frankable unless the cost of preparing and printing such mass mailing 
is defrayed exclusively from funds made available in any appropriations 
Act.

  4. A Member may not send any mass mailing outside the congressional 
district from which the Member was elected.

  5. In the case of any Representative in the House of Representatives, 
other than a Representative at Large, who is a candidate for any 
statewide public office, any mass mailing shall not be frankable under 
section 3210 of title 39, United States Code, when the same is delivered 
to any address which is not located in the area constituting the 
congressional district from which any such individual was elected.


[[Page 835]]

(whether regular, special, or runoff) in 
which such Member is a candidate for public office. If mail matter is of 
a type which is not customarily postmarked, the date on which such 
matter would have been postmarked if it were of a type customarily 
postmarked shall apply.
  6. In the case of any Member, any mass mailing shall not be frankable 
under section 3210 of title 39, United States Code, when the same is 
postmarked less than sixty days immediately before the date of any 
primary or general election 

  7. For purposes of this rule--

  (a) The term ``mass mailing'' means, with respect to a session in 
Congress, any mailing of newsletters or other pieces of mail with 
substantially identical content (whether such mail is deposited singly 
or in bulk, or at the same time or different times), totaling more than 
500 pieces in that session, except that such term does not include any 
mailing--

          (1) of matter in direct response to a communication from a 
person to whom the matter is mailed;

          (2) from a Member to other Members of Congress, or to Federal, 
State, or local government officials; or

          (3) of a news release to the communications media.

  (b) The term ``Member'' means any Member of the House of 
Representatives, a Delegate to the House of Representatives, or the 
Resident Commissioner in the House of Representatives.


  (c) The term ``Members of Congress'' means Senators and 
Representatives in, and Delegates and Resident Commissioners to, the 
Congress.


[[Page 836]]

and 101-520, respectively) (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). Clause 4 
was rewritten in the 103d Congress to conform to the statutory 
prohibition against mass mailings outside the congressional district 
from which a Member was elected.
  This rule was adopted in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 287, Mar. 2, 1977, 
pp. 5933-53). In the 102d Congress it was extensively amended to conform 
to restrictions on franking and mass mailings included in the 
legislative branch appropriations acts for fiscal years 1990 and 1991 
(P.L. 101-163 





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 836-842]
[DOCID:hrmanual-107]                         
 
  For an indepth discussion of this rule prepared by the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct, see the House Ethics Manual (102d Cong., 
2d Sess.).


                               Rule XLVII.


          limitations on outside employment and earned income.



Sec. 943. Income limitations.

  1. (a)(1) Except  as provided 
by subparagraph (2), in calendar year 1991 or thereafter, a Member or an 
officer or employee of the House may not--


          (A) have outside earned income attributable to such calendar 
year which exceeds 15 percent of the annual rate of basic pay for level 
II of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United 
States Code, as of January 1 of such calendar year; or

          (B) receive any honorarium.


[[Page 837]]

such individual is a Member, officer, or employee during such 
calendar year and the denominator of which is 365.
  (2) In the case of any individual who becomes a Member or an officer 
or employee of the House during calendar year 1991 or thereafter, such 
individual may not have outside earned income attributable to the 
portion of that calendar year which occurs after such individual becomes 
a Member, officer or employee which exceeds 15 percent of the annual 
rate of basic pay for level II of the Executive Schedule under section 
5313 of title 5, United States Code, as of January 1 of such calendar 
year multiplied by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of days 

  (3) In calendar year 1991 or thereafter, any payment in lieu of an 
honorarium which is made to a charitable organization on behalf of a 
Member, officer or employee of the House may not be received by such 
individual. No such payment shall exceed $2,000 or be made to a 
charitable organization from which such individual or a parent, sibling, 
spouse, child, or dependent relative of such individual derives any 
financial benefit.

  (b)(1) Except as provided by subparagraph (2), in calendar year 1990, 
a Member may not have outside earned income (including honoraria 
received in such calendar year) attributable to such calendar year which 
exceeds 30 percent of the annual pay as a Member to which the Member was 
entitled in 1989.

  (2) In the case of any individual who becomes a Member during calendar 
year 1990, such individual may not have outside earned income (including 
honoraria) attributable to the portion of that calendar year which 
occurs after such individual becomes a Member which exceeds 30 percent 
of $89,500 multiplied by a fraction the numerator of which is the number 
of days such individual is a Member during such calendar year and the 
denominator of which is 365.


[[Page 838]]

  2. On or after January 1, 1991, a Member or an officer or employee of 
the House shall not--

          (1) receive compensation for affiliating with or being 
employed by a firm, partnership, association, corporation, or other 
entity which provides professional services involving a fiduciary 
relationship;

          (2) permit that Member's, officer's, or employee's name to be 
used by any such firm, partnership, association, corporation, or other 
entity;

          (3) receive compensation for practicing a profession which 
involves a fiduciary relationship;

          (4) serve for compensation as an officer or member of the 
board of any association, corporation, or other entity; or

          (5) receive compensation for teaching, without the prior 
notification and approval of the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct.

  3. A Member, officer, or employee of the House may not--


[[Page 839]]

          (1) receive any advance payment on copyright royalties, but 
this paragraph does not prohibit any literary agent, researcher, or 
other individual (other than an individual employed by the House or a 
relative of that Member, officer, or employee) working on behalf of that 
Member, officer, or employee with respect to a publication from 
receiving an advance payment of a copyright royalty directly from a 
publisher and solely for the benefit of that literary agent, researcher, 
or other individual; or

          (2) receive any copyright royalties pursuant to a contract 
entered into on or after January 1, 1996, unless that contract is first 
approved by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct as complying 
with the requirement of clause 4(e)(5) (that royalties are received from 
an established publisher pursuant to usual and customary contractual 
terms).

  4. For the purposes of this rule--

          (a) The term ``Member'' means any Member of the House of 
Representatives, a Delegate to the House of Representatives, or the 
Resident Commissioner in the House of Representatives.

          (b)(1) Except as provided by paragraph (2), the term ``officer 
or employee of the House'' means any individual (other than a Member) 
whose pay is disbursed by the Clerk and who is paid at a rate equal to 
or greater than the annual rate of basic pay in effect for grade GS-16 
of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States 
Code, and so employed for more than 90 days in a calendar year.

          (2) When used with respect to honoraria, the term ``officer or 
employee of the House'' means any individual (other than a Member) whose 
salary is disbursed by the Clerk.


[[Page 840]]

tual and necessary travel expenses incurred by such individual (and one 
relative) to the extent that such expenses are paid or reimbursed by any 
other person, and the amount otherwise determined shall be reduced by the 
amount of any such expenses to the extent that such expenses are not paid 
or reimbursed.
  (c) The term ``honorarium'' means a payment of money or any thing of 
value for an appearance, speech, or article by a Member or an officer or 
employee of the House, excluding any ac-

  (d) The term ``travel expenses'' means, with respect to a Member or an 
officer or employee of the House, or a relative of any such individual, 
the cost of transportation, and the cost of lodging and meals while away 
from his or her residence or principal place of employment.

