[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 110th Congress]
[110th Congress]
[House Document 109-157]
[Front Matter]
[Pages i-xv]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


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________________________________________________________________________

 
  109th Congress, 2d Session -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - House Document No. 109-157


                              CONSTITUTION


                           JEFFERSON'S MANUAL


                                   AND


                          RULES OF THE HOUSE OF


                             REPRESENTATIVES


                          OF THE UNITED STATES


                       ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS


                            JOHN V. SULLIVAN





                             PARLIAMENTARIAN


                     U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE


            32-700


________________________________________________________________________

 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing 
            WASHINGTON : 2007


                                 Office


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                          Washington, DC 20402
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                          HOUSE RESOLUTION 1107

                            In the House of Representatives, U.S.,      

                                                     December 8, 2006.  

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

                                                    Karen L. Haas,      


                                                                Clerk.  


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                                  (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 Tenth Congress were adopted on January 
4 and 5, 2007, when the House agreed to House Resolution 6 in five 
divided titles. In addition to a series of changes to various standing 
rules, House Resolution 6 included separate free-standing orders 
constituting procedures to be followed in the One Hundred Tenth 
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 6 of the 110th Congress included:

    (1) redesignation of the Committee on Education and the Workforce as 
the Committee on Education and Labor, of the Committee on Government 
Reform as the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, of the 
Committee on International Relations as the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, of the Committee on Resources as the Committee on Natural 
Resources, and of the Committee on Science as the Committee on Science 
and Technology (clause 1 of rule X);

    (2) authority for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
to authorize the use of depositions to take testimony (clause 4(c) of 
rule X);


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Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, officers, and employees of the 
House (clause 3(a) of rule XI);
    (3) requirement that the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 
offer annual ethics training to Members,

    (4) exemption for the Committee on Rules from the requirement that 
committees include certain record votes in committee reports (clause 
3(b) of rule XIII);

    (5) policy regarding holding electronic votes open for the sole 
purpose of reversing the outcome of such votes (clause 2(a) of rule XX);

    (6) prohibition against the consideration of a concurrent resolution 
on the budget containing reconciliation directives that would reduce a 
surplus or increase a deficit over certain periods (clause 7 of rule 
XXI);

    (7) application of points of order under title III of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to unreported measures (clause 8 of 
rule XXI);

    (8) prohibition against the consideration of certain measures in the 
absence of proper disclosure of congressional earmarks, limited tax 
benefits, or limited tariff benefits, and against consideration of a 
rule or order waiving such prohibition (clause 9 of rule XXI);

    (9) prohibition against the consideration of certain measures 
containing direct spending and revenues reducing a surplus or increasing 
a deficit over certain periods (clause 10 of rule XXI);

    (10) requirement that House managers at conferences have a unitary 
time and place at which to sign (or not) conference reports and joint 
explanatory statements (clause 12(a) of rule XXII);

    (11) prohibition against the consideration of conference reports if 
their text differs from that agreed to by the conferees (clause 13 of 
rule XXII);

    (12) restriction on influencing certain private sector hiring 
practices (clause 14 of rule XXIII);

    (13) restriction on use of certain funds for flights on certain 
private aircraft (clause 15 of rule XXIII), such restriction later 
amended in its entirety (H. Res. 363, 110th Cong., May 2, 2007, p.----);

    (14) prohibition against certain action with regard to the inclusion 
of a congressional earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff 
benefit in a measure (clause 16 of rule XXIII);


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ment that committees retain such requests (clause 17 of rule XXIII);
    (15) requirement that a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 
provide a written statement to accompany any request to a committee for 
a congressional earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit, 
and a require

    (16) restriction on the acceptance of gifts from a registered 
lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal, or from a private entity 
retaining or employing such individual, except in certain circumstances 
(clause 5(a)(1)(A)(ii) of rule XXV);

    (17) clarification of the standard for valuation of gifts of tickets 
to sporting or entertainment events (clause 5(a)(1)(B)(ii) of rule XXV);

    (18) restriction on the acceptance of reimbursement for travel in 
any part planned, organized, requested, or arranged by a registered 
lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal, except for reimbursement for 
travel from institutions of higher education or for attendance at a one-
day event, in the latter case, provided that the involvement of a 
registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal in such event is de 
minimis  (clause 5(b)(1), 5(c)(2), and 5(c)(3) of rule XXV);

