[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 114th Congress]
[114th Congress]
[House Document 113-181]
[Rules of the House of Representatives]
[Pages 335-1015]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
[[Page 335]]
RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WITH NOTES AND ANNOTATIONS
__________
Rule I
Approval of the Journal
the speaker
| 621. Journal; Speaker's approval. | 1. The Speaker shall take the Chair on every legislative day precisely at the hour to which the House last adjourned and immediately call the House to order. Having examined and approved the Journal of the last day's proceedings, the Speaker shall announce to the House approval thereof. The Speaker's approval of the Journal shall be deemed agreed to unless a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner demands a vote thereon. If such a vote is decided in the affirmative, it shall not be subject to a motion to reconsider. If such a vote is decided in the negative, then one motion that the Journal be read shall be privileged, shall be decided without debate, and shall not be subject to a motion to reconsider. |
| 623. Speaker's control of the Hall, corridors, and rooms. | 3. Except as otherwise provided by rule or law, the Speaker shall have general control of the Hall of the House, the corridors and passages in the part of the Capitol assigned to the use of the House, and the disposal of unappropriated rooms in that part of the Capitol. |
| 624. Speaker's signature to acts, warrants, subpoenas, etc. | 4. The Speaker shall sign all acts and joint resolutions passed by the two Houses and all writs, warrants, and subpoenas of, or issued by order of, the House. The Speaker may sign enrolled bills and joint resolutions whether or not the House is in session. |
| Sec. 625. Signing of enrolled bills. | Enrolled bills are signed first by the Speaker (IV, 3429) or a Speaker pro tempore under clause 8 of rule I. For precedents relevant to the signing of enrolled bills before this clause was amended to permit the Speaker to sign at any time, see IV, 3458, and V, 5705. Before the adoption of clause 2(d)(2) of rule II (enabling the Clerk to examine enrolled bills), the House authorized the Speaker to sign an enrolled bill before the Committee on Enrolled Bills could attest to its accuracy (IV, 3452). In cases of error the House has permitted the Speaker's signature to be vacated (IV, 3453, 3455-3457; VII, 1077-1080; Mar. 11, 1986, p. 4240; Dec. 19, 2012, p. _). |
| Sec. 626. Signing of warrants, subpoenas, etc. | Warrants, subpoenas, etc., during recesses of Congress are signed only by authority specially given (III, 1753, 1763, 1806). The issuing of warrants must be specially authorized by the House (I, 287) or pursuant to a standing rule (clause 6 of rule XX; Sec. 1026, infra). Instance wherein the House authorized the Speaker to issue a warrant for the arrest of absentees (VI, 638). The Speaker also signs the articles, replications, etc., in impeachments (III, 2370, 2455; e.g., H. Res. 611, Dec. 19, 1998, p. 28112); and certifies cases of contumacious witnesses for action by the courts (III, 1691, 1769; VI, 385; 2 U.S.C. 194). A subpoena validly issued under clause 2(m) of rule XI need only be signed by the chair of that committee, whereas when the House issues an order or warrant, the summons is issued under the hand and seal of the Speaker, and it must be attested by the Clerk (III, 1668; see H. Rept. 96-1078, p. 22). |
| 627. Questions of order. | 5. The Speaker shall decide all questions of order, subject to appeal by a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner. On such an appeal a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not speak more than once without permission of the House. |
| Sec. 628. Practice governing the Speaker in deciding points of order. | The Speaker may require that a question of order be presented in writing (V, 6865). When enough of a proposition has been read to show that it is out of order, the question of order may be raised without waiting for the reading to be completed (V, 6886, 6887; VIII, 2912, 3378, 3437; July 9, 2009, pp. 17309-11), though the Chair may decline to rule until the entire proposition has been read (Dec. 14, 1973, pp. 41716-18). For example, the Chair declined to entertain a point of order that a motion to recommit was not germane before any nongermane portion of the motion had been read (May 9, 2003, p. 11110); and a motion to recommit with instructions was ruled out of order before the entire motion had been read as a matter of form where a special order of business precluded instructions (May 6, 2004, pp. 8590, 8591). A point of order may be withdrawn as a matter of right before action thereon (e.g., June 24, 2008, p. 13500). Present insistence on a point of order takes precedence over reservation (Nov. 19, 2009, pp. 28235, 28243). A point of order against consideration of a measure must be raised (or reserved) before commencement of debate on the measure (e.g., Feb. 15, 1995, p. 5012; June 1, 2011, p. 8475; July 11, 2013, p. _; May 29, 2014, p. _; July 11, 2014, p. _) and a timely reservation of a point of order by one Member inures to the benefit of any other Member who desires to raise a point of order (V, 6906; July 18, 1990, p. 17930). Questions arising during a division are decided peremptorily (V, 5926), and when they arise out of any other question must be decided before that question (V, 6864). In rare instances the Speaker has declined to rule until taking time for examination of the question (III, 2725; VI, 432; VII, 2106; VIII, 2174, 2396, 3475; Mar. 24, 2010, p. 4767). |
| Sec. 628a. Practice governing the Speaker in entertaining parliamentary inquiries. | Recognition for parliamentary inquiry lies in the discretion of the Chair (VI, 541; Apr. 7, 1992, p. 8273; Mar. 21, 2010, p. 4106; Apr. 8, 2014, p. _). As such, the Chair may recognize for a demand for the yeas and nays rather than entertain a parliamentary inquiry (Aug. 4, 2007, p. 23233). The Speaker may recognize and respond to a parliamentary inquiry although the previous question may have been demanded (Mar. 27, 1926, p. 6469). Although the Chair has discretion to recognize Members for parliamentary inquiries when no other Member is occupying the floor for debate, a parliamentary inquiry may not be raised unless the Member having the floor yields for that purpose (Oct. 1, 1986, p. 27465; July 13, 1989, p. 14633; May 29, 2014, p. _; June 12, 2014, p. _; Jan. 13, 2015, p. _) and the yielding Member is charged time consumed thereby (Deschler-Brown, ch. 31, Sec. 15.4; Feb. 5, 2014, p. _). A Member under recognition for a parliamentary inquiry may not yield to another Member (Nov. 22, 2002, p. 23510; Oct. 12, 2013, p. _) and may not engage in debate (June 24, 2011, p. 10018; Oct. 12, 2013, p. _; Apr. 8, 2014, p. _; June 12, 2014, p. _). |
| Sec. 629. Practice, governing appeals. | The right of appeal insures the House against the arbitrary control of the Speaker and cannot be taken away from the House (V, 6002). Although a decision of the Chair on a point of order is subject to appeal on demand of any Member, a Member cannot secure a recorded vote on a point of order absent an appeal and the Chair's putting the question thereon (June 20, 1996, p. 14847). |
| 630. Putting of the question by the Speaker. | 6. The Speaker shall rise to put a question but may state it sitting. The Speaker shall put a question in this form: ``Those in favor (of the question), say `Aye.'''; and after the affirmative voice is expressed, ``Those opposed, say `No.'''. After a vote by voice under this clause, the Speaker may use such voting procedures as may be invoked under rule XX. |
| 631. The Speaker's vote. Tie vote. | 7. The Speaker is not required to vote in ordinary legislative proceedings, except when such vote would be decisive or when the House is engaged in voting by ballot. |
| 632. Speaker pro tempore. | 8. (a) The Speaker may appoint a Member to perform the duties of the Chair. Except as specified in paragraph (b), such an appointment may not extend beyond three legislative days. |
| Sec. 634. Election, oath, and designation of Speaker pro tempore. | The right of the House to elect a Speaker pro tempore in the absence of the Speaker was exercised before the rule was adopted (II, 1405), although the House sometimes preferred to adjourn (I, 179). An elected Speaker pro tempore in the earlier practice was not sworn (I, 229; II, 1386); but the Senate and sometimes the President were notified of such election (II, 1386-1389, 1405-1412; VI, 275). On August 31, 1961 (p. 17765), the House adopted House Resolution 445, electing Hon. John W. McCormack as Speaker pro tempore in the absence and terminal illness of Speaker Rayburn. The resolution provided that the Clerk notify the President and the Senate. The chair of the Democratic Caucus then administered the oath. The Speaker has appointed a Speaker pro tempore to perform the duties of the Chair for a fourth consecutive day on account of illness (Speaker Hastert, Feb. 26, 2001, p. 2192). Elected Speakers pro tempore have signed enrolled bills, appointed select committees, administered the oath of office to a Member-elect (Mar. 17, 1998, p. 3836), etc., functions not exercised by a Speaker pro tempore designated under paragraph (a) of this clause (II, 1399, 1400, 1404; VI, 274, 277; Sept. 21, 1961, p. 20572; June 21, 1984, p. 17708). The House may permit the Speaker to make appointments beyond the limit in paragraph (a) (e.g., Dec. 16, 2009, pp. 32039, 32040). The House may agree by unanimous consent to the Speaker's appointment under this clause of Members in the alternative to act as Speakers pro tempore to sign enrollments through a date certain (e.g., Aug. 6, 1998, p. 19128) or for an entire Congress (e.g., Jan. 6, 2009, p. 25). |
| 635. Drug testing in the House. | 9. The Speaker, in consultation with the Minority Leader, shall develop through an appropriate entity of the House a system for drug testing in the House. The system may provide for the testing of a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House, and otherwise shall be comparable in scope to the system for drug testing in the executive branch pursuant to Executive Order 12564 (Sept. 15, 1986). The expenses of the system may be paid from applicable accounts of the House for official expenses. |
| Sec. 635a. Former term limit. | Clause 9 formerly was occupied by a prohibition against the Speaker serving for more than four consecutive Congresses, which was added in the 104th Congress (sec. 103(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 462) and repealed in the 108th Congress (sec. 2(b), H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 2003, p. 7). Before the House recodified its rules in the 106th Congress, the former term-limit rule and current clause 8 occupied a single clause (formerly clause 7) (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47). |
| 636. Travel authority. | 10. The Speaker may designate a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House to travel on the business of the House within or without the United States, whether the House is meeting, has recessed, or has adjourned. Expenses for such travel may be paid from applicable accounts of the House described in clause |
| 637. Select and conference committees. | 11. The Speaker shall appoint all select, joint, and conference committees ordered by the House. At any time after an original appointment, the Speaker may remove Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner from, or appoint additional Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner to, a select or conference committee. In appointing Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner to conference committees, the Speaker shall appoint no less than a majority who generally supported the House position as determined by the Speaker, shall name those who are primarily responsible for the legislation, and shall, to the fullest extent feasible, include the principal proponents of the major provisions of the bill or resolution passed or adopted by the House. |
| 638. Short recess authority. | 12. (a) To suspend the business of the House for a short time when no question is pending before the House, the Speaker may declare a recess subject to the call of the Chair. |
| Sec. 639. Emergency recess and reconvening authority. | (b)(1) To suspend the business of the House when notified of an imminent threat to its safety, the Speaker may declare an emergency recess subject to the call of the Chair. |
| 640. Election, oath, and removal of officers. | 1. There shall be elected at the commencement of each Congress, to continue in office until their successors are chosen and qualified, a Clerk, a |
| 641. Clerk; commencement of first session. | 2. (a) At the commencement of the first session of each Congress, the Clerk shall call the Members, Delegates, and Resident Commissioner to order and proceed to record their presence by States in alphabetical order, either by call of the roll or by use of the electronic voting system. Pending the election of a Speaker or Speaker pro |
| Sec. 642. Other duties of the Clerk. | Various administrative duties, similar to those specified in this clause, are imposed on the Clerk by law (I, 253; Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, 60 Stat. 812); and the law also requires the furnishing of stationery, blank books, etc., to the committees and officers of the House (V, 7322); to exercise discretionary authority as to reprinting of bills and documents (V, 7319); and to receive the testimony taken in election contests (I, 703, 705; see also Federal Contested Election Act, P.L. 91-138, 83 Stat. 284). Instance of Clerk serving temporarily also as Sergeant-at-Arms (July 8, 1953, p. 8242). |
| Sec. 643. Clerk's duties at organization. | As rules are not usually adopted until after the election of the Speaker, this paragraph is not in force at the time of organization of a new House. The procedure at organization does, however, follow a practice conforming to the terms of the paragraph (I, 81), although the House may depart from it. For a discussion of procedure in the House before the adoption of rules, including the procedure by which the Clerk conducts the election of the Speaker, see Sec. Sec. 27, 60, supra. The Clerk, in presiding before the election of the Speaker, recognizes Members (I, 74). The Members-elect have on one occasion, before the election of the Speaker or adoption of rules, authorized the Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms of the last House to preserve order (I, 101). |
| Sec. 644. The roll of Memberselect. | The roll of Members is made up by the Clerk from the credentials, in accordance with a provision of law (I, 14-62; VI, 2; 2 U.S.C. 26). A certificate of election in due form having been filed, the Clerk placed the name of the Member-elect on the roll, although he was subsequently advised that a State Supreme Court had issued a writ restraining the Secretary of State from issuing such certificate (Jan. 3, 1949, p. 8). The call of the roll may not be interrupted, especially by one not on that roll (I, 84), and a person not on the roll may not be recognized (I, 86). A motion to proceed to the election of the Speaker is of higher privilege than a motion to correct the |
| Sec. 645. Clerk as presiding officer at organizations. | In early years the authority of the Clerk to decide questions of order pending the election of a Speaker was questioned (I, 65). The Clerks often declined to make decisions (I, 68-72; V, 5325). However, in 1855 and 1997 the Clerk decided a question of order; and in 1997 the Clerk was sustained on appeal (I, 91; Jan. 7, 1997, pp. 115, 116). During the existence of a rule that applied the rules of a prior House to a successor House (1860 through 1890) (I, 64; V, 6743-6747) the Clerks made several rulings (I, 76, 77; VI, 623). |
| Sec. 646. Clerk furnishes a list of reports. | (b) At the commencement of every regular session of Congress, the Clerk shall make and cause to be delivered to each Member, Delegate, and the Resident Commissioner a list of the reports that any officer or Department is required to make to Congress, citing the law or resolution in which the requirement may be contained and placing under the name of each officer the list of reports required to be made by such officer. |
| Sec. 647. Clerk's duty as to Journal and documents. | (1) note all questions of order, with the decisions thereon, the record of which shall be appended to the Journal of each session; |
| Sec. 648. Attests and seals process and certifies passage of bills; oversees engrossment and enrollment process. | (d)(1) The Clerk shall attest and affix the seal of the House to all writs, warrants, and subpoenas issued by order of the House and certify the passage of all bills and joint resolutions. |
| Sec. 649. Calendars distributed. | (e) The Clerk shall cause the calendars of the House to be distributed each legislative day. |
| Sec. 650. Documents. | (1) retain in the library at the Office of the Clerk for the use of the Members, Delegates, Resident Commissioner, and officers of the House, and not to be withdrawn therefrom, two copies of all the books and printed documents deposited there; and |
| Sec. 651. Official to act as Clerk upon designation. | (g) The Clerk shall provide for the temporary absence or disability of the Clerk by designating an official in the Office of the Clerk to sign all papers that may require the official signature of the Clerk and to perform all other official acts that the Clerk may be required to perform under the rules and practices of the House, except such official acts as are provided for by statute. Official acts performed by the designated official shall be under the name of the Clerk. The designation shall be in writing and shall be laid before the House and entered on the Journal. |
| Sec. 652. Authority to receive messages. | (h) The Clerk may receive messages from the President and from the Senate at any time when the House is in recess or adjournment. |
| Sec. 653. Administration of vacant Member's office. | (i)(1) The Clerk shall supervise the staff and manage the office of a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who has died, resigned, or been expelled until a successor is elected. The Clerk shall perform similar duties in the event that a vacancy is declared by the House in any congressional district because of the incapacity of the person representing such district or other reason. When acting as a supervisory authority over such staff, the Clerk shall have authority to terminate employees and, with the approval of the Committee on House Administration, may appoint such staff as is required to operate the office until a successor is elected. |
| Sec. 655. Cooperation with others. | (k) The Clerk shall fully cooperate with the appropriate offices and persons in the performance of reviews and audits of financial records and administrative operations. |
| 656. SergeantatArms enforces authority of House. | 3. (a) The Sergeant-at-Arms shall attend the House during its sittings and maintain order under the direction of the Speaker or other presiding officer. The Sergeant-at-Arms shall execute the commands of the House, and all processes issued by authority thereof, directed to the Sergeant- at-Arms by the Speaker. |
| Sec. 658. Doorkeeping. | (c) The Sergeant-at-Arms shall enforce strictly the rules relating to the privileges of the Hall of the House and be responsible to the House for the official conduct of employees of the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms. |
| Sec. 660. Cooperation with others. | (f) The Sergeant-at-Arms shall fully cooperate with the appropriate offices and persons in the performance of reviews and audits of financial records and administrative operations. |
| 661. Duties. | 4. (a) The Chief Administrative Officer shall have operational and financial responsibility for functions as as |
| Sec. 662. Semiannual reports. | (b) In addition to any other reports required by the Committee on House Administration, the Chief Administrative Officer shall report to the Committee on House Administration not later than 45 days following the close of each semiannual period ending on June 30 or December 31 on the financial and operational status of each function under the jurisdiction of the Chief Administrative Officer. Each report shall include financial statements and a description or explanation of current operations, the implementation of new policies and procedures, and future plans for each function. |
| Sec. 663. Cooperation with others. | (c) The Chief Administrative Officer shall fully cooperate with the appropriate offices and persons in the performance of reviews and audits of financial records and administrative operations. |
| Sec. 663a. Former Office of Doorkeeper. | Before the 104th Congress (sec. 201(c), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 463), rule V enumerated the duties of the Doorkeeper, who enforced the rules relating to the privileges of the Hall of the House. The earlier form of the rule was adopted in 1838 and amended in 1869, 1880 (I, 260), and 1890 (V, 7295). By law the Doorkeeper was assigned certain administrative duties (I, 262), including certain housekeeping functions. Through employees and appointees, the Doorkeeper also discharged various duties not enumerated in the law or in the rules, such as announcing at the door of the Hall of the House all messengers from the President and the Senate (V, 6591). The Clerk having died, and the Sergeant-at-Arms having been absent, the Doorkeeper of the 79th Congress presided at the organization of the 80th Congress (Jan. 3, 1947, p. 33). In the 78th Congress, the House adopted a resolution on the death of the Doorkeeper and appointed a committee to attend his funeral (Jan. 28, 1943, pp. 421, 422).- |
| Sec. 664. Former Director of Nonlegislative and Financial Services. | The Chief Administrative Officer supplanted the Director of Non-legislative and Financial Services formerly provided for under clause 1 of rule VI in the 103d Congress, which corresponded to an erstwhile rule LII of the 102d Congress. Certain functions and entities formerly within the purview of elected officers were transferred to the Director of Non-legislative and Financial Services pursuant to the House Administrative Reform Resolution of 1992 (H. Res. 423, Apr. 9, 1992, p. 9040), which also vested the Committee on House Administration with authority to prescribe regulations providing for the orderly transfer of such functions and entities and any other transfers necessary for the improvement of non-legislative and financial services in the House, so long as not transferring a function or entity within the jurisdiction of the committee under rule X. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule VI of the 103d Congress (then still designated as rule LII of the 102d Congress), the Speaker, the Majority Leader, and the Minority Leader jointly appointed the first Director of Non-legislative and Financial Services on October 23, 1992 (Oct. 29, 1992, p. 34802). |
| 665. Duties of the Chaplain. | 5. The Chaplain shall offer a prayer at the commencement of each day's sitting of the House. |
| 667. Inspector General. | 6. (a) There is established an Office of Inspector General. |
| Sec. 668. Former Office of the Postmaster. | Until the 102d Congress, former rule VI provided for an Office of the Postmaster, which supervised the post offices of the House and the delivery of its mail. The earlier form of the rule was adopted in 1838 and amended in 1880 (I, 270), 1911 (VI, 34), 1971 (H. Res. 5, 92d Cong., p. 144), and 1972 (H. Res. 1153, 92d Cong., pp. 36013-15). The Office of the Postmaster was abolished during the 102d Congress by the House Administrative Reform Resolution of 1992 (H. Res. 423, Apr. 9, 1992, p. 9040). |
| 669. Historian. | 7. There is established an Office of the Historian of the House of Representatives. The Speaker shall appoint and set the annual rate of pay for employees of the Office of the Historian. |
| 670. General Counsel. | 8. (a) There is established an Office of General Counsel for the purpose of providing legal assistance and representation to the House. Legal assistance and representation shall be provided without regard to political affiliation. The Speaker shall appoint and set the annual rate of pay for employees of the Office of General Counsel. The Office of General Counsel shall function pursuant to the direction of the Speaker, who shall consult with the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group. |