  (e) The term ``outside earned income'' means, with respect to a 
Member, officer or employee, wages, salaries, fees, and other amounts 
received or to be received as compensation for personal services 
actually rendered but does not include--

          (1) the salary of such individual as a Member, officer or 
employee;

          (2) any compensation derived by such individual for personal 
services actually rendered prior to the effective date of this rule or 
becoming such a Member, officer or employee, whichever occurs later;

          (3) any amount paid by, or on behalf of, a Member, officer or 
employee, to a tax-qualified pension, profit-sharing, or stock bonus 
plan and received by such individual from such a plan;


[[Page 841]]

which the individual or his family holds a controlling interest and in 
which both personal services and capital are income-producing factors, 
any amount received by such individual so long as the personal services 
actually rendered by the individual in the trade or business do not 
generate a significant amount of income; and
          (4) in the case of a Member, officer or employee engaged in a 
trade or business in 

          (5) copyright royalties received from established publishers 
pursuant to usual and customary contractual terms.
Outside earned income shall be determined without regard to any 
community property law.


  (f) The term ``charitable organization'' means an organization 
described in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.


[[Page 842]]

1989). In the 102d Congress clause 2 
was further amended to specify that the ban on affiliation with a firm 
applies only if compensation is received and only with respect to a 
professional services firm, and clause 3 was further amended to specify 
the applicability of outside earned income restrictions to officers and 
employees of the House (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). In the 104th 
Congress clause 3 was redesignated as clause 4, and a new clause 3 was 
added to prohibit the receipt of advance payments on copyright royalties 
and the receipt of any payments on copyright royalties under future 
contracts unless approved in advance by the Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct (H. Res. 299, Dec. 2, 1995, p. ----).
  The rule on outside earned income was adopted in the 95th Congress (H. 
Res. 287, Mar. 2, 1977, pp. 5933-53). It was amended for the first time 
in the 96th Congress to increase the limit on a single honorarium from 
$750 to $1000 (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16). The rule was amended 
further in the 97th Congress to (1) increase the limitation on outside 
earned income for a calendar year from 15 to 30 percent of a Member's 
salary; (2) strike the $1000 limitation on a single honorarium; and (3) 
provide that honoraria shall be attributable to the calendar year in 
which payment is received, effective January 1, 1981 (H. Res. 305, Dec. 
15, 1981, p. 31529). In the 99th Congress, paragraphs (a) and (b) were 
amended to delete the 30 percent of aggregate salary limitation on 
outside earned income and to conform the limitation to that contained in 
law (2 U.S.C. 31-1 provides that a Member of Congress may not accept 
honoraria in excess of 40 percent of his aggregate salary) (H. Res. 427, 
Apr. 22, 1986, p. 8328). The next day, the House adopted a resolution 
vacating the proceedings by which that resolution had been adopted and 
laying that resolution on the table (H. Res. 432, Apr. 23, 1986, p. 
8474). The Ethics Reform Act of 1989: (1) amended the title of the rule; 
(2) amended clause 1 to effect for 1991 and future years the elimination 
of honoraria not assigned to charity and closer restrictions on outside 
earned income (including limitation to 15 percent of Executive Level II 
pay); (3) amended clause 2 to effect for 1991 and future years new 
limits on outside employment; and (4) amended clause 3 to revise certain 
definitions (P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 

  For an in depth discussion of this rule prepared by the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct, see the House Ethics Manual (102d Cong., 
2d Sess.).

  Before its coverage was restricted to the Senate in the Ethics Reform 
Act of 1989 (sec. 601(b), P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 1989), a separate 
provision of law (2 U.S.C. 441i) provided criminal penalties for any 
elected or appointed Federal employee who accepts an honorarium of more 
than $2000 per speech. A statutory ceiling of $25,000 from honoraria in 
a calendar year was repealed in 1981 (P.L. 97-51, Oct. 1, 1981). The 
Senate repealed its rule on outside earned income in the 97th Congress 
(S. Res. 512, Dec. 14, 1982, p. 30640).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 842-856]
[DOCID:hrmanual-108]                         
 
  For provisions of the federal criminal code restricting postemployment 
activities, see 18 U.S.C. 207, which was originally enacted in title V 
of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521) and most recently 
amended in the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 1989) 
and a related technical corrections Act (P.L. 101-280, May 4, 1990).


                              Rule XLVIII.


               permanent select committee on intelligence.



Sec. 944a. Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence.

  1. (a) There is  hereby established a permanent select committee to be 
known as the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (hereinafter in 
this rule referred to as the ``select committee''). The select committee 
shall be composed of not more than sixteen Members, of whom not more 
than nine may be from the same party. The select committee shall include 
at least one Member from:



[[Page 843]]

          (1) the Committee on Appropriations;

          (2) the Committee on National Security;

          (3) the Committee on International Relations; and

          (4) the Committee on the Judiciary.

  (b)(1) The Speaker of the House and the Minority Leader of the House 
shall be ex officio members of the select committee, but shall have no 
vote in the committee and shall not be counted for purposes of 
determining a quorum.

          (2) The Speaker and Minority Leader each may designate a 
member of their leadership staff to assist them in their capacity as ex 
officio members, with the same access to committee meetings, hearings, 
briefings, and materials as if employees of the select committee, and 
subject to the same security clearance and confidentiality requirements 
as employees of the select committee under this rule.


[Page 844]

  (c) No Member of the House other than the Speaker and the Minority 
Leader may serve on the select committee during more than four 
Congresses in any period of six successive Congresses (disregarding for 
this purpose any service for less than a full session in any Congress), 
except that the incumbent chairman or ranking minority member having 
served on the select committee for four Congresses and having served as 
chairman or ranking minority member for not more than one Congress shall 
be eligible for reappointment to the select committee as chairman or 
ranking minority member for one additional Congress.

  2. (a) There shall be referred to the select committee all proposed 
legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating 
to the following:

          (1) The Central Intelligence Agency and Director of Central 
Intelligence, and the National Foreign Intelligence Program as defined 
in section 3(6) of the National Security Act of 1947.

          (2) Intelligence and intelligence-related activities of all 
other departments and agencies of the Government, including, but not 
limited to, the tactical intelligence and intelligence-related 
activities of the Department of Defense.

          (3) The organization or reorganization of any department or 
agency of the Government to the extent that the organization or 
reorganization relates to a function or activity involving intelligence 
or intelligence-related activities.

          (4) Authorizations for appropriations, both direct and 
indirect, for the following:

                  (A) The Central Intelligence Agency, Director of 
Central Intelligence, and the National Foreign Intelligence Program as 
defined in section 3(6) of the National Security Act of 1947.


[[Page 845]]

ligence and intelligence-related activities of the Department of Defense.
                  (B) Intelligence and intelligence-related activities 
of all other departments and agencies of the Government, including, but 
not limited to, the tactical intel-

                  (C) Any department, agency, or subdivision, or program 
that is a successor to any agency or program named or referred to in 
subdivision (A) or (B).