    (19) acceleration of the time in which to disclose to the Clerk 
certain reimbursed expenses (clause 5(b)(1)(A)(ii) of rule XXV);

    (20) requirement to disclose a description of meetings and events 
attended when accepting reimbursement for certain travel expenses 
(clause 5(b)(3)(F) of rule XXV);

    (21) requirement that the Clerk make public certain travel 
authorizations, certifications, and disclosures (clause 5(b)(5) of rule 
XXV);

    (22) restriction on acceptance of reimbursement, other than from an 
institution of higher education, for travel when accompanied by a 
registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal (clause 5(c)(1) of 
rule XXV);

    (23) requirement that a certification be filed with, and permission 
be obtained from, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct prior 
to accepting permissible travel (clause 5(d) of rule XXV); and

    (24) requirement that the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 
develop guidelines on various facets of the new gift and travel rules 
(clause 5(i) of rule XXV).


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changes regarding the Delegates and the Resident Commissioner were made 
as follows: authority for the Delegates and the Resident Commissioner to 
preside over (clause 1 of rule XVIII) and to vote in (clause 3 of rule 
III) the Committee of the Whole, subject to automatic reconsideration by 
the House on questions on which their votes are decisive (clause 6(h) of 
rule XVIII) (H. Res. 78, 110th Cong., Jan. 24, 2007, p. ----).
    In addition to the amendments cited above, clause 4(a) of rule X was 
amended to create a Select Intelligence Oversight Panel of the Committee 
on Appropriations (H. Res. 35, 110th Cong., Jan. 9, 2007, p. ----), 
clause 5(a)(3)(Q) of rule XXV was amended to clarify the events for 
which a gift of free attendance is not prohibited (sec. 4, H. Res. 437, 
110th Cong., May 24, 2007, p. ----), and

    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 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.


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Particular appreciation goes to Ethan Lauer for his initiative and 
resourcefulness in managing the project.
    All of the members of the Office of the Parliamentarian -- Tom 
Wickham, Ethan Lauer, Carrie Wolf, Liz Woodworth, Max Spitzer, Gay 
Topper, and Brian Cooper, as well as Charles Johnson, Bob Cover, Deborah 
Khalili, and Bryan Feldblum -- worked diligently to annotate the 
decisions of the Chair and other parliamentary precedents of the 109th 
Congress and of the 110th Congress to the date of publication of this 
edition. Their contributions, and their devotion to the pursuit of 
excellence in the procedural practices of the House, are gratefully 
acknowledged.

                                                      John V. Sullivan  


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  June 18, 2007
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                             C O N T E N T S


                               __________

                            THE CONSTITUTION

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

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

                   II.--The executive power.......................    65

                  III.--The judicial power........................    77

                   IV.--Obligations, duties, etc., of the States..    79

                    V.--Amendments to.............................    81

                   VI.--Law of the land, etc......................    83

                  VII.--Ratification of...........................    87

                        Amendments ratified.......................    90

                           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...................................   149

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

                   XI.--Committees................................   152

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

                 XIII.--Examination of witnesses..................   165

                  XIV.--Arrangement of business...................   170

                   XV.--Order.....................................   172

                  XVI.--Order respecting papers...................   173

                 XVII.--Order in debate...........................   173

                XVIII.--Orders of the House.......................   195

                  XIX.--Petition..................................   199

                   XX.--Motion....................................   200

                  XXI.--Resolutions...............................   201

                XXIII.--Bills, leave to bring in..................   203

                 XXIV.--Bills, first reading......................   204

                  XXV.--Bills, second reading.....................   204

                 XXVI.--Bills, commitment.........................   205


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                XXVII.--Report of committee.......................   216

