    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 108th Congress]
    [108th Congress]
    [House Document 107-284]
    [Front Matter]
    [Pages i-xviii]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page i]]

     107th Congress, 2d Session -  -  -  -  -  House Document No. 107-284
    ______________________________________________________________________

                                  CONSTITUTION

                               JEFFERSON'S MANUAL

                                       AND

                              RULES OF THE HOUSE OF

                                 REPRESENTATIVES

                              OF THE UNITED STATES

                          ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS

                               CHARLES W. JOHNSON

     [GRAPHIC][TIFF]CONGRESS.#13

                                 PARLIAMENTARIAN

     For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
                         U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
    82-900                       WASHINGTON : 2003
    ________________________________________________________________________

                                     Office

    [[Page ii]]

                              Washington, DC 20402

    [[Page iii]]

                              HOUSE RESOLUTION 614

                                In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                          November 14, 2002.

        Resolved, That a revised edition of the Rules and Manual of the
    House of Representatives for the One Hundred Eighth
    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:

                                                        Jeff Trandahl,

                                                                    Clerk.

    [[Page v]]

                                      (III)

                                     PREFACE

        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 Eighth Congress were
    adopted on January 7, 2003, when the House agreed to House
    Resolution 5. In addition to a series of changes to various standing
    rules, House Resolution 5 included separate free-standing orders
    constituting procedures to be followed in the One Hundred
    Eighth Congress. Explanations of the changes to the
    standing rules appear in the annotations following each rule in the text
    of this Manual.

        In the One Hundred Sixth Congress, the House adopted a
    recodification of the Rules of the House. For an explanation of the
    recodified format, see the Preface and other introductory matter for the
    House Rules and Manual for the One Hundred Sixth Congress (H. Doc. 105-
    358).

        The substantive changes in the standing rules made by House
    Resolution 5 of the 108th Congress included:

        (1) directive to the Speaker to submit to the Clerk a list of
    Members in the order in which each shall act as Speaker pro tempore in
    the case of a vacancy in the Office of Speaker until the election of a
    Speaker or a Speaker pro tempore (clause 8 of rule I);

        (2) elimination of the limit on number of terms a person may serve
    as Speaker (rule I);

        (3) authorization for the Speaker to declare an emergency recess
    subject to the call of the Chair when notified of an imminent threat to
    the safety of the House (clause 12 of rule I);

    [[Page vi]]

    convening or to reconvene before the time previously appointed solely to
    declare the House in recess (each within the constitutional three-day
    limit) (clause 12 of rule I);
        (4) authorization for the Speaker, during any recess or adjournment
    of not more than three days and in consultation with the Minority
    Leader, to postpone the time for re

        (5) extension of the privileges of the floor to staff of the
    respective party leaderships when so assigned with the approval of the
    Speaker (clause 2 of rule IV);

        (6) inclusion of a member of the Committee on Rules in the
    composition of the Committee on the Budget (clause 5(a) of rule X);

        (7) elimination of the limit on the number of terms a chairman or
    ranking minority member may serve on the Committee on the Budget
    (subjecting a chairman of the committee only to the term limit
    applicable to all standing committees described in clause 5(c)(2) of
    rule X) (clause 5(a) of rule X);

        (8) elimination of the limit on the number of terms a chairman or
    ranking minority member of the Permanent Select Committee on
    Intelligence may serve on that committee (clause 11(a) of rule X);

        (9) clarification that, although the professional staff of the
    Committee on Appropriations are subject to the same rules regarding
    their duties as the professional staff of all other committees, the
    associate or shared staff of that committee are not subject to the
    review of the Committee on House Administration in connection with the
    reporting of committee expense resolutions (clause 9(b) of rule X);

        (10) authorization for committees to adopt a rule permitting the
    chairman of a committee or subcommittee to postpone a recorded vote on
    the question of approving a measure or matter or on adopting an
    amendment and to resume proceedings on a postponed question at any time
    after reasonable notice, provided that such rule permits, when
    proceedings resume on a postponed question and notwithstanding any
    intervening order for the previous question, further debate or amendment
    to the same extent as when the question was postponed (clause 2(h) of
    rule XI);

