    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 115th Congress]
    [115th Congress]
    [House Document 114-192]
    [Rules of the House of Representatives]
    [Pages 623-638]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                    Rule XII

    Messages
                  receipt and referral of measures and matters

    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.

      This provision was adopted in 1867 and amended in 1880 (V, 6593). It
    was renumbered January 3, 1953 (p. 24). Before the House recodified its
    rules in the 106th Congress, this provision was found in former rule
    XXXIX (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47).

    Referral
      The House may receive a message from the Senate when the Senate is not
    in session (VIII, 3338).

    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.

    [[Page 624]]

      (b) The Speaker shall refer matters under paragraph (a) in such manner
    as to ensure to the maximum extent feasible that each committee that has
    jurisdiction under clause 1 of rule X over the subject matter of a
    provision thereof may consider such provision and report to the House
    thereon. Precedents, rulings, or procedures in effect before the Ninety-
    Fourth Congress shall be applied to referrals under this clause only to
    the extent that they will contribute to the achievement of the
    objectives of this clause.

      (c) In carrying out paragraphs (a) and (b) with respect to the
    referral of a matter, the Speaker--

          (1) shall designate a committee of primary jurisdiction (except
    where the Speaker determines that extraordinary circumstances justify
    review by more than one committee as though primary);

          (2) may refer the matter to one or more additional committees for
    consideration in sequence, either initially or after the matter has been
    reported by the committee of primary jurisdiction;

          (3) may refer portions of the matter reflecting different subjects
    and jurisdictions to one or more additional committees;

          (4) may refer the matter to a special, ad hoc committee appointed
    by the Speaker with the approval of the House, and including members of
    the committees of jurisdiction, for the specific purpose of considering
    that matter and reporting to the House thereon;

          (5) may subject a referral to appropriate time limitations; and

          (6) may make such other provision as may be considered
    appropriate.

    [[Page 625]]

    in each referral of a measure to more than one committee (sec. 205, H.
    Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 467). In the 108th Congress the parenthetical
    exception in paragraph (c)(1) was added (sec. 2(i), H. Res. 5, Jan. 7,
    2003, p. 7). A paragraph (e) was added to the clause on January 4, 1977
    (H. Res. 5, pp. 53-70) to abolish the legislative jurisdiction in the
    House of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. The legislative
    jurisdiction of the Joint Committee was divided among the Committees on
    Armed Services (military applications of nuclear energy), Interior and
    Insular Affairs (now Natural Resources) (regulation of the domestic
    nuclear energy industry, since transferred to the Committee on Energy
    and Commerce in the 104th Congress), Foreign Affairs (nonproliferation
    of nuclear energy and international nuclear export agreements),
    Interstate and Foreign Commerce (now Energy and Commerce) (the same
    jurisdiction over nuclear energy as exercised over other energy), and
    Science, Space, and Technology (nondefense nuclear research and
    development). In addition, the Committee on Interstate and Foreign
    Commerce (now Energy and Commerce) was given oversight jurisdiction over
    all laws, programs, and government activities affecting nuclear energy.
    Paragraph (e) was deleted entirely in the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan.
    5, 1981, p. 98). At the same time the House deleted former paragraph
    (d), which required the Congressional Research Service of the Library of
    Congress to prepare factual descriptions of each bill or resolution
    introduced in the House to be published in the Congressional Record. A
    gender-based reference was eliminated in the 111th Congress (sec. 2(l),
    H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2009, p. 7). Before the House recodified its rules in
    the 106th Congress, this provision was found in former clause 5 of rule
    X (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47).
      This provision became effective as part of the rules on January 3,
    1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470). Before that time
    a bill or resolution could not be divided for reference among two or
    more committees, although it contained matter properly within the
    jurisdiction of several committees (IV, 4361). Paragraph (c) was amended
    on January 4, 1977 (H. Res. 5, pp. 53-70) to authorize the Speaker to
    place an appropriate time limit for consideration by the first committee
    or committees to which referred. In the 104th Congress paragraph (c) was
    again amended to require the Speaker to initially designate a committee
    of primary jurisdiction

      An order of the House precluding or limiting the potential for
    organizational or legislative business on certain days was considered
    not to deprive Members of the privilege of introducing bills and
    resolutions during pro forma sessions on those days, such measures being
    numbered on the day introduced but not noted in the Record or referred
    to committee until the day on which business was resumed (H. Con. Res.
    260, Nov. 26, 1991, p. 35840, extended by unanimous consent on Jan. 22,
    1992, p. 149, and Jan. 28, 1992, p. 745; H. Res. 619, Dec. 16, 2005, p.
    29054, amended by H. Res. 640, Dec. 18, 2005, p. 30378; H. Res. 877,
    Dec. 18, 2007, p. 35825).

