    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 108th Congress]
    [108th Congress]
    [House Document 107-284]
    [Jeffersons Manual of ParliamentaryPractice]
    [Pages 200-202]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                              sec. xxi--resolutions

    Sec. 395. Orders and resolutions of the House.

      When  the
    House commands, it is by an ``order.'' But fact, principles, and their
    own opinions and purposes, are expressed in the form of resolutions.

    [[Page 201]]

      A resolution for an allowance of money to the clerks being moved, it
    was objected to as not in order, and so ruled by the Chair; but on
    appeal to the Senate (i.e., a call for their sense by the President, on
    account of doubt in his mind, according to [clause 5 of rule XXII]) the
    decision was overruled. Jour., Senate, June 1, 1796. I presume the doubt
    was, whether an allowance of money could be made otherwise than by bill.

    Sec. 396. Concurrent resolutions of the two
    Houses.

      Mr. Jefferson's  citation in section XXI has been conformed to current Rules of
    the House. In the modern practice concurrent resolutions have been
    developed as a means of expressing fact, principles, opinions, and
    purposes of the two Houses (II, 1566, 1567). Joint committees are
    authorized by resolutions of this form (III, 1998, 1999), and they are
    used in authorizing correction of bills agreed to by both Houses (VII,
    1042), amendment of enrolled bills (VII, 1041), amendment of conference
    reports (VIII, 3308), requests for return of bills sent to the President
    (VII, 1090, 1091), authorizing the printing of certain enrolled bills by
    hand in the remaining days of a session (H. Con. Res. 436, Dec. 20,
    1982, p. 32875), providing for joint session to receive message from the
    President (VIII, 3335, 3336), authorizing the printing of congressional
    documents (H. Con. Res. 66, July 1, 1969, p. 17948); paying a birthday
    tribute to former President Truman (H. Con. Res. 216, Apr. 24, 1969, p.
    10213); calling for the humane treatment of prisoners of war in Vietnam
    (H. Con. Res. 454, Dec. 15, 1969, p. 39037), and fixing time for final
    adjournment (VIII, 3365). The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-
    344) provides for the adoption by both Houses of concurrent resolutions
    on the budget which become binding on both Houses with respect to
    congressional budget procedures (see Sec. 1127, infra). A concurrent
    resolution is binding on neither House until agreed to by both (IV,
    3379), and, since not legislative in nature, is not sent to the
    President for approval (IV, 3483). A concurrent resolution is not a bill
    or joint resolution within the meaning of clause 5 of rule XXI
    (requiring a three-fifths vote for approval of such a measure if
    carrying an increase in a rate of tax on income) (Speaker Gingrich, May
    18, 1995, p. 13499). In the 106th Congress the Senate neglected to adopt
    a House concurrent resolution vacating signatures of the Presiding
    Officers on an enrolled bill and laying that bill on the table as
    obsolete (H. Con. Res. 234, Nov. 18, 1999, p. ----). The Congress
    subsequently enacted section 1401 of the Miscellaneous Appropriations
    Act of 2001, which adopted that concurrent resolution (as enacted by
    P.L. 106-554).

    [[Page 202]]

    and incidental purposes (V, 7319), continuing appropriations (H.J. Res.
    790, P.L. 91-33, p. 17015); establishing the date for convening of
    Congress (H.J. Res. 1041, P.L. 91-182, p. 40982); extending the
    submission date under law for transmittal of the Budget and Economic
    Report to Congress by the President (H.J. Res. 635, P.L. 97-469, p.
    32936); and extending the termination date for a law (H.J. Res. 864,
    P.L. 91-59, p. 22546). At one time they were used for purposes of
    general legislation; but the two Houses finally concluded that a bill
    was the proper instrumentality for this purpose (IV, 3370-3373). A joint
    resolution has been changed to a bill by amendment (IV, 3374), but in
    the later practice it has become impracticable to do so.

    Sec. 397. Joint resolutions.

      Another  development of the
    modern practice is the joint resolution, which is a bill so far as the
    processes of the Congress in relation to it are concerned (IV, 3375;
    VII, 1036). With the exception of joint resolutions proposing amendments
    to the Constitution (V, 7029), all these resolutions are sent to the
    President for approval and have the full force of law. They are used for
    what may be called the incidental, unusual, or inferior purposes of
    legislating (IV, 3372), as extending the national thanks to individuals
    (IV, 3370), the invitation to Lafayette to visit America (V, 7082,
    footnote), the welcome to Kossuth (V, 7083), notice to a foreign
    government of the abrogation of a treaty (V, 6270), declaration of
    intervention in Cuba (V, 6321), correction of an error in an existing
    act of legislation (IV, 3519; VII, 1092), enlargement of scope of
    inquiries provided by law (VII, 1040), election of managers for National
    Soldiers' Homes (V, 7336), special appropriations for minor

      Where a choice between a concurrent resolution and a joint resolution
    is not dictated by law, the House by its votes on consideration of a
    measure decides which is the appropriate vehicle (and a point of order
    does not lie that a concurrent rather than a joint resolution would be
    more appropriate to express the sense of the Congress on an issue) (Mar.
    16, 1983, p. 5669).
    * * * * *