    [[Page vii]]

        (11) codification of free-standing directives to the Committee on
    Standards of Official Conduct originally established and twice
    reaffirmed by simple resolution (H. Res. 168, 105th Cong., Sept. 18,
    1997, p. ----, reaffirmed for the 106th Congress by sec. 2(c), H. Res.
    5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. ----, and reaffirmed for the 107th Congress with an
    exception by sec. 3(a), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2001, p. ----) (clause 3 of
    rule XI);

        (12) authority for the Speaker, when referring a matter to
    committee, to designate more than one committee as primary under
    extraordinary circumstances (clause 2(c) of rule XII);

        (13) replacement of provision authorizing a report of the Committee
    on Ways and Means on major tax legislation to include a dynamic estimate
    of the effect of such legislation on Federal revenues with a requirement
    that a report of that committee proposing to amend the Internal Revenue
    Code of 1986 include a macroeconomic impact analysis or a statement why
    such analysis is not calculable (clause 3(h) of rule XIII);

        (14) relaxation of prohibition against any personal electronic
    office equipment on the floor of the House, confining the prohibition to
    wireless telephones and personal computers (clause 5 of rule XVII);

        (15) codification of long-standing House practice that the death,
    resignation, explusion, disqualification, or removal of a Member results
    in an adjustment of the whole number of the House, which the Speaker
    shall announce to the House and which shall not be subject to appeal
    (clause 5 of rule XX);

        (16) clarification that a motion to adjourn retains its normal
    privilege and is in order during a call of the House under clause 6 of
    rule XX (clause 6 of rule XX);

        (17) expansion of the Speaker's authority to reduce the minimum time
    for electronic voting following a fifteen-minute vote to include all
    succeeding votes provided no other business intervenes and notice of
    possible five-minute voting is given (clause 9 of rule XX);

        (18) replacement of the standard for determining whether an
    amendment proposing a limitation on funds in a general appropriation
    bill violates clause 5(a) of rule XXI from a determination that the
    provision inevitability and with certainty impacts revenue collections
    or tax statuses or liabilities to a determination of a textual
    relationship between the amendment and the administration of a tax or
    tariff (clause 5(a) of rule XXI);

        (19) extension of time before further motions to instruct conferees
    may be offered from 20 calendar days to 20 calendar days but not less
    than 10 legislative days (clause 7 of rule XXII);

    [[Page viii]]

    sional services involving a fiduciary relationship (clause 2 of rule
    XXV);
        (20) exemption for the practice of medicine from the prohibition
    against receiving compensation for affiliating with, or being employed
    by, an entity that provides profes

        (21) particularization of the application of the gift rule to
    perishable food, providing that the value of perishable food sent to an
    office shall be allocated among the individual recipients and not solely
    to the Member (clause 5 of rule XXV);

        (22) relaxation of the prohibition against accepting reimbursement
    for transportation and lodging expenses in connection with a charity
    event to permit such reimbursement where the net proceeds of the event
    go to a qualified charity, the expenses are paid by the charity, and the
    invitation of free attendance is issued by the charity (clause 5 of rule
    XXV); and

        (23) restoration of automatic House passage of joint resolution
    increasing the statutory limit on the public debt when the two Houses
    agree to a concurrent resolution on the budget that requires such an
    increase (rule XXVII).

        Section 4 of House Resolution 5 also established a Select Committee
    on Homeland Security with oversight and legislative jurisdiction over
    matters relating to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which reorganized
    the Federal Government to create a new Department of Homeland Security
    (see Sec. 1112a, infra). The recently published second edition of House
    Practice took into account the creation of the new select committee but
    was finalized before the Committee on Appropriations reorganized its
    subcommittees to reflect the new department (see House Practice,
    �MDBU/ch. 4, Sec. 6). The Committee on Appropriations created a new
    subcommittee on Homeland Security and combined the subcommittees on
    Transportation and Treasury, Postal Service and General Government. The
    reorganization of subcommittees is in compliance with clause 5(d)(2) of
    rule X, which prohibits the Committee on Appropriation from having more
    than 13 subcommittees (see Sec. 762, infra).