    [[Page 626]]

    certain period after the other committee reports to the House (Speaker
    O'Neill, Jan. 27, 1983, p. 937; Speaker O'Neill, Feb. 2, 1983, p. 1492;
    Speaker Wright, Apr. 9, 1987, p. 8665) or with a time limit on one
    committee ending with a date certain (Speaker O'Neill, July 31, 1985, p.
    21936; Speaker Hastert, Mar. 13, 2001, p. 3448; Speaker Hastert, July
    26, 2002, p. 15146). The Speaker may discharge a committee from further
    consideration of a bill not reported by it within the time for which the
    bill was referred and place the bill on the appropriate calendar
    (Speaker O'Neill, May 8, 1978, p. 12924).
      Under clause 2(c), the Speaker may (1) refer a bill to more than one
    committee for their respective consideration of such provisions of the
    bill as fall within their jurisdiction (Speaker Albert, Feb. 25, 1976,
    p. 4315), (2) divide a matter for initial referral to committees
    (Speaker Albert, Feb. 4, 1975, p. 2253; Speaker Hastert, Apr. 26, 1999,
    p. 7354), or (3) refer designated portions of a bill to one committee
    while referring the entire bill to another committee (Speaker O'Neill,
    Mar. 3, 1982, p. 3155). The Speaker also may set appropriate time
    limitations on the initial referral to each committee (Speaker O'Neill,
    Feb. 16, 1977, p. 4532; Speaker O'Neill, May 2, 1977, p. 13184). For
    example, the Speaker may refer a bill to two committees, with a time
    limit on one of the committees ending within a

      Before paragraph (c) was amended in the 104th Congress to require the
    Speaker to designate a committee of primary jurisdiction, the Speaker
    announced at the convening of the 98th Congress that he would exercise
    his authority, in situations that warranted it, to designate a primary
    committee among those to which a bill was jointly referred, and to
    impose time limits on committees having a secondary interest following
    the report of the primary committee under a joint referral (Speaker
    O'Neill, Jan. 3, 1983, p. 54; reiterated by Speaker Foley, Jan. 5, 1993,
    p. 105). The Speaker may refer a bill primarily to one committee while
    also referring it initially to additional committees for time periods to
    be subsequently determined when the primary committee reports, in each
    case for consideration of matters within their respective jurisdictions
    (Speaker Gingrich, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 564).

      Pursuant to clause 2 of rule XIV (formerly clause 2 of rule XXIV),
    relating to messages from the Senate, the Speaker has discretionary
    authority to refer from the Speaker's table to standing committees
    Senate amendments to House-passed bills, under any conditions permitted
    under this provision for introduced bills. The Speaker may for example
    impose a time limitation for consideration only of a portion of the
    Senate amendment, not germane to the original House bill, by the
    standing committee with subject-matter jurisdiction, without referring
    the remainder of the Senate amendment to the House committee with
    jurisdiction over the original House bill (Speaker O'Neill, H.R. 31,
    Mar. 26, 1981, p. 5397). Beginning with the 98th Congress, the Speaker
    announced a policy of referring nongermane Senate amendments under
    certain conditions (Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 3, 1983, p. 54; Speaker Foley,
    Jan. 5, 1993, p. 105). In modern practice, the Speaker does not refer
    Senate amendments.

    [[Page 627]]

    Commerce to the Committee on the Judiciary for a specified time for
    consideration of ``such provisions of the bill and amendment recommended
    by the Committee on Energy and Commerce as propose to narrow the purview
    of the Attorney General under section 271 of the Communications Act of
    1934'' (Speaker Hastert, May 24, 2001, p. 9384). The Speaker exercised
    authority under this clause to sequentially refer a joint resolution
    making continuing appropriations, reported as privileged by the
    Committee on Appropriations, to the committee having legislative
    jurisdiction over a legislative provision in the resolution, without a
    time limitation on the sequential referral (Speaker O'Neill, Sept. 22,
    1983, p. 25523).

