[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 106th Congress]
[106th Congress]
[House Document 105-358]
[Front Matter]
[Pages i-xviii]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



[[Page i]]


105th Congress, 2d Session -  -  -  -  -   - House Document No. 105-358

________________________________________________________________________


 
      CONSTITUTION, JEFFERSON'S MANUAL, AND RULES OF THE HOUSE OF



                 REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES


                       ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS


                           CHARLES W. JOHNSON


 


                             PARLIAMENTARIAN


51-800                      WASHINGTON : 1999       

________________________________________________________________________

 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing 
                     U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE


                                 Office



[[Page iii]]



                          Washington, DC 20402


                          HOUSE RESOLUTION 607

                            In the House of Representatives, U.S.,      

                                                     October 20, 1998.  

    Resolved, That a revised edition of the Rules and Manual of the 
House of Representatives for the One Hundred Sixth Congress be printed 
as a House document, and that three thousand additional copies shall be 
printed and bound for the use of the House of Representatives, of which 
nine hundred copies shall be bound in leather with thumb index and 
delivered as may be directed by the Parliamentarian of the House.

    Attest:

                                                   Robin H. Carle,      


                                                                Clerk.  


[[Page v]]

                                  (III)


                              P R E F A C E

    The House Rules and Manual contains the fundamental source material 
for parliamentary procedure used in the House of Representatives: the 
Constitution of the United States; applicable provisions of Jefferson's 
Manual; rules of the House (as of the date of this preface); provisions 
of law and resolutions having the force of rules of the House; and 
pertinent decisions of the Speakers and other presiding officers of the 
House and Committee of the Whole interpreting the rules and other 
procedural authority used in the House of Representatives.

    The rules for the One Hundred Sixth Congress were adopted on January 
6, 1999, when the House agreed to House Resolution 5 and, later, House 
Resolution 9. House Resolution 5 consisted of (1) a recodification of 
the rules of the House for the One Hundred Fifth Congress in a revised 
structural format that reduces their number from 52 to 28 in a logical 
sequence, (2) a series of substantive changes to various standing rules 
as so recodified, and (3) separate free-standing orders constituting 
procedures to be followed in the One Hundred Sixth Congress, including 
the immediate consideration of House Resolution 9. House Resolution 9, 
adopted later the same day, changed the recodified clause 5 of rule XXVI 
on the acceptance of gifts. Explanations of the derivations of the 
recodified rules from the rules of the prior Congress, and of 
substantive changes, appear in the annotations following each rule in 
the text of this manual. Additionally, a table of cross-references 
showing major rule citation changes resulting from the recodification 
follows this preface.


[[Page vi]]

lished (e.g.,  germaneness remains clause 7 of rule XVI, and general 
appropriation bill matters remain clause 2 of rule XXI), although cross-
references will be necessary in subsequent precedent and practice 
volumes where rule citations have changed.
    The recodified format arranges the rules by addressing the 
organization and operation of the House as follows: duties of officers 
and Members (rules I-III), administration of the House (rules IV-VI), 
institutional prerogatives (rules VII-IX), committees (rules X-XI), 
consideration of legislation (rules XII-XXIII), conduct of Members, 
officers, and employees (rules XXIV-XXVII), and miscellaneous provisions 
(rule XXVIII). The recodification minimizes the change of some major 
rule citations in order to retain consistency with precedent and 
practice volumes already pub

    References were changed in the recodification to incorporate 
accepted understandings without substantive change. For instance, 
``Delegates'' and ``the Resident Commissioner'' are mentioned along with 
``Members'' in those situations where the rules do not distinguish 
between statuses. They are omitted in rules addressing authorities or 
responsibilities that are limited to Members (such as voting, Committee 
of the Whole, and selection of presiding officers). Gender references 
are treated as in the United States Code, whereby a reference to ``he'' 
or ``his'' is defined in rule XXVIII to constitute a reference to 
``she'' or ``hers'' where applicable. Provisos have been replaced by 
sentence restructuring to ensure clarity of meaning. The concept of a 
``privileged question'' or ``privileged motion'' has been regularized, 
placing sundry references to matters ``of highest privilege'' or ``in 
order at any time'' or that ``shall always be in order.'' The generic 
reference to votes by the yeas and nays and recorded votes has been 
changed from ``rollcall'' to ``record'' votes. Supermajority voting 
requirements are consistently referred to as two-thirds or three-fifths 
``of the Members voting, a quorum being present.''

