[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 114th Congress]
[114th Congress]
[House Document 113-181]
[Front Matter]
[Pages i-xiii]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page i]]
 
113th Congress, 2d Session-  -  -  -  -  -  - House Document No. 113-181
________________________________________________________________________


                              CONSTITUTION


                           JEFFERSON'S MANUAL


                                   AND


                          RULES OF THE HOUSE OF


                             REPRESENTATIVES


                          OF THE UNITED STATES


                     ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS


                            THOMAS J. WICKHAM


 
                             PARLIAMENTARIAN



                  GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT


                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE


________________________________________________________________________

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing 
            93-400          WASHINGTON : 2015


                                 Office





[[Page iii]]

                        Washington, DC 20402


                          HOUSE RESOLUTION 753


                  In the House of Representatives, U.S.,      


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

                                               November 14, 2014.  


                                                     Karen L. Haas,      


                                                               Clerk.  




[[Page v]]

                                (III)


                                 PREFACE

    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 Fourteenth Congress were adopted on 
January 6, 2015, 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 Fourteenth 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 Fourteenth Congress included:

    (1) authority for the Speaker to modify, within the three-day 
constitutional limit, any order for the time of the convening of the 
House during short adjournments when warranted by the public interest 
and authority for the Speaker to name a designee to exercise this and 
related convening authorities (clause 12 of rule I);

    (2) affirmative establishment of, and conferral of the imprimatur of 
the House in all litigation to, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group 
(clause 8 of rule II);



[[Page vi]]

    (3) reinstatement of the requirement that that the Committee on 
House Administration provide policy direction to the Chief 
Administrative Officer (clause 4(a) of rule II; clause 4(d) of rule X);

    (4) expansion of the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations 
to include specified loan obligations and loan guarantees (clause 1(b) 
of rule X);

    (5) expansion of the jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary 
to include criminalization (clause 1(l) of rule X);

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

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

    (8) transfer of the requirement for committees to adopt written 
rules regarding audio and visual coverage from clause 4 of rule XI to 
clause 2 of rule XI to merge with the general requirement for written 
committee rules (clause 2(a) of rule XI; clause 4(f) of rule XI);

    (9) expansion of committee hearing witness disclosure requirements 
to include certain foreign government information and contraction to 
matter relating to the hearing in question (clause 2(g)(5) of rule XI);

    (10) requirement for new Members, Delegates, and Resident 
Commissioners to receive ethics training from the Committee on Ethics 
(clause 3(a) of rule XI);

    (11) restriction on the Committee on Ethics taking an action denying 
a constitutional right (clause 3(s) of rule XI);

    (12) restriction on use of committee broadcast material conformed to 
the restriction on floor broadcast material (clause 4(b) of rule XI);

    (13) expansion of the Ramseyer rule to include the entire text of a 
section of a statute proposed to be repealed or amended (clause 3(e) of 
rule XIII);

    (14) expansion of various cost estimates to include macroeconomic 
data and repeal of requirement that reports on tax bills contain a 
macroeconomic analysis (clause 3(h) of rule XIII; clause 8 of rule XIII)

    (15) elimination of the point of order against consideration of a 
general appropriation bill if printed hearings thereon are not available 
(clause 4(c) of rule XIII); and

    (16) extension of time before further motions to instruct conferees 
may be offered from 20 to 45 calendar days and from 10 to 25 legislative 
days (clause 7 of rule XXII).

    Citations in this edition refer to:


[[Page vii]]

    (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);

    (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 affiliation with the House.


    All of the members of the Office of the Parliamentarian - Ethan 
Lauer, Jay Smith, Anne Gooch, Kyle Jones, Severin Randall, Brian Cooper, 
Lloyd Jenkins, Monica Rodriguez, and Kristen Donahue, as well as Charles 
Johnson, Max Spitzer, Andrew Neal, Catherine Moran, and Bryan Feldblum - 
worked diligently to annotate the decisions of the Chair and other 
parliamentary precedents of the 113th Congress and of the 114th 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 recognize Carrie Wolf for her dedication and 
professionalism in service to the office.

                                                Thomas J. Wickham, Jr.  