    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

      The Speaker has sometimes announced the application of the authority
    on sequential referrals at the outset of a Congress. For example, in the
    97th Congress, the Speaker announced that the sequential referral of a
    measure would be based on the subject matter of any amendment
    recommended by the reporting committee, as well as upon the original
    text of the measure (Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 5, 1981, pp. 115, 116). In
    the 100th Congress, the Speaker announced that, in certain cases, a
    sequential referral would be based only upon the text of a reported
    substitute amendment in lieu of original text (Speaker Wright, Jan. 6,
    1987, p. 22). The Speaker has sequentially referred: (1) a bill for
    consideration of the bill and amendment of the previous committee
    (Speaker O'Neill, Oct. 13, 1977, p. 33716); (2) a bill to two committees
    for different periods of time, solely for consideration of designated
    sections of the first committee's recommended amendment (Speaker
    O'Neill, May 18, 1982, p. 10418; Speaker O'Neill, Aug. 1, 1985, p.
    22681); (3) a bill for consideration by a third committee of a portion
    of an amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by one of the
    committees to which the bill had been initially referred (Speaker
    O'Neill, May 22, 1985, p. 13126); (4) a bill back to the first-reporting
    committee when it was reported from the second-reporting committee with
    a nongermane amendment within the jurisdiction of the first committee
    and not within the bounds of the initial referral (Speaker Wright, Oct.
    4, 1988, p. 28242). The Speaker also may base a sequential referral only
    on the text of the bill as introduced, even if a bill is reported by the
    primary committee with an amendment in the nature of a substitute
    (Speaker Gingrich, Sept. 12, 1995, p. 24791). For example, the Speaker
    sequentially referred a bill where the amendment recommended by the
    primary committee would delete portions of the bill within the
    jurisdiction of the sequential committee (Speaker Hastert, May 10, 1999,
    p. 8690).

    [[Page 628]]

    ture), relating only to Corps of Engineers' water projects as introduced
    but amended in committee to address general water resource policy
    affecting irrigation and reclamation projects and soil conservation
    programs, to the Committees on Agriculture and Interior and Insular
    Affairs (now Natural Resources) for consideration of provisions of the
    committee amendment within their jurisdiction (Speaker O'Neill, May 20,
    1981, p. 10361).
      In the 96th Congress, the Speaker followed a more restrictive policy,
    permitting a sequential committee to review (1) those portions of
    introduced text within its jurisdiction and (2) those portions of an
    amendment within its jurisdiction when the introduced version also
    warranted a sequential referral to the committee (Speaker O'Neill, Apr.
    15, 1980, p. 7760). The Speaker first exercised the authority to base
    referrals on committee amendments by sequentially referring a bill
    reported from the Committee on Public Works and Transportation (now
    Transportation and Infrastruc

      The Speaker may: (1) discharge a measure from the Union Calendar and
    sequentially refer it to another committee (Speaker O'Neill, Apr. 27,
    1978, p. 11742; Speaker O'Neill, May 21, 1982, p. 11169; Speaker
    O'Neill, June 19, 1986, p. 14741; Speaker Foley, June 12, 1990, p.
    13670; Speaker Hastert, Nov. 30, 2001, p. 23681); (2) sequentially refer
    a bill that has been initially referred to several committees but
    reported only by one, for consideration of the reporting committee's
    amendment (Speaker O'Neill, June 17, 1982, p. 14069; Speaker Foley,
    Sept. 5, 1990, p. 23477); and (3) sequentially refer a bill referred to
    more than one committee when the first committee reports, for a period
    ending a number of days after the next committee reports (Speaker
    O'Neill, Aug. 1, 1985, p. 22681), or after all committees report
    (Speaker Wright, June 10, 1988, p. 14079).