| Sec. 670a. Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group. | (b) There is established a Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group composed of the Speaker and the majority and minority leaderships. Unless otherwise provided by the House, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group speaks for, and articulates the institutional position of, the House in all litigation matters. |
| 671. Personal interest. | 1. Every Member shall be present within the Hall of the House during its sittings, unless excused or necessarily prevented, and shall vote on each question put, unless having a direct personal or pecuniary interest in the event of such question. |
| Sec. 672. Control of a Member's own vote. | It has been found impracticable to enforce the provision requiring every Member to vote (V, 5942-5948), and such question, even if entertained, may not interrupt a pending record vote (V, 5947). The weight of authority also favors the idea that there is no authority in the House to deprive a Member of the right to vote (V, 5937, 5952, 5959, 5966, 5967; VIII, 3072). In one or two early instances the Speaker decided that because of personal interest, a Member should not vote (V, 5955, 5958); but on all other occasions and in the later practice the Speaker has held that the Member and not the Chair should determine this question (V, 5950, 5951; VIII, 3071; Speaker Albert, Dec. 2, 1975, p. 38135; Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 1, 1979, p. 3748; July 30, 1996, p. 19952; July 16, 2009, pp. 18125, 18126), and the Speaker has denied the Speaker's own power to deprive a Member of the constitutional right to vote (V, 5956; Speaker Albert, Dec. 2, 1975, p. 38135; Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 1, 1979, p. 3748). |
| Sec. 673. Nature of disqualifying personal interest. | It is a principle of ``immemorial observance'' that a Member should withdraw when a question concerning that Member arises (V, 5949); but it has been held that the disqualifying interest must be such as affects the Member directly (V, 5954, 5955, 5963), and not as one of a class (V, 5952; VIII, 3071, 3072; Speaker Bankhead, May 31, 1939, p. 6359; Speaker Al |
| Sec. 674. Voting. | 2. (a) A Member may not authorize any other person to cast the vote of such Member or record the presence of such Member in the House or the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. |
| 675. Committee service. | 3. (a) Each Delegate and the Resident Commissioner shall be elected to serve on standing committees in the same manner as Members and shall possess in such committees the same powers and privileges as the other members of the committee. |
| Sec. 676. Appointment to select and conference committees. | (b) The Delegates and the Resident Commissioner may be appointed to any select committee and to any conference committee. |
| 677. Use of the Hall of the House. | 1. The Hall of the House shall be used only for the legislative business of the House and for caucus and conference meetings of its Members, except when the House agrees to take part in any ceremonies to be observed therein. |
| Sec. 678. Persons and officials admitted to the floor during sessions of the House. | 2. (a) Only the following persons shall be admitted to the Hall of the House or rooms leading thereto: |
| Sec. 679. Admission to the floor when the House is not sitting. | 3. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), all persons not entitled to the privilege of the floor during the session shall be excluded at all times from the Hall of the House and the cloakrooms. |
| Sec. 680. Former Members and officers. | 4. (a) A former Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner; a former Parliamentarian of the House; or a former elected officer of the House or former minority employee nominated as an elected officer of the House shall not be entitled to the privilege of admission to the Hall of the House and rooms leading thereto if such individual-- |
| Sec. 681. Members' staff. | 5. A person from the staff of a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may be admitted to the Hall of the House or rooms leading thereto under clause 2 only upon prior notice to the Speaker. Such persons, and persons from the staff of committees |
| 682. The various galleries and admission thereto. | 6. (a) The Speaker shall set aside a portion of the west gallery for the use of the President, the members of the Cabinet, justices of the Supreme Court, foreign ministers and suites, and the members of their respective families. The Speaker shall set aside another portion of the same gallery for the accommodation of persons to be admitted on |
| 683. Prohibition on distribution of campaign contributions. | 7. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House, or any other person entitled to admission to the Hall of the House or rooms leading thereto by this rule, may not knowingly distribute a political campaign contribution in the Hall of the House or rooms leading thereto. |
| Sec. 684. Broadcasting of House proceedings. | 1. The Speaker shall administer, direct, and control a system for closed-circuit viewing of floor proceedings of the House in the offices of all Members, Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, and committees and in such other places in the Capitol and the House Office Buildings as the Speaker considers appropriate. Such system may include other communications functions as the Speaker considers appropriate. Any such communications shall be subject to rules and regulations issued by the Speaker. |
| 685. Reporters of debates and committee stenographers. | 1. Subject to the direction and control of the Speaker, the Clerk shall appoint, and may remove for cause, the official reporters of the House, including stenographers of committees, and shall supervise the execution of their duties. |
| Sec. 686. Rules relating to Congressional Record. | The arrangement, style, etc., of the Congressional Record is prescribed by the Joint Committee on Printing pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 901, 904 (see also VIII, 3500). The rules of the Joint Committee on Printing governing publication of the Congressional Record are as follows: |
| Sec. 687. Substantially verbatim account. | The requirement of rule 7 of the supplemental rules that the Congressional Record be a substantially verbatim account of remarks actually rendered was included in clause 8(a) of rule XVII (formerly clause 9 of rule XIV) in the 104th Congress, with the prescription that that rule constitute a standard of conduct under clause 3(a)(2) of rule XI (formerly clause 4(e)(1)(B) of rule X) (sec. 213, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 468). Under clause 8 of rule XVII, remarks actually delivered may not be deleted and remarks inserted must appear in distinctive type (Jan. 4, 1995, p. 541). The Speaker has instructed the Official Reporters of Debates to adhere strictly to the requirement of rule 7 of the supplemental rules (Mar. 2, 1988, p. 2963; Feb. 3, 1993, p. 1980). |
| Sec. 688. Relations of the Committee of the Whole to the Congressional Record. | As a general rule the Committee of the Whole has no control over the Congressional Record (V, 6986); but the chairman in the preservation of order may direct the exclusion of disorderly words spoken by a Member after a call to order (V, 6987). In a case wherein a letter read in Committee involved a breach of privilege, the Committee reported the matter to the House for action, and the House struck the letter from the Record (V, 6986). The chair of the Committee of the Whole does not determine the privileges of a Member under a general leave to print in the Record, that being for the House alone (V, 6988). The Committee of the Whole may neither grant a general leave to print, although for convenience it does permit individual Members to extend their remarks |
| Sec. 689. Correction of the Congressional Record. | Although the House controls the Congressional Record, the Speaker with the assent of the House laid down the principle that words spoken by a Member in order might not be changed by the House, because this would be determining what a Member should utter on the floor (V, 6974; VI, 583; VIII, 3469, 3498). Neither should one House strike matter placed in the Record by permission of the other House (V, 6966). But the House may correct the speech of one of its Members so that it may record faithfully what was actually said (V, 6972). Similarly, a motion to correct the Record has been entertained to allow a Member to print in a subsequent edition of the daily Record the correct text of an amendment offered on a previous day and that had been substantially misprinted in the daily Record for the day on which it was offered (Deschler, ch. 5, Sec. 18.6). In addition, privileged motions have been permitted to correct the Record as follows: (1) striking unparliamentary words inserted in the Record (Deschler, ch. 5, Sec. 17); (2) correcting the Record where the remarks of one Member have been attributed to another (Deschler, ch. 5, Sec. Sec. 18.1, 18.2); (3) correcting the Record where a Member has improperly altered his remarks during an exchange of colloquy with another Member (Deschler, ch. 5, Sec. 18.9). Mere typographical errors in the Record or ordinary revisions of a Member's remarks do not give rise to privileged motions for the correction of the Record (Apr. 25, 1985, p. 9419), because such changes for the permanent edition of the Record may be made without the permission of the House (Deschler, ch. 5, Sec. 19) (subject to clause 8 of rule XVII). The House does not change the Record merely to show what a Member should have said during debate (Deschler, ch. 5, Sec. 18). |
| Sec. 690. Unparliamentary remarks and the Congressional Record. | Where a Member had uttered disorderly words on the floor without challenge, the House decided that it was not precluded from action when the words, after being withheld for revision, appeared in the Record, and struck them (V, 6979, 6981; VI, 582; VIII, 2538, 3463, 3472). The House also has ordered stricken printed speeches condemned as unparliamentary for reflections on Members, committees of the House, the House itself (V, 7017), and the Senate (V, 5129). In the 101st Congress a resolution presented as a question of privilege was adopted to direct the Committee on House Administration to report with respect to certain unauthorized deletions from the Record. A task force of that committee recommended that deletion of unparliamentary remarks be permitted only by consent of the House and not by the Member uttering the words under authority to revise and extend (Oct. 27, 1990, p. 37124). That recommendation has been incorporated into the Rules of the House (clause 8(b) of rule XVII). In debating a resolution to strike from the Record disorderly language a Member may not read the language (V, 7004); but it was held that as part of a personal explanation relating to matter excluded as out of order a Member might read the matter, subject to a point of order if the reading should develop anything in violation of the rules of debate (V, 5079). A resolution to omit from the Record certain remarks merely declared by the Member offering the resolution to be out of order is not privileged (V, 7021). A motion to strike unparliamentary words from the Record is privileged (see Sec. 961, infra), although a question of privilege may not subsequently arise therefrom (V, 7023; VI, 596). |
| Sec. 692. ``Leave to print'' in the Congressional Record. | The practice of inserting in the Congressional Record speeches not actually delivered on the floor has developed by consent of the House as the membership has increased and it has become difficult at times for every Member to fully debate public questions on the floor (V, 6990-6996, 6998-7000). The House, in granting such leave to print, stipulates that it be exercised without unreasonable freedom (V, 7002, 7003). For example: (1) a Member with permission to insert one matter may not insert another (V, 7001; VIII, 3462, 3479, 3480); (2) a Member may not insert statements and letters of others unless the leave granted specifies such matter as extraneous (VIII, 3475, 3481), whether the extension be under general leave for all Members or individual; (3) although a Member may not request leave to insert the remarks of another Member (see supplemental rule 5 of the ``Laws and Rules for Publication of the Congressional Record''), the House may grant general leave for all Members to insert remarks (Mar. 19, 2012, p. _); (4) a Member may not insert that which would not have |
| 693. Unofficial reporters in the press gallery and on the floor. | 2. A portion of the gallery over the Speaker's chair, as may be necessary to accommodate representatives of the press wishing to report debates and proceedings, shall be set aside for their use. Reputable reporters and correspondents shall be ad |
| 695. Duties of Clerk and committees as to custody of papers before committees. | 1. (a) At the end of each Congress, the chair of each committee shall transfer to the Clerk any noncurrent records of such committee, including the subcommittees thereof. |
| 696. Custody of papers in the files of the House. | 7. A memorial or other paper presented to the House may not be withdrawn from its files without its leave. If withdrawn certified copies thereof shall be left in the Office of the Clerk. When an act passes for the settlement of a claim, the Clerk may transmit to the officer charged with the settlement thereof the papers on file in the Office of the Clerk relating to such claim. The Clerk |
| Sec. 697. Response to subpoenas. | 1. When a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House is properly served with a judicial or administrative subpoena or judicial order directing appearance as a witness relating to the official functions of the House or for the production or disclosure of any document relating to the official functions of the House, such Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee shall comply, consistently with the privileges and rights of the House, with the judicial or administrative subpoena or judicial |
| Sec. 698. Definition of questions of privilege. | 1. Questions of privilege shall be, first, those affecting the rights of the House collectively, its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings; and second, those affecting the rights, reputation, and conduct of Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner, individually, in their representative capacity only. |
| Sec. 699. Precedence of questions of privilege. | 2. (a)(1) A resolution reported as a question of the privileges of the House, or offered from the floor by the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader as a question of the privileges of the House, or offered as privileged under clause 1, section 7, article I of the Constitution, shall have precedence of all other questions except motions to adjourn. A resolution offered from the floor by a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner other than the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader as a question of the privileges of the House shall have precedence of all other questions except |
| Sec. 700. Questions of privileges of the House. | The body of precedent relating to questions of the privileges of the House includes rulings that span the adoption of this rule. The rule was adopted ``to prevent the large consumption of time which resulted from Members getting the floor for all kinds of speeches under the pretext of raising a question of privilege'' (III, 2521). In a landmark decision on constitutional assertions of privilege, Speaker Gillett placed significant reliance on the history of rule IX by observing that it ``was obviously adopted for the pur |
| Sec. 701. Questions relating to organization. | The privileges of the House include questions relating to its organization (I, 22-24, 189, 212, 290), and the title of its Members to their seats (III, 2579- 2587), which may be raised as questions of the privileges of the House even though the subject has been previously referred to committee (I, 742; III, 2584; VIII, 2307). Such resolutions include those: (1) to declare prima facie right to a seat, or to declare a vacancy, where the House has referred the questions of prima facie and final rights to a committee for investigation (H. Res. 1, Jan. 3, 1985, p. 381; H. Res. 52, Feb. 7, 1985, p. 2220; H. Res. 97, Mar. 4, 1985, p. 4277; H. Res. 121, Apr. 2, 1985, p. 7118; H. Res. 148, Apr. 30, 1985, p. 9801); (2) to raise various questions incidental to the right to a seat (I, 322, 328, 673, 742; II, 1207; III, 2588; VII, 2316), such as a resolution to declare a vacancy in the House because a Member-elect is unable to take the oath of office and to serve as a Member or to expressly resign the office due to an incapacitating illness (H. Res. 80, Feb. 24, 1981, p. 2916); (3) to declare neither of two claimants seated pending a committee report and decision of final right to the seat by the House (Jan. 3, 1961, pp. 23-25; Jan. 3, 1985, p. 381), including incidental provisions providing compensation for both claimants and office staffing by the Clerk (Jan. 3, 1985, p. 381) and to direct temporary seating of a certified Member-elect pending determination of final right notwithstanding prior House action declining to seat either claimant (Feb. 7, 1985, p. 2220; Mar. 4, 1985, p. 4277); (4) to propose directly to dispose of a contest over the title to a seat in the House (Nov. 8, 1997, p. 25294; Nov. 9, 1997, p. 25721; Jan. 28, 1998, p. 175) or to dispose of such contest upon the expiration of a specified day (Oct. 23, 1997, p. 23231; Oct. 29, 1997, p. 23695; Oct. 30, 1997, p. 23959; Nov. 5, 1997, p. 24645). |
| Sec. 702. Questions relating to constitutional prerogatives. | The privileges of the House, as distinguished from that of the individual Member, include questions relating to its constitutional prerogatives in respect to revenue legislation and appropriations (see, e.g., II, 1480-1501; VI, 315; Nov. 8, 1979, p. 31517; Oct. 1, 1985, p. 25418; June 16, 1988, p. 14780; June 21, 1988, p. 15425; Aug. 12, 1994, p. 21655). For a more thorough record of revenue bills returned to the Senate, see Sec. 102, supra. Such a question of privilege may be raised at any time when the House is in possession of the papers (June 20, 1968, Deschler, ch. 13, Sec. 14.2; Aug. 19, 1982, p. 22127), but not otherwise (Apr. 6, 1995, |
| Sec. 703. Questions relating to official conduct. | The privileges of the House include certain questions relating to the conduct of Members, officers, and employees (see, e.g., I, 284, 285; III, 2628, 2645-2647). Under that standard, the following resolutions have been held to constitute questions of the privileges of the House: (1) directing the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (now Ethics) to investigate illegal solicitation of political contributions in the House Office Buildings by unnamed sitting Members (July 10, 1985, p. 18397); (2) establishing an ad hoc committee to investigate allegations of ``ghost'' employment in the House (Apr. 9, 1992, p. 9029); (3) directing a committee to further investigate the conduct of a Member on which it has reported to the House (Aug. 5, 1987, p. 22458); (4) directing the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (now Ethics) to report to the House the status of an investigation pending before the committee (Nov. 17, 1995, p. 33846; Nov. 30, 1995, p. 35075); (5) appointing an outside counsel (Sept. 19, 1996, p. 23851; Sept. 24, 1996, p. 24525); (6) committing other matters to an outside counsel already appointed by the committee (June 27, 1996, p. 15917); (7) directing the committee to release the report of an outside counsel (Sept. 19, 1996, p. 23852; Sept. 24, 1996, p. 24526); (8) making allegations concerning the propriety of responses by officers of the House to court subpoenas for papers of the House without notice to the House, and directions to a committee to investigate such allegations (Feb. 13, 1980, p. 2768); (9) making allegations of improper representation by counsel of the legal position of Members in a brief filed in the Court and directions for withdrawal of the brief (Mar. 22, 1990, p. 4996); (10) making allegations of unauthorized actions by a committee employee to intervene in judicial proceedings (Feb. 5, 1992, p. 1601); (11) directing the Clerk to notify interested parties that the House regretted the use of official resources to present to the Supreme Court of Florida a legal brief arguing the unconstitutionality of congressional term limits, and that the House had no position on that question (Nov. 4, 1991, p. 29968); (12) alleging a chronology of litigation relating to the immunity of a Member from civil liability for bona fide official acts and expressing the views of the House thereon (May 12, 1988, p. 10574); (13) directing the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (now Ethics) |
| Sec. 704. Questions relating to integrity of proceedings. | The privileges of the House include questions relating to the integrity of its proceedings, including the processes by which bills are considered (III, 2597-2601, 2614; IV, 3383, 3388, 3478), such as the constitutional question of the vote required to pass a joint resolution extending the State ratification period of a proposed constitutional amendment (Speaker O'Neill, Aug. 15, 1978, p. 26203). Privileges of the House also include: (1) resignation of a Member from a select or standing committee (Speaker Albert, June 16, 1975, p. 19054; Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 8, 1977, pp. 6579-82); (2) newspaper charges affecting the honor and dignity of the House (VII, 911); (3) the conduct of representatives of the press (II, 1630, 1631; III, 2627; VI, 553). |
| Sec. 705. Questions relating to comfort and convenience. | The privileges of the House include questions relating to the comfort and convenience of Members and employees (III, 2629-2636), such as resolutions concerning the proper attire for Members in the Chamber when the temperature is uncomfortably warm (July 17, 1979, p. 19008); as well as questions relating to safety, such as resolutions requiring an investigation into the safety of Members in view of alleged structural deficiencies in the West Front of the Capitol (July 25, 1980, pp. 19762- 64) or an insecure ceiling in the Hall (III, 2685); directing the appointment of a select committee to inquire into alleged fire safety deficiencies in the environs of the House (May 10, 1988, p. 10286); and directing the Sergeant-at-Arms to ensure that House personnel are alerted to the dangers of electronic security breaches on computer and information systems (June 11, 2008, p. 12233). |
| Sec. 706. May not effect change in rules. | A motion to amend the Rules of the House does not present a question of privilege (Speaker Cannon, sustained by the House, thereby overruling the House's decision of March 19, 1910 (VIII, 3376), which held such motion privileged (VIII, 3377)), and a question of the privileges of the House may not be invoked to effect a change in the rules or standing orders of the House or their interpretation (Speaker O'Neill, Dec. 6, 1977, pp. 38470-73; Sept. 9, 1988, p. 23298; July 30, 1992, p. 20339; Jan. 31, 1996, p. 1887), including directions to the Speaker infringing upon the discretionary power of recognition under clause 2 of rule XVII (formerly clause 2 of rule XIV) (July 25, 1980, pp. 19762-64), for example, by requiring that the Speaker give priority in recognition to any Member seeking to call up a matter highly privileged pursuant to a statutory provision, over a member from the Committee on Rules seeking to call up a privileged report from that committee (Speaker Wright, Mar. 11, 1987, p. 5403), or by requiring that the Speaker state the question on overriding a veto before recognizing for a motion to refer (thereby overruling prior decisions of the Chair to change the order of precedence of motions) (Speaker Wright, Aug. 3, 1988, p. 20281). Similarly, a resolution alleging that, in light of an internationally objectionable French program of nuclear test detonations, for the House to receive the President of France in a joint meeting would be injurious to its dignity and to the integrity of its proceedings, and resolving that the Speaker withdraw the pending invitation and refrain from similar invitations, was held not to present a question of the privileges of the House because it proposed a collateral change in an order of the House previously adopted (that the House recess for the purpose of receiving the President of France) and a new rule for future cases (Jan. 31, 1996, p. 1887). A resolution collaterally challenging the validity or fairness of an adopted rule of the House by delaying its implementation was held not to give rise to a question of the privileges of the House (Feb. 3, 1993, p. 1974 (sustained by tabling of appeal)). A resolution directing that the party ratios of all standing committees, subcommittees, and staffs thereof be changed within a time certain |
