[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 113th Congress]
[113rd Congress]
[House Document 112-161]
[Front Matter]
[Pages i-xii]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page i]]
 
 112th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - House Document No. 112-161
______________________________________________________________________


                              CONSTITUTION


                           JEFFERSON'S MANUAL


                                   AND


                          RULES OF THE HOUSE OF


                             REPRESENTATIVES


                          OF THE UNITED STATES


                     ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS


                            THOMAS J. WICKHAM


                             PARLIAMENTARIAN



          [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 


                     U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE


________________________________________________________________________

 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing 
            77-900          WASHINGTON : 2013

                                 Office



[[Page iii]]

                          Washington, DC 20402


                          HOUSE RESOLUTION 836

                            In the House of Representatives, U.S.,      

                                                    December 19, 2012.  

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

                                                    Karen L. Haas,      


                                                                Clerk.  



[[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 Thirteenth Congress were adopted on 
January 3, 2013, 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 Thirteenth 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 One Hundred Thirteenth Congress included:

    (1) clarification of the jurisdiction of the Committee on Homeland 
Security over general management of the Department of Homeland Security 
(clause 1(j) of rule X);

    (2) expansion of the jurisdiction of the Committee on Natural 
Resources to include certain insular areas (clause 1(m) of rule X);

    (3) reduction in frequency of committee activity reports from 
biannually to annually (clause 1(d) of rule XI);

    (4) elimination of requirement that a regular committee meeting be 
held, unless noticed (clause 2(b) of rule XI);


[[Page vi]]

Committee on Ethics by the Office of Congressional Ethics are required 
to be made (clause 3(b)(8) of rule XI);
    (5) clarification of the circumstances in which certain public 
statements regarding matters transmitted to the

    (6) expansion of the Ramseyer rule to include provisions of law 
adjacent to those being amended or repealed by a measure if useful for 
context (clause 3(e) of rule XIII);

    (7) requirement that waivers be specified in a report accompanying a 
special order of business reported by the Committee on Rules (instead of 
in the resolution) (clause 6(g) of rule XIII);

    (8) authority for chair of the Committee of the Whole to reduce to 
not less than two minutes (instead of 15) the minimum time for certain 
votes after the House resolves into the Committee, and authority for the 
Speaker to reduce to not less than five minutes (instead of 15) the 
minimum time for the vote on a motion to recommit or certain other votes 
after the Committee of the Whole rises (clause 6(g) of rule XVIII; 
clause 8(c) of rule XX; clause 9(b) and clause 9(c) of rule XX);

    (9) expansion of electronic availability of conference reports to 
satisfy layover requirements (clause 8(a) of rule XXII); and

    (10) with regard to the Code of Official Conduct: expansion of the 
restriction on retaining the spouse of a Member in a paid position to 
cover a broader class of relatives; partial transfer of responsibility 
from the Clerk to the Sergeant-at-Arms for keeping records of the oath 
for access to classified information; and modification of the 
restriction on, and establishment of waiver authority for, use of 
certain funds for flights on certain private aircraft (clause 8(c), 
clause 13, and clause 15 of rule XXIII).

    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), Deschler-Brown Precedents of the U.S. House of 
Representatives (volumes 10 through 16), Deschler-Brown-Johnson 
Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (volume 17), and 
Deschler-Brown-Johnson-Sullivan Precedents of the U.S. House of 
Representatives (volume 18), by chapter and section (e.g., Deschler, ch. 
26, Sec. 79.7; Deschler-Brown, ch. 28, Sec. 4.26);


[[Page vii]]

    (3) the Congressional Record, by date and page (e.g., Jan. 29, 1986, 
p. 684);

    (4) House Practice (2011), 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. Volume 18 of Deschler-
Brown-Johnson-Sullivan Precedents also features a commentary by former 
Parliamentarian Charles W. Johnson, III, noting procedural highlights 
during his nearly 50 years of affiliation with the House.

    All of the members of the Office of the Parliamentarian -- Ethan 
Lauer, Carrie Wolf, Jay Smith, Anne Gooch, Severin Randall, Brian 
Cooper, Lloyd Jenkins, and Monica Rodriguez, as well as Charles Johnson, 
Max Spitzer, Andrew Neal, Deborah Khalili, and Bryan Feldblum -- worked 
diligently to annotate the decisions of the Chair and other 
parliamentary precedents of the 112th Congress and of the 113th 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 steady hand in managing the 
project.


