    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 112th Congress]
    [112nd Congress]
    [House Document 111-157]
    [Front Matter]
    [Pages i-xv]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page i]]

    111th Congress, 2d Session -  -  -  -  -  - House Document No. 111-157

    _______________________________________________________________________

                                  CONSTITUTION

                               JEFFERSON'S MANUAL

                                       AND

                              RULES OF THE HOUSE OF

                                 REPRESENTATIVES

                              OF THE UNITED STATES

                          ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS

                                JOHN V. SULLIVAN

    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TONGRESS.#13

                                 PARLIAMENTARIAN

                         U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

                63-700

    ________________________________________________________________________

     For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
                WASHINGTON : 2011

                                     Office

    [[Page ii]]

    [[Page  iii]]

                              Washington, DC 20402

                              HOUSE RESOLUTION 1720

                                In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                        November 17, 2010.

        Resolved, That a revised edition of the Rules and Manual of the
    House of Representatives for the One Hundred Twelfth 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 sixty copies shall be bound in leather with thumb index and
    delivered as may be directed by the Parliamentarian of the House.

        Attest:

                                                   Lorraine C. Miller,

                                                                    Clerk.

    [[Page iv]]

    [[Page v]]

                                      (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 Twelfth Congress were adopted on
    January 5, 2011, 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 Twelfth 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 112th Congress included:

        (1) repeal of provisions permitting Delegates and the Resident
    Commissioner to vote in and to preside over the Committee of the Whole
    (clause 3(a) of rule III; clause 1 of rule XVIII; former clause 6(h) of
    rule XVIII);

        (2) modernization of rules on media coverage to eliminate specific
    reference to various media organizations (clause 2 of rule VI; clause 3
    of rule VI; clause 4(f) of rule XI);

        (3) expansion of the jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services
    to include certain national cemeteries (clause 1(c) of rule X);

    [[Page vi]]

    mittee on Standards of Official Conduct as the Committee
    on Ethics (clause 1 of rule X);
        (4) redesignation of the Committee on Education and Labor as the
    Committee on Education and the Workforce, of the Committee on Science
    and Technology as the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and
    of the Com

        (5) expansion of committee oversight plans to include proposals to
    eliminate duplicative federal programs (clause 2(d)(1) of rule X);

        (6) elimination of the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel of the
    Committee on Appropriations (former clause 4(a)(5) of rule X);

        (7) with regard to authority for the Committee on Oversight and
    Government Reform to authorize the use of depositions to take testimony,
    requirement for the presence of a member of the committee, subject to
    waiver by the deponent (clause 4(c)(3) of rule X);

        (8) direction to the Committee on House Administration to establish
    standards for making documents publicly available in electronic form,
    and for such availability to satisfy layover requirements (clause
    4(d)(1)(E) of rule X; clause 3 of rule XXIX);

        (9) reinstatement of committee chair tenure limitation generally,
    except for the Committee on Rules (clause 5(c)(2) of rule X);

        (10) adjustment of the size and ratio of the Permanent Select
    Committee on Intelligence (clause 11(a) of rule X);

        (11) increase in frequency of committee activity reports (clause
    1(d) of rule XI);

        (12) requirement that committee rules be made publicly available in
    electronic form (clause 2(a)(2) of rule XI);

        (13) requirement that committees provide audio and video coverage of
    certain committee proceedings (clause 2(e)(5) of rule XI);

        (14) requirement that certain committee votes and the text of
    certain committee amendments be made publicly available following a
    committee proceeding (clause 2(e)(1) of rule XI; clause 2(e)(6) of rule
    XI);

        (15) requirement for committee meetings to be noticed, with
    provision for waiver (clause 2(g)(3) of rule XI);

        (16) requirement for legislation to be made available prior to a
    committee meeting (clause 2(g)(4) of rule XI);

        (17) requirement that committee witness disclosure statements be
    made publicly available in electronic form following the appearance of
    the witness (clause 2(g)(5) of rule XI);

    [[Page vii]]

        (18) requirement for a statement of constitutional authority to
    accompany every introduced bill and joint resolution (clause 7(c) of
    rule XII);

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

        (20) modification of the prohibition on use of a wireless telephone
    or personal computer on the floor of the House to apply to any mobile
    electronic device that impairs decorum (clause 5 of rule XVII);

        (21) authority for chair of the Committee of the Whole to reduce to
    not less than two minutes (instead of five) the minimum time for certain
    votes (clause 6(f) and 6(g) of rule XVIII);

        (22) repeal of a provision permitting motions to strike unfunded
    Federal mandates exceeding a specified threshold from a bill during the
    amendment process in the Committee of the Whole (former clause 11 of
    rule XVIII);

        (23) modification of the requirement regarding the ``floor'' on
    transportation obligations to apply instead to spending authority
    derived from the Highway Trust Fund for unauthorized purposes (clause 3
    of rule XXI);