| Sec. 707. As distinct from privileged questions. | The clause of the rule giving questions of privilege precedence over all other questions except a motion to adjourn is a recognition of a well- established principle in the House, for it is an axiom of the parliamentary law that such a question ``supersedes the consideration of the original question, and must be first disposed of'' (III, 2522, 2523; VI, 595). As the business of the House began to increase it was found necessary to give certain important matters a precedence by rule, and such matters are called ``privileged questions.'' But as they relate merely to the order of business under the rules, they are to be distinguished from ``questions of privilege'' that relate to the safety or efficiency of the House itself as an organ for action (III, 2718). It is evident, therefore, that a question of privilege takes precedence over a matter merely privileged under the rules (III, 2526-2530; V, 6454; VIII, 3465). Certain matters of business, arising under provisions of the Constitution, have been held to have a privilege that superseded the rules establishing the order of business, as bills providing for census or apportionment (I, 305-308), bills returned with the objections of the President (IV, 3530-3536), propositions of impeachment (see Sec. 604, supra), and questions incidental thereto (III, 2401, 2418; V, 7261; July 22, 1986, p. 17306; Dec. 2, 1987, p. 33720; Jan. 3, 1989, p. 84; Feb. 7, 1989, p. 1726), matters |
| Sec. 708. Questions of personal privilege. | The privilege of the Member rests primarily on the Constitution, which grants conditional immunity from arrest (Sec. 90, supra) and an unconditional freedom of debate in the House (III, 2670, Sec. 92, supra). An assault on a Member within the Capitol when the House was not in session, from a cause not connected with the Member's representative capacity, was also held to involve a question of privilege (II, 1624). But there has been doubt as to the right of the House to interfere for the protection of Members in matters not connected with their official duties (II, 1277; III, 2678, footnote). Charges against the conduct of a Member are held to involve privilege when they relate to the Member's representative capacity (III, 1828-1830, 2716; VI, 604, 612; VIII, 2479), but not when they relate to conduct at a time before such person became a Member (II, 1287; III, 2691, 2723, 2725). Although questions of personal privilege normally involve matters touching on a Member's reputation, a Member may be recognized for a question of personal privilege based on a violation of his rights as a Member, such as unauthorized printed alterations in his statements made during a subcommittee hearing in a prior Congress (because the second phrase of this clause speaks to the ``rights, reputation, and conduct of Members, individually'') (June 28, 1983, p. 17674). A printed characterization by an officer of the House of a Member's proposed amendments as ``dilatory and frivolous'' may give rise to a question of personal privilege (Aug. 1, 1985, p. 22542) as may the fraudulent use of a Member's official stationery as a ``Dear Colleague'' letter (Sept. 17, 1986, p. 23605). Although a Member may be recognized on a question of personal privilege to complain about an abuse of House rules as applied to debate in which such Member was properly participating, such Member may not raise a question of personal privilege merely to complain that microphones had been turned off during disorderly conduct following expiration of recognition for debate (Mar. 16, 1988, p. 4085). A Member's mere assertion of general corruption in the |
| Sec. 709. Precedence of questions of privileges of the House. | The body of precedent relating to the precedence of questions of privilege spans both the adoption of this rule in 1880 and its amendment to require notice in certain cases in 1993. |
| Sec. 711. Precedence of questions of personal privilege. | When a Member proposes merely to address the House on a question of personal privilege, and does not offer a resolution affecting the dignity or integrity of the House for action, the practice as to precedence is somewhat different. Thus, a Member rising to a question of personal privilege may not interrupt a call of the yeas and nays (V, 6051, 6052, 6058, 6059; VI, 554, 564), or take from the floor another Member who has been recognized for debate (V, 5002; VIII, 2459, 2528; Sept. 29, 1983, p. 26508; July 23, 1987, p. 20861), but may interrupt the ordinary legislative business (III, 2531). A Member may address the House on a question of personal |
| Sec. 712. Questions of privilege in relation to quorum. | During a call of the House in the absence of a quorum, only such questions of privilege as relate immediately to those proceedings may be presented (III, 2545). See also Sec. 1024, infra. |
| 714. Number and jurisdiction of standing committees. | 1. There shall be in the House the following standing committees, each of which shall have the jurisdiction and related functions assigned by this clause and clauses 2, 3, and 4. All bills, resolutions, and other matters relating to subjects within the jurisdiction of the standing committees listed in this clause shall be referred to those committees, in accordance with clause 2 of rule XII, as follows: |
| Sec. 715. Agriculture. | (1) Adulteration of seeds, insect pests, and protection of birds and animals in forest reserves. |
| Sec. 716. Appropriations. | (1) Appropriation of the revenue for the support of the Government. |
| Sec. 717. Responsibilities under Budget Act. | Effective July 12, 1974, special Presidential messages on rescissions and deferrals of budget authority submitted pursuant to sections 1012 and 1013 of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 683, 684), as well as rescission bills and impoundment resolutions defined in section 1011 (2 U.S.C. 682) and required in section 1017 (2 U.S.C. 688) to be referred to the appropriate committee, are referred to the Committee on Appropriations if the proposed rescissions or deferrals involve funds already appropriated or obligated. Also effective July 12, 1974, the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (sec. 404(a)) added to the committee's jurisdiction, which was later perfected by the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470, subparagraphs (2), (3), and (4)). |
| Sec. 718. Armed Services. | (1) Ammunition depots; forts; arsenals; and Army, Navy, and Air Force reservations and establishments. |
| Sec. 719. Budget. | (1) Concurrent resolutions on the budget (as defined in section 3(4) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974), other matters required to be referred to the committee under titles III and IV of that Act, and other measures setting forth appropriate |
| Sec. 720. Education and the Workforce. | (2) Gallaudet University and Howard University and Hospital. |
| Sec. 721. Energy and Commerce. | (2) Consumer affairs and consumer protection. |
| Sec. 721b. Ethics. | In the 90th Congress the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct was established as a standing committee (H. Res. 418, Apr. 13, 1967, p. 9425). Its precursor was the Select Committee on Standards and Conduct, created in the 89th Congress (H. Res. 1013, Oct. 19, 1966, pp. 27713-30). At various times in its history, the legislative jurisdiction of the committee has included jurisdiction over measures relating to (1) financial disclosure by Members, officers, and employees of the House (H. Res. 1099, 90th Cong., Apr. 3, 1968, p. 8776); (2) the raising, reporting, and use of campaign contributions for candidates for the House (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470); and (3) lobbying activities (H. Res. 1031, 91st Cong., July 8, 1970, p. 23141). However, legislative jurisdiction over measures relating to financial disclosure was transferred to the Committee on Rules in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70); legislative jurisdiction over measures relating to campaign contributions for candidates for the House was transferred to House Administration, and legislative jurisdiction over measures relating to lobbying activities was removed from the committee (thereby devolv |
| Sec. 721c. Former Select Committees on Ethics. | In the 95th Congress, the House established a Select Committee on Ethics and granted it exclusive legislative jurisdiction over bills that incorporated into permanent law provisions of House rules addressing financial ethics of Members, officers, and employees (H. Res. 383, Mar. 9, 1977, pp. 6811-16). The Select Committee was also granted jurisdiction to promulgate implementing regulations and to issue advisory opinions. The resolution creating the Select Committee provided that it would expire on December 31, 1977, but the committee and its functions ultimately were extended through the completion of its official business (H. Res. 871, Oct. 31, 1977, p. 35957). |
| Sec. 722. Financial Services. | (2) Economic stabilization, defense production, renegotiation, and control of the price of commodities, rents, and services. |
| Sec. 723. Foreign Affairs. | (1) Relations of the United States with foreign nations generally. |
| Sec. 723a. Homeland Security. | (1) Overall homeland security policy. |
| Sec. 723b. Former Select Committees on Homeland Security. | In the 107th Congress the House established a Select Committee on Homeland Security (H. Res. 449, June 19, 2002, p. 10722). Its mission was to develop recommendations on such matters that relate to the establishment of a department of homeland security as may be referred to it by the Speaker and on recommendations submitted to it by standing committees to which the Speaker referred a bill establishing the department and to report its recommendation to the House on such bill. It was terminated after final disposition of the specified bill (Nov. 25, 2002, p. 23433). In the 108th Congress the House reestablished a Select Committee on Homeland Security (sec. 4, H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 2003, p. 11). Its mission was to develop recommendations on such matters that relate to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) as may be referred to it by the Speaker; to conduct oversight of laws, programs, and Government activities relating to homeland security; to conduct a study of the operation and implementation of the Rules of the House, including rule X, with respect to homeland security; and to report its recommendations to the House by bill or otherwise on matters referred to it by the Speaker and to report its recommendations on changes to House rules to the Committee on Rules. |
| Sec. 724. House Administration. | (1) Appropriations from accounts for committee salaries and expenses (except for the Committee on Appropriations); House Information Resources; and allowance and expenses of Members, Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, officers, and administrative offices of the House. |
| Sec. 725. House facilities. | The committee has jurisdiction over measures relating to the House Restaurant (2 U.S.C. 2041), which was first under the jurisdiction of the former Committee on Accounts, then under the supervision of the Architect of the Capitol (H. Res. 590, 76th Cong., Sept. 5, 1940, p. 11552, as made permanent law by P.L. 76- 812), and then the Select Committee on the House Restaurant (H. Res. 472, 91st Cong., July 10, 1969, p. 19080; H. Res. 111, 93d Cong., Feb. 7, 1973, p. 3680), which was not reestablished after the 93d Congress. |
| Sec. 727. Library. | Under the Reorganization Act the committee has jurisdiction over some of the subjects formerly within the jurisdiction of the Joint Committee on the Library, such as matters relating to the Library of Congress and the House Library, statuary and pictures, acceptance or purchase of works of art for the Capitol, the Botanic Gardens, management of the Library of Congress, purchase of books and manuscripts, matters relating to the Smithsonian Institution, and the incorporation of similar institutions. Excepted are measures relating to the construction or reconstruction, maintenance, and care of the buildings and grounds of the Botanic Gardens, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation (now Transportation and Infrastructure). The House Members of the Joint Committee on the Library, provided for by law (2 U.S.C. 132b), are elected by resolution each Congress. |
| Sec. 728. Congressional Record. | The committee has jurisdiction over matters relating to printing and correction of the Congressional Record, formerly within the jurisdiction of the erstwhile Committee on Printing. The House Members of the Joint Committee on Printing, provided for by law (44 U.S.C. 101), are elected by resolution each Congress. |
| Sec. 729. Judiciary. | (1) The judiciary and judicial proceedings, civil and criminal. |
| Sec. 730. Internal Security. | (19) Subversive activities affecting the in- ternal security of the United States. |
| Sec. 731. Natural Resources. | (1) Fisheries and wildlife, including research, restoration, refuges, and conservation. |
| Sec. 732. Oversight and Government Reform. | (1) Federal civil service, including intergovernmental personnel; and the status of officers and employees of the United States, including their compensation, classification, and retirement. |
| Sec. 733. Rules. | (1) Rules and joint rules (other than those relating to the Code of Official Conduct) and the order of business of the House. |
| Sec. 734. Special orders of business. | Since 1883 the Committee on Rules has reported special orders providing times and methods for consideration of individual measures or classes of measures, thereby enabling the House by majority vote to forward particular legislation, instead of being forced to use for this purpose the motion to suspend the rules, which requires a two-thirds vote (IV, 3152; V, 6870; for forms of, IV, 3238-3263). |
| Sec. 735. Science, Space, and Technology. | (1) All energy research, development, and demonstration, and projects therefor, and all federally owned or operated nonmilitary energy laboratories. |
| Sec. 736. Small Business. | (1) Assistance to and protection of small business, including financial aid, regulatory flexibility, and paperwork reduction. |
| Sec. 739. Transportation and Infrastructure. | (1) Coast Guard, including lifesaving service, lighthouses, lightships, ocean derelicts, and the Coast Guard Academy. |
| Sec. 740. Veterans' Affairs. | (2) Cemeteries of the United States in which veterans of any war or conflict are or may be buried, whether in the United States or abroad (except cemeteries administered by the Secretary of the Interior). |
| Sec. 741. Ways and Means. | (1) Customs revenue, collection districts, and ports of entry and delivery. |
| 742. General oversight. | 2. (a) The various standing committees shall have general oversight responsibilities as provided in paragraph (b) in order to assist the House in-- |
| Sec. 743. Oversight subcommittees. | (2) Each committee to which subparagraph (1) applies having more than 20 members shall establish an oversight subcommittee, or require its subcommittees to conduct oversight in their respective jurisdictions, to assist in carrying out its responsibilities under this clause. The establishment of an oversight subcommittee does not limit the responsibility of a subcommittee with legislative jurisdiction in carrying out its oversight responsibilities. |
| 744. Special oversight. | 3. (a) The Committee on Appropriations shall conduct such studies and examinations of the organization and operation of executive departments and other executive agencies (including an agency the majority of the stock of which is owned by the United States) as it considers necessary to assist it in the determination of matters within its jurisdiction. |
| 745. Committee on Appropriations; budget hearings. | 4. (a)(1)(A) The Committee on Appropriations shall, within 30 days after the transmittal of the Budget to Congress each year, hold hearings on the Budget as a whole with particular reference to-- |
| Sec. 746. Procedure for budget hearings. | (C) A hearing under subdivision (A), or any part thereof, shall be held in open session, except when the committee, in open session and with a quorum present, determines by record vote that the testimony to be taken at that hearing on that day may be related to a matter of national security. The committee may by the same procedure close one subsequent day of hearing. A transcript of all such hearings shall be printed and a copy thereof furnished to each Member, Delegate, and the Resident Commissioner. |
| Sec. 747a. Former Select Intelligence Oversight Panel. | A former subparagraph (5) added in the 110th Congress established a Select Intelligence Oversight Panel of the Committee on Appropriations to review budget requests for and execution of intelligence activities (H. Res. 35, Jan. 9, 2007, p. 567). It was abolished in the 112th Congress (sec. 2(e)(10), H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 2011, p. 80). |
| Sec. 748. Budget. | (1) review on a continuing basis the conduct by the Congressional Budget Office of its functions and duties; |
| Sec. 749. Oversight and Government Reform. | (c)(1) The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform shall-- |
| Sec. 749a. Deposition authority. | (3)(A) The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform may adopt a rule authorizing and regulating the taking of depositions by a member or counsel of the committee, including pursuant to subpoena under clause 2(m) of rule XI (which hereby is made applicable for such purpose). |
| Sec. 750. House Administration. | (d)(1) The Committee on House Administration shall-- |
| Sec. 752. Direction of officers. | (A) provide policy direction for the Chief Administrative Officer and the Inspector General and oversight of the Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Chief Administrative Officer, and Inspector General; |
| Sec. 753. Acceptance of gifts. | (C) have the function of accepting on behalf of the House a gift, except as otherwise provided by law, if the gift does not involve a duty, burden, or condition, or is not made dependent on some future performance by the House; |
| Sec. 754. Approval of certain settlements. | (2) An employing office of the House may enter into a settlement of a complaint under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 that provides for the payment of funds only after receiving the joint approval of the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on House Administration concerning the amount of such payment. |
| Sec. 755. Annual appropriations. | (e)(1) Each standing committee shall, in its consideration of all public bills and public joint resolutions within its jurisdiction, ensure that appropriations for continuing programs and activities of the Federal Government and the government of the District of Columbia will be made annually to the maximum extent feasible and consistent with the nature, requirement, and objective of the programs and activities involved. In this subparagraph programs and activities of the Federal Government and the government of the District of Columbia includes programs and activities of any department, agency, establishment, wholly owned Government corporation, or instrumentality of the Federal Government or of the government of the District of Columbia. |
| 756. Concurrent resolution on Budget. | (f)(1) Each standing committee shall submit to the Committee on the Budget not later than six weeks after the submission of the budget by the President, or at such time as the Committee on the Budget may request-- |
| 757. Electing committees. | 5. (a)(1) The standing committees specified in clause 1 shall be elected by the House within seven calendar days after the commencement of each Congress, from nominations submitted by the respective party caucus or conference. A resolution proposing to change the composition of a standing committee |
| Sec. 758. Budget, composition of. | (2)(A) The Committee on the Budget shall be composed of members as follows: |
| Sec. 759. Committee on Ethics. | (3)(A) The Committee on Ethics shall be composed of 10 members, five from the majority party and five from the minority party. |
| Sec. 760. Party membership as basis for election. | (b)(1) Membership on a standing committee during the course of a Congress shall be contingent on continuing membership in the party caucus or conference that nominated the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner concerned for election to such committee. Should a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner cease to be a member of a particular party caucus or conference, that Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner shall automatically cease to be a member of each standing committee to which elected on the basis of nomination by that caucus or conference. The chair of the relevant party caucus or conference shall notify the Speaker whenever a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner ceases to be a member of that caucus or conference. The Speaker shall notify the chair of each affected committee that the election of such Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner to the committee is automatically vacated under this subparagraph. |
| Sec. 761. Committee chairs. | (c)(1) One of the members of each standing committee shall be elected by the House, on the nomination of the majority party caucus or conference, as chair thereof. In the absence of the member serving as chair, the member next in rank (and so on, as often as the case shall happen) shall act as chair. Rank shall be determined by the order members are named in resolutions electing them to the committee. In the case of a vacancy in the elected chair of a committee, the House shall elect another chair. |
| Sec. 762. Requirement for subcommittees. | (d)(1) Except as permitted by subparagraph (2), a committee may have not more than five subcommittees. |
| 763. Primary expense resolution. | 6. (a) Whenever a committee, commission, or other entity (other than the Committee on Appropriations) is granted authorization for the payment of its expenses (including staff salaries) for a Congress, such authorization initially shall be procured by one pri |
| Sec. 765. Additional expense resolution. | (b) After the date of adoption by the House of a primary expense resolution for a committee, commission, or other entity for a Congress, authorization for the payment of additional expenses (including staff salaries) in that Congress may be procured by one or more supplemental expense resolutions re |
| Sec. 766. Exception for certain initial funding. | (1) a resolution providing for the payment from committee salary and expense accounts of the House of sums necessary to pay compensation for staff services performed for, or to pay other expenses of, a committee, commission, or other entity at any time after the beginning of an odd-numbered year and before the date of adoption by the House of the primary expense resolution described in paragraph (a) for that year; or |
| Sec. 767. Funds for committee staffs; expense resolutions. | (d) From the funds made available for the appointment of committee staff by a primary or additional expense resolution, the chair of each committee shall ensure that sufficient staff is made available to each subcommittee to carry out its responsibilities under the rules of the committee and that the minority party is treated fairly in the appointment of such staff. |
