[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 Printing 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).



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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).
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