  (b) Any proposed legislation initially reported by the select 
committee, except any legislation involving matters specified in 
subparagraph (1) or (4) (A) of paragraph (a), containing any matter 
otherwise within the jurisdiction of any standing committee shall, at 
the request of the chairman of such standing committee, be referred to 
such standing committee by the Speaker for its consideration of such 
matter and be reported to the House by such standing committee within 
the time prescribed by the Speaker in the referral; and any proposed 
legislation initially reported by any committee, other than the select 
committee, which contains any matter within the jurisdiction of the 
select committee shall, at the request of the chairman of the select 
committee, be referred by the Speaker to the select committee for its 
consideration of such matter and be reported to the House within the 
time prescribed by the Speaker in the referral.


[[Page 846]]

  (c) Nothing in this rule shall be construed as prohibiting or 
otherwise restricting the authority of any other committee to study and 
review any intelligence or intelligence-related activity to the extent 
that such activity directly affects a matter otherwise within the 
jurisdiction of such committee.

  (d) Nothing in the rule shall be construed as amending, limiting, or 
otherwise changing the authority of any standing committee of the House 
to obtain full and prompt access to the product of the intelligence and 
intelligence-related activities of any department or agency of the 
Government relevant to a matter otherwise within the jurisdiction of 
such committee.

  3. (a) The select committee, for the purposes of accountability to the 
House, shall make regular and periodic reports to the House on the 
nature and the extent of the intelligence and intelligence-related 
activities of the various departments and agencies of the United States. 
Such committee shall promptly call to the attention of the House or to 
any other appropriate committee or committees of the House any matters 
requiring the attention of the House or such other committee or 
committees. In making such reports, the select committee shall proceed 
in a manner consistent with clause 7 to protect national security.


[[Page 847]]

lic at the discretion of the select committee. Nothing herein shall be 
construed as requiring the public disclosure in such reports of the names 
of individuals engaged in intelligence or intelligence-related activities 
for the United States or the divulging of intelligence methods employed 
or the sources of information on which such reports are based or the 
amount of funds authorized to be appropriated for intelligence and 
intelligence-related activities.
  (b) The select committee shall obtain an annual report from the 
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Secretary of Defense, 
the Secretary of State, and the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation. Such reports shall review the intelligence and 
intelligence-related activities of the agency or department concerned 
and the intelligence and intelligence-related activities of foreign 
countries directed at the United States or its interest. An unclassified 
version of each report may be made available to the pub-

  (c) Within 6 weeks after the President submits a budget under section 
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, the select committee shall 
submit to the Committee on the Budget of the House the views and 
estimates described in section 301(d) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 regarding matters within the jurisdiction of the select committee.

  4. To the extent not inconsistent with the provisions of this rule, 
the provisions of clauses 1, 2, 3, and 5(a), (b), (c) and (6)(a), (b), 
(c) of rule XI shall apply to the select committee, except that, 
notwithstanding the requirements of the first sentence of clause 2(g)(2) 
of rule XI, a majority of those present, there being in attendance the 
requisite number required under the rules of the select committee to be 
present for the purpose of taking testimony or receiving evidence, may 
vote to close a hearing whenever the majority determines that such 
testimony or evidence would endanger the national security.


[[Page 848]]

form services for or at the request of such 
committee shall be given access to any classified information by such 
committee unless such employee or person has (1) agreed in writing and 
under oath to be bound by the rules of the House (including the 
jurisdiction of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and of 
the select committee as to the security of such information during and 
after the period of his employment or contractual agreement with such 
committee); and (2) received an appropriate security clearance as 
determined by such committee in consultation with the Director of 
Central Intelligence. The type of security clearance to be required in 
the case of any such employee or person shall, within the determination 
of such committee in consultation with the Director of Central 
Intelligence, be commensurate with the sensitivity of the classified 
information to which such employee or person will be given access by 
such committee.
  5. No employee of the select committee or any person engaged by 
contract or otherwise to per-


[[Page 849]]

clearly outweighs any infringement on the privacy of any person or persons.
  6. The select committee shall formulate and carry out such rules and 
procedures as it deems necessary to prevent the disclosure, without the 
consent of the person or persons concerned, of information in the 
possession of such committee which unduly infringes upon the privacy or 
which violates the constitutional rights of such person or persons. 
Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent such committee from 
publicly disclosing any such information in any case in which such 
committee determines that national interest in the disclosure of such 
information 

  7. (a) The select committee may, subject to the provisions of this 
clause, disclose publicly any information in the possession of such 
committee after a determination by such committee that the public 
interest would be served by such disclosure. Whenever committee action 
is required to disclose any information under this clause, the committee 
shall meet to vote on the matter within five days after any member of 
the committee requests such a vote. No member of the select committee 
shall disclose any information, the disclosure of which requires a 
committee vote, prior to a vote by the committee on the question of the 
disclosure of such information or after such vote except in accordance 
with this clause.

  (b)(1) In any case in which the select committee votes to disclose 
publicly any information which has been classified under established 
security procedures, which has been submitted to it by the executive 
branch, and which the executive branch requests be kept secret, such 
committee shall notify the President of such vote.


[[Page 850]]

therefor, and certifies that the threat to the national interest of the 
United States posed by such disclosure is of such gravity that it outweighs 
any public interest in the disclosure.
  (2) The select committee may disclose publicly such information after 
the expiration of a five-day period following the day on which notice of 
such vote is transmitted to the President, unless, prior to the 
expiration of such five-day period, the President, personally in 
writing, notifies the committee that he objects to the disclosure of 
such information, provides his reasons 

  (3) If the President, personally, in writing, notifies the select 
committee of his objections to the disclosure of such information as 
provided in subparagraph (2), such committee may, by majority vote, 
refer the question of this disclosure of such information with a 
recommendation thereon to the House for consideration. The committee 
shall not publicly disclose such information without leave of the House.

  (4) Whenever the select committee votes to refer the question of 
disclosure of any information to the House under subparagraph (3), the 
chairman shall, not later than the first day on which the House is in 
session following the day on which the vote occurs, report the matter to 
the House for its consideration.

  (5) If within four calendar days on which the House is in session, 
after such recommendation is reported, no motion has been made by the 
chairman of the select committee to consider, in closed session, the 
matter reported under subparagraph (4), then such a motion will be 
deemed privileged and may be made by any Member. The motion under this 
subparagraph shall not be subject to debate or amendment. When made, it 
shall be decided without intervening motion, except one motion to 
adjourn.


[[Page 851]]

authorized to declare a recess subject to the call of the Chair. At 
the expiration of such recess, the pending question, in closed session, 
shall be, ``Shall the House approve the recommendation of the select 
committee?''.
  (6) If the House adopts a motion to resolve into closed session, the 
Speaker shall then be 

  (7) After not more than two hours of debate on the motion, such debate 
to be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the select committee, or their designees, the 
previous question shall be considered as ordered and the House, without 
intervening motion except one motion to adjourn, shall immediately vote 
on the question, in open session but without divulging the information 
with respect to which the vote is being taken. If the recommendation of 
the select committee is not agreed to, the question shall be deemed 
recommitted to the select committee for further recommendation.