| 768. Interim funding. | 7. (a) For the period beginning at noon on January 3 and ending at midnight on March 31 in each odd- numbered |
| 769. Committee travel. | 8. (a) Local currencies owned by the United States shall be made available to the committee and its employees engaged in carrying out their official duties outside the United States or its territories or possessions. Appropriated funds, including those authorized under this clause and clause 6, may not be expended for the purpose of defraying expenses of members of a committee or its employees in a country where local currencies are available for this purpose. |
| Sec. 770. Travel reports. | (3) Each member or employee of a committee shall make to the chair of the committee an itemized report showing the dates each country was visited, the amount of per diem furnished, the cost of transportation furnished, and funds expended for any other official purpose and shall summarize in these categories the total foreign currencies or appropriated funds expended. Each report shall be filed with the chair of the committee not later than 60 days following the completion of travel for use in complying with reporting requirements in applicable Federal law and shall be open for public inspection. |
| 771. Thirty professional staff. |
9. (a)(1) Subject to
subparagraph (2) and paragraph (f), each standing committee may appoint,
by majority vote, not more than 30 professional staff members to be
compensated from the funds provided for the appointment of committee
staff by primary and additional expense resolutions. Each professional
staff < |
| Sec. 773. Minority. | (2) Subject to paragraph (f) whenever a majority of the minority party members of a standing committee (other than the Committee on Ethics or the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence) so request, not more than 10 persons (or one-third of the total professional committee staff appointed under this clause, whichever is fewer) may be selected, by majority vote of the minority party members, for appointment by the committee as professional staff members under subparagraph (1). The committee shall appoint persons so selected whose character and qualifications are acceptable to a majority of the committee. If the committee determines that the character and qualifications of a person so selected are unaccept |
| Sec. 774. Consultants and training. | Committees may, with the approval of the Committee on House Administration, procure the temporary or intermittent services of consultants and obtain specialized training for professional staff, subject to expense resolutions, under the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, sections 303 and 304 (2 U.S.C. 4301(i) and (j)). |
| Sec. 775. Staff duties. | (b)(1) The professional staff members of each standing committee-- |
| Sec. 776. ``Associate'' or ``shared'' staff. | (2)(A) Subparagraph (1) does not apply to staff designated by a committee as ``associate'' or ``shared'' staff who are not paid exclusively by the committee, provided that the chair certifies that the compensation paid by the committee for any such staff is commensurate with the work performed for the committee in accordance with clause 8 of rule XXIII. |
| Sec. 777. Pay. | (c) Each employee on the professional or investigative staff of a standing committee shall be entitled to pay at a single gross per annum rate, to be fixed by the chair and that does not exceed the maximum rate of pay as in effect from time to time under applicable provisions of law. |
| Sec. 778. Staff, Committee on Appropriations. | (d) Subject to appropriations hereby authorized, the Committee on Appropriations may appoint by majority vote such staff as it determines to be necessary (in addition to the clerk of the committee and assistants for the minority). The staff appointed under this paragraph, other than minority assistants, shall possess such qualifications as the committee may prescribe. |
| Sec. 779. Detailed employees. | (e) A committee may not appoint to its staff an expert or other personnel detailed or assigned from a department or agency of the Government except with the written permission of the Committee on House Administration. |
| Sec. 780. Nonpartisan staff. | (i) Notwithstanding paragraph (a)(2), a committee may employ nonpartisan staff, in lieu of or in addition to committee staff designated exclusively for the majority or minority party, by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the majority party and of a majority of the members of the minority party. |
| Sec. 781. Former reports on staff. | Effective in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1977, pp. 53-70), former clause 6(j) of rule XI, which was added on January 3, 1953 (p. 24) and which was contained in section 134(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1945, was deleted; that clause required committees to report semiannually to the Clerk on the names, professions, and salaries of committee employees. |
| 782. Party membership as basis for appointment. | 10. (a) Membership on a select or joint committee appointed by the Speaker under clause 11 of rule I during the course of a Congress shall be contingent on continuing membership in the party caucus or conference of which the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner concerned was a member at the time of appointment. Should a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner cease to be a member of that caucus or conference, that Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner shall automatically cease to be a member of any select or joint committee to which assigned. The chair of the relevant party caucus or conference shall notify the Speaker whenever a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner ceases to be a member of a party caucus or conference. The Speaker shall notify the chair of each affected select or joint committee |
| Sec. 783. Select and joint committee compliance. | (b) Each select or joint committee, other than a conference committee, shall comply with clause 2(a) of rule XI unless specifically exempted by law. |
| Sec. 784. Aging. | A paragraph (i) of former clause 6 of rule X was incorporated into the rules effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), to provide for a permanent select committee on aging. That provision was stricken in the 103d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. 49). |
| 785. Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. | 11. (a)(1) There is established a Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (hereafter in this clause referred to as the ``select committee''). The select committee shall be composed of not more than 22 Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner, of whom not more than 13 may be from the same party. The select committee shall include at least one Member, Delegate, or |
| Sec. 786. Membership, administration, jurisdiction. | This clause (formerly rule XLVIII) was adopted in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 658, July 14, 1977, pp. 22932-49) and has had several technical amendments: (1) to change the size of the committee from 13 to 14 members (H. Res. 70, 96th Cong., Jan. 25, 1979, p. 1023); (2) to conform references to a renamed committee (H. Res. 89, 96th Cong., Feb. 5, 1979, p. 1848); (3) to change the size to not more than 16 members (H. Res. 33, 99th Cong., Jan. 30, 1985, p. 1271); (4) to change the size to not more than 17 members and to change the cross-reference in clause 7(c)(1) to include paragraph (a) or (b) (H. Res. 5, 100th Cong., Jan. 6, 1987, p. 6); (5) to change the size to not more than 19 members (H. Res. 5, 101st Cong., Jan. 3, 1989, p. 73) and to permit the Speaker to attend meetings and have access to information (H. Res. 268, Nov. 14, 1989, p. 28789); (6) to strike obsolete language relating to tenure restrictions in clause 1 and relating to the requirement for authorizations of appropriations in clause 9 (H. Res. 5, 102d Cong., Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39); (7) to limit the size of the panel to 16, with no more than nine members from the same party; to set the tenure limitation at four Congresses within a period of six Congresses, with exceptions for ongoing service as chair or ranking minority member; to make the Speaker (rather than the Majority Leader) an ex officio member of the panel (as opposed to former free access to its meetings and information); and to conform references to renamed committees (sec. 221, H. Res. 6, 104th Cong., Jan. 4, 1995, p. 469); (8) to make certain |
| 787. Committee procedure. | 1. (a)(1)(A) The Rules of the House are the rules of its committees and subcommittees so far as applicable. |
| Sec. 788. Investigative authority. | (b)(1) Each committee may conduct at any time such investigations and studies as it considers necessary or appropriate in the exercise of its responsibilities under rule X. Subject to the adoption of expense resolutions as required by clause 6 of rule X, each committee may incur expenses, including travel expenses, in connection with such investigations and studies. |
| Sec. 789. Printing and binding. | (c) Each committee may have printed and bound such testimony and other data as may be presented at hearings held by the committee or its subcommittees. All costs of stenographic services and transcripts in connection with a meeting or hearing of a committee shall be paid from the applicable accounts of the House described in clause 1(k)(1) of rule X. |
| Sec. 790. Activity reports. | (d)(1) Not later than January 2 of each odd-numbered year, a committee shall submit to the House a report on the activities of that committee. |
| 791. Committee rules. | 2. (a)(1) Each standing committee shall adopt written rules governing its procedure. Such rules-- |
| Sec. 792. Committee procedure generally. | Failure to follow certain procedural requirements imposed on committees by this rule may invalidate committee actions. Violation of the requirements as to open meetings and hearings and other hearing irregularities improperly overruled (see clause 2(g)(5) of rule XI) or the prescribed committee procedures for reporting bills and resolutions (clause 2(h) of rule XI) may in some instances be the basis for a point of order in the House, resulting in the recommitment of the bill. However, a point of order does not ordinarily lie in the House against consideration of a bill by reason of defective committee procedures occurring before the time the bill is ordered reported to the House (Procedure, ch. 17, Sec. 11.1). |
| 793. Committee meetings. | (b) Each standing committee shall establish regular meeting days for the conduct of its business, which shall be not less frequent than monthly. Each such committee shall meet for the consideration of a bill or resolution pending before the committee or the transaction of other committee business on |
| 794. Required records. | (e)(1)(A) Each committee shall keep a complete record of all committee action which shall include-- |
| Sec. 795. Public availability. | (B)(i) Except as provided in subdivision (B)(ii) and subject to paragraph (k)(7), the result of each such record vote shall be made available by the committee for inspection by the public at reasonable times in its offices and also made publicly available in electronic form within 48 hours of such record vote. Information so available shall include a description of the amendment, motion, order, or other proposition, the name of each member voting for and each member voting against such amendment, motion, order, or proposition, and the names of those members of the committee present but not voting. |
| Sec. 796. Committee files. | (2)(A) Except as provided in subdivision (B), all committee records (including hearings, data, charts, and files) shall be kept separate and distinct from the congressional office records of the member serving as its chair. Such records shall be the property of the House, and each Member, Delegate, and the Resident Commissioner shall have access thereto. |
| 797. Ban on proxies. | (f) A vote by a member of a committee or subcommittee with respect to any measure or matter may not be cast by proxy. |
| 798. Open meetings and hearings. | (g)(1) Each meeting for the transaction of business, including the markup of legislation, by a standing committee or subcommittee thereof (other than the Committee on Ethics or its subcommittees) shall be open to the public, including to radio, television, and still photography coverage, except when the committee or subcommittee, in open session and with a majority present, determines by record |
| 799. Requirement of quorum. | (h)(1) A measure or recommendation may not be reported by a committee unless a majority of the committee is actually present. |
| Sec. 800. Reduced quorum. | (2) Each committee may fix the number of its members to constitute a quorum for taking testimony and receiving evidence, which may not be less than two. |
| Sec. 800a. Postponing votes in committee. | (4)(A) Each committee may adopt a rule authorizing the chair of a committee or subcommittee-- |
| 801. Committees not to sit. | (i) A committee may not sit during a joint session of the House and Senate or during a recess when a joint meeting of the House and Senate is in progress. |
| 802. Witnesses. | (j)(1) Whenever a hearing is conducted by a committee on a measure or matter, the minority members of the committee shall be entitled, upon request to the chair by a majority of them before the completion of the hearing, to call witnesses selected by the minority to testify with respect to that measure or matter during at least one day of hearing thereon. |
| 803. Hearing procedure. | (k)(1) The chair at a hearing shall announce in an opening statement the subject of the hearing. |
| 804. Separate views. | (l) If at the time of approval of a measure or matter by a committee (other than the Committee on Rules) a member of the committee gives notice of intention to file supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views for inclusion in the report to the House thereon, all members shall be entitled to not less than two additional calendar days after the day of such notice (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays except when the House is in session on such a day) to file such written and signed views with the clerk of the committee. |
| 805. Power to sit and to issue subpoenas; oaths. | (m)(1) For the purpose of carrying out any of its functions and duties under this rule and rule X (including any matters referred to it under clause 2 of rule XII), a committee or subcommittee is authorized (subject to subparagraph (3)(A))-- |
| Sec. 805a. Certain hearings required. | (n)(1) Each standing committee, or a subcommittee thereof, shall hold at least one hearing during each 120-day period following the establishment of the committee on the topic of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement in Government programs which that committee may authorize. |
| 806. Ethics; additional duties. | 3. (a) The Committee on Ethics has the following functions: |
| 806a. Ethics; committee rules. | (f) The committee shall adopt rules providing that the chair shall establish the agenda for meetings of the committee, but shall not preclude the ranking minority member from placing any item on the agenda. Committee staff |
| 807. Coverage of committee proceedings. | 4. (a) The purpose of this clause is to provide a means, in conformity with acceptable standards of dignity, propriety, and decorum, by which committee hearings or committee meetings that are open to the public may be covered by audio and visual means-- |
| Sec. 808. Media coverage. | (c) It is, further, the intent of this clause that the general conduct of each meeting (whether of a hearing or otherwise) covered under authority of this clause by audio or visual means, and the personal behavior of the committee members and staff, other Government officials and personnel, witnesses, television, radio, and press media personnel, and the general public at the hearing or other meeting, shall be in strict conformity with and observance of the acceptable standards of dignity, propriety, courtesy, and decorum traditionally observed by the House in its operations, and may not be such as to-- |
| Sec. 809. When permitted. | (e) Whenever a hearing or meeting conducted by a committee or subcommittee is open to the public, those proceedings shall be open to coverage by audio and visual means. A committee or subcommittee chair may not limit the number of television or still cameras to fewer than two representatives from each medium (except for legitimate space or safety considerations, in which case pool coverage shall be authorized). |
| Sec. 810. Committee rules. | (f) Written rules adopted by each committee pursuant to clause 2(a)(1)(D) shall contain provisions to the following effect: |
| Sec. 811. Press photographers. | (8) Photographers may not position themselves between the witness table and the members of the committee at any time during the course of a hearing or meeting. |
| Sec. 812. Accreditation. | (11) Personnel providing coverage by still photography shall be currently accredited to the Press Photographers' Gallery. |
| 813. Fees of witnesses before the House or committees. | 5. Witnesses appearing before the House or any of its committees shall be paid the same per diem rate as established, authorized, and regulated by the Committee on House Administration for Members, Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, and employees of the House, plus actual expenses of travel to or from the place of examination. Such per diem may not be paid when a witness has been summoned at the place of examination. |
| 814. Resumption of business of a preceding session. | 6. All business of the House at the end of one session shall be resumed at the commencement of the next session of the same Congress in the same manner as if no adjournment had taken place. |
| 815. Entry of messages in the Journal and Record. | 1. Messages received from the Senate, or from the President, shall be entered on the Journal and published in the Congressional Record of the proceedings of that day. |
| 816. Referral procedures. | 2. (a) The Speaker shall refer each bill, resolution, or other matter that relates to a subject listed under a standing committee named in clause 1 of rule X in accordance with the provisions of this clause. |
| Sec. 816a. Sequential referral procedures. | Under clause 2(c), the Speaker has authority to sequentially refer a bill reported from a committee to other committees for a time certain for consideration of such portions of the bill as fall within their respective jurisdictions (Speaker Albert, Apr. 9, 1976, p. 10265; Speaker Albert, May 17, 1976, p. 14093). Under that authority, the Speaker may limit a sequential referral to matters having a direct effect on subjects within the committee's jurisdiction (Speaker O'Neill, Apr. 5, 1982, p. 6580; Speaker O'Neill, June 7, 1983, p. 14699; Speaker Wright, Sept. 9, 1987, p. 23648). For example, the Speaker sequentially referred a bill reported by the Committee on Energy and Commerce to the Committee on the Judiciary for a specified time for consid |
| Sec. 816b. Referral procedures to an ad hoc select committee. | Resolutions authorizing the Speaker to establish an ad hoc committee for the consideration of a particular bill under paragraph (c) of this clause, and extending the reporting date for such a committee, are privileged when offered from the floor at the Speaker's request (Speaker Albert, Apr. 22, 1975, p. 11261; Speaker Albert, Jan. 26, 1976, p. 876; Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 11, 1977, pp. 894-98; Speaker O'Neill, Apr. 21, 1977, pp. 11550-56). |
| Sec. 816c. As to division of bills for reference. | The parliamentary law provides that the House may commit a portion of a bill, or a part thereof to one committee and another part thereof to another (V, 5558), yet under the practice of the House until January 3, 1975, a bill or joint resolution could not be divided for reference even if it contained matters properly within the jurisdiction of several committees (IV, 4372, 4376). On that date, the Speaker was given authority over referral of bills as prescribed in clause 2 of this rule (formerly clause 5 of rule X). In the 106th Congress the Speaker referred a bill by title to two committees (H.R. 1554, Apr. 26, 1999, p. 7355). |
| Sec. 817. Restriction on the reference of claims. | (d) A bill for the payment or adjudication of a private claim against the Government may not be referred to a committee other than the Committee on Foreign Affairs or the Committee on the Judiciary, except by unanimous consent. |
| 818. Introduction and reference of petitions, memorials, and private bills. | 3. If a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner has a petition, memorial, or private bill to present, the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner shall sign it, deliver it to the Clerk, and may specify the reference or disposition to be made thereof. Such petition, memorial, or private bill (except when judged by the Speaker to be obscene or insulting) shall be entered on the Journal with the name of the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner presenting it and shall be printed in the Congressional Record. |
| Sec. 819. Duties of Speaker and Members in presenting petitions. | Petitions, memorials, and other papers addressed to the House may be presented by the Speaker as well as by a Member (IV, 3312). Petitions from the country at large are presented by the Speaker in the manner prescribed by the rule (III, 2030; IV, 3318; VII, 1025). A Member may present a petition from the people of another State (IV, 3315, 3316). The House itself may refer one portion of a petition to one committee and another portion to another committee (IV, 3359, 3360), but ordinarily the reference of a petition does not come before the House itself. A committee may receive a petition only through the House (IV, 4557). |
| Sec. 822. Certain private bills prohibited. | 4. A private bill or private resolution (including an omnibus claim or pension bill), or amendment thereto, may |
| 823. Commemoratives prohibited. | 5. (a) A bill or resolution, or an amendment thereto, may not be introduced or considered in the House if it establishes or expresses a commemoration. |
| 824. Correction of errors in reference; and relation to jurisdiction. | 6. A petition, memorial, bill, or resolution excluded under this rule shall be returned to the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner from whom it was received. A petition or private bill that has been inappropriately referred may, by direction of the committee having possession of it, be properly referred in the manner originally presented. An erroneous reference of a petition or private bill under this clause does not confer jurisdiction on a committee to consider or report it. |
| 825. Introduction, reference, and change of reference of public bills, memorials, and resolutions. | 7. (a) Bills, memorials, petitions, and resolutions, endorsed with the names of Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner introducing them, may be delivered to the Speaker to be referred. The titles and references of all bills, memorials, petitions, resolutions, and other documents referred under this rule shall be entered on the Journal and printed in the Congressional Record. An erroneous reference may be corrected by the House in accordance with rule X on any day immediately after the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by unanimous consent or motion. Such a motion shall be privileged if offered by direction of a committee to which the bill has been erroneously referred or by direction of a committee claiming jurisdiction and shall be decided without debate. |
| Sec. 825a. Fraudulent introduction of a bill. | The fraudulent introduction of a measure involves a question of privilege, and a measure so introduced has been ordered stricken from the files (IV, 3388). As the result of the unauthorized introduction of several bills without the knowledge of the Members listed as sponsors, the Speaker directed that all bills and resolutions must be signed by the sponsor thereof in order to be accepted for introduction (Speaker Albert, Feb. 3, 1972, p. 2521). |