    Finally, we are grateful to John V. Sullivan for his many years of 
service to the office. His unique blend of intellect, work ethic, and 
vision enriched all those who sought his counsel. His vast knowledge of 
law and precedent and his quick and precise application of that 
knowledge were indispensable elements in the formation of current House 
procedure.

                                                Thomas J. Wickham, Jr.  



[[Page ix]]



  May 31, 2013


                             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....................................   150

                  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.......................   196

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

                   XX.--Motion....................................   201

                  XXI.--Resolutions...............................   202

                XXIII.--Bills, leave to bring in..................   204

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

                  XXV.--Bills, second reading.....................   205

                 XXVI.--Bills, commitment.........................   206


[[Page x]]

                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.........   224

                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..............................   258

                   XL.--Bills, third reading......................   259

                  XLI.--Division of the House.....................   263

                 XLII.--Titles....................................   268

                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....................................   300

                 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..............   358

                  III.--The Members, Delegates, and Resident 

                        Commissioner of Puerto Rico...............   377

                   IV.--The Hall of the House.....................   382

                    V.--Broadcasting the House....................   390

                   VI.--Official Reporters and News Media 

                        Galleries.................................   392

                  VII.--Records of the House......................   404

                 VIII.--Response to Subpoenas.....................   408

                   IX.--Questions of Privilege....................   412

                    X.--Organization of Committees................   432

                   XI.--Procedures of Committees and Unfinished 

                        Business..................................   544

                  XII.--Receipt and Referral of Measures and 

                        Matters...................................   612

                 XIII.--Calendars and Committee Reports...........   627

                  XIV.--Order and Priority of Business............   662


[[Page xi]]

                   XV.--Business in Order on Special Days.........   672

                                                                    Page

             Rule XVI.--Motions and Amendments....................   691

                 XVII.--Decorum and Debate........................   746

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

                        state of the Union........................   775

                  XIX.--Motions Following the Amendment Stage.....   805

                   XX.--Voting and Quorum Calls...................   820

                  XXI.--Restrictions on Certain Bills.............   850

                 XXII.--House and Senate Relations................   907

                XXIII.--Code of Official Conduct..................   934

                 XXIV.--Limitations on Use of Official Funds......   946

                  XXV.--Limitations on Outside Earned Income and 

                        Acceptance of Gifts.......................   951

                 XXVI.--Financial Disclosure......................   980

                XXVII.--Disclosure by Members and Staff of 

                        Employment Negotiations...................  1006

               XXVIII.--[Reserved]................................  1008


Provisions of Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as Amended by the 
                 XXIX.--General Provisions........................  1008


Congressional adjournment.........................................  1013
Preservation of committee hearings................................  1014

    Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, Applicable to Both Houses


Economic Committee, Joint.........................................  1015
Taxation, Joint Committee on......................................  1015
Library, Joint Committee of Congress on the.......................  1016
Printing, Joint Committee on......................................  1016
Inaugural Ceremonies, Joint Congressional Committee on............  1016
Select committees.................................................  1016

                       Joint and Select Committees


House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards...............  1017
House Office Building Commission..................................  1017
Government Accountability Office..................................  1017
Office of Compliance..............................................  1017
Congressional Research Service....................................  1018
Legislative Counsel...............................................  1018
Congressional Budget Office.......................................  1018
Law Revision Counsel..............................................  1018
Technology Assessment.............................................  1018
Office of the Parliamentarian.....................................  1018
Office of Floor Assistants........................................  1019

[[Page xii]]

                     House and Congressional Offices


                                                                    Page
Office of Interparliamentary Affairs..............................  1019
House Recording Studio............................................  1019
United States Capitol Preservation Commission.....................  1019
Office of General Counsel.........................................  1019
Former Office of Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations.  1020
Office of Attending Physician.....................................  1020
Office of Architect of the Capitol................................  1020
House Democracy Partnership.......................................  1020
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission................................  1020
Office of Congressional Ethics....................................  1020
Early organization of the House...................................  1023


Congressional Budget Act of 1974..................................  1029
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990....................................  1109
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010...............................  1113

          Miscellaneous Provisions of Congressional Budget Laws


Measures privileged for consideration in House....................  1117
                  Legislative Procedures Enacted in Law



[[Page xiii]

                                  Index
Index.............................................................  1291

                        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.