      The Speaker may: (1) extend the time of a sequentially referred bill
    and may refer the bill to yet another committee under the same
    sequential referral conditions (Speaker Albert, June 1, 1976, p. 16588);
    (2) delimit the period for sequential consideration of a bill in terms
    of legislative days (Speaker Wright, June 30, 1988, p. 16597); or (3)
    sequentially refer a bill without day (Speaker Wright, Sept. 27, 1988,
    p. 25827). On the last day of an expiring sequential referral, a
    committee has until midnight to file its report with the Clerk (Oct. 9,
    1991, p. 26045).

    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), 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).

      Pursuant to the authority under paragraph (c)(4), the Speaker may
    refer a bill to a special ad hoc committee appointed by the Speaker with
    the approval of the House (from the members of the committees with
    legislative jurisdiction) for consideration and report on that
    particular bill (Speaker Albert, Apr. 22, 1975, p. 11261) or may jointly
    refer a report of a select committee filed with the Clerk to standing
    committees of the House for their study (Speaker Albert, Feb. 16, 1976,
    p. 3158).

    [[Page 629]]

    by this clause (H. Res. 508, Apr. 21, 1977, pp. 11550-56; Speaker
    O'Neill, July 11, 1977, p. 22183; Speaker O'Neill, July 20, 1977, p.
    24167). For a discussion of Speaker's referrals to the former Select
    Committees on Homeland Security, see Sec. 723b, supra.
      The Speaker may refer to an ad hoc committee, established with the
    approval of the House, bills, resolutions, and other matters (including
    messages and communications) for the purpose of considering such matters
    and reporting to the House thereon, and the resolution creating such a
    committee may specify whether referrals to such a committee shall be by
    initial or sequential reference or by any of the other methods provided

      Clause 7 provides the mechanism for changes of referrals erroneously
    made.

    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.

      The present form of this paragraph was made effective January 2, 1947,
    as a part of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812).
    It was amended several times to conform references to renamed committees
    (H. Res. 163, Mar. 19, 1975, p. 7343; H. Res. 89, Feb. 5, 1979, p. 1848;
    sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 467; sec. 213(d), H. Res. 6,
    Jan. 4, 2007, p. 19). The old rule, adopted in 1885 and amended May 29,
    1936, provided that private claims bills be referred to a Committee on
    Invalid Pensions, Claims, War Claims, Public Lands, and Accounts, in
    addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs and the Judiciary. Certain
    private bills, resolutions and amendments are barred (see Sec. 822,
    infra). Before the House recodified its rules in the 106th Congress,
    this provision was found in former clause 4 of rule XXI (H. Res. 5, Jan.
    6, 1999, p. 47).

    [[Page 630]]

    Petitions, memorials, and private bills
      Under this paragraph unanimous consent is required for the reference
    of a bill for the payment of a private claim to a committee other than
    the Committee on the Judiciary or the Committee on Foreign Affairs (May
    4, 1978, p. 12615). The Committee on the Judiciary, and not the
    Committee on Ways and Means, has jurisdiction over a private bill
    specifying that a certain annuity fund is exempt from taxation under
    provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (Deschler, ch. 17, Sec. 43.22).

    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.

      At the first organization of the House in 1789 the rules then adopted
    provided for the presentation of petitions to the House by the Speaker
    and Members, and for the introduction of bills by motion for leave. In
    1842 it was found necessary, in order to save time, to provide that
    petitions and memorials should be filed with the Clerk. In 1870, 1879,
    and 1887 the practice as to petitions was extended to private bills, at
    first as to certain classes and later so that all should be filed with
    the Clerk (IV, 3312, 3365; VII, 1024). A gender-based reference was
    eliminated in the 111th Congress (sec. 2(l), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2009, p.
    7). Before the House recodified its rules in the 106th Congress, this
    provision was found in former clause 1 of rule XXII (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6,
    1999, p. 47).

    [[Page 631]]

    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). The House in the 114th and 115th Congresses required that
    petitions from state legislatures purporting to call for constitutional
    conventions or to rescind such calls be made publicly available (sec.
    3(c), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2015, p. l; sec. 3(d), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2017,
    p. _).

    Sec. 822. Certain private bills prohibited.