        (24) modification of the prohibition on consideration of a
    concurrent resolution on the budget containing reconciliation directives
    that would reduce a surplus or increase a deficit to apply instead to
    such directives that would cause an increase in net direct spending
    (clause 7 of rule XXI);

        (25) prohibition on consideration of certain measures increasing
    direct spending over certain time periods with exceptional cumulatory
    treatment in the case of a special order of business combining in one
    engrossment separately-passed measures, and exclusion of certain
    emergency items (clause 10 of rule XXI);

        (26) requirement for an introduced bill or joint resolution to
    layover before consideration (clause 11 of rule XXI);

        (27) repeal of the rule providing for automatic passage and
    engrossment of a measure adjusting the statutory limit on public debt
    (former rule XXVIII); and

        (28) authority for chair of the Committee on the Budget to render
    estimates of certain budgetary levels when a rule contemplates that the
    Chair is authoritatively guided by estimates from the Committee on the
    Budget (clause 4 of rule XXIX).

        Citations in this edition refer to:

    [[Page viii]]

        (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 17), 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.

        All of the members of the Office of the Parliamentarian -- Tom
    Wickham, Ethan Lauer, Carrie Wolf, Max Spitzer, Jay Smith, Brian Cooper,
    Lloyd Jenkins, and Monica Rodriguez, as well as Charles Johnson, Andrew
    Neal, Deborah Khalili, and Bryan Feldblum -- worked diligently to
    annotate the decisions of the Chair and other parliamentary precedents
    of the 111th Congress and of the 112th 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. Particular appreciation goes to Ethan Lauer for
    his initiative and resourcefulness in managing the project and to Tom
    Wickham for his operational leadership.

    [[Page ix]]

    in the Office of Legislative Counsel -- are granted office space,
    information technology, and dignified terms of employment that enable
    them to strive as a matter of course for nothing short of excellence. We
    in the Office of the Parliamentarian and, within it, the Office of
    Compilation of Precedents, are especially gratified to reflect on the
    demonstrated commitment of the House to institutional values that put us
    in a position to exercise independent, professional, legal judgment in
    the nonpartisan performance of our duties.
        On occasion members of the Office of the Parliamentarian have
    engaged in parliamentary exchanges with counterparts in other national
    legislatures. In some countries we have seen highly dedicated
    institutional staff struggle to help their elected representatives
    achieve even minimal goals because they were equipped with only the most
    modest tools. We have thus come to appreciate the commitment of our
    Congress to the development and maintenance of its institutional
    capacities. The institutional staff of our House of Representatives --
    to cite a prime example from personal observation, those who serve

        In resolving questions of order, the Speaker and other presiding
    officers of the House adhere to the jurisprudential principle of stare
    decisis -- a commitment to stand by earlier decisions. This fidelity to
    precedent promotes analytic consistency and procedural predictability
    and thereby fosters legitimacy in the parliamentary practice of the
    House. The commitment of the House to stand by its procedural decisions
    requires that we be rigorous about what constitutes precedent. In the
    parliamentary context, the term does not refer to a mere instance in
    which an event occurred or was suffered; rather, it refers to a decision
    or order actually disposing of a question of order. As we strive to
    apply pertinent precedent to each procedural question, the compilation
    of the parliamentary precedents of the House becomes as important as any
    other function of the Office of the Parliamentarian.

    [[Page x]]

    They have our highest commendations and deepest thanks for a
    difficult job superbly done.
        The compilation of precedents depends implicitly on a transcript of
    the actual proceedings of the House. In this light, the people who form
    the leading edge of the process by which we compile the precedents of
    the House are the Official Reporters of Debate. The virtually verbatim
    transcript of floor proceedings that the reporters produce daily for
    publication in the Congressional Record is the indispensable raw
    material of the precedents-compilation process. This is not to say that
    the material is unfinished. Indeed, the reporters, collectively -- the
    stenographers, transcribers, and clerks who produce floor transcripts in
    near-real time, and who cover the proceedings of the committees of the
    House, as well -- routinely maintain levels of accuracy, speed,
    teamwork, organization, and professionalism that are simply astonishing,
    day in and day out. Members of our office have worked with many court
    reporters in trial and appellate proceedings elsewhere and have marveled
    at their skill. But we know of no forum that asks more of its reporters
    than does the House, and we know of no reporters who perform better than
    do ours.

        Finally, we are continually grateful for the wealth of recorded
    precedent that guides the procedural practices of the House. Although
    the perennial refinement of written rules and the endless ingenuity of
    legislative practitioners yield questions of first impression more
    frequently than one might expect, even more remarkable is how regularly
    the right answer to a procedural question is readily supplied in the
    work of our predecessors in compiling the parliamentary precedents of
    the House: Asher Hinds, Clarence Cannon, Lewis Deschler, William Holmes
    Brown, and Charles W. Johnson.