| Sec. 826. Introduction of bills, resolutions, or memorials by request. | (5) When a bill or resolution is introduced ``by request,'' those words shall be entered on the Journal and printed in the Congressional Record. |
| Sec. 826a. Constitutional authority statement upon introduction. | (c)(1) A bill or joint resolution may not be introduced unless the sponsor submits for printing in the Congressional Record a statement citing as specifically as practicable the power or powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the bill or joint resolution. The statement shall appear in a portion of the Record designated for that purpose and be made publicly available in electronic form by the Clerk. |
| Sec. 826b. United States Code citations. | The House in the 113th and 114th Congresses required, to the extent practicable, an applicable United States Code citation in the case of an amendatory instruction in a bill or joint resolution proposing to repeal or amend a law not codified (sec. 3(i), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2013, p. _; sec. 3(m), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2015, p. _). |
| 827. Reception and reference of executive communications, including estimates. | 8. Estimates of appropriations and all other communications from the executive departments intended for the consideration of any committees of the |
| 828. Calendar for reports of committees. | 1. (a) All business reported by committees shall be referred to one of the following three calendars: |
| Sec. 830. Motion to discharge. | (b) There is established a Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees as provided in clause 2 of rule XV. |
| 831. Reports filed with the Clerk. | 2. (a)(1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2), all reports of committees (other than those filed from the floor) shall be delivered to the Clerk for printing and reference to the proper calendar under the direction of the Speaker in accordance with clause 1. The title or subject of each report shall be entered on the Journal and printed in the Congressional Record. |
| Sec. 832. Adverse reports. | (2) A bill or resolution reported adversely (other than those filed as privileged) shall be laid on the table unless a committee to which the bill or resolution was referred requests at the time of the report its referral to an appropriate calendar under clause 1 or unless, within three days thereafter, a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner makes such a request. |
| Sec. 833. Requirement that reports of committees be in writing and be printed. | When the House codified its rules in the 106th Congress, it deleted the portion of clause 2 of rule XVIII that required the printing of reports. That provision was redundant because this provision carries the same requirement (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47). Former clause 2 of rule XVIII was adopted in 1880 (V, 5647). |
| Sec. 834. Chair's duty. | (b)(1) It shall be the duty of the chair of each committee to report or cause to be reported promptly to the House a measure or matter approved by the committee and to take or cause to be taken steps necessary to bring the measure or matter to a vote. |
| Sec. 835. Filing by majority of committee. | (2) In any event, the report of a committee on a measure that has been approved by the committee shall be filed within seven calendar days (exclusive of days on which the House is not in session) after the day |
| Sec. 836. Filing with separate views. | (c) All supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views filed under clause 2(l) of rule XI by one or more mem |
| 837. Single volume. | 3. (a)(1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2), the report of a committee on a measure or matter shall be printed in a single volume that-- |
| Sec. 838. Technical error. | (2) A committee may file a supplemental report for the correction of a technical error in its previous report on a measure or matter. A supplemental report only correcting errors in the depiction of record votes under paragraph (b) may be filed under this subparagraph and shall not be subject to the requirement in clause 4 or clause 6 concerning the availability of reports. |
| Sec. 839. Vote on reporting. | (b) With respect to each record vote on a motion to report a measure or matter of a public nature, and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter, |
| Sec. 840. Content of reports. | (c) The report of a committee on a measure that has been approved by the committee shall include, separately set out and clearly identified, the following: |
| Sec. 840a. Duplication of Federal programs. | The House in the 113th and 114th Congresses required each report accompanying a bill or joint resolution to include a statement of whether the measure established or reauthorized a program of the Federal government known to be duplicative of another such program (sec. 3(j), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2013, p. _; sec. 3(g), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2015, p. _). |
| Sec. 840b. Directed rule making. | The House in the 113th and 114th Congresses required each report accompanying a bill or joint resolution to include a statement estimating the number of directed rule makings required by the measure (sec. 3(k), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2013, p. _; sec. 3(i), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2015, p. _). |
| Sec. 841. Estimate of cost. | (d) Each report of a committee on a public bill or public joint resolution shall contain the following: |
| Sec. 842. Application of laws to legislative branch. | Under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, each report accompanying a bill or joint resolution relating to terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or accommodations must describe the manner in which the provisions apply to the legislative branch or a statement of the reasons the provisions do not apply; and any Member may raise a point of order against the consideration of a bill or joint resolution not complying with this requirement, which may be waived in the House by majority vote (sec. 102(b)(3), P.L. 104-1; 109 Stat. 6). |
| Sec. 843. Unfunded mandates. | The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4; 109 Stat. 48) added a new part B to title IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658-658g) that imposes several requirements on committees with respect to measures effecting ``Federal mandates'' (secs. 423-424; 2 U.S.C. 658b-c) and establishes points of order to permit separate votes on whether to enforce those requirements (sec. 425; 2 U.S.C. 658d). See Sec. 1127, infra. |
| Sec. 844. Former constitutional authority requirement and inflationary impact requirement. | Former clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI, which became a part of the rules under the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470), required an analytical statement of inflationary impact. It was converted in the 105th Congress to require a statement of constitutional authority (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. 121) and was repealed in the 112th Congress in conjunction with the establishment of clause 7(c) of rule XII (sec. 2(a)(2), H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 2011, p. 80). If a point of order were sustained under this subparagraph, the measure would be ``recommitted'' to await possible return to the Calendar by the filing of a supplemental report pursuant to clause 3(a)(2) correcting the technical error (Feb. 13, 1995, p. 4591). |
| Sec. 846. ``Ramseyer Rule.'' | (e)(1) Whenever a committee reports a bill or joint resolution proposing to repeal or amend a statute or part thereof, it shall include in its report or in an accompanying document-- |
| Sec. 847. Content of reports on appropriation bills. | (f)(1) A report of the Committee on Appropriations on a general appropriation bill shall include-- |
| Sec. 848. Comparative print. | (g) Whenever the Committee on Rules reports a resolution proposing to repeal or amend a standing rule of the House, it shall include in its report or in an accompanying document-- |
| Sec. 849. Tax complexity analysis. | (h) It shall not be in order to consider a bill or joint resolution reported by the Committee on Ways and Means that proposes to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 unless-- |
| Sec. 849a. Former macroeconomic impact analysis and dynamic estimate required. | A requirement that macroeconomic analysis be included in the committee report for certain tax measures was repealed in the 114th Congress (sec. 2(c)(2), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2015, p. _). For its text and history, and the history of a former provision on dynamic scoring, see Sec. 849 of the House Rules and Manual for the 113th Congress (H. Doc. 112-161). For a current provision on macroeconomic analysis, see Sec. 868a, infra. |
| 850. Threeday layover. | 4. (a)(1) Except as specified in subparagraph (2), it shall not be in order to consider in the House a measure or matter reported by a committee until the third calendar day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays except when the House is in session on such a day) on which each report of a committee on that measure or matter has been available to Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner. |
| Sec. 851. Oneday layover. | A committee expense resolution reported by the Committee on House Administration pursuant to clause 5 of rule XIII need only be available for one day. However, other resolutions reported from that committee that are privileged (such as a resolution authorizing the printing of material as a House document), but that do not constitute questions of the privileges of the House, are subject to this clause (Speaker Albert, Mar. 6, 1975, p. 5537). |
| Sec. 852. Former rule on printed hearings on appropriation bills. | A former paragraph (c), prohibiting consideration of general appropriation bills until the third calendar day on which printed hearings had been available, was repealed in the 114th Congress (sec. 2(a)(8), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2015, p. _). For its text and history, see Sec. 852 of the House Rules and Manual for the 113th Congress (H. Doc. 112-161). |
| 853. Privileged reports. | 5. (a) The following committees shall have leave to report at any time on the following matters, respectively: |
| Sec. 854. Privileged reports defined. | The matters reported under the provisions of this clause are denominated ``privileged reports'' or ``privileged questions,'' and because the privilege relates merely to the order of business under the rules, they must be distinguished from ``questions of privilege'' that relate to the safety or dignity of the House itself defined in rule IX (III, 2718). Therefore, ``questions of privilege'' take precedence over these matters that are privileged under the rules (III, 2426-2530; V, 6454; VIII, 3465). |
| Sec. 855. The privilege of individual committees for reports. | The privilege given by this clause to the Committee on Rules is confined to ``action touching rules, joint rules, and order of business'' and this committee may not report as privileged a concurrent resolution providing for a Senate investigating committee (VIII, 2255), or provide for the appointment of a clerk (VIII, 2256); but the privilege has been held to include the right to report special orders for the consideration of individual bills or classes of bills (V, 6774), or the consideration of a specified amendment to a bill and prescribing a mode of considering such amendment (VIII, 2258). A special rule providing for the consideration of a bill is not invalidated by the fact that at the time the rule was reported, the bill was not on the calendar (VIII, 2259; Speaker McCormack, Aug. 19, 1964, p. 20212). The authority to report special orders of business includes authority to recommend consideration of measures and amendments thereto the subject of which might be separately pending before a standing committee (Apr. 15, 1986, p. 7531); to make in order the consideration of the text of an introduced bill as original text in a reported bill (Oct. 9, 1986, p. 29973); to permit consideration of a previously unnumbered and unsponsored measure that comes into existence by virtue of adoption by the House of the special order (Speaker O'Neill, Apr. 16, 1986, p. 7610); to recommend a ``hereby'' resolution, for example, that a concurrent resolution correcting the enrollment of a bill be considered as adopted by the House upon the adoption of the special order (Speaker Wright, May 4, 1988, p. 9865), or that a Senate amendment pending at the Speaker's table and otherwise requiring consideration in Committee of the Whole under clause 3 of rule XXII (formerly clause 1 of rule XX) be ``hereby'' considered as adopted upon adoption of the special order (Deschler, ch. 21, Sec. 16.11; Feb. 4, 1993, p. 2500); to provide that an amendment containing an appropriation in viola |
| Sec. 856. Privileged motion for consideration of revenue and appropriation bills. | As early as 1835 the necessity of giving appropriation bills precedence became apparent, and in 1837 former clause 9 of rule XVI was adopted to establish that principle, but was deleted in recodification as redundant to this rule. Former clause 4(a) of rule XI was amended by the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470) to eliminate the authority of the Committee on Ways and Means to report as privileged bills raising revenue, and former clause 9 of rule XVI was amended in the 104th Congress (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. 35077) to delete as obsolete the reference to bills raising revenue (see Sec. 853, supra). However, the privilege to call up general appropriation bills in both rules was retained. When both types of reports were privileged under the rule before |
| 857. Reports from Committee on Rules. | 6. (a) A report by the Committee on Rules on a rule, joint rule, or the order of business may not be called up for consideration on the same day it is presented to the House except-- |
| Sec. 858. Dilatory motions not permitted. | In the later practice it has been held that the question of consideration may not be raised against a report from the Committee on Rules (V, 4961-4963; VIII, 2440, 2441). The clause forbidding dilatory motions has been construed strictly (V, 5740-5742), and in the later practice the following have been excluded: (1) the motion to commit after the ordering of the previous question (V, 5593-5601; VIII, 2270, 2750; Feb. 22, 1984, p. 2965); (2) an appeal from the Chair's decision not to entertain the question of consideration or a motion to lay the pending resolution on the table (V, 5739); and (3) the motion to postpone to a day certain (Oct. 9, 1986, p. 29972). A motion to reconsider the vote on ordering the previous question has been held not dilatory (V, 5739). Before debate has begun on a report from the Committee on Rules, a question of the privileges of the House takes precedence (VIII, 3491; Mar. 11, 1987, p. 5403). In the event that the previous question is rejected on a privileged resolution from the Committee on Rules, the provisions of clause 6(b) prohibiting ``dilatory'' motions no longer strictly |
| Sec. 859. Restrictions on authority of Committee on Rules. | From 1934 until the amendment to this provision in the 104th Congress (sec. 210, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 468), it was consistently held that the Committee on Rules could recommend a special order that limited, but did not totally prohibit, a motion to recommit pending passage of a bill or joint resolution, as by precluding the motion from containing instructions relating to specified amendments (Speaker Rainey, Jan. 11, 1934, pp. 479-83 (sustained on appeal)); or by omitting to preserve the availability of amendatory instructions in the case that the bill is entirely rewritten by the adoption of a substitute made in order as original text (Speaker Foley, June 4, 1991, p. 13170; Speaker Foley, Nov. 25, 1991, p. 34460); or by expressly allowing only a simple (``straight'') motion to recommit (without instructions) (Oct. 16, 1990, p. 29657 (sustained by tabling of appeal); Feb. 26, 1992, p. 3441 (sustained by tabling of appeal); May 7, 1992, p. 10586 (sustained by tabling of appeal); June 16, 1992, p. 14973 |
| Sec. 860. Unfunded mandates; congressional earmarks. | The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4; 109 Stat. 48) added a new part B to title IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658-658g) that imposes several requirements on committees with respect to ``Federal mandates'' (secs. 423, 424; 2 U.S.C. 658b, 658c), establishes points of order to permit separate votes on whether to enforce those requirements (sec. 425; 2 U.S.C. 658d), and permits a vote on the consideration of a rule or order waiving such points of order (sec. 426(a); 2 U.S.C. 658e(a)). See Sec. 1127, infra. |
| Sec. 861. Filing reports. | (d) The Committee on Rules shall present to the House reports concerning rules, joint rules, and the order of business, within three legislative days of the time |
| Sec. 862. Privileged motion. | (f) If the House has adopted a resolution making in order a motion to consider a bill or resolution, and such a motion has not been offered within seven calendar days thereafter, such a motion shall be privileged if offered by direction of all reporting committees having initial jurisdiction of the bill or resolution. |
| Sec. 863. Specifying waivers. | (g) Whenever the Committee on Rules reports a resolution providing for the consideration of a measure, it shall to the maximum extent possible specify in the accompanying report any waiver of a point of order against the measure or against its consideration. |
| 864. Resolution of inquiry. | 7. A report on a resolution of inquiry addressed to the head of an executive department may be filed from the floor as privileged. If such a resolution is not reported to the House within 14 legislative days after its introduction, a motion to discharge a |
| Sec. 865. Forms of resolutions of inquiry and delivery thereof. | Resolutions of inquiry are usually simple rather than concurrent in form (III, 1875), and are never joint resolutions (III, 1860). A resolution authorizing a committee to request information has been treated as a resolution of inquiry (III, 1860). It has been considered proper to use the word ``request'' in asking for information from the President and ``direct'' in addressing the heads of departments (III, 1856, footnote, 1895). It is usual for the House in calling on the President for information, especially with relation to foreign affairs, to use the qualifying clause ``if not incompatible with the public interest'' (II, 1547; III, 1896-1901; V, 5759; VI, 436). But in some instances the House has made its inquiries of the President without condition, and has even made the inquiry imperative (III, 1896-1901). Resolutions of inquiry are delivered under direction of the Clerk (III, 1879) and are answered by subordinate officers of the Government either directly or through the President (III, 1908-1910). |
| Sec. 866. Privileged status of resolutions of inquiry. | The practice of the House gives to resolutions of inquiry a privileged status. Thus, they are privileged for report and consideration at any time after their reference to a committee (III, 1870; VI, 413, 414), but not before (III, 1857), and are in order for consideration only on motion directed to be made by the committee reporting the same (VI, 413; VIII, 2310). They are privileged for consideration on ``suspension days'' (except on Calendar Wednesday (VII, 896-898)) and took precedence of the former Consent Calendar (VI, 409) before its abolishment in the 104th Congress (H. Res. 168, June 20, 1995, p. 16574). Only resolutions addressed to the President and the heads of the executive departments have the privilege (III, 1861-1864; VI, 406). To enjoy the privilege a resolution should call for facts rather than opinions (III, 1872, 1873; VI, 413, 418-432; July 7, 1971, pp. 23810-11), should not require investigations (III, 1872-1874; VI, 422, 427, 429, 432), and should not present a preamble (III, 1877, 1878; VI, 422, 427); but if a resolution on its face calls for facts, the Chair will not investigate the probability of the existence of the facts called for (VI, 422). However, a resolution inquiring for such facts as would inevitably require |
| Sec. 867. Discharge of a committee from a resolution of inquiry. | Committees are required to report resolutions of inquiry back to the House within a prescribed timeframe (formerly one week, now 14 legislative days) (VIII, 3368; Speaker Rayburn, Feb. 9, 1950, p. 1755) exclusive of the day of introduction and the day of discharge (III, 1858, 1859). If a committee refuses or neglects to report the resolution back, the House may reach the resolution only by a motion to discharge the committee (III, 1865). The ordinary motion to discharge a committee is not privileged (VIII, 2316); but the practice of the House has given privilege to the motion in cases of resolutions of inquiry (III, 1866- 1870). And this motion to discharge is privileged at the end of the time period, though the resolution may have been delayed in reaching the committee (III, 1871). The motion to discharge is not debatable (III, 1868; VI, 415). However, if the motion is agreed to, the resolution is debatable under the hour rule unless the previous question is ordered (VI, 416, 417). If a committee reports a privileged resolution of inquiry (favorably or adversely), it may then be called up only by an authorized member of the reporting committee and not by another Member of the House (VI, 413; VIII, 2310). The Member calling up a privileged resolution of inquiry reported from committee is recognized to control one hour of debate and may move to lay the resolution on the table before or after that time (July 7, 1971, pp. 23807-10; Oct. 20, 1971, pp. 37055-57). |
| Sec. 868. Resolutions of inquiry as related to the Executive. | The President having failed to respond to a resolution of inquiry, the House respectfully reminded him of the fact (III, 1890). In 1796 the House declared that its constitutional requests of the Executive for information need not be accompanied by a statement of purposes (II, 1509). As to the kind of information that may be required, especially as to the papers that may be demanded, there has been much discussion (III, 1700, 1738, 1888, 1902, 1903; VI, 402, 435). There have been several conflicts with the Executive (II, 1534, 1561; III, 1884, 1885-1889, 1894) over demands for papers and information, especially when the resolutions have called for papers relating to foreign affairs (II, 1509-1513, 1518, 1519). |
| 868a. Macroeconomic analysis. | 8. (a) An estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 for any major legislation shall, to the extent practicable, incorporate the budgetary effects of changes in economic output, employment, capital stock, and other macroeconomic variables resulting from such legislation. |
| Sec. 870. Privileged interruptions of the order of business in the House. |
This rule does not bind the House to a daily routine
because the system of making certain important subjects privileged (see
clause 5 of rule XIII and rule XXII) permits the interruption of the
order of business by matters that, in fact, often supplant it entirely
for days at a time. In the 106th Congress the recodification
acknowledged in the parenthetical of this clause that the prescribed
daily order of business could be superseded by operation of other rules
(H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47). But when the order of business is
interrupted by a privileged matter, the business in order proceeds from
the place of interruption (IV, 3070, 3071) unless the House adjourns, in
which case it starts anew with the prayer. Although privileged matters
may interrupt the order of business, they may do so only with the
consent of a majority of the House, expressed as to appropriation bills
by the vote on resolving into the Committee of the Whole to consider
such bills, and as to matters like conference reports, questions of
privilege, etc., by raising and voting on the question of consideration.