                                                                    Page

       Section XXVIII.--Bill, recommitment........................   217

                 XXIX.--Bills, reports taken up...................   218

                  XXX.--Quasi-committee...........................   220

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

                XXXII.--Reading papers............................   226

               XXXIII.--Privileged questions......................   228

                XXXIV.--The previous question.....................   241

                 XXXV.--Amendments................................   243

                XXXVI.--Division of the question..................   252

               XXXVII.--Coexisting questions......................   255

              XXXVIII.--Equivalent questions......................   256

                XXXIX.--The question..............................   259

                   XL.--Bills, third reading......................   260

                  XLI.--Division of the House.....................   264

                 XLII.--Titles....................................   269

                XLIII.--Reconsideration...........................   269

                 XLIV.--Bills sent to the other House.............   272

                  XLV.--Amendments between the Houses.............   273

                 XLVI.--Conferences...............................   283

                XLVII.--Messages..................................   296

               XLVIII.--Assent....................................   301

                 XLIX.--Journals..................................   303

                    L.--Adjournment...............................   305

                   LI.--A session.................................   307

                  LII.--Treaties..................................   310

                 LIII.--Impeachment...............................   314

                           RULES OF THE HOUSE

               Rule I.--The Speaker...............................   335

                   II.--Other Officers and Officials..............   356

                  III.--The Members, Delegates, and Resident 

                        Commissioner of Puerto Rico...............   376

                   IV.--The Hall of the House.....................   380

                    V.--Broadcasting the House....................   388

                   VI.--Official Reporters and News Media 

                        Galleries.................................   390

                  VII.--Records of the House......................   402

                 VIII.--Response to Subpoenas.....................   406

                   IX.--Questions of Privilege....................   410

                    X.--Organization of Committees................   428

                   XI.--Procedures of Committees and Unfinished 

                        Business..................................   540

                  XII.--Receipt and Referral of Measures and 

                        Matters...................................   600

                 XIII.--Calendars and Committee Reports...........   614

                  XIV.--Order and Priority of Business............   648


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                   XV.--Business in Order on Special Days.........   659

                                                                    Page

             Rule XVI.--Motions and Amendments....................   679

                 XVII.--Decorum and Debate........................   731

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

                        state of the Union........................   759

                  XIX.--Motions Following the Amendment Stage.....   788

                   XX.--Voting and Quorum Calls...................   803

                  XXI.--Restrictions on Certain Bills.............   832

                 XXII.--House and Senate Relations................   885

                XXIII.--Code of Official Conduct..................   912

                 XXIV.--Limitations on Use of Official Funds......   922

                  XXV.--Limitations on Outside Earned Income and 

                        Acceptance of Gifts.......................   927

                 XXVI.--Financial Disclosure......................   955

                XXVII.--Statutory Limit on Public Debt............   978

               XXVIII.--General Provisions........................   982
Provisions of Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as Amended by the 

    Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, Applicable to Both Houses
Congressional adjournment.........................................   985
Preservation of committee hearings................................   986

                       Joint and Select Committees
Economic Committee, Joint.........................................   987
Internal Revenue Taxation, Joint Committee on.....................   987
Library, Joint Committee of Congress on the.......................   988
Printing, Joint Committee on......................................   988
Inaugural Ceremonies, Joint Congressional Committee on............   988
Select committees.................................................   988


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                     House and Congressional Offices
House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards...............   991
House Office Building Commission..................................   991
Government Accountability Office..................................   991
Office of Compliance..............................................   991
Congressional Research Service....................................   992
Legislative Counsel...............................................   992
Congressional Budget Office.......................................   992
Law Revision Counsel..............................................   992
Technology Assessment.............................................   992
Office of the Parliamentarian.....................................   992
Office of Floor Assistants........................................   993
Office of Interparliamentary Affairs..............................   993
House Recording Studio............................................   993

                                                                    Page
United States Capitol Preservation Commission.....................   993
Office of General Counsel.........................................   993
Office of Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations........   994
Office of Attending Physician.....................................   994
Office of Architect of the Capitol................................   994
House Democracy Assistance Commission.............................   994
Early organization of the House...................................   995

          Miscellaneous Provisions of Congressional Budget Laws
Congressional Budget Act of 1974..................................  1001
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990....................................  1079

                  Legislative Procedures Enacted in Law
Measures privileged for consideration in House....................  1085



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                                  Index
Index.............................................................  1259

                        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 


Every Tuesday:

        may be considered on third Tuesday of each month.


              Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1.


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

Every Wednesday:

                               Wednesdays


              Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1.