[[Page ix]]

  May 21, 2015


                                CONTENTS


                               __________

                            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...........................    89

                        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.........................   151

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

                    X.--Address...................................   154

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

                  XII.--Committee of the Whole....................   158

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

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

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

                  XVI.--Order respecting papers...................   174

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

                XVIII.--Orders of the House.......................   196

                  XIX.--Petition..................................   200

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

                  XXI.--Resolutions...............................   203

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

                 XXIV.--Bills, first reading......................   205

                  XXV.--Bills, second reading.....................   206

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


[[Page x]]

                XXVII.--Report of committee.......................   217

                                                                    Page

       Section XXVIII.--Bill, recommitment........................   218

                 XXIX.--Bills, reports taken up...................   219

                  XXX.--Quasi-committee...........................   221

                 XXXI.--Bill, second reading in the House.........   224

                XXXII.--Reading papers............................   227

               XXXIII.--Privileged questions......................   229

                XXXIV.--The previous question.....................   242

                 XXXV.--Amendments................................   244

                XXXVI.--Division of the question..................   253

               XXXVII.--Coexisting questions......................   256

              XXXVIII.--Equivalent questions......................   257

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

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

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

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

                XLIII.--Reconsideration...........................   270

                 XLIV.--Bills sent to the other House.............   273

                  XLV.--Amendments between the Houses.............   274

                 XLVI.--Conferences...............................   284

                XLVII.--Messages..................................   297

               XLVIII.--Assent....................................   302

                 XLIX.--Journals..................................   304

                    L.--Adjournment...............................   306

                   LI.--A session.................................   308

                  LII.--Treaties..................................   311

                 LIII.--Impeachment...............................   315

                           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...............   378

                   IV.--The Hall of the House.....................   383

                    V.--Broadcasting the House....................   391

                   VI.--Official Reporters and News Media 

                        Galleries.................................   393

                  VII.--Records of the House......................   405

                 VIII.--Response to Subpoenas.....................   409

                   IX.--Questions of Privilege....................   413

                    X.--Organization of Committees................   434

                   XI.--Procedures of Committees and Unfinished 

                        Business..................................   546

                  XII.--Receipt and Referral of Measures and 

                        Matters...................................   615

                 XIII.--Calendars and Committee Reports...........   630

                  XIV.--Order and Priority of Business............   665


[[Page xi]]
                   XV.--Business in Order on Special Days.........   676

                                                                    Page

             Rule XVI.--Motions and Amendments....................   695

                 XVII.--Decorum and Debate........................   750

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

                        state of the Union........................   780

                  XIX.--Motions Following the Amendment Stage.....   810

                   XX.--Voting and Quorum Calls...................   825

                  XXI.--Restrictions on Certain Bills.............   855

                 XXII.--House and Senate Relations................   913

                XXIII.--Code of Official Conduct..................   940

                 XXIV.--Limitations on Use of Official Funds......   952

                  XXV.--Limitations on Outside Earned Income and 

                        Acceptance of Gifts.......................   957

                 XXVI.--Financial Disclosure......................   986

                XXVII.--Disclosure by Members and Staff of 

                        Employment Negotiations...................  1012

               XXVIII.--[Reserved]................................  1014


Provisions of Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as Amended by the 
                 XXIX.--General Provisions........................  1014


    Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, Applicable to Both Houses
Congressional adjournment.........................................  1019
Preservation of committee hearings................................  1020


Economic Committee, Joint.........................................  1021
Taxation, Joint Committee on......................................  1021
Library, Joint Committee of Congress on the.......................  1022
Printing, Joint Committee on......................................  1022
Inaugural Ceremonies, Joint Congressional Committee on............  1022
Select committees.................................................  1022

                       Joint and Select Committees


House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards...............  1025
House Office Building Commission..................................  1025
Government Accountability Office..................................  1025
Office of Compliance..............................................  1025
Congressional Research Service....................................  1026
Legislative Counsel...............................................  1026
Congressional Budget Office.......................................  1026
Law Revision Counsel..............................................  1026
Technology Assessment.............................................  1026
Office of the Parliamentarian.....................................  1026
Office of Floor Assistants........................................  1027

[[Page xii]]

                     House and Congressional Offices

                                                                    Page
Office of Interparliamentary Affairs..............................  1027
House Recording Studio............................................  1027
United States Capitol Preservation Commission.....................  1027
Office of General Counsel.........................................  1027
Former Office of Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations.  1028
Office of Attending Physician.....................................  1028
Office of Architect of the Capitol................................  1028
House Democracy Partnership.......................................  1028
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission................................  1028
Office of Congressional Ethics....................................  1028
Early organization of the House...................................  1031

          Miscellaneous Provisions of Congressional Budget Laws
Congressional Budget Act of 1974..................................  1037
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990....................................  1119
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010...............................  1123

                  Legislative Procedures Enacted in Law
Measures privileged for consideration in House....................  1127



[[Page xiii]]

                                  Index
Index.............................................................  1307

                        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.