  (c)(1) No information in the possession of the select committee 
relating to the lawful intelligence or intelligence-related activities 
of any department or agency of the United States which has been 
classified under established security procedures and which the select 
committee, pursuant to paragraphs (a) or (b) of this clause, has 
determined should not be disclosed shall be made available to any person 
by a Member, officer, or employee of the House except as provided in 
subparagraphs (2) and (3).


[[Page 852]]

available to any other committee or any other Member of 
the House and permit any other Member of the House to attend any hearing 
of the committee which is closed to the public. Whenever the select 
committee makes such information available (other than to the Speaker), 
the committee shall keep a written record showing, in the case of any 
particular information, which committee or which Members of the House 
received such information. No Member of the House who, and no committee 
which, receives any information under this subparagraph, shall disclose 
such information except in a closed session of the House.
  (2) The select committee shall, under such regulations as the 
committee shall prescribe, make any information described in 
subparagraph (1) 

  (d) The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall investigate 
any unauthorized disclosure of intelligence or intelligence-related 
information by a Member, officer, or employee of the House in violation 
of paragraph (c) and report to the House concerning any allegation which 
it finds to be substantiated.


[[Page 853]]

censure, removal from committee membership, or expulsion from the House, 
in the case of a Member, or removal from office or employment or punishment 
for contempt, in the case of an officer or employee.
  (e) Upon the request of any person who is subject to any such 
investigation, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall 
release to such individual at the conclusion of its investigation a 
summary of its investigation, together with its findings. If, at the 
conclusion of its investigation, the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct determines that there has been a significant breach of 
confidentiality or unauthorized disclosure by a Member, officer, or 
employee of the House, it shall report its findings to the House and 
recommend appropriate action such as 

  8. The select committee is authorized to permit any personal 
representative of the President, designated by the President to serve as 
a liaison to such committee, to attend any closed meeting of such 
committee.

  9. Subject to the rules of the House, no funds shall be appropriated 
for any fiscal year, with the exception of a continuing bill or 
resolution continuing appropriations, or amendment thereto, or 
conference report thereon, to, or for use of, any department or agency 
of the United States to carry out any of the following activities, 
unless such funds shall have been previously authorized by a bill or 
joint resolution passed by the House during the same or preceding fiscal 
year to carry out such activity for such fiscal year:

          (a) The activities of the Central Intelligence Agency and the 
Director of Central Intelligence.

          (b) The activities of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

          (c) The activities of the National Security Agency.


[[Page 854]]

          (d) The intelligence and intelligence related activities of 
other agencies and subdivisions of the Department of Defense.

          (e) The intelligence and intelligence-related activities of 
the Department of State.

          (f) The intelligence and intelligence-related activities of 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including all activities of the 
Intelligence Division.


[[Page 855]]

  10. (a) As used in this rule, the term ``intelligence and 
intelligence-related activities'' includes (1) the collection, analysis, 
production, dissemination, or use of information which relates to any 
foreign country, or any government, political group, party, military 
force, movement or other association in such foreign country, and which 
relates to the defense, foreign policy, national security, or related 
policies of the United States, and other activity which is in support of 
such activities; (2) activities taken to counter similar activities 
directed against the United States; (3) covert or clandestine activities 
affecting the relations of the United States with any foreign 
government, political group, party, military force, movement, or other 
association; (4) the collection, analysis, production, dissemination, or 
use of information about activities of persons within the United States, 
its territories and possessions, or nationals of the United States 
abroad whose political and related activities pose, or may be considered 
by any department, agency, bureau, office, division, instrumentality, or 
employee of the United States to pose, a threat to the internal security 
of the United States, and covert or clandestine activities directed 
against such persons.

  (b) As used in this rule, the term ``department or agency'' includes 
any organization, committee, council, establishment, or office within 
the Federal Government.

  (c) For purposes of this rule, reference to any department, agency, 
bureau, or subdivision shall include a reference to any successor 
department, agency, bureau, or subdivision to the extent that such 
successor engages in intelligence or intelligence-related activities now 
conducted by the department, agency, bureau, or subdivision referred to 
in this rule.


  11. Clause 6(a) of rule XXVIII does not apply to conference committee 
meetings respecting legislation (or any part thereof) reported from the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.



Sec. 944b.

  This rule was  adopted in the 95th Congress (H. 
Res. 658, July 14, 1977, pp. 22932-49) and has had several technical 
amendments: (1) to change the size of the Select Committee from 13 to 14 
members (H. Res. 70, 96th Cong., Jan. 25, 1979, p. 1023); (2) to reflect 
a change in the name of a committee (H. Res. 89, 96th Cong., Feb. 5, 
1979, pp. 1848-49); (3) to change the size to not more than 16 members 
(H. Res. 33, 99th Cong., Jan. 30, 1985, p. 1271); (4) to change the size 
to not more than 17 members and to change the cross-reference in clause 
7(c)(1) to include paragraph (a) or (b) (H. Res. 5, 100th Cong., Jan. 6, 
1987, p. 6); (5) to change the size to not more than 19 members (H. Res. 
5, 101st Cong., Jan. 3, 1989, p. 73) and to permit the Speaker to attend 
meetings and have access to information (H. Res. 268, Nov. 14, 1989, p. 
28789); (6) to strike obsolete language relating to tenure restrictions 
in clause 1 and relating to the requirement for authorizations of 
appropriations in clause 9 (H. Res. 5, 102d Cong., Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39); 
and (7) to make certain conforming changes (Budget Enforcement Act of 
1997 (sec. 10104, P.L. 105-33))..



[[Pge 856]]

Select Committee to vote to go into executive session if a majority of 
the members present, there being in attendance the requisite number 
under the Select Committee rules for the purpose of taking testimony, 
determine that it is necessary to do so for national security reasons 
(but in no event to be determined by less than two members) (H. Res. 
165, Mar. 29, 1979, p. 6820); and (3) clause 4 was amended to provide 
the Select Committee with permanent professional and clerical staff as 
provided by clauses 6 (a) and (b) of rule XI (H. Res. 58, Mar. 1, 1983, 
p. 3241).
  More substantive amendments have been adopted as follows: (1) clause 4 
was amended to make clause 6(c) of rule XI applicable to salaries of the 
staff of the Permanent Select Committee (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 
7-16); (2) clause 4 was amended to make an exception to the provisions 
of clause 2(g)(2) of rule XI (requiring a majority of the membership of 
a committee be present in order to vote to close a hearing) to allow the 

  In the 104th Congress the rule was amended in several different 
respects: (1) to limit the size of the panel to 16, with no more than 
nine members from the same party; (2) to set the tenure limitation at 
four Congresses within a period of six Congresses, with exceptions for 
ongoing service as chairman or ranking minority member; (3) to make the 
Speaker (rather than the Majority Leader) an ex officio member of the 
panel (as opposed to his former free access to its meetings and 
information); (4) to clarify jurisdiction over the National Foreign 
Intelligence Program and the tactical intelligence and intelligence-
related activities of the Department of Defense; (5) to clarify staffing 
arrangements for the Speaker and the Minority Leader as ex officio 
members; and (6) to conform references to renamed committees (sec. 221, 
H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----).