      4. A  private
    bill or private resolution (including an omnibus claim or pension bill),
    or amendment thereto, may not be received or considered in the House if
    it authorizes or directs--

          (a) the payment of money for property damages, for personal
    injuries or death for which suit may be instituted under the Tort Claims
    Procedure provided in title 28, United States Code, or for a pension
    (other than to carry out a provision of law or treaty stipulation);

          (b) the construction of a bridge across a navigable stream; or

          (c) the correction of a military or naval record.

    Prohibition on commemorations
      This paragraph derives from section 131 of the Legislative
    Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812) and was made a part of the
    standing rules January 3, 1953 (p. 24). Before the House recodified its
    rules in the 106th Congress, this provision was found in former clause
    2(a) of rule XXII (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47). The prohibition
    relating to correction of a military record does not apply to a private
    bill that changes the computation of retired pay for a former member of
    the armed services (after exhaustion of administrative remedies) but
    does not directly correct the military record (Sept. 18, 1984, p.
    25824).

    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.

    [[Page 632]]

      (b) In this clause the term ``commemoration'' means a remembrance,
    celebration, or recognition for any purpose through the designation of a
    specified period of time.

    Excluded matters
      The 104th Congress added the prohibition against commemorative
    legislation and directed the Committee on Government Reform and
    Oversight (now Oversight and Government Reform) to consider alternative
    means for establishing commemorations, including the creation of an
    independent or executive branch commission for such purpose, and to
    report to the House any recommendations thereon (sec. 216, H. Res. 6,
    Jan. 4, 1995, p. 468). No recommendations were reported. Before the
    House recodified its rules in the 106th Congress, this provision was
    found in former clause 2(b) of rule XXII (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p.
    47). The House by unanimous consent waived the prohibition against
    introduction of a certain joint resolution specified by sponsor and
    title proposing a commemoration (which was contained in the resolving
    clause and not merely in the preamble) (Oct. 24, 2001, p. 20545).

    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.

      This clause of the rule was first adopted in 1880, although the
    portion relating to the return of certain petitions and bills was
    adapted from an older rule of 1842 (IV, 3312, 3365). In the 104th
    Congress it was amended to conform to the new prohibition against
    commemorative legislation (sec. 216, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 468).
    Before the House recodified its rules in the 106th Congress, this
    provision was found in former clause 3 of rule XXII (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6,
    1999, p. 47).

    [[Page 633]]

    of order may not be raised as to jurisdiction (IV, 4390, 4391; VII,
    2131). The Speaker may correct the erroneous referral of a bill as
    private by referring it to the appropriate (Union) calendar as a public
    bill when reported (June 1, 1988, p. 13184).

    Sponsorship
      Errors in reference of petitions, memorials, or private bills are
    corrected at the Clerk's table, without action by the House, at the
    suggestion of the committee holding possession (IV, 4379). As provided
    in the rule, the erroneous reference of a private House bill does not
    confer jurisdiction, and a point of order is good when the bill comes up
    for consideration either in the House or in the Committee of the Whole
    (IV, 4382-4389). But in cases where the House itself refers a private
    House or Senate bill a point

    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.

    [[Page 634]]

      (b)(1) The sponsor of a public bill or public resolution may name
    cosponsors. The name of a cosponsor added after the initial printing of
    a bill or resolution shall appear in the next printing of the bill or
    resolution on the written request of the sponsor. Such a request may be
    submitted to the Speaker at any time until the last committee authorized
    to consider and report the bill or resolution reports it to the House or
    is discharged from its consideration.

      (2) The name of a cosponsor of a bill or resolution may be deleted by
    unanimous consent. The Speaker may entertain such a request only by the
    Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner whose name is to be deleted
    or by the sponsor of the bill or resolution, and only until the last
    committee authorized to consider and report the bill or resolution
    reports it to the House or is discharged from its consideration. The
    Speaker may not entertain a request to delete the name of the sponsor of
    a bill or resolution. A deletion shall be indicated by date in the next
    printing of the bill or resolution.

      (3) The addition or deletion of the name of a cosponsor of a bill or
    resolution shall be entered on the Journal and printed in the
    Congressional Record of that day.

      (4) A bill or resolution shall be reprinted on the written request of
    the sponsor. Such a request may be submitted to the Speaker only when 20
    or more cosponsors have been added since the last printing of the bill
    or resolution.