    The substantive changes provided by House Resolution 5 included:

    (1) authorization for the Speaker to appoint and set pay for 
employees of the Office of the Historian (clause 7 of rule II);

    (2) authorization to dispense by unanimous consent oral announcement 
of the form of a resolution offered as a question of privilege noticed 
under rule IX (clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX);

    (3) redesignation of the Committee on House Oversight as the 
Committee on House Administration, of the Committee on Government Reform 
and Oversight as the Committee on Government Reform, and of the 
Committee on National Security as the Committee on Armed Services 
(clause 1 of rule X);


[[Page vii]]

    (4) elimination of the exception for the Budget Committee from 
general oversight responsibilities (clause 2(b) of rule X);

    (5) elimination of a provision added in the 104th Congress making 
consideration of resolutions funding each committee contingent on 
submission of its oversight plans (clause 2(d)(2) of rule X);

    (6) modification of the deadline for submitting views and estimates 
to the Budget Committee (clause 4(f)(1) of rule X);

    (7) specification of the size of the Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct at 10 members (which was the de facto size of the 
committee in the 105th Congress, notwithstanding that the Ethics Reform 
Act of 1989 required each party caucus to nominate seven Members) and 
deletion of the requirement adopted in the 105th Congress that two 
Members from each party rotate off the committee each Congress (clause 
5(a) of rule X);

    (8) elimination of the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure from the list of exceptions to the general rule limiting 
each committee to five subcommittees, and addition of an exception for 
committees that maintain a subcommittee on oversight (clause 5(d) of 
rule X);

    (9) clarification of the procedure to permit staff questioning of 
witnesses in committee (clause 2(j) of rule XI);

    (10) clarification that committees may specify in a subpoena duces 
tecum terms of return other than at a meeting or hearing (clause 
2(m)(3)(B) of rule XI);

    (11) elimination of general pairs (rule XX);

    (12) expansion of the Speaker's authority to postpone further 
proceedings to include motions to instruct conferees pending their 
appointment (clause 8(a) of rule XX);

    (13) expansion of Speaker's authority to reduce to five minutes the 
minimum time for electronic voting on a question postponed under clause 
8 of rule XX to include questions incidental thereto and to permit the 
first postponed vote in a series to be a five-minute vote if it 
immediately follows a 15-minute vote (clause 8(c) and clause 9 of rule 
XX);

    (14) elimination of the prohibition against including a provision 
for a specific road in a bill providing for another specific road or in 
a general road bill (rule XXI).

    (15) provisions amending the Code of Official Conduct to: (1) permit 
telecommuting by House employees (clause 8 of rule XXIV); and (2) 
include consultants among employees covered by certain provisions of the 
code of conduct (clause 14 of rule XXIV);


[[Page viii]]

honoraria; and (2) clarify the definition of ``honorarium'' (clause 1 
and clause 4 of rule XXVI);
    (16) provisions amending limitations on outside earned income to: 
(1) permit certain House employees to receive

    House Resolution 5 also included a special order of business 
permitting a separate vote on a resolution to amend the gift rule to 
conform it to the Senate rule (H. Res. 9, amending clause 5 of rule 
XXVI).

    The recodification project was first inspired by Wm. Holmes Brown, 
who retired as Parliamentarian in 1994 and who had prepared in 1985 a 
preliminary draft that served as a basis for the current restructuring. 
Special appreciation is extended to the members and staff of the 
Committee on Rules who served on the bi-partisan Task Force on 
Recodification during the 105th Congress for their cooperation with the 
Office of the Parliamentarian in its preparation. Deputy 
Parliamentarians John Sullivan and Tom Duncan, and Assistant 
Parliamentarians Muftiah McCartin, Tom Wickham, and Ethan Lauer worked 
diligently to prepare the codification and to annotate the decisions of 
the Chair and other parliamentary precedents of the 105th Congress and 
of the 106th Congress to date of publication. Gay Topper, Deborah 
Khalili, and Brian Cooper contributed their clerical skills to the 
preparation of this edition. All of their contributions, especially 
those of Muftiah McCartin in the preparation of this Manual, are 
gratefully acknowledged.