  The resolution creating the Permanent Select Committee directed the 
committee to make a study with respect to intelligence and intelligence-
related activities of the U.S. and to report thereon, together with 
appropriate recommendations, not later than the close of the 95th 
Congress (sec. 3, H. Res. 658; see H. Rept. 95-1795, Oct. 14, 1978), and 
transferred to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence all 
records, files, documents and other materials of the Select Committee on 
Intelligence of the 94th Congress in the possession, custody, or control 
of the Clerk of the House.

  The Permanent Select Committee has concurrent jurisdiction with the 
Committee on the Judiciary over bills concerning electronic surveillance 
of foreign intelligence (Nov. 4, 1977, pp. 37070-71); concurrent 
jurisdiction with the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology (now 
Science) and Foreign Affairs (now International Relations) over a bill 
establishing a satellite monitoring commission (Mar. 15, 1988, p. 3847); 
and sole jurisdiction over a resolution of inquiry directing the 
Secretary of Defense to furnish to the House documents and information 
on Cuban or other foreign military or paramilitary presence in Panama or 
the Canal Zone (Apr. 6, 1978, p. 9105).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Page 857-860]
[DOCID:hrmanual-109]                         

[[Page 857]]
 
  Clause 7(b) of rule XLVIII places restrictions on the Select Committee 
on Intelligence only with respect to the public disclosure of classified 
information in the possession of that committee, and does not prevent 
the House from determining to release any matter properly presented to 
it in secret session pursuant to rule XXIX (Speaker pro tempore Wright, 
Feb. 25, 1980, p. 3618).


                               Rule XLIX.


          establishment of statutory limit on the public debt.


[[Page 858]]

dent for his signature (and otherwise treated for all purposes) in the 
manner provided for bills and joint resolutions generally.


Sec. 945. Public debt limit.

  1. Upon the  adoption by the 
Congress (under section 301 or 304 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974) of any concurrent resolution on the budget setting forth as the 
appropriate level of the public debt for the period to which such 
concurrent resolution relates an amount which is different from the 
amount of the statutory limit on the public debt that would otherwise be 
in effect for such period, the enrolling clerk of the House of 
Representatives shall prepare an engrossment of a joint resolution, in 
the form prescribed in clause 2, increasing or decreasing the statutory 
limit on the public debt. The vote by which the conference report on the 
concurrent resolution on the budget was agreed to in the House (or by 
which the concurrent resolution itself was adopted in the House, if 
there is no conference report) shall be deemed to have been a vote in 
favor of such joint resolution upon final passage in the House of 
Representatives. Upon the engrossment of such joint resolution it shall 
be deemed to have passed the House of Representatives and been duly 
certified and examined; the engrossed copy shall be signed by the Clerk 
and transmitted to the Senate for further legislative action; and (upon 
final passage by both Houses) the joint resolution shall be signed by 
the presiding officers of both Houses and presented to the Presi-


  2. The matter after the resolving clause in any joint resolution 
described in clause 1 shall be as follows: ``That subsection (b) of 
section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out 
the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu 
thereof `$        '.'', with the blank being filled in with a limitation 
equal to the appropriate level of the public debt as set forth, pursuant 
to section 301(a)(5) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, in the 
concurrent resolution on the budget (whether such resolution was adopted 
under section 301, 304, or 310 of such Act). Only one joint resolution 
shall be prepared under clause 1 upon the adoption of any concurrent 
resolution on the budget; and, if the concurrent resolution set forth a 
different appropriate level of the public debt (pursuant to such section 
301(a)(5)) for each of two separate periods, the blank referred to in 
the preceding sentence shall be filled in with both the limitation which 
is to apply for the later of the two periods (specifying the date on 
which that limitation is to take effect) and the limitation which is to 
apply for the earlier of such periods.


[[Page 859]]

ment accompanying the conference report on 
any concurrent resolution on the budget, shall contain a clear statement 
of the effect under this rule that the adoption by both the House and 
the Senate of such concurrent resolution in the form in which it is 
being reported (and the adoption of the joint resolution thereupon 
prepared and enrolled under clause 1) would have upon the statutory 
limit on the public debt. It shall not be in order in the House of 
Representatives at any time to consider or adopt any concurrent 
resolution on the budget (or agree to any conference report thereon) if 
at that time the report accompanying such concurrent resolution (or the 
joint statement accompanying such conference report) does not comply 
with the requirements of this clause.
  3. The report of the Committee on the Budget of the House of 
Representatives accompanying any concurrent resolution on the budget 
under section 301(d) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as well as 
the joint explanatory state-

  4. Nothing in this rule shall be construed as limiting or otherwise 
affecting the power of the House of Representatives or the Senate to 
consider and pass a bill which (without regard to the procedures under 
clause 1) changes the statutory limit on the public debt most recently 
established under this rule or otherwise; and the rights of Members and 
committees of the House with respect to the introduction, consideration, 
and reporting of any such bill shall be determined as though this rule 
had not been adopted.


[[Page 860]]

interest by the United States (except such guaranteed obligations as may 
be held by the Secretary of the Treasury), determined under section 
3101(b) of title 31 after the application of section 3101(a), title 31 
which may be outstanding at any one time.

  5. As used in this rule, the term ``statutory limit on the public 
debt'' means the maximum face amount of obligations issued under 
authority of chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code and obligations 
guaranteed as to principal and 





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 861-864]
[DOCID:hrmanual-110]                         

[[Page 861]]
 