The only exceptions to the principle that a majority may prevent
interruption are contained in clauses 5 and 7 of rule XV, providing for
a call of the Private Calendar on the first Tuesday of each month and a
call of committees on Wednesdays. By this combination of an order of
business with privileged interruptions the House gives precedence to its
most important business without at the same time losing the power by
majority vote to go to any other bills on its calendars.
< |
| Sec. 872. The interruption of the order of business by the request for unanimous consent. | When the House has no rule establishing an order of business, as at the beginning of a session before the adoption of rules, it is in order for any Member who is recognized by the Chair to offer a proposition relating to the order of business without asking consent of the House (IV, 3060). But after the adoption of the rule for the order of business, interruptions are confined to matters privileged to interrupt or to cases wherein the House gives unanimous consent for an interruption. A request for unanimous consent to consider a bill is in effect a request to suspend the order of business temporarily (IV, 3059). Therefore any Member, including the Chair, may object, or reserve the right to object and inquire, for example, about the reasons for the request, or demand the ``regular order'' (IV, 3058). Debate under a reservation of objection proceeds at the sufferance of the House and may not continue after a demand for the regular order (see, e.g., Speaker Foley, Nov. 14, 1991, p. 32128; Dec. 15, 1995, p. 37142; Nov. 7, 2009, p. 27190). A Member objecting to a unanimous-consent request or demanding the regular order when another has reserved the right to object must stand to be observed by the Chair (Nov. 7, 1991, p. 30633; June 23, 1992, p. 15703). The Speaker, however, usually signifies objection by declining to put the request of the Member, thus saving the time of the House. The Speaker's guidelines for recognition for unanimous-consent requests for consideration of unreported measures are issued pursuant to clause 2 of rule XVII and are discussed in Sec. 956, infra. The request for unanimous consent began to be used about 1832 when the House first felt a pressure of business and the necessity of adhering to a fixed order (IV, 3155-3159). In 1909, by the adoption of former clause 4 of rule XIII, a Consent Calendar was established, which was abolished |
| Sec. 873. Disposal of business on the Speaker's table. | 2. Business on the Speaker's table shall be disposed of as follows: |
| Sec. 874. Matters on Speaker's table for action by the House or by the Speaker alone. | Such portions of messages from the Senate as require action by the House, messages from the President except those transmitting objections to bills (IV, 3534-3536), and communications and reports from the heads of departments go to the Speaker's table when received, to be disposed of under this rule. Simple resolutions of the Senate that do not require any action by the House are not referred (VII, 1048). Messages from the President are referred. Such portions of Senate messages (House bills with Senate amendments) that do not require consideration in Committee of the Whole may be laid before the House for action. Communications from the President, other than messages; all portions of Senate messages requiring consideration in Committee of the Whole (IV, 3101); and Senate bills of all kinds (with the exception noted in the rule) may be referred to the appropriate standing committees under direction of the Speaker without action by the House (IV, 3107, 3111; VI, 727). Under clause 2 of former rule XXIV (current rule XIV), the Speaker may temporarily retain custody of an executive communication addressed to the Speaker (or may pursuant to former clause 1 of rule IV (current clause 3(a) of rule II) order the Sergeant-at-Arms to assume custody) pending House disposition of a special order reported from the Committee on Rules relating to a referral of the communication to committee (Sept. 9, 1998, p. 19769). |
| Sec. 875. Reference of President's messages from the Speaker's table. | A message of the President on the Speaker's table is regularly laid before the House only at the time prescribed by the order of business (V, 6635-6638). Although it is always read in full and entered on the Journal and the Congressional Record (V, 6963), the accompanying documents are not read on demand of a Member or entered in the Journal or Record (V, 5267-5271; VII, 1108). The annual message of the President is usually referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union by the House on motion (V, 6631). In the earlier practice it was distributed to appropriate standing committees by resolutions reported from the Committee on Ways and Means (V, 6621, 6622) but since the first session of the 64th Congress the practice has been discontinued (VIII, 3350). A portion of the annual message has been referred directly to a select committee (V, 6628). A message other than an annual message is usually referred directly to a standing committee by direction of the Speaker (IV, 4053; VIII, 3346), but may be referred by the House itself on motion by a Member (V, 6631; VIII, 3348), and such motion is privileged (VIII, 3348). The referral may be to a select as well as to a standing committee (V, 6633, 6634). |
| Sec. 876. Unfinished business. | 3. Consideration of unfinished business in which the House may have been engaged at an adjournment, except business in the morning hour and proceedings postponed under clause 8 of rule XX, shall be resumed as soon as the business on the Speaker's table is finished, and at the same time each day thereafter until disposed of. The consideration of all other unfinished business shall be resumed whenever the class of business to which it belongs shall be in order under the rules. |
| Sec. 877. Construction of rule as to unfinished business. | This clause should be understood in light of clause 8 of rule XX, which permits the Chair to postpone record votes on certain questions to a designated time within two legislative days (see Sec. 1030, infra). The ``business in which the House may be engaged at an adjournment'' means, literally, business in the House, as distinguished from the Committee of the Whole; and it further means business in which the House is engaged in its general legislative time, as distinguished from the special periods set aside for classes of business, like the morning hour for calls of committee, Tuesdays for private bills, etc. In general, all business unfinished in the general legislative time goes over as unfinished business under the rule, but there are a few exceptions. Thus, a motion relating to the order of business does not recur as unfinished business on a succeeding day, even though the yeas and nays may have been ordered on it (IV, 3114). The question of consideration, also, when not disposed of at an adjournment, does not recur as unfinished business on a succeeding day (V, 4947, 4948), but may be again raised on a subsequent day when the matter is again called up as unfinished business (VIII, 2438). If the House adjourns during the consideration of a report from the Committee on Rules, further consideration of the report becomes the unfinished business on the following day, and debate resumes from the point where interrupted (Sept. 27, 1993, p. 22609; Sept. 28, 1993, p. 22719). When the House adjourns on the second legislative day after postponement of a question under clause 8 of rule XX without resuming proceedings thereon, the question remains unfin |
| Sec. 878. Effect of previous question. | When the House adjourns before voting on a proposition on which the previous question has been ordered, either directly or by the terms of a special order (IV, 3185), the matter comes up the next day as unfinished business (V, 5510-5517; VIII, 2691; Aug. 2, 1989, p. 18187). If several bills come over in this situation, they have precedence in the order in which the several motions for the previous question were made (V, 5518). When the previous question is ordered on a bill undisposed of at adjournment on Friday, the bill comes up for disposition on the next legislative day (VIII, 2694). A bill going over from Calendar Wednesday with the previous question ordered on it should be disposed of on the next legislative day (VII, 967). A bill coming over from a preceding day with the previous question ordered was of equal privilege with business on the former Consent Calendar (VII, 990). |
| Sec. 879. Business unfinished in periods set apart for classes of business. | The rule excepts by its terms certain classes of business that are considered in periods set apart for classes of business, viz: l (a) Bills considered in the morning hour and on Calendar Wednesday for the call of committees. l (b) Bills in Committee of the Whole. |
| Sec. 880. The morning hour for the call of committees. | 4. After the unfinished business has been disposed of, the Speaker shall call each standing committee in regular order and then select committees. Each committee when named may call up for consideration a bill or resolution reported by it on a previous day and on the House Calendar. If the Speaker does not complete the call of the committees before the House passes to other business, the next call shall resume at the point it left off, giving preference to the last bill or resolution under consideration. A committee that has occupied the call for two days may not call up another bill or resolution until the other committees have been called in their turn. |
| Sec. 881. Procedure in the morning hour. | Originally the morning hour was a fixed period of 60 minutes (IV, 3118); but under the present rule it does not terminate until the call is exhausted or until the House adjourns (IV, 3119), unless the House on motion made at the end of 60 minutes votes to go into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union (clause 5 of rule XIV; IV, 3134), or unless other privileged matter intervenes (IV, 3131, 3132). Before the expiration of the 60 minutes the Speaker has declined to permit the call to be interrupted by a privileged report (IV, 3132) or by unanimous consent (IV, 3130). Where the business for which the call was interrupted is concluded, the call is resumed unless there be other interrupting business or the House adjourns (IV, 3133). A bill once brought up on the call continues before the House in that order of business until disposed of (IV, 3120), unless withdrawn by authority of the committee before action that puts it in possession of the House (IV, 3129); and may not be made a special order for a future day by a motion |
| Sec. 882. Interruption of the call of committees by motion to go into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. | 5. After consideration of bills or resolutions under clause 4 for one hour, it shall be in order, pending consideration thereof, to entertain a motion that the House resolve into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union or, when authorized by a committee, that the House resolve into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to consider a particular bill. Such a motion shall be subject to only one amendment designating another bill. If such a motion is decided in the negative, another such motion may not be considered until the matter that was pending when such motion was offered is disposed of. |
| Sec. 883. Conditions of the motion to go into Committee of the Whole at the end of one hour. | The phrase ``one hour'' has been interpreted to include a shorter time in the case that the call of committees shall have exhausted itself before the expiration of one hour (IV, 3135); but not otherwise (IV, 3141). After the House has been in Committee of the Whole under this order and has risen and reported, and the report has been acted on by the House, other motions to go into Committee to consider other bills are in order (IV, 3136). The motion to go into Committee generally may be made by the individual Member (IV, 3138), but when it is proposed to designate a particular bill the Member must have the authority of a committee (IV, 3138). The amendment to the motion to consider a particular bill must refer to a bill on the Union Calendar (IV, 3139). |
| 885. Motions to suspend the rules. | 1. (a) A rule may not be suspended except by a vote of two-thirds of the Members voting, a quorum being present. The Speaker may not entertain a motion that the House suspend the rules except on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays and during the last six days of a session of Congress. |
| Sec. 886. Nature of the motion to suspend the rules. | Originally, when the House was operating under the older rules for the order of business, the motion was used to establish a special order of business for the consideration of a particular measure (IV, 3152, 3162; V, 6852). In 1890, the House adopted rules for the order of business that enabled the House on any day to consider public bills on its calendars. About the same time, the House perfected the process of establishing a special order of business by a majority vote through a report from the Committee on Rules (IV, 3169). As a result of these changes, the use of the motion to suspend gradually changed from one that established a special order of business to one that passes or adopts a measure (V, 6790, 6846, 6847). The latter motion suspends all rules inconsistent with its purposes, including a rule requiring that a recess be taken (V, 5752) or that a quorum be present when a bill is reported from committee (Sept. 22, 1992, p. 26932). The motion is not available in the Committee of the Whole (May 28, 2014, p. _). |
| Sec. 886a. Consideration of the motion to suspend the rules. | The motion that the House ``suspend the rules and pass [or adopt]'' a measure is not subject to the demand for a division of the question, either as to the two branches of the motion or as to distinct substantive propositions in the subject of the motion (V, 6141-6143). The motion may not be amended (V, 5322, 5405, 6858; Deschler, ch. 21, Sec. 14.6; Apr. 11, 2000, p. 5206; July 30, 2011, p. 12544), and the power to withdraw and modify the motion rests with its proponent (May 10, 2006, p. 7807). The motion may not be postponed (V, 5322) or laid on the table (V, 5405). The motion to reconsider may be applied to an affirmative (Sept. 28, 1996, p. 25796) but not a negative vote on the motion (V, 5645, 5646; VIII, 2781; Sept. 28, 1996, p. 25797). The motion to refer may not be applied to the bill that it is proposed to pass under suspension of the rules (V, 6860). |
| Sec. 887. Precedence of the motion to suspend the rules. | In the early practice, when the motion to suspend the rules was used to enable a matter to be taken up for consideration out of order, it was not admitted when a subject was already before the House (V, 5278, 6836, 6837, 6852, 6853). However, a motion to suspend the rules was in order to dispense with the reading of a pending measure (V, 5278). A bill taken up under this early practice might be amended by the House (V, 6842, 6856) or withdrawn by the mover, in which case another Member might not present it (V, 6854, 6855). |
| Sec. 888. Individual and committee motions to suspend the rules. | Authorization by a committee is not required for the Speaker to recognize for a motion to suspend the rules (VIII, 3410), including a motion to suspend the rules and pass a measure ``as amended'' (June 22, 1992, p. 15617). |
| Sec. 889. The second of the motion to suspend the rules. | Before the 102d Congress, certain motions to suspend the rules were required to be seconded, if demanded, by a majority by tellers, but this requirement was eliminated from the rule (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). The requirement for a second was adopted in 1874, was rescinded two years later, but was again adopted in 1880. The object of it was to prevent consumption of the time of the House by forcing consideration of undesirable propositions (V, 6797). The requirement (formerly clause 2 of rule XXVII) was amended in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16) so that a second was not required where printed copies of the proposed measure were available. The constitutional right of a Member to demand the yeas and nays, or the right of a Member under clause 1(b) of rule XX to demand a recorded vote, did not exist on the question of ordering a second under the former clause 2 of rule XXVII, which only permitted the ordering of a second by tellers if a quorum was present (V, 6032-6036; VIII, 3109; Dec. 16, 1981, p. 31851). The fact that a majority of the Members of the House did not pass between the tellers on the question of ordering a second did not conclusively show that a quorum was not present in the Chamber, and the Speaker could count the House to determine whether a quorum was actually present (Dec. 16, 1981, p. 31851). However, where a quorum failed on the vote for a second, under clause 6 of rule XX the yeas and nays were ordered (IV, 3053-3055; Dec. 21, 1973, pp. 43251-63). |
| Sec. 889a. Withdrawal of motion. | A motion to suspend the rules may be withdrawn at any time before the Chair puts the question and a voice vote is taken thereon (V, 6840, 6844; VIII, 3405, 3419; June 5, 2012, p. _). The motion may be withdrawn by unanimous consent, even after the Speaker has put the question on its adoption and postponed further proceedings (Deschler, ch 21 Sec. 13.23; Dec. 5, 2012, p. _). |
| Sec. 890. Dilatory motions pending motions to suspend rules. | (b) Pending a motion that the House suspend the rules, the Speaker may entertain one motion that the House adjourn but may not entertain any other motion until the vote is taken on the suspension. |
| Sec. 891. The 40 minutes of debate on motion to suspend the rules. | (c) A motion that the House suspend the rules is debatable for 40 minutes, one-half in favor of the motion and one-half in opposition thereto. |
| 892. Motion to discharge a committee. | 2. (a) Motions to discharge committees shall be in order on the second and fourth Mondays of a month. |
| 893. Adverse report by Rules Committee. | 3. An adverse report by the Committee on Rules on a resolution proposing a special order of business for the consideration of a public bill or public joint resolution may be called up under clause 6(e) of rule XIII as a privileged question by a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner on a day when |
| 894. District of Columbia. | 4. The second and fourth Mondays of a month shall be set apart for the consideration of such District of Columbia business as may be called up by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform after the disposition of motions to discharge committees and after the disposal of such business on the Speaker's table as requires reference only. |
| 895. Interruption of the regular order on Tuesdays for consideration of the Private Calendar. | 5. (a) On the first Tuesday of a month, the Speaker shall direct the Clerk to call the bills and resolutions on the Private Calendar after disposal of such business on the Speaker's table as requires reference only. If two or more Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner object to the consideration of a bill or resolution so called, it shall be recommitted to the committee that reported it. No other business shall be in order before completion of the call of the Private Calendar on this day unless two-thirds of the Members voting, a quorum being present, agree to a motion that the House dispense with the call. |
| Sec. 896. Tuesday as a day for private business. | This provision (formerly clause 6 of rule XXIV) was adopted in the 62d Congress in lieu of special orders under which pension and private business formerly had been considered. The rule was amended on April 23, 1932 (VII, 846) and was adopted in its present form on March 27, 1935 (pp. 4480-89, 4538). When the House recodified its rules in the 106th Congress, this provision was transferred from former clause 6 of rule XXIV and the archaic reference to the ``Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House'' was changed to the ``Private Calendar'' (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47). A Member serving as an ``official objector'' for the Private Calendar has periodically included in the Record an explanation of how bills on the Private Calendar are considered (see, e.g., Dec. 5, 1995, p. 35354; June 17, 1997, p. 11015; Nov. 17, 2003, p. 29279). Clause 4 of rule XII prohibits consideration of certain private bills. Under former clause 6(e)(2) of rule XV (current clause 7(b) of rule XX), the Speaker has discretion to recognize a Member to move a call of the House before the call of the Private Calendar (July 8, 1987, p. 18972). Unanimous consent is required to place the call at another time during the day (July 16, 1996, p. 17224; Apr. 21, 1998, p. 6184), including after one-minute speeches (Dec. 18, 2012, p. _). |