                                                          John V. Sullivan

    [[Page xi]]

      May 13, 2011

                                 C O N T E N T S

                                   __________

                                THE CONSTITUTION

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

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

                       II.--The executive power.......................    66

                      III.--The judicial power........................    78

                       IV.--Obligations, duties, etc., of the States..    80

                        V.--Amendments to.............................    82

                       VI.--Law of the land, etc......................    84

                      VII.--Ratification of...........................    88

                            Amendments ratified.......................    91

                               JEFFERSON'S MANUAL

                Section I.--Importance of adhering to rules...........   127

                      III.--Privilege.................................   130

                       VI.--Quorum....................................   149

                      VII.--Call of the House.........................   150

                       IX.--Speaker...................................   151

                        X.--Address...................................   153

                       XI.--Committees................................   154

                      XII.--Committee of the Whole....................   157

                     XIII.--Examination of witnesses..................   166

                      XIV.--Arrangement of business...................   171

                       XV.--Order.....................................   173

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

                     XVII.--Order in debate...........................   174

                    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

    [[Page xii]]

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

                                                                        Page

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

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

                      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..............................   257

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

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

                     XLII.--Titles....................................   267

                    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..............   355

                      III.--The Members, Delegates, and Resident

                            Commissioner of Puerto Rico...............   374

                       IV.--The Hall of the House.....................   379

                        V.--Broadcasting the House....................   387

                       VI.--Official Reporters and News Media

                            Galleries.................................   389

                      VII.--Records of the House......................   401

                     VIII.--Response to Subpoenas.....................   405

                       IX.--Questions of Privilege....................   409

                        X.--Organization of Committees................   429

                       XI.--Procedures of Committees and Unfinished

                            Business..................................   541

                      XII.--Receipt and Referral of Measures and

                            Matters...................................   608

                     XIII.--Calendars and Committee Reports...........   623

                      XIV.--Order and Priority of Business............   657

    [[Page xiii]]

                       XV.--Business in Order on Special Days......668

                                                                        Page

                 Rule XVI.--Motions and Amendments....................   686

                     XVII.--Decorum and Debate........................   741

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

                            state of the Union........................   770

                      XIX.--Motions Following the Amendment Stage.....   799

                       XX.--Voting and Quorum Calls...................   814

                      XXI.--Restrictions on Certain Bills.............   844

                     XXII.--House and Senate Relations................   900

                    XXIII.--Code of Official Conduct..................   927

                     XXIV.--Limitations on Use of Official Funds......   938

                      XXV.--Limitations on Outside Earned Income and

                            Acceptance of Gifts.......................   943

                     XXVI.--Financial Disclosure......................   972

                    XXVII.--Disclosure by Members and Staff of

                            Employment Negotiations...................   996

                   XXVIII.--[Reserved]................................   998

                     XXIX.--General Provisions........................   998
    Provisions of Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as Amended by the

        Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, Applicable to Both Houses
    Congressional adjournment.........................................  1003
    Preservation of committee hearings................................  1004

                           Joint and Select Committees
    Economic Committee, Joint.........................................  1005
    Internal Revenue Taxation, Joint Committee on.....................  1005
    Library, Joint Committee of Congress on the.......................  1006
    Printing, Joint Committee on......................................  1006
    Inaugural Ceremonies, Joint Congressional Committee on............  1006
    Select committees.................................................  1006

    [[Page xiv]]

                         House and Congressional Offices
    House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards...............  1009
    House Office Building Commission..................................  1009
    Government Accountability Office..................................  1009
    Office of Compliance..............................................  1009
    Congressional Research Service....................................  1010
    Legislative Counsel...............................................  1010
    Congressional Budget Office.......................................  1010
    Law Revision Counsel..............................................  1010
    Technology Assessment.............................................  1010
    Office of the Parliamentarian.....................................  1010
    Office of Floor Assistants........................................  1011

                                                                        Page
    Office of Interparliamentary Affairs..............................  1011
    House Recording Studio............................................  1011
    United States Capitol Preservation Commission.....................  1011
    Office of General Counsel.........................................  1011
    Office of Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations........  1012
    Office of Attending Physician.....................................  1012
    Office of Architect of the Capitol................................  1012
    House Democracy Partnership.......................................  1012
    Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission................................  1012
    Office of Congressional Ethics....................................  1013
    Early organization of the House...................................  1015

              Miscellaneous Provisions of Congressional Budget Laws
    Congressional Budget Act of 1974..................................  1021
    Budget Enforcement Act of 1990....................................  1099
    Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010...............................  1103

                      Legislative Procedures Enacted in Law
    Measures privileged for consideration in House....................  1107

    [[Page xv]]

                                      Index
    Index.............................................................  1277

                            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. end segment
    .000 segment .001 -- Constitution through article I