      The rule of 1789 provided that all bills should be introduced on
    report of a committee or by motion for leave. By various modifications
    it was first provided that all classes of private bills should be
    introduced by filing them with the Clerk, and in 1890 this system was by
    this rule extended to all public bills (IV, 3365). In the 105th and
    107th Congresses paragraph (a) was amended, and in the 112th Congress
    paragraph (b) was amended, to effect technical corrections (H. Res. 5,
    Jan. 7, 1997, p. 121; sec. 2(x), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2001, p. 26; sec.
    2(f), H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 2011, p. 80). Before the House recodified its
    rules in the 106th Congress, this provision was found in former clause 4
    of rule XXII (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47).

    [[Page 635]]

    order, but extended the applicable time to the entire first session
    (sec. 3(d), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2001, p. 24; sec. 3(c), H. Res. 5, Jan.
    7, 2003, p. 7). In the 108th Congress, the House by unanimous consent
    extended such authority through the remainder of the Congress (Oct. 4,
    2004, p. 20566). In the 109th through 111th Congresses the House adopted
    the same initial order but for the entire Congress (sec. 3(c), H. Res.
    5, Jan. 4, 2005, p. 44; sec. 217, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 2007, p. 19; sec.
    3(d), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2009, p. 9) and the House in the 112th through
    115th Congresses expanded it to reserve the second 10 bill numbers for
    assignment by the Minority Leader (sec. 3(m), H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 2011,
    p. 80; sec. 3(h), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2013, p. _; sec. 3(l), H. Res. 5,
    Jan. 6, 2015, p. _; sec. 3(k), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2017, p. _).
      At its organization for the 106th Congress the House adopted an order
    of the House that the first 10 bill numbers be reserved for assignment
    by the Speaker during a specified period (sec. 2(g), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6,
    1999, p. 47). In the 107th and 108th Congresses the House adopted the
    same

      The motion for a change of reference and subsidiary motions take
    precedence over motions to go into the Committee of the Whole for the
    consideration of appropriation bills and the consideration of conference
    reports (VII, 2124), and may not be debated (VII, 2126-2128). But the
    motion is not in order on Calendar Wednesday (VII, 2117), and is not
    privileged under the rule if the original reference was not erroneous
    (VII, 2125). The motion may be amended, but the amendment, like the
    original motion, is subject to the requirement that it be authorized by
    the committee (VII, 2127). The motion must apply to a single bill and
    not to a class of bills (VII, 2125).

      According to the later practice the erroneous reference of a public
    bill, if it remain uncorrected, in effect gives jurisdiction to the
    committee receiving it (IV, 4365-4371; VII, 1489, 2108-2113; VIII,
    2312). It is too late to move a change of reference after such committee
    has reported the bill (VII, 2110; VIII, 2312), but the Speaker may,
    pursuant to authority granted by clause 2 (formerly clause 5 of rule X)
    effective January 3, 1975 (H. Res. 988, 93d Cong., Oct. 8, 1974, p.
    34470), refer a bill sequentially to other committees. All bills and
    resolutions must be signed by the sponsor thereof (Speaker Albert, Feb.
    3, 1972, p. 2521).

      Joint sponsorship of public bills by not more than 25 Members was
    authorized in the 90th Congress (H. Res. 42, Apr. 25, 1967, p. 10712).
    Prior thereto a special committee had reported against this practice and
    the report had been adopted by the House (VII, 1029). Effective January
    3, 1979 (H. Res. 86, 95th Cong., Oct. 10, 1978, p. 34929), paragraph (b)
    was added to allow unlimited cosponsorship and to provide a mechanism
    for Members to add their names as cosponsors to bills or resolutions
    that have already been introduced, up until the bill is finally reported
    from committee, and on January 15, 1979, the Speaker announced his
    directive for the processing of lists of cosponsors pursuant to the new
    clause (Speaker O'Neill, Jan. 15, 1979, p. 19).