        Deputy Parliamentarians John Sullivan and Tom Duncan, and Assistant
    Parliamentarians Muftiah McCartin, Tom Wickham, and Ethan Lauer worked
    diligently to annotate the decisions of the Chair and
    other parliamentary precedents of the 107th and 108th
    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.

    [[Page ix]]

        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 16), by
    volume, chapter, and section (e.g., Deschler, ch. 26, Sec. 79.7;
    Deschler-Brown, ch. 28, Sec. 4.26);

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

        (4) House Practice (2003), by chapter and
    section (e.g., House Practice, ch. 1, Sec. 2);

        (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);

        (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).

        Readers are invited to refer to the prefaces of Hinds', Cannon's,
    and Deschler's Precedents (Volumes I, VI, and 1, respectively) for
    comprehensive overviews by those editors of the procedural history of
    the House of Representatives from 1789 to 1976.

    [[Page xi]]

                                                        Charles W. Johnson
     July 25, 2003

                                    CONTENTS

                                   __________

                                THE CONSTITUTION

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

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

                       II.--The executive power.......................    64

                      III.--The judicial power........................    76

                       IV.--Obligations, duties, etc., of the States..    78

                        V.--Amendments to.............................    80

                       VI.--Law of the land, etc......................    82

                      VII.--Ratification of...........................    86

                            Amendments ratified.......................    89

                               JEFFERSON'S MANUAL

                Section I.--Importance of adhering to rules...........   125

                      III.--Privilege.................................   128

                       VI.--Quorum....................................   147

                      VII.--Call of the House.........................   148

                       IX.--Speaker...................................   148

                        X.--Address...................................   151

                       XI.--Committees................................   151

                      XII.--Committee of the Whole....................   155

                     XIII.--Examination of witnesses..................   164

                      XIV.--Arrangement of business...................   169

                       XV.--Order.....................................   171

                      XVI.--Order respecting papers...................   172

                     XVII.--Order in debate...........................   172

                    XVIII.--Orders of the House.......................   194

                      XIX.--Petition..................................   198

                       XX.--Motions...................................   199

                      XXI.--Resolutions...............................   200

                    XXIII.--Bills, leave to bring in..................   202

                     XXIV.--Bills, first reading......................   203

                      XXV.--Bills, second reading.....................   203

                     XXVI.--Bills, commitment.........................   204

    [[Page xii]]

                    XXVII.--Report of committee.......................   215

                                                                        Page

           Section XXVIII.--Bill, recommitment........................   216

                     XXIX.--Bills, reports taken up...................   217

                      XXX.--Quasi-committee...........................   219

                     XXXI.--Bill, second reading in the House.........   223

                    XXXII.--Reading papers............................   225

                   XXXIII.--Privileged questions......................   227

                    XXXIV.--The previous question.....................   240

                     XXXV.--Amendments................................   242

                    XXXVI.--Division of the question..................   251

                   XXXVII.--Coexisting questions......................   254

                  XXXVIII.--Equivalent questions......................   255

                    XXXIX.--The question..............................   258

                       XL.--Bills, third reading......................   258

                      XLI.--Division of the House.....................   262

                     XLII.--Titles....................................   268

                    XLIII.--Reconsideration...........................   268

                     XLIV.--Bills sent to the other House.............   271

                      XLV.--Amendments between the Houses.............   272

                     XLVI.--Conferences...............................   282

                    XLVII.--Messages..................................   295

                   XLVIII.--Assent....................................   299

                     XLIX.--Journals..................................   302

                        L.--Adjournment...............................   304

                       LI.--A session.................................   306

                      LII.--Treaties..................................   309

                     LIII.--Impeachment...............................   313

                               RULES OF THE HOUSE

                   Rule I.--The Speaker...............................   333

                       II.--Other Officers and Officials..............   353

                      III.--The Members, Delegates, and Resident

                            Commissioner of Puerto Rico...............   373

                       IV.--The Hall of the House.....................   377

                        V.--Broadcasting the House....................   384

                       VI.--Official Reporters and News Media

                            Galleries.................................   387

                      VII.--Records of the House......................   398

                     VIII.--Response to Subpoenas.....................   402

                       IX.--Questions of Privilege....................   406

                        X.--Organization of Committees................   423

                       XI.--Procedures of Committees and Unfinished

                            Business..................................   529

                      XII.--Receipt and Referral of Measures and

                            Matters...................................   588

                     XIII.--Calendars and Committee Reports...........   602

                      XIV.--Order and Priority of Business............   636

    [[Page xiii]]