    Citations in this edition refer to:

    (1) Hinds' Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United 
States (volumes I through V) and Cannon's Precedents of the House of 
Representatives of the United States (volumes VI through VIII), by 
volume and section (e.g., V, 5763; VIII, 2852);

    (2) Deschler's Precedents of the U. S. House of Representatives 
(volumes 1 through 9) and the Deschler-Brown Precedents of the U. S. 
House of Representatives (volumes 10 through 15), by volume, chapter, 
and section (e.g., Deschler's Precedents, vol. 8, ch. 26, sec. 79.7; 
Deschler-Brown Precedents, vol. 10, ch. 28, sec. 4.26);

    (3) the Congressional Record, by date and page (e.g., Jan. 29, 1986, 
p. 684);

    (4) House Practice (1996), by page (e.g., House Practice, p. 293);

    (5) Deschler-Brown Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives 
(4th edition and 1987 supplement), by chapter and section (e.g., 
Procedure, ch. 5, sec. 8.1);


[[Page ix]]

    (6) the United States Code, by title and section (e.g., 2 U.S.C. 
287); and

    (7) the United States Reports, by volume and page (e.g., 395 U.S. 
486).

                                                    Charles W. Johnson  


[[Page xi]]



  September 20, 1999


                             C O N T E N T S


                               __________

                            THE CONSTITUTION

                                                                    Page
Preamble..........................................................     3

            Article I.--The legislative power.....................     4

                   II.--The executive power.......................    62

                  III.--The judicial power........................    74

                   IV.--Obligations, duties, etc., of the States..    76

                    V.--Amendments to.............................    78

                   VI.--Law of the land, etc......................    80

                  VII.--Ratification of...........................    84


                        Amendments ratified.......................    86


                           JEFFERSON'S MANUAL

            Section I.--Importance of adhering to rules...........   119

                  III.--Privilege.................................   122

                   VI.--Quorum....................................   141

                  VII.--Call of the House.........................   142

                   IX.--Speaker...................................   142

                    X.--Address...................................   144

                   XI.--Committees................................   145

                  XII.--Committee of the Whole....................   148

                 XIII.--Examination of witnesses..................   157

                  XIV.--Arrangement of business...................   163

                   XV.--Order.....................................   165

                  XVI.--Order respecting papers...................   165

                 XVII.--Order in debate...........................   166

                XVIII.--Orders of the House.......................   186

                  XIX.--Petition..................................   190

                   XX.--Motions...................................   191

                  XXI.--Resolutions...............................   192

                XXIII.--Bills, leave to bring in..................   194

                 XXIV.--Bills, first reading......................   195

                  XXV.--Bills, second reading.....................   195

                 XXVI.--Bills, commitment.........................   196

                XXVII.--Report of committee.......................   206


[[Page xii]]

                                                                    Page

       Section XXVIII.--Bill, recommitment........................   208

                 XXIX.--Bills, reports taken up...................   209

                  XXX.--Quasi-committee...........................   211

                 XXXI.--Bill, second reading in the House.........   215

                XXXII.--Reading papers............................   217

               XXXIII.--Privileged questions......................   219

                XXXIV.--The previous question.....................   233

                 XXXV.--Amendments................................   234

                XXXVI.--Division of the question..................   243

               XXXVII.--Coexisting questions......................   246

              XXXVIII.--Equivalent questions......................   247

                XXXIX.--The question..............................   250

                   XL.--Bills, third reading......................   251

                  XLI.--Division of the House.....................   255

                 XLII.--Titles....................................   260

                XLIII.--Reconsideration...........................   260

                 XLIV.--Bills sent to the other House.............   263

                  XLV.--Amendments between the Houses.............   264

                 XLVI.--Conferences...............................   274

                XLVII.--Messages..................................   286

               XLVIII.--Assent....................................   290

                 XLIX.--Journals..................................   293

                    L.--Adjournment...............................   295

                   LI.--A session.................................   296

                  LII.--Treaties..................................   300


                 LIII.--Impeachment...............................   303


                           RULES OF THE HOUSE

               Rule I.--The Speaker...............................   323

                   II.--Other Officers and Officials..............   341

                  III.--The Members, Delegates, and Resident 

                        Commissioner of Puerto Rico...............   359

                   IV.--The Hall of the House.....................   363

                    V.--Broadcasting the House....................   370

                   VI.--Official Reporters and News Media 

                        Galleries.................................   373

                  VII.--Records of the House......................   384

                 VIII.--Response to Subpoenas.....................   388

                   IX.--Questions of Privilege....................   391

                    X.--Organization of Committees................   407

                   XI.--Procedures of Committees and Unfinished 

                        Business..................................   510

                  XII.--Receipt and Referral of Measures and 

                        Matters...................................   563

                 XIII.--Calendars and Committee Reports...........   577

                  XIV.--Order and Priority of Business............   610

                   XV.--Business in Order on Special Days.........   620


[[Page xiii]]