  This rule was added in the 96th Congress by Public Law 96-78 (93 Stat. 
589) and was originally applicable to concurrent resolutions on the 
budget for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 1980 (fiscal 
1981). However, in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 642, Apr. 23, 1980, p. 
8800), the provisions of that public law amending the rules of the House 
were made applicable to the third concurrent resolution on the budget 
for fiscal year 1980 as well as the first concurrent resolution on the 
budget for fiscal 1981 (H. Con. Res. 307, June 12, 1980, pp. 14505-19; 
see H.J. Res. 569 and H.J. Res. 570, June 13, 1980, p. 14609). 
Conforming changes were made in clauses 2 and 5 of this rule with the 
codification of title 31, United States Code, by Public Law 97-258 (96 
Stat. 1066). The rule was amended in the 98th Congress (H. Res. 241, 
June 23, 1983, p. 17162) to reflect the enactment into law (P.L. 98-34) 
of a new permanent, rather than temporary, debt limit. Clause 2 of the 
rule was rewritten, and clause 1 modified, to change the form of the 
joint resolution engrossed pursuant to the rule in order to delete 
references to a temporary debt limit and to reflect instead changes in a 
permanent debt limit. The rules change also provided that where a budget 
resolution contains more than one public debt limit figure (for the 
current and the next fiscal year), only one joint resolution be 
engrossed, containing the debt limit figure for the current fiscal year 
with a time limitation, and the debt limit figure for the following 
fiscal year as the permanent limit. The date of final House action in 
adopting the conference report on the concurrent resolution on the 
budget, rather than the date of final Senate action, when later, is the 
appropriate date under this rule for deeming the House to have passed 
the joint resolution (July 14, 1986, p. 16316; Speaker Wright, June 25, 
1987, p. 17424). Another conforming change in clause 1 was made in the 
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-177, 
Dec. 12, 1985, p. 36209) to delete reference to a second concurrent 
resolution on the budget (no longer required under section 310 of the 
Budget Act). This rule was rendered inapplicable to a conference report 
on a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 1996 (sec. 3, 
H. Res. 149, May 17, 1995, p. ----).


                                 Rule L.


                  procedure for response to subpoenas.



Sec. 946. Response to subpoenas.

  1. When any  Member, 
officer, or employee of the House of Representatives is properly served 
with a subpoena or other judicial order directing appearance as a 
witness relating to the official functions of the House or for the 
production or disclosure of any documents relating to the official 
functions of the House, such Member, officer, or employee shall comply, 
consistently with the privileges and rights of the House, with said 
subpoena or other judicial order as hereinafter provided, unless 
otherwise determined pursuant to the provisions of this rule.


  2. Upon receipt of a properly served subpoena or other judicial order 
directing appearance as a witness relating to the official functions of 
the House or for the production or disclosure of any documents relating 
to the official functions of the House, such Member, officer, or 
employee shall promptly notify, in writing, the Speaker of its receipt 
and such notification shall then be promptly laid before the House by 
the Speaker, except that during a period of recess or adjournment of 
longer than three days, no such notification to the House shall be 
required. However, upon the reconvening of the House, such notification 
shall then be promptly laid before the House by the Speaker.


[[Page 862]]

determine whether the issuance of the subpoena or other judicial order 
is a proper exercise of the court's jurisdiction, is material and 
relevant, and is consistent with the privileges and rights of the House. 
The Member, officer, or employee shall notify the Speaker prior to 
seeking judicial determination of these matters.
  3. Once notification has been laid before the House, the Member, 
officer, or employee shall 

  4. Upon determination whether the subpoena or other judicial order is 
a proper exercise of the court's jurisdiction, is material and relevant, 
and is consistent with the privileges and rights of the House, the 
Member, officer, or employee shall immediately notify, in writing, the 
Speaker of such a determination.

  5. The Speaker shall inform the House of the determination of whether 
the subpoena or other judicial order is a proper exercise of the court's 
jurisdiction, is material and relevant, and is consistent with the 
privileges and rights of the House, and shall generally describe the 
records or information sought, except that during any recess or 
adjournment of the House for longer than three days, no such 
notification is required. However, upon the reconvening of the House, 
such notification shall then be promptly laid before the House by the 
Speaker.


[[Page 863]]

House adopts a resolution to the contrary; except that under no 
circumstances shall any minutes or transcripts of executive sessions, 
or any evidence of witnesses in respect thereto, be disclosed or copied. 
Should the House be in recess or adjournment for longer than three days, 
the Speaker may authorize compliance or take such other action as he deems 
appropriate under the circumstances during the pendency of such recess or 
adjournment. And upon the reconvening of the House, all matters having 
transpired under this clause shall be laid promptly before the House by 
the Speaker.
  6. Upon such notification to the House that said subpoena is a proper 
exercise of the court's jurisdiction, is material and relevant, and is 
consistent with the privileges and rights of the House, the Member, 
officer, or employee shall comply with such subpoena or other judicial 
order by supplying certified copies, unless the 

  7. A copy of this rule shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the House 
to any of said courts whenever any such subpoena or other judicial order 
is issued and served on a Member, officer, or employee of the House.


  8. Nothing in this rule shall be construed to deprive, condition or 
waive the constitutional or legal rights applicable or available to any 
Member, officer, or employee of the House, or of the House itself, or 
the right of a Member or the House to assert such privilege or right 
before any court in the United States, or the right of the House 
thereafter to assert such privilege or immunity before any court in the 
United States.


[[Page 864]]

gresses (H. Res. 10, Jan. 15, 1979, p. 19) when general 
authority was granted to respond to subpoenas and a procedure was 
established for automatic compliance without the necessity of a House 
vote. This standing authority was clarified and revised later in the 
96th Congress by H. Res. 722 (Sept. 17, 1980, pp. 25777-90) and forms 
the basis for the present rule.
  Rule L was added in the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, p. 98) 
and provides general authority to the Members, officers, or employees to 
comply with subpoenas served on them in relation to their official 
functions and establishes the procedure by which subpoenas shall be 
complied with. Until the 95th Congress, whenever a Member, officer, or 
employee received a subpoena, the House would decide by adopting a 
resolution granting authority to the person to respond. This case-by-
case approach was changed in the 95th (H. Res. 10, Jan. 4, 1977, p. 73) 
and 96th Con-

  In the 102d Congress, the House considered as questions of the 
privileges of the House resolutions: responding to a subpoena for 
records of the ``bank'' in the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (Apr. 29, 
1992, p. ----); responding to a contemporaneous ``request'' for such 
records from a Special Counsel (Apr. 29, 1992, p. ----); and authorizing 
an officer of the House to release certain documents in response to 
another such request from the Special Counsel (May 28, 1992, p. ----).





[House Rules Manual -- House Document No. 104-272]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office Online Database]
[Pages 864-877]
[DOCID:hrmanual-111]                         
 
  Under clause 2 of rule L, the Speaker promptly lays before the House a 
communication notifying him of the receipt of a subpoena, but the rule 
does not require that the text of a subpoena be printed in the Record 
(July 31, 1992, p. ----).


                                Rule LI.


                               gift rule.



Sec. 946a. Gift rule.

  1. (a) No  Member, officer, or employee 
of the House of Representatives shall knowingly accept a gift except as 
provided in this rule.


  (b)(1) For the purpose of this rule, the term ``gift'' means any 
gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, 
forbearance, or other item having monetary value. The term includes 
gifts of services, training, transportation, lodging, and meals, whether 
provided in kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or 
reimbursement after the expense has been incurred.


[[Page 865]]

ployee if it is given with the knowledge and acquiescence of the Member, 
officer, or employee and the Member, officer, or employee has reason to 
believe the gift was given because of the official position of the Member, 
officer, or employee.
  (2)(A) A gift to a family member of a Member, officer, or employee, or 
a gift to any other individual based on that individual's relationship 
with the Member, officer, or employee, shall be considered a gift to the 
Member, officer, or em-

  (B) If food or refreshment is provided at the same time and place to 
both a Member, officer, or employee and the spouse or dependent thereof, 
only the food or refreshment provided to the Member, officer, or 
employee shall be treated as a gift for purposes of this rule.