                       XV.--Business in Order on Special Days.........   647

                                                                        Page

                 Rule XVI.--Motions and Amendments....................   667

                     XVII.--Decorum and Debate........................   718

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

                            state of the Union........................   746

                      XIX.--Motions Following the Amendment Stage.....   773

                       XX.--Voting and Quorum Calls...................   789

                      XXI.--Restrictions on Certain Bills.............   813

                     XXII.--House and Senate Relations................   857

                    XXIII.--Code of Official Conduct..................   882

                     XXIV.--Limitations on Use of Official Funds......   889

                      XXV.--Limitations on Outside Earned Income and

                            Acceptance of Gifts.......................   893

                     XXVI.--Financial Disclosure......................   915

                    XXVII.--Statutory Limit on Public

                            Debt......................................   939

                   XXVIII.--General Provisions........................   942
    Provisions of Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as Amended by the

        Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, Applicable to Both Houses
    Congressional adjournment.........................................   947
    Preservation of committee hearings................................   948

                           Joint and Select Committees
    Economic Committee, Joint.........................................   949
    Internal Revenue Taxation, Joint Committee on.....................   949
    Library, Joint Committee of Congress on the.......................   950
    Printing, Joint Committee on......................................   950
    Inaugural Ceremonies, Joint Congressional Committee on............   950
    Select committees.................................................   951

    [[Page xiv]]

                                  House Offices
    House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards...............   953
    House Office Building Commission..................................   953
    General Accounting Office.........................................   953
    Office of Compliance..............................................   953
    Congressional Research Service....................................   954
    Legislative Counsel...............................................   954
    Congressional Budget Office.......................................   954
    Law Revision Counsel..............................................   954
    Technology Assessment.............................................   954
    Office of the Parliamentarian.....................................   954
    Office of Floor Assistants........................................   955
    Corrections Calendar Office.......................................   955
    House Recording Studio............................................   955

                                                                        Page
    United States Capitol Preservation Commission.....................   955
    Office of General Counsel.........................................   955
    Office of Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations........   956
    Early organization of House.......................................   957

              Miscellaneous Provisions of Congressional Budget Laws
    Congressional Budget Act of 1974..................................   963
    Budget Enforcement Act of 1990....................................  1039

          Congressional Disapproval Provisions Contained in Public Laws
    Resolutions privileged for consideration in House.................  1045

    [[Page xv]]

                                      Index
    Index.............................................................  1203

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

                                       OLD RULE through        NEW RULE

                                         105th Cong.     -------------------

              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      XXIV        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         6
                                                     (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  ........

    [[Page xvii]]

    Withdrawal of papers...........     XXXVII  ........       VII         7
    Ballot votes...................    XXXVIII  ........        XX        11
    Messages.......................      XXXIX  ........       XII         1
    Executive communications.......         XL  ........       XII         8
    Claims against the Government..        XLI  ........       XXV         6
    General provisions.............       XLII  ........        XX         1

    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  ........

                                                              VIII

    [[Page xviii]]

                                                                NM
    Code of Official Conduct.......      XLIII  ........     XXIII  ........
    Financial disclosure...........       XLIV  ........      XXVI  ........
    Unofficial office accounts.....        XLV  ........      XXIV       1-3
    Limitation on use of frank.....       XLVI  ........      XXIV       4-9
    Outside earned income..........      XLVII  ........       XXV       1-3
    Intelligence Committee.........     XLVIII  ........         X        11
    Statutory Limit on Public Debt.       XLIX  ........     XXVII
    Response to subpoenas..........          L  ........      VIII  ........
    Gift rule......................         LI  ........       XXV         5
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            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 Committee of the Whole.

                  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 first Tuesday of each month, omnibus private bills

    Second and fourth Tuesdays:

            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