[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]


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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



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                          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.  



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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 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);


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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);


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    (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:


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    (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.



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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.



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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  



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  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


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                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



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                   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


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                     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


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                                  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