  (c) The restrictions in paragraph (a) shall not apply to the 
following:

          (1) Anything for which the Member, officer, or employee pays 
the market value, or does not use and promptly returns to the donor.

          (2) A contribution, as defined in section 301(8) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) that is 
lawfully made under that Act, a lawful contribution for election to a 
State or local government office, or attendance at a fundraising event 
sponsored by a political organization described in section 527(e) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

          (3) A gift from a relative as described in section 109(16) of 
title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-521).


[[Page 866]]

to believe that, under the circumstances, the gift was provided because 
of the official position of the Member, officer, or employee and not 
because of the personal friendship.
          (4)(A) Anything provided by an individual on the basis of a 
personal friendship unless the Member, officer, or employee has reason 

          (B) In determining whether a gift is provided on the basis of 
personal friendship, the Member, officer, or employee shall consider the 
circumstances under which the gift was offered, such as:

                  (i) The history of the relationship between the 
individual giving the gift and the recipient of the gift, including any 
previous exchange of gifts between such individuals.

                  (ii) Whether to the actual knowledge of the Member, 
officer, or employee the individual who gave the gift personally paid 
for the gift or sought a tax deduction or business reimbursement for the 
gift.

                  (iii) Whether to the actual knowledge of the Member, 
officer, or employee the individual who gave the gift also at the same 
time gave the same or similar gifts to other Members, officers, or 
employees.


[[Page 867]]

the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
          (5) Except as provided in clause 3(c), a contribution or other 
payment to a legal expense fund established for the benefit of a Member, 
officer, or employee that is otherwise lawfully made in accordance with 
the restrictions and disclosure requirements of 

          (6) Any gift from another Member, officer, or employee of the 
Senate or the House of Representatives.

          (7) Food, refreshments, lodging, transportation, and other 
benefits--

                  (A) resulting from the outside business or employment 
activities (or other outside activities that are not connected to the 
duties of the Member, officer, or employee as an officeholder) of the 
Member, officer, or employee, or the spouse of the Member, officer, or 
employee, if such benefits have not been offered or enhanced because of 
the official position of the Member, officer, or employee and are 
customarily provided to others in similar circumstances;

                  (B) customarily provided by a prospective employer in 
connection with bona fide employment discussions; or

                  (C) provided by a political organization described in 
section 527(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in connection with a 
fundraising or campaign event sponsored by such an organization.


[[Page 868]]

          (8) Pension and other benefits resulting from continued 
participation in an employee welfare and benefits plan maintained by a 
former employer.

          (9) Informational materials that are sent to the office of the 
Member, officer, or employee in the form of books, articles, 
periodicals, other written materials, audiotapes, videotapes, or other 
forms of communication.

          (10) Awards or prizes which are given to competitors in 
contests or events open to the public, including random drawings.

          (11) Honorary degrees (and associated travel, food, 
refreshments, and entertainment) and other bona fide, nonmonetary awards 
presented in recognition of public service (and associated food, 
refreshments, and entertainment provided in the presentation of such 
degrees and awards).

          (12) Training (including food and refreshments furnished to 
all attendees as an integral part of the training) provided to a Member, 
officer, or employee, if such training is in the interest of the House 
of Representatives.

          (13) Bequests, inheritances, and other transfers at death.

          (14) Any item, the receipt of which is authorized by the 
Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, the Mutual Educational and Cultural 
Exchange Act, or any other statute.


[[Page 869]]

          (15) Anything which is paid for by the Federal Government, by 
a State or local government, or secured by the Government under a 
Government contract.

          (16) A gift of personal hospitality (as defined in section 
109(14) of the Ethics in Government Act) of an individual other than a 
registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal.

          (17) Free attendance at a widely attended event permitted 
pursuant to paragraph (d).

          (18) Opportunities and benefits which are--

                  (A) available to the public or to a class consisting 
of all Federal employees, whether or not restricted on the basis of 
geographic consideration;

                  (B) offered to members of a group or class in which 
membership is unrelated to congressional employment;

                  (C) offered to members of an organization, such as an 
employees' association or congressional credit union, in which 
membership is related to congressional employment and similar 
opportunities are available to large segments of the public through 
organizations of similar size;

                  (D) offered to any group or class that is not defined 
in a manner that specifically discriminates among Government employees 
on the basis of branch of Government or type of responsibility, or on a 
basis that favors those of higher rank or rate of pay;


[[Page 870]]

terms generally available to the public; or
                  (E) in the form of loans from banks and other 
financial institutions on 

                  (F) in the form of reduced membership or other fees 
for participation in organization activities offered to all Government 
employees by professional organizations if the only restrictions on 
membership relate to professional qualifications.

          (19) A plaque, trophy, or other item that is substantially 
commemorative in nature and which is intended for presentation.

          (20) Anything for which, in an unusual case, a waiver is 
granted by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

          (21) Food or refreshments of a nominal value offered other 
than as a part of a meal.

          (22) Donations of products from the State that the Member 
represents that are intended primarily for promotional purposes, such as 
display or free distribution, and are of minimal value to any individual 
recipient.

          (23) An item of nominal value such as a greeting card, 
baseball cap, or a T-shirt.

  (d)(1) A Member, officer, or employee may accept an offer of free 
attendance at a widely attended convention, conference, symposium, 
forum, panel discussion, dinner, viewing, reception, or similar event, 
provided by the sponsor of the event, if--


[[Page 871]]

related to Congress or matters before Congress, or by performing a 
ceremonial function appropriate to the Member's, officer's, or 
employee's official position; or
          (A) the Member, officer, or employee participates in the event 
as a speaker or a panel participant, by presenting information 

          (B) attendance at the event is appropriate to the performance 
of the official duties or representative function of the Member, 
officer, or employee.

  (2) A Member, officer, or employee who attends an event described in 
subparagraph (1) may accept a sponsor's unsolicited offer of free 
attendance at the event for an accompanying individual.

  (3) A Member, officer, or employee, or the spouse or dependent 
thereof, may accept a sponsor's unsolicited offer of free attendance at 
a charity event, except that reimbursement for transportation and 
lodging may not be accepted in connection with the event.

  (4) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ``free attendance'' may 
include waiver of all or part of a conference or other fee, the 
provision of local transportation, or the provision of food, 
refreshments, entertainment, and instructional materials furnished to 
all attendees as an integral part of the event. The term does not 
include entertainment collateral to the event, nor does it include food 
or refreshments taken other than in a group setting with all or 
substantially all other attendees.


[[Page 872]]

paragraph (c)(4) unless the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 
issues a written determination that such exception applies. No 
determination under this paragraph is required for gifts given on the 
basis of the family relationship exception.
  (e) No Member, officer, or employee may accept a gift the value of 
which exceeds $250 on the basis of the personal friendship exception in 

  (f) When it is not practicable to return a tangible item because it is 
perishable, the item may, at the discretion of the recipient, be given 
to an appropriate charity or destroyed.