                                                                    Page

             Rule XVI.--Motions and Amendments....................   641

                 XVII.--Decorum and Debate........................   691

                XVIII.--The Committee of the Whole House on the 

                        state of the Union........................   717

                  XIX.--Motions Following the Amendment Stage.....   742

                   XX.--Voting and Quorum Calls...................   757

                  XXI.--Restrictions on Certain Bills.............   782

                 XXII.--House and Senate Relations................   821

                XXIII.--Statutory Limit on Public Debt............   845

                 XXIV.--Code of Official Conduct..................   849

                  XXV.--Limitations on Use of Official Funds......   854

                 XXVI.--Limitations on Outside Earned Income and 

                        Acceptance of Gifts.......................   858

                XXVII.--Financial Disclosure......................   880


Provisions of Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as Amended by the 
               XXVIII.--General Provisions........................   903


Congressional adjournment.........................................   905
Preservation of committee hearings................................   906

    Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, Applicable to Both Houses


Economic Committee, Joint.........................................   909
Internal Revenue Taxation, Joint Committee on.....................   909
Library, Joint Committee of Congress on the.......................   910
Printing, Joint Committee on......................................   910
Inaugural Ceremonies, Joint Congressional Committee on............   910
Select committees.................................................   910

                       Joint and Select Committees


House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards...............   913
House Office Building Commission..................................   913
General Accounting Office.........................................   913
Office of Compliance..............................................   913
Congressional Research Service....................................   914
Legislative Counsel...............................................   914
Congressional Budget Office.......................................   914
Law Revision Counsel..............................................   914
Technology Assessment.............................................   914
Office of the Parliamentarian.....................................   914
Office of Floor Assistants........................................   915
Corrections Calendar Office.......................................   915
                              House Offices


[[Page xiv]]

House Recording Studio............................................   915
United States Capitol Preservation Commission.....................   915
Early organization of House.......................................   917
                                                                    Page

          Miscellaneous Provisions of Congressional Budget Laws
Congressional Budget Act of 1974..................................   923
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.........   997
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990....................................  1027


      Congressional Disapproval Provisions Contained in Public Laws
Resolutions privileged for consideration in House.................  1031


Index.............................................................  1161


[[Page xv]]

                                  Index

                       MAJOR RULE CITATION CHANGES
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                       OLD RULE            NEW RULE

          DESCRIPTION           ----------------------------------------

                                    Rule     Clause     Rule     Clause
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postponed votes................          I      5(b)        XX         8
Tie vote lost..................          I         6        XX      1(c)
Lame duck travel authority.....          I         8       XXV        10
Broadcasting House proceedings.          I         9         V  ........
Office of the Historian........          I        10        II         7
Office of the General Counsel..          I        11        II         8
Clerk..........................        III  ........        II         2
Sergeant-at-Arms...............         IV  ........        II         3
Chief Administrative Officer...          V  ........        II         4
Office of the Inspector General         VI  ........        II         6
Chaplain.......................        VII  ........        II         5
Duties of Members..............       VIII  ........       III       1-2
Committee on Standards of                X      4(e)        XI         3
 Official Conduct..............
Referral.......................          X         5       XII         2
Speaker's appointment of select          X      6(f)         I        11
 and conference committees.....
Committee membership contingent          X      6(g)         X        10
 on party membership...........
Committee reporting procedures.         XI  2(l)(1),      XIII         2

                                                 (2)
Content of reports.............         XI  2(l)(3)-      XIII         3


[[Page xvi]]