| Sec. 897. Methods of considering omnibus bills. | During the consideration of omnibus bills the Chair declines to recognize Members for unanimous-consent requests to address the House (May 7, 1935, p. 7100); motions to strike the last word are not in order, and requests for extension of time under the five-minute rule are not entertained (Speaker Byrns, Mar. 17, 1936, pp. 3890, 3894). |
| Sec. 898. Former Corrections Calendar. | For the former Corrections Calendar rule, see Sec. 898 of the House Rules and Manual for the 111th Congress (H. Doc. 110-162). |
| Sec. 899. Former Consent Calendar. | For the former Consent Calendar rule, see Sec. 899 of the House Rules and Manual for the 111th Congress (H. Doc. 110-162). |
| 900. Calendar Wednesday business. | 6. (a) On Wednesday of each week, business shall not be in order before completion of the call of those committees (except as provided by clause 4 of rule XIV) whose chair, or other member authorized by the committee, has announced to the House a request for such call on the preceding legislative day. |
| Sec. 901. Decisions on Calendar Wednesday. | The rule applies to unprivileged bills only, and when a bill otherwise unprivileged is given a privileged status by unanimous consent or by rule it is automatically rendered ineligible for consideration on Calendar Wednesday (VII, 932-935). The rule does not apply to amendments between the Houses, unreported bills, or Senate bills being held at the Speaker's desk (Mar. 12, 2008, p. 3854). House Calendar bills have no preference over Union Calendar bills (VII, 938). |
| 902. Motions reduced to writing and entered on the Journal. | 1. Every motion entertained by the Speaker shall be reduced to writing on the demand of a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner and, unless it is withdrawn the same day, shall be entered on the Journal with the name of the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner offering it. A dilatory motion may not be entertained by the Speaker. |
| Sec. 903. Dilatory motions. | The Speaker has declined to entertain debate or appeal on a question as to the dilatoriness of a motion, because doing so would nullify the rule (V, 5731); but has recognized that the authority conferred by the rule should not be exercised until the object of the dilatory motion ``becomes apparent to the House'' (V, 5713, 5714). For example, the Chair has held that a virtually consecutive invocation of former rule XXX (current clause 6 of rule XVII), resulting in a second pair of votes on use of a chart and on reconsideration |
| 904. Stating and withdrawing of motions. | 2. When a motion is entertained, the Speaker shall state it or cause it to be read aloud by the Clerk before it is debated. The motion then shall be in the possession of the House but may be withdrawn at any time before a decision or amendment thereon. |
| Sec. 905. Conditions of withdrawal of motions. | A motion may be withdrawn at any time before a decision thereon, including a motion to instruct conferees (Oct. 31, 2000, p. 25737) and a contempt resolution (Oct. 27, 2000, p. 25200). Unanimous consent is not required to withdraw a pending unanimous-consent request (Dec. 16, 1985, p. 36575). |
| 906. The question of consideration. | 3. When a motion or proposition is entertained, the question, ``Will the House now consider it?'' may not be put unless demanded by a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner. |
| Sec. 907. Raising the question of consideration. | A Member may demand the question of consideration, although the Member in charge of the bill may claim the floor for debate (V, 4944, 4945; VI, 404); but after debate has begun the demand may not be made (V, 4937-4939). It has been admitted, however, after the offering of a motion to lay on the table but before its disposition (V, 4943). The demand for the question of consideration may not be prevented by a motion for the previous question (V, 5478), but after the previous question is ordered it may not be demanded (V, 4965, 4966), even on another day, unless other business has intervened (V, 4967, 4968). The question of consideration pending, a motion to refer is not in order (V, 5554). |
| Sec. 908. Questions subject to the question of consideration. | The question of consideration may be demanded against a matter of the highest privilege, such as the right of a Member to a seat (V, 4941), a question involving the privilege of the House (VI, 560), against the motion to reconsider (VIII, 2437), but not against a bill returned with the President's objection (V, 4960, 4970). It may not be raised against a proposition before the House merely for reference, as a petition (V, 4964). It may not be demanded against a class of business in order under a special order or rule, but may be demanded against each bill individually (IV, 3308, 3309; V, 4958, 4959). It may be raised against a bill the consideration of which has been provided by a special order of business (IV, 3175; V, 4953-4957; June 22, 2006, p. 12280; Jan. 24, 2007, p. 2140; Jan. 31, 2007, p. 2736), unless the order provides for immediate consideration (V, 4960) or provides for the Speaker's declaration that the House resolve into the Committee of the Whole under clause 2 of rule XVIII. The question may be raised against a bill on the Union Calendar on Calendar Wednesday before resolving into the Committee of the Whole even after one Wednesday has been devoted to it (VIII, 2447); but it may not be raised against a report from the Committee on Rules relating to the order of considering individual bills (V, 4961- 4963; VIII, 2440, 2441, see Sec. 858, supra). |
| Sec. 909. Relation of question of consideration to points of order. | A point of order against consideration of a bill should be made and decided before the question of consideration is put (V, 4950, 4951; VII, 2439), but if the point relates merely to the manner of considering, it should be passed on afterwards (V, 4950). In general, after the House has decided to consider, a point of order raised with the object of preventing consideration, in whole or part, comes too late (IV, 4598; V, 4952, 6912-6914), but on a conference report the question of consideration may be demanded before points of order are raised against the substance of the report (VIII, 2439; Speaker Albert, Sept. 28, 1976, p. 33019). |
| Sec. 910. Unfunded mandates; congressional earmarks; paygo. | The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4; 109 Stat. 48) added a new part B to title IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658-658g) that imposes several requirements on committees with respect to ``Federal mandates'' (secs. 423-424; 2 U.S.C. 658b-c), establishes points of order to permit votes on whether to enforce those requirements (sec. 425; 2 U.S.C. 658d), and permits a vote on the question of consideration of a rule or order waiving such points of order in the House (sec. 426(a); 2 U.S.C. 658e(a)). The latter provision also prescribes that such points of order be disposed of by the question of consideration with respect to the proposition against which they are lodged (after 20 minutes of debate) (sec. 426(b); 2 U.S.C. 658e(b)). See Sec. 1127, infra. |
| 911. Precedence of privileged motions. | 4. (a) When a question is under debate, only the following motions may be entertained (which shall have precedence in the following order): |
| Sec. 912. The motion to adjourn. | The motion to adjourn not only has the highest precedence when a question is under debate, but, with certain restrictions, it has the highest privilege under all other conditions. Even the following yield to it: (1) a question of privilege (III, 2521), including a resolution considered to be a ``question of high constitutional privilege'' such as one declaring the Office of Speaker vacant |
| Sec. 913. Motion to fix the day to which the House shall adjourn and motion to authorize the Speaker to declare a recess. | The motion to fix the day and time to which the House shall adjourn, in its present form, was included in this clause and given privileged status in the 93d Congress (H. Res. 6, Jan. 3, 1973, p. 26). At several times during the 19th century, the motion to fix the day to which the House should adjourn was included within the rule as to the precedence of motions but was dropped because of its use in obstructive tactics (V, 5301, 5379). The following precedent relates to the use of the motion in its earlier form: No question being under debate, a motion to fix the day to which the House should adjourn, already made, was held not to give way to a motion to adjourn (V, 5381). But if the motion to adjourn be made first, the motion to fix the day or for a recess is not entertained (V, 5302). The motion to fix the day is not debatable (V, 5379, 5380; VIII, 2648, 3367), requires a quorum for adoption (IV, 2954; June 19, 1975, p. 19789; June 22, 1976, p. 19755), and is only in order if offered on the day on which the adjournment applies (Sept. 23, 1976, p. 32104). The House may convene and adjourn twice on the same calendar day pursuant to a motion under this clause that when the House adjourn it adjourn to a time certain later in the day, thereby meeting for two legislative days on the same calendar day (Nov. 17, 1981, p. 27771; Oct. 29, 1987, p. 29933; June 29, 1995, p. 17716). When the Speaker exercises discretion to entertain at any time a motion that when the House adjourn it stand adjourned to a day and time certain, the motion is of equal privilege with the simple motion to adjourn and takes precedence over a pending question on which the vote has been objected to for lack of a quorum (Nov. 17, 1981, p. 27770). The motion is not subject to the motion to lay on the table because it is not debatable and the precedence conferred on the motion to table only applies to a question that is ``under debate'' (Nov. 17, 1981, p. 27770). |
| Sec. 914. Motion to lay on the table. | The motion to lay on the table is used in the House for a final, adverse disposition of a matter without debate (V, 5389), and is in order before the Member entitled to prior recognition for debate has begun remarks (V, 5391- 5395; VIII, 2649, 2650). Under the explicit terms of this clause, the motion is not debatable (Oct. 17, 1991, p. 26749). The motion is applicable to a motion to reconsider (VIII, 2652, 2659), a motion to postpone to a day certain (VIII, 2654, 2657), a resolution presenting a question of privilege (VI, 560), a privileged resolution offered at the direction of a party caucus electing Members to committees (Feb. 5, 1997, p. 1541), an appeal from a decision of the Chair (VIII, 3453; June 22, 2006, p. 12299), a motion to discharge a committee from a resolution of inquiry (VI, 415), a proposal to investigate with a view to impeachment (VI, 541), a concurrent resolution to adjourn sine die (Mar. 27, 1936, p. 4512), and a resolution to expel a Member (Oct. 1, 1976, p. 35111). But a question of privilege (affecting the right of a Member to a seat) that has been laid on the table may be taken therefrom on motion made and agreed to by the House (V, 5438). The motion to lay on the table has the precedence given it by the rule, but may not be made after the previous question is ordered (V, 5415-5422; VIII, 2655), or even after the yeas and nays have been ordered on the demand for the previous question (V, 5408, 5409); but pending the demand for the previous question on a motion that is under debate, the motion to lay the primary motion on the table is preferential and is voted on first (Speaker Albert, Sept. 22, 1976, pp. 31876-82; Speaker O'Neill, July 10, 1985, pp. 18397-18400). The previous question having been ordered on a bill to final passage, the motion to lay the bill on the table may not then be offered pending a motion to reconsider the vote whereby the bill had been passed or rejected (Sept. 20, 1979, p. 25512). |
| Sec. 914a. The motion for the previous question. | The precedents relating to the motion for the previous question are annotated in Sec. Sec. 994-1000. |
| Sec. 915. The motions to postpone. | As indicated in the rule, the motions to postpone are two in number and distinct. The first one is to postpone to a day certain, and the second one is to postpone indefinitely. Each must apply to the whole and not a part of the pending proposition (V, 5306). Neither may be entertained after the previous question is ordered (V, 5319-5321; VIII, 2616, 2617), or be applied to a special order providing for the consideration of a class of bills (V, 4958); but when a bill comes before the House under the terms of a special order that assigns a day merely, a motion to postpone may be applied to the bill (IV, 3177-3182). Business postponed to a day certain is in order on that day immediately after the approval of the Journal and disposition of business on the Speaker's table, unless displaced by more highly privileged business (VIII, 2614). If consideration of a measure postponed to |
| Sec. 916. The motions to refer. | The parliamentary motion to refer is explicitly recognized and given status in four different situations under House rules: the ordinary motion provided for in this clause; the motion to recommit (or commit, as the case may be), with or without instructions, pending the motion for or after ordering of the previous question as provided in clause 2(a) of rule XIX (V, 5569); the motion to recommit (or commit, as the case may be), with or without instructions, after the previous question has been ordered on a bill or joint resolution to final passage, provided in clause 2(b) of rule XIX; and the motion to refer, with or without instructions, pending a vote in the House to strike the enacting clause as provided in clause 9 of rule XVIII. The terms ``refer,'' ``commit,'' and ``recommit'' are sometimes used interchangeably (V, 5521; VIII, 2736), but when used in the precise manner and situation con |
| Sec. 917. Instructions with the motion to refer. | The motion to refer may specify that the reference shall be to a select as well as a standing committee (IV, 4401) without regard for rules of jurisdiction (IV, 4375; V, 5527) and may provide for reference to another committee than that reporting the bill (VIII, 2696, 2736), or to the Committee of the Whole (V, 5552, 5553), and even that the committee be endowed with power to send for persons and papers (IV, 4402). Unless the previous question is ordered the motion may be amended (VIII, 2712, 2738) |
| Sec. 918. Repetition of motions. | The rule specifies that the motions to postpone and refer shall not be repeated on the same day at the same stage of the question (V, 5301, 5591; VIII, 2738, 2760). As a matter of practice, a motion to adjourn may be repeated only after intervening business (V, 5373; VIII, 2814), debate (V, 5374), the ordering of the yeas and nays (V, 5376, 5377), decision of the Chair on a question of order (V, 5378), or reception of a message (V, 5375). The motion to lay on the table may also be repeated after intervening business (V, 5398-5400); but the ordering of the previous question (V, 5709), a call of the House (V, 5401), or decision of a question of order have been held not to be such intervening business, it being essential that the pending matter be carried to a new stage in order to permit a repetition of the motion (V, 5709). |
| 919. Division of the question. | 5. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a question shall be divided on the demand of a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner before the question is put if it includes propositions so distinct in substance that, one being taken away, a substantive proposition remains. |
| Sec. 920. Motion to strike and insert not divisible. | (c) A motion to strike and insert is not divisible, but rejection of a motion to strike does not preclude another motion to amend. |
| Sec. 921. Principles governing the division of the question. | The principle that there must be at least two substantive propositions in order to justify division is insisted on rigidly (V, 6108-6113), because failure to do so produces difficulties (III, 1725). The question may not be divided after it has been put (V, 6162), or after the yeas and nays have been ordered (V, 6160, 6161); but division of the question may be demanded after the previous question is ordered (V, 5468, 6149; VIII, 3173). In passing on a demand for division the Chair considers only substantive propositions and not the merits of the question presented (V, 6122). It seems to be most proper, also, that the division should depend on grammatical structure rather than on the legislative propositions involved (I, 394; V, 6119), but a question presenting two propositions grammatically is not divisible if either does not constitute a substantive proposition when considered alone (VII, 3165). Thus a resolution censuring a Member and adopting a report of a committee thereon, which recommends censure on the basis of the committee's findings, is not divisible because those questions are substantially equivalent (Speaker O'Neill, Oct. 13, 1978, p. 37016); and an adjournment resolution that also authorizes the receipt of veto messages from the President during the adjournment is not subject to a division of the question, because the receipt authority would be nonsensical standing alone (June 30, 1976, p. 21702). However, a concurrent resolution on the budget is subject to a demand for a division of the question if, for example, the resolution grammatically and substantively relates to different fiscal years (May 7, 1980, pp. 10185-87), or includes a separate, hortatory section having its own grammatical and substantive meaning (Speaker Foley, Mar. 5, 1992, p. 4657). |
| 922. Amendments to text and to title. | 6. When an amendable proposition is under consideration, a motion to amend and a motion to amend that amend |
| Sec. 923. Conditions of the motion to amend. | It is not in order to offer more than one motion to amend of the same nature at a time (V, 5755; VIII, 2831), but the four motions specified by the rule may be pending at the same time (V, 5793; VIII, 2883, 2887). Where, pursuant to a special rule, a committee amendment in the nature of a substitute is being read as original text for purpose of amendment, there may be pending to that text the four stages of amendment permitted by this rule (Apr. 23, 1969, p. 10066). When a request for a recorded vote in the Committee of the Whole is postponed under authority of a special order of the House (such authority now found in clause 6(g) of rule XVIII), the amendment becomes unfinished business and is no longer pending, thereby permitting the offering of another amendment (May 10, 2000, p. 7513). An amendment in the third degree is not specified by the rule and is not permissible (V, 5754; VIII, 2580, 2888, 2891), even when the third degree is in the nature of a substitute for an amendment to a substitute (V, 5791; VIII, 2889). |
| Sec. 924. Relation of point of order to motion to amend. | Except as provided in clauses 4 and 5(a) of rule XXI, a point of order against an amendment is timely if made or reserved before formal recognition of the proponent to commence debate thereon (July 16, 1991, p. 18391; July 15, 1997, pp. 14492, 14493), but thereafter comes too late (V, |
| Sec. 925. Withdrawal of the motion to amend. | Although the rule provides that either an ordinary or substitute amendment may be withdrawn in the House (V, 5753) or ``in the House as in Committee of the Whole'' (IV, 4935; June 26, 1973, p. 21315), it may not be withdrawn or modified in Committee of the Whole except by unanimous consent (clause 5 of rule XVIII; V, 5221; VIII, 2564, 2859) unless withdrawal authority has been conferred by the House (July 22, 1999, p. 17291; Apr. 3, 2003, pp. 8490, 8491; Nov. 7, 2007, p. 30353). |
