[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 110th Congress]
[110th Congress]
[House Document 109-157]
[Jeffersons Manual of ParliamentaryPractice]
[Pages 201-203]
[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.




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  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.

  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 that 
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 overtaken by another enactment (H. Con. 
Res. 234, adopted by the House on Nov. 18, 1999, p. 30719). 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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