Dilatory motions on suspensions        XVI         8        XV         1
Dilatory motions...............        XVI        10       XVI         1
Previous question..............       XVII  ........       XIX         1
Motion to recommit.............       XVII         1       XIX         2
Reconsideration................      XVIII  ........       XIX         3
Amendments.....................        XIX  ........       XVI         6
Senate amendments..............         XX  ........      XXII       1-6
Reading of bills...............        XXI         1       XVI         8
Content of reports on                  XXI         3      XIII      3(f)
 appropriation bills...........
Private claims.................        XXI         4       XII      2(d)
Appropriations in legislation..        XXI      5(a)       XXI         4
Reappropriations...............        XXI         6       XXI   2(a)(2)
Printing of appropriations             XXI         7      XIII      4(c)
 hearings......................
Reserving points of order on           XXI         8       XXI         1
 appropriation bills...........
Transportation obligation              XXI         9       XXI         3
 limitations...................
Cosponsorship..................       XXII         4       XII         7
Resolutions of inquiry.........       XXII         5      XIII         7
Committee of the Whole House...      XXIII  ........     XVIII  ........
Order of business..............       XXIV  ........       XIV  ........
Unfinished business............       XXIV         3       XIV         3
Private Calendar...............       XXIV         6        XV         5
Calendar Wednesday.............       XXIV         7        XV         7
District business..............       XXIV         8        XV         4
Priority of business...........        XXV  ........       XIV  ........
Unfinished business in                XXVI  ........        XI         6
 committee.....................
Suspension of the rules........      XXVII       1-2        XV         1
Discharge motions..............      XXVII         3        XV         2
Conference reports.............     XXVIII  ........      XXII      7-12
Secret sessions................       XXIX  ........      XVII         9
Exhibits.......................        XXX  ........      XVII         6
Hall of the House..............       XXXI  ........        IV         1
Admission to the Floor.........      XXXII  ........        IV       2-5
Admission to the galleries.....     XXXIII  ........        IV         6
Campaign contributions on Floor      XXXII         5        IV         7
Official Reporters and the           XXXIV  ........        VI  ........
 media.........................
Pay of witnesses...............       XXXV  ........        XI         5
Records of the House...........      XXXVI  ........       VII  ........
Withdrawal of papers...........     XXXVII  ........       VII         7

[[Page xvii]]


Ballot votes...................    XXXVIII  ........        XX        11
Messages.......................      XXXIX  ........       XII         1
Executive communications.......         XL  ........       XII         8
Claims against the Government..        XLI  ........      XXVI         6
General provisions.............       XLII  ........    XXVIII         1
Code of Official Conduct.......      XLIII  ........      XXIV  ........
Financial disclosure...........       XLIV  ........     XXVII  ........
Unofficial office accounts.....        XLV  ........       XXV       1-3
Limitation on use of frank.....       XLVI  ........       XXV       4-9
Outside earned income..........      XLVII  ........      XXVI       1-3
Intelligence Committee.........     XLVIII  ........         X        11
Debt limit.....................       XLIX  ........     XXIII  ........
Response to subpoenas..........          L  ........      VIII  ........
Gift rule......................         LI  ........      XXVI         5
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page xviii]]

                                                 (5)
Availability of reports........         XI   2(l)(6)      XIII         4
Committee travel...............         XI      2(n)         X         8
Committee broadcast rule.......         XI         3        XI         4
Privileged reports.............         XI         4      XIII         5
Reports of Rules Committee.....         XI         4      XIII         6
Expense resolutions............         XI         5         X       6-7
Committee staff................         XI         6         X         9
Resident Commissioner/Delegates        XII  ........       III         3
Corrections Calendar...........       XIII         4        XV         6
Decorum and debate.............        XIV  ........      XVII  ........
Recognition....................        XIV         2      XVII         2
Voting and quorum calls........         XV  ........        XX  ........


                        GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS


                                Rule XIV


              First. Prayer by Chaplain.


              Second. Approval of Journal.


              Third. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.


              Fourth. Correction of reference of public bills.


              Fifth. Disposal of business on Speaker's table.


              Sixth. Unfinished business.


              Seventh. The morning hour for the consideration of bills.

              Eighth. Motions to go into the Committee of the Whole 


            House on the state of the Union.


              Ninth. Orders of the day.


                        SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS


Second and fourth Mondays:

                                 Mondays


              Motions to discharge committees. Rule XV, clause 2.


Every Monday:

              District of Columbia Business. Rule XV, clause 4.


              Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1.


First and third Tuesdays:

                                Tuesdays

  Private Calendar. Rule XV, clause 5. Individual private bills 

        considered on the first Tuesday of each month, omnibus private 


Second and fourth Tuesdays:

        bills may be considered on third Tuesday of each month.


Every Tuesday:

              Corrections Calendar. Rule XV, clause 6.


              Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1.


Call of Committees under Calendar Wednesday. Rule XV, clause 7.



                               Wednesdays