| Sec. 926. Precedence of the motion to amend. | Pursuant to clause 4 of rule XVI, the motion for the previous question takes precedence over a motion to amend (Nov. 8, 1971, p. 39944); and if the previous question is not ordered, the motion to refer also has precedence over the motion to amend (V, 5555; VI, 373). Amendments reported by a committee are acted on before those offered from the floor (V, 5773; VIII, 2862, 2863), but a floor amendment to the text of a pending section is considered before a committee amendment adding a new section at the end of the pending section (Oct. 4, 1972, pp. 33779-82), and there is a question as to the extent to which the chair of the committee reporting a bill should be recognized preferentially to offer amendments to perfect it over other Members (II, 1450). Amendments may not be offered by proxy (VIII, 2830). The motion to strike the enacting clause has precedence over the motion to amend, and may be offered while an amendment is pending (V, 5328-5331; VIII, 2622-2624); but the motion to amend takes precedence over a motion that the Committee of the Whole rise and report the bill with the recommendation that it pass (July 27, 1937, p. 7699). |
| Sec. 927. Relation of the motion to amend to other motions. | With some exceptions an amendment may attach itself to secondary or privileged motions (V, 5754). Thus, the motions to postpone, refer, amend, for a recess, and to fix the day to which the House shall adjourn may be amended (V, 5754; VIII, 2824). But the motions for the previous |
| 928. Germane amendments. | 7. No motion or proposition on a subject different from that under consideration shall be admitted under color of amendment. |
| Sec. 929. Proposition to which amendment must be germane. | Under the later practice an amendment should be germane to the particular paragraph or section to which it is offered (V, 5811-5820; VIII, 2922, 2936; Oct. 14, 1971, pp. 36194, 36211; Sept. 19, 1986, p. 24729), without reference to subject matter of other titles not yet read (July 31, 1990, p. 20816), and an amendment inserting an additional section should be germane to the portion of the bill to which it is offered (V, 5822; VIII, 2927, 2931; July 14, 1970, pp. 24033-35), though it may be germane to more than one portion of a bill (Mar. 27, 1974, p. 8508), and when offered as a separate paragraph is not required to be germane to the paragraph immediately preceding or following it (VII, 1162; VIII, 2932-2935). |
| Sec. 930. Instructions to committees and amendments thereto. | The rule that amendments must be germane applies to amendments to the instructions in a motion to instruct conferees (VIII, 3230, 3235), and the test of germaneness of an amendment to a motion to instruct conferees, in addition to the measurement of scope of conference, is the relationship of the amendment to the subject matter of the House or Senate version of the bill (Deschler-Brown, ch. 28, Sec. 28.2). The rule of germaneness similarly applies to the instructions in a motion to recommit a bill to a committee of the House, because it is not in order to propose as part of a motion to recommit any proposition that would not have been germane if proposed as an amendment to the bill in the House (V, 5529-5541; VIII, 2708-2712; Mar. 2, 1967, p. 5155), and the instructions must be germane to the bill as perfected in the House (Nov. 19, 1993, p. 30513), even if the instructions do not propose a direct amendment to the bill but merely direct the committee to pursue an unrelated approach (Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 2, 1978, p. 5272; July 16, 1991, p. 18397) or direct the committee not to report the bill back to the House until an unrelated contingency occurs (VIII, 2704). Under the same rationale as amendments to a motion to instruct conferees, amendments to a motion to recommit to a standing committee with instructions must be germane to the subject matter of the bill (see V, 6888; VIII, 2711). |
| Sec. 931. Senate amendments and matter contained in conference reports. | In the consideration of Senate amendments to a House bill an amendment must be germane to the particular Senate amendment to which it is offered (V, 6188-6191; VIII, 2936; May 14, 1963, p. 8506; Dec. 13, 1980, p. 34097), and it is not sufficient that an amendment to a Senate amendment is germane to the original House bill if it is not germane to the subject matter of a Senate amendment that merely inserts new matter and does not strike House provisions (V, 6188; VIII, 2936). But if a Senate amendment proposes to strike language in a House bill, the test of the germaneness of a motion to recede and concur with an amendment is the relationship between the language in the motion and the provisions in the House bill proposed to be stricken, as well as those to be inserted, by the Senate amendment (June 8, 1943, p. 5511; June 15, 1943, p. 5899; Dec. 12, 1974, p. 39272). The test of the germaneness of an amendment to a motion to concur in a Senate amendment with an amendment is the relationship between the amendment and the motion, and not between the amendment and the Senate amendment to which the motion has been offered (Aug. 3, 1973, Deschler-Brown, ch. 28, Sec. 27.6). Formerly, a Senate amendment was not subject to the point of order that it was not germane to the House bill (VIII, 3425), but under changes in the rules points of order may be made and separate votes demanded on portions of Senate amendments and conference reports containing language that would not have been germane if offered in the House. Clause 10 of rule XXII permits points of order against language in a conference report that was originally in the Senate bill or amendment and that would not have been germane if offered to the House-passed version, and permits a separate motion to reject such portion of the conference report if found nongermane (Oct. 15, 1986, p. 31498). For purposes of that rule, the House-passed version, against which Senate provisions are compared, is that finally committed to conference, taking into consideration all amendments adopted by the House, including House amendments to Senate amendments (July 28, 1983, p. 21401). Clause 10 of rule XXII permits points of order against motions to concur or concur with amendment in nongermane Senate amendments, the stage of disagreement having been reached, and, if such points of order are sustained, permits separate motions to reject such nongermane matter. Clause 10 of rule XXII is not applicable to a provision contained in a motion to recede and concur with an amendment (the stage of disagreement having been reached) that is not contained in any form in the Senate version, the only requirement in such circumstances being that the motion as a whole be germane to the Senate amendment as a whole under clause 7 of rule XVI (Oct. 4, 1978, pp. 33502-06; June 30, 1987, p. 18294). |
| Sec. 932. Subject matter as test of germaneness. | An amendment must relate to the subject matter under consideration. Thus, the following are not germane: to a bill seeking to eliminate wage discrimination based on the sex of the employee, an amendment to make the provisions of the bill applicable to discrimination based on race (July 25, 1962, p. 14778); to a bill establishing an office in the Department of the Interior to manage biological information, an amendment addressing socioeconomic matters (Oct. 26, 1993, p. 26082); to a bill authorizing military assistance to Israel and funds for the United Nations emergency force in the Middle East, an amendment expressing the sense of Congress that the President conduct negotiations to obtain a peace treaty in the Middle East and the resumption of diplomatic and trade relations between Arab nations and the United States and Israel (Dec. 11, 1973, p. 40842); to a concurrent resolution expressing congressional concern over certain domestic policies of a foreign government and urging that government to improve those internal problems in order to enhance better relations with the United States, amendments expressing the necessity for United States diplomatic initiatives as a consequence of that foreign government's policies (July 12, 1978, pp. 20500-05); to a resolution amending several clauses of a rule of the House but confined in its scope to the issue of access to committee hearings and meetings, an amendment to another clause of that rule relating to committee staffing (Mar. 7, 1973, p. 6714); to a title of a bill that only addresses the administrative structure of a new department and not its authority to carry out transferred programs, an amendment prohibiting the department from withholding funds to carry out certain objectives (June 12, 1979, p. 14485); to an amendment authorizing the use of funds for a specific study, an amendment naming any program established in the bill for an unrelated purpose for a specified Senator (Aug. 15, 1986, p. 22075); to one of two reconciliation bills reported by the Committee on the Budget, an amendment making a prospective indirect change to the other reconciliation bill not then pending before the House (June 25, 1997, p. 12488); to a joint resolution continuing appropriations for the current fiscal year, a motion to recommit with instructions to revise the reconciliation instructions in the concurrent resolution on the budget (Sept. 29, 2005, p. 21795); to a general appropriation bill, an amendment in the form of a limitation on funds therein for activities unrelated to the functions of departments and agencies addressed by the bill (July 10, 2000, p. 13605); to a bill reauthorizing the National Sea Grant College Program, a proposal to amend existing law to provide for automatic continuation of appropriations in the absence of timely enactment of a regular appropriation bill (June 18, 1997, p. 11333); to a bill regulating immigration, an amendment reaffirming an agreement with Japan (VIII, 3050); to a bill opposing concessional loans to a country and outlining principles governing the conduct of industrial cooperation projects of U.S. nationals in that country, an amendment waiving provisions of other law by requiring changes in tariff schedules to achieve overall trade reciprocity between that country |
| Sec. 933. Fundamental purpose as test of germaneness. | The fundamental purpose of an amendment must be germane to the fundamental purpose of the bill (VIII, 2911). The Chair discerns the fundamental purpose of a bill by examining the text of the bill and its report language (Deschler-Brown, ch. 28, Sec. 5.6; Aug. 3, 1999, p. 19213), rather than the motives that circumstances may suggest (V, 5783, 5803; Dec. 13, 1973, pp. 41267-69; Aug. 15, 1974, p. 28438). To a bill that comprehensively addresses a subject, an amendment that relates to that subject matter may not be ruled out as nongermane merely because the amendment may be characterized as private legislation benefitting certain individuals offered to a public bill (May 30, 1984, p. 14495). Similarly, to a bill proposing to accomplish a result by methods comprehensive in scope, an amendment in the nature of a substitute seeking to achieve the same result was held germane where it was shown that additional provisions not con |
| Sec. 934. Committee jurisdiction as test of germaneness. | An amendment when considered as a whole should be within the jurisdiction of the committee reporting the bill (Jan. 29, 1976, p. 1582; July 25, 1979, pp. 20601-03; June 27, 1985, pp. 17417-19), although committee jurisdiction over the subject of an amendment and of the original bill is not the exclusive test of germaneness (Aug. 2, 1973, pp. 27673-75), and the Chair relates the amendment to the bill in its perfected form (Aug. 17, 1972, p. 28913). Thus, the following are not germane: to a bill reported |
| Sec. 935. Various tests of germaneness are not exclusive. | The standards by which the germaneness of an amendment may be measured, as set forth in Sec. Sec. 932-934, supra, are not exclusive; an amendment and the matter to which offered may be related to some degree under the tests of subject matter, purpose, and jurisdiction, and still not be considered germane under the precedents. Thus, the following have been held not to be germane: to a proposition relating to terms of Senators, an amendment changing the manner of their election (V, 5882); to a bill relating to commerce between the States, an amendment relating to commerce within the several States (V, 5841); to a proposition to relieve destitute citizens of the United States in Cuba, a proposition declaring a state of war in Cuba and proclaiming neutrality (V, 5897); to a proposition for the appointment of a select committee to investigate a certain subject, an amendment proposing an inquiry of the executive on that subject (V, 5891); to a bill granting a right of way to a railroad, an amendment providing for the purchase of the railroad by the Government (V, 5887); to a provision for the erection of a building for a mint, an amendment to change the coinage laws (V, 5884); to a resolution proposing expulsion, an amendment proposing censure (VI, 236); to a resolution authorizing the administration of the oath to a Member-elect, an amendment authorizing such oath administration but adding several conditions of punishment predicated on acts committed in a prior Congress (Jan. 3, 1969, pp. 23- 25); to a general tariff bill, an amendment creating a tariff board (May 6, 1913, p. 1234; Speaker Clark, May 8, 1913, p. 1381); to a proposition to sell two battleships and build a new battleship with the proceeds, a proposition to devote the proceeds to building wagon roads (VIII, 2973); to a bill authorizing a State attorney general to bring a civil action in Federal court against a person who has violated a State law regulating intoxicating liquor, an amendment singling out certain violations of liquor laws on the basis of their regard for any and all firearms issues (Aug. 3, 1999, p. 19213). |
| Sec. 936. One individual proposition not germane to another. | One individual proposition may not be amended by another individual proposition even though the two belong to the same class (VIII, 2951-2953, 2963-2966, 3047; Jan. 29, 1986, p. 684; Oct. 22, 1990, p. 32346; Oct. 24, 1991, p. 28561). Thus, the following are not germane: to a bill proposing the admission of one territory into the Union, an amendment for admission of another territory (V, 5529); to a bill amending a law in one particular, amending the law in another particular (VIII, 2949); to a proposition to appropriate or to authorize appropriations for only one year (and containing no provisions extending beyond that year), an amendment to extend the authorization or appropriation to another year (VIII, 2913; Nov. 13, 1980, pp. 29523-28; see also May 2, 1979, p. 9564; Oct. 12, 1979, pp. 28097-99; June 20, 2001, pp. 11233, 11234); to a measure continuing appropria |
| Sec. 937. A general provision not germane to a specific subject. | A specific subject may not be amended by a provision general in nature, even when of the class of the specific subject (V, 5843-5846; VIII, 2997, 2998; July 31, 1985, pp. 21832-34; see also Deschler-Brown, ch. 28, Sec. 9). Thus the following are not germane: to a bill for the admission of one territory into the Union, an amendment providing for the admission of several other territories (V, 5837); to a bill relating to all corporations engaged in interstate commerce, an amendment relating to all corporations (V, 5842); to a bill proscribing certain picketing in the District of Columbia, an amendment making the provisions thereof applicable throughout the United States (Aug. 22, 1966, p. 20113); to a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution prohibiting the United States or any State from denying persons 18 years of age or older the right to vote, an amendment requiring the United States and all States to treat persons 18 years and older as having reached the age of majority for all purposes under the law (Mar. 23, 1971, p. 7567); to a bill dealing with enforcement of United Nations sanctions against one country in relation to a specific trade commodity, an amendment imposing United States sanctions against all countries for all commodities and communications (Mar. 14, 1977, p. 7446); to a bill to enable a department to investigate and prosecute fraud and abuse in medicare and medicaid health programs, an amendment to prohibit any officer or employee from disclosing any identifiable medical record absent patient approval (Sept. 23, 1977, pp. 30534-35); to an amendment to a budget resolution changing one functional category only, an amendment changing several other categories and covering an additional fiscal year (May 2, 1979, pp. 9556-64); to a bill authorizing funds for radio broadcasting to Cuba, an amendment to include broadcasting to all dictatorships in the Caribbean Basin (Aug. 10, 1982, p. 20256); to a bill relating to aircraft altitude over units of the National Park System, an amendment relating to aircraft collision avoidance generally (Sept. 18, 1986, p. 24084); to a proposition prohibiting the use of funds appropriated for a fiscal year for a specified purpose, an amendment prohibiting the use of funds appropriated for that or any prior fiscal year for an unrelated purpose (June 30, 1987, p. 18294); to a proposition providing for a training vessel for one state maritime academy, an amendment relating to training vessels for all state maritime academies (June 30, 1987, p. 18296); to a proposition waiving a requirement in existing law that an authorizing law be enacted before the obligation of certain funds, an amendment affirmatively enacting bills containing not only that authorization but also other policy mat |
| Sec. 938. Specific subjects germane to general propositions of the class. | A general subject may be amended by specific propositions of the same class (VIII, 3002, 3009, 3012; see also Deschler-Brown, ch. 28, Sec. 11). Thus, the following have been held to be germane: to a bill admitting several territories into the Union, an amendment adding another territory (V, 5838); to a bill providing for the construction of buildings in each of two cities, an amendment providing for similar buildings in several other cities (V, 5840); to a resolution embodying two distinct phases of international relationship, an amendment embodying a third (V, 5839); to an amendment prohibiting indirect assistance to several countries, an amendment to include additional countries within that prohibition (Aug. 3, 1978, p. 24244); to a portion of a bill providing two categories of economic assistance to foreign countries, an amendment adding a further specific category (Apr. 9, 1979, pp. 7755-57); to a bill bringing two new categories within the coverage of existing law, an amendment to include a third category of the same class (Nov. 27, 1967, p. 33769); to a proposition providing for prepayment of loans by those within a certain class of borrowers who meet a specified criterion, a proposed House amendment eliminating the criterion to broaden the applicability of the Senate amendment to additional borrowers within the same class (June 30, 1987, p. 18308); to an amendment addressing a range of criminal prohibitions, an amendment addressing another criminal prohibition within that range (Oct. 17, 1991, p. 26767); to a bill addressing violent crimes, an amendment addressing violent crimes involving the environment (May 7, 1996, p. 10344). |
| Sec. 939. Amendments to bills amending existing law. | To a bill amending a general law on a specific point an amendment relating to the terms of the law rather than to those of the bill was ruled not to be germane (V, 5808; VIII, 2707, 2708). Thus a bill amending several sections of one title of the United States Code does not necessarily bring the entire title under consideration so as to permit an amendment to any portion thereof (Oct. 11, 1967, p. 28649), and if a bill amends existing law in one narrow particular, an amendment proposing to modify such existing law in other particulars will generally be ruled out as not germane (Aug. 16, 1967, p. 22768; VIII, 2709, 2839, 3013, 3031; May 12, 1976, p. 13532). To a bill narrowly amending an anti-discrimination provision in the Education Amendments of 1972 only to clarify the definition of a discriminating entity subject to denial of Federal funding, amendments re-defining a class of discrimination (sex), expanding the definition of persons who are the subject of discrimination (to include the unborn), and deeming a new entity (Congress) to be a recipient of Federal assistance (a class not necessarily included in the class covered by the bill), were ruled not to be germane (June 26, 1984, pp. 18847, 18857, 18861). But to the same bill, an amendment merely defining a word used in the bill was held ger |