  2. (a)(1) A reimbursement (including payment in kind) to a Member, 
officer, or employee from a private source other than a registered 
lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal for necessary transportation, 
lodging and related expenses for travel to a meeting, speaking 
engagement, factfinding trip or similar event in connection with the 
duties of the Member, officer, or employee as an officeholder shall be 
deemed to be a reimbursement to the House of Representatives and not a 
gift prohibited by this rule, if the Member, officer, or employee--

          (A) in the case of an employee, receives advance 
authorization, from the Member or officer under whose direct supervision 
the employee works, to accept reimbursement, and

          (B) discloses the expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed and 
the authorization to the Clerk of the House of Representatives within 30 
days after the travel is completed.


[[Page 873]]

reational in nature, shall not be considered to be in connection with the 
duties of a Member, officer, or employee as an officeholder.
  (2) For purposes of paragraph (a)(1), events, the activities of which 
are substantially rec-

  (b) Each advance authorization to accept reimbursement shall be signed 
by the Member or officer under whose direct supervision the employee 
works and shall include--

          (1) the name of the employee;

          (2) the name of the person who will make the reimbursement;

          (3) the time, place, and purpose of the travel; and

          (4) a determination that the travel is in connection with the 
duties of the employee as an officeholder and would not create the 
appearance that the employee is using public office for private gain.

  (c) Each disclosure made under paragraph (a)(1) of expenses reimbursed 
or to be reimbursed shall be signed by the Member or officer (in the 
case of travel by that Member or officer) or by the Member or officer 
under whose direct supervision the employee works (in the case of travel 
by an employee) and shall include--

          (1) a good faith estimate of total transportation expenses 
reimbursed or to be reimbursed;

          (2) a good faith estimate of total lodging expenses reimbursed 
or to be reimbursed;


[[Page 874]]

          (3) a good faith estimate of total meal expenses reimbursed or 
to be reimbursed;

          (4) a good faith estimate of the total of other expenses 
reimbursed or to be reimbursed;

          (5) a determination that all such expenses are necessary 
transportation, lodging, and related expenses as defined in paragraph 
(d); and

          (6) in the case of a reimbursement to a Member or officer, a 
determination that the travel was in connection with the duties of the 
Member or officer as an officeholder and would not create the appearance 
that the Member or officer is using public office for private gain.

  (d) For the purposes of this clause, the term ``necessary 
transportation, lodging, and related expenses''--

          (1) includes reasonable expenses that are necessary for travel 
for a period not exceeding 4 days within the United States or 7 days 
exclusive of travel time outside of the United States unless approved in 
advance by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct;

          (2) is limited to reasonable expenditures for transportation, 
lodging, conference fees and materials, and food and refreshments, 
including reimbursement for necessary transportation, whether or not 
such transportation occurs within the periods described in subparagraph 
(1);


[[Page 875]]

tertainment other than that provided to all attendees as an integral 
part of the event, except for activities or entertainment otherwise 
permissible under this rule; and
          (3) does not include expenditures for recreational activities, 
nor does it include en-

          (4) may include travel expenses incurred on behalf of either 
the spouse or a child of the Member, officer, or employee.

  (e) The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall make available to 
the public all advance authorizations and disclosures of reimbursement 
filed pursuant to paragraph (a) as soon as possible after they are 
received.

  3. A gift prohibited by clause 1(a) includes the following:

          (a) Anything provided by a registered lobbyist or an agent of 
a foreign principal to an entity that is maintained or controlled by a 
Member, officer, or employee.

          (b) A charitable contribution (as defined in section 170(c) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) made by a registered lobbyist or an 
agent of a foreign principal on the basis of a designation, 
recommendation, or other specification of a Member, officer, or employee 
(not including a mass mailing or other solicitation directed to a broad 
category of persons or entities), other than a charitable contribution 
permitted by clause 4.


[[Page 876]]

for the benefit of a Member, officer, or employee.
          (c) A contribution or other payment by a registered lobbyist 
or an agent of a foreign principal to a legal expense fund established 

          (d) A financial contribution or expenditure made by a 
registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal relating to a 
conference, retreat, or similar event, sponsored by or affiliated with 
an official congressional organization, for or on behalf of Members, 
officers, or employees.

  4. (a) A charitable contribution (as defined in section 170(c) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986) made by a registered lobbyist or an agent 
of a foreign principal in lieu of an honorarium to a Member, officer, or 
employee shall not be considered a gift under this rule if it is 
reported as provided in paragraph (b).

  (b) A Member, officer, or employee who designates or recommends a 
contribution to a charitable organization in lieu of honoraria described 
in paragraph (a) shall report within 30 days after such designation or 
recommendation to the Clerk of the House of Representatives--

          (1) the name and address of the registered lobbyist who is 
making the contribution in lieu of honoraria;

          (2) the date and amount of the contribution; and


[[Page 877]]

this paragraph as soon as possible after it is received.
          (3) the name and address of the charitable organization 
designated or recommended by the Member.
The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall make public information 
received pursuant to 

  5. For purposes of this rule--

          (a) the term ``registered lobbyist'' means a lobbyist 
registered under the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act or any successor 
statute; and

          (b) the term ``agent of a foreign principal'' means an agent 
of a foreign principal registered under the Foreign Agents Registration 
Act.


  6. All the provisions of this rule shall be interpreted and enforced 
solely by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. The Committee 
on Standards of Official Conduct is authorized to issue guidance on any 
matter contained in this rule.


  This provision originally was adopted in the 104th Congress as rule 
LII (H. Res. 250, Nov. 16, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress it was 
redesignated as rule LI (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----). The history 
of earlier rules bearing the designation LI or LII follow.




Sec. 946b. Former rules on employment practices 
and application of certain laws.

  The earliest  form of the rule on ``employment 
practices'' was designated as rule LI. It grew out of the Fair 
Employment Practices Resolution first adopted in the 100th Congress (H. 
Res. 558, Oct. 3, 1988, p. 27840) and renewed in the 101st Congress (H. 
Res. 15, Jan. 3, 1989, p. 85). The terms of that resolution were 
incorporated by reference in a standing rule LI in the 102d Congress (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39), and were codified in full text, with 
certain amendments, in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. --
--). The Employment Practices rule was overtaken by the earliest form of 
``application of certain laws,'' which was originally designated as LII 
in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 578, Oct. 7, 1994, p. ----). The 
Application of Laws rule, in turn, was overtaken by the Congressional 
Accountability Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-1; 2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.). Certain 
savings provisions appear in section 506 of that Act (2 U.S.C. 1435). A 
later form of rule designated as LII (gift rule) was adopted in the 
104th Congress (H. Res. 250, Nov. 16, 1995, p. ----). In the 105th 
Congress the Gift Rule was redesignated as rule LI (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 
1997, p. ----).