    [[Page 636]]

    9, 1982). In the 106th Congress, paragraph (b)(2) codified that such
    requests could be made by either the sponsor or the cosponsor (H. Res.
    5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47). Unanimous-consent requests to delete Members'
    names as cosponsors are not entertained after the last committee of
    referral has reported to the House (or has been discharged from further
    consideration) (Oct. 8, 1985, p. 26668; Feb. 10, 2000, p. 982), and the
    Speaker has vacated unanimous-consent orders of the House to delete
    cosponsors when advised that the bill had already been reported (Aug. 5,
    1987, p. 22458; June 17, 2013, p. _). A Member may request unanimous
    consent to be deleted as a cosponsor of an unreported bill during its
    consideration under suspension of the rules and before a final vote
    thereon is taken (June 9, 1986, pp. 12976, 12979; July 14, 2015, p. _).
      Although paragraph (b)(2), before the 106th Congress, permitted only a
    cosponsoring Member to request unanimous consent to be deleted as a
    cosponsor, the sponsor of a measure was permitted to request unanimous
    consent to remove a cosponsor inadvertently or erroneously listed (Feb.

      By unanimous consent a Member may be added as a cosponsor of an
    unreported bill if the sponsor is no longer a Member of the House (Aug.
    4, 1983, p. 23188; Oct. 3, 2008, p. 24009), and a designated Member may
    be authorized to sign and submit lists of additional cosponsors if the
    actual sponsor is no longer a Member (e.g., June 23, 1989, p. 13271;
    Apr. 5, 2000, p. 4487; June 20, 2001, p. 11196; Sept. 21, 2004, p.
    18827), but the Chair will not otherwise entertain a unanimous-consent
    request to add cosponsors (Mar. 5, 1991, p. 5026; July 24, 2000, p.
    15878), whether such request includes only the Member making the request
    (Oct. 25, 1995, p. 29352), includes all Members (Dec. 18, 1985, p.
    37765), or includes a specified additional sponsor (Jan. 28, 1985, p.
    1141; May 23, 1985, p. 13421). Such requests must be made by the sponsor
    through the hopper not later than the last day on which any committee is
    authorized to consider and report the measure to the House (Nov. 4,
    1997, p. 24413).

      The Chair does not entertain a unanimous-consent request to add a co-
    offeror of an amendment (May 20, 2004, p. 10631; Sept. 14, 2004, p.
    18429; Apr. 29, 2015, p. _) or to change the offeror of a pending
    amendment (Apr. 29, 2015, p. _; July 11, 2016, p. _).

      At its organization for the 104th Congress the House resolved that
    each of the first 20 bills and each of the first two joint resolutions
    introduced in the House in that Congress could have more than one Member
    reflected as a sponsor (sec. 223(g), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 469);
    and the Speaker stated that all signatures of such ``primary'' sponsors
    would be required on the bills (Speaker Gingrich, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 551).
    A Member was subsequently added as such a ``primary'' sponsor by
    unanimous consent (Jan. 18, 1995, p. 1447).

    [[Page 637]]

    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.

      This provision was adopted in 1888 (IV, 3366). Before the House
    recodified its rules in the 106th Congress, it was found in former
    clause 6 of rule XXII (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47). It has never
    been the practice of the House to permit the names of the persons
    requesting the introduction of the bill to be printed in the 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.

      (2) Before consideration of a Senate bill or joint resolution, the
    chair of a committee of jurisdiction may submit the statement required
    under subparagraph (1) as though the chair were the sponsor of the
    Senate bill or joint resolution.

      Paragraph (c) was added in the 112th Congress (sec. 2(a)(1), H. Res.
    5, Jan. 5, 2011, p. 80). A point of order under this paragraph is not
    timely when the relevant measure is not pending (May 16, 2013, p. _).

    [[Page 638]]

    Executive communications

    Sec. 826b. United States Code citations.

      The  House in the
    113th through 115th 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. _; sec. 3(l), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2017, 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 House shall be addressed to the
    Speaker for referral as provided in clause 2 of rule XIV.

      This rule was adopted in 1867 and amended in 1880 (V, 6593). It was
    renumbered January 3, 1953 (p. 24). Before the House recodified its
    rules in the 106th Congress, this provision was found in former rule XL
    (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47). Formerly estimates of appropriations
    were transmitted through the Secretary of the Treasury (IV, 3573-3576,
    4045), but under 31 U.S.C. 1105 they are now included in the budget
    submitted by the President.