[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 118th Congress]
[118th Congress]
[House Document 117-161]
[Jeffersons Manual of ParliamentaryPractice]
[Pages 267-269]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 267]]

                   sec. xxxviii--equivalent questions




Sec. 484. Former practice as to rejection and second 
reading of bills.

  If, on a  question for rejection, a bill be retained, it 
passes, of course, to its next reading. Hakew., 141; Scob., 42. And a 
question for a second reading, determined negatively, is a rejection 
without further question. 4 Grey, 149. And see Elsynge's Memor., 42, in 
what case questions are to be taken for rejection.



  The House has abandoned the question ``Shall the bill be rejected?'' 
(IV, 3391), and the question is now taken in accordance with clause 8 of 
rule XVI. A vote is not taken on the second reading, the first test 
coming in the modern practice of the House on the engrossment and third 
reading.




Sec. 485. Equivalent questions in 
general.

  Where questions  are perfectly equivalent, so that the negative of the one 
amounts to the affirmative of the other, and leaves no other 
alternative, the decision of the one concludes necessarily the other. 4 
Grey, 157. Thus the negative of striking out amounts to the affirmative 
of agreeing; and therefore to put a question on agreeing after that on 
striking out, would be to put the same question in effect twice over. 
Not so in questions of amendments between the two Houses. A motion to 
recede being negatived, does not amount to a positive vote to insist, 
because there is another alternative, to wit, to adhere.



  The principles set forth in this paragraph are recognized by the 
practice of the House; but Jefferson's use of the motion to strike as an 
illustration is no longer justified, because the practice of the House 
under clause 5(c) of rule XVI does not permit the negative of the motion 
to strike to be equivalent to the affirmative of agreeing.




Sec. 486. Equivalent questions on amendments between 
the Houses.

  A bill  originating in one House is passed by the other with an 
amendment. A motion in the originating House to agree to the amendment 
is negatived. Does there result from this a vote of disagreement, or 
must the question on disagreement be expressly voted? The question 
respecting amendments from another House are--1st, to agree; 2d, 
disagree; 3d, recede; 4th, insist; 5th, adhere.



  In the House and the Senate the order of precedence of motions is as 
given in the parliamentary law, and the motions take precedence in that 
order without regard to the order in which they are moved (V, 6270, 
6324). But a motion to amend an amendment of the other House has 
precedence of the motion to agree or disagree either before the stage of 
disagreement has been reached or after the House has receded from its 
disagreement (V, 6164, 6169-6171; VIII, 3203) even after the previous 
question has been ordered on both motions before the question is divided 
(Feb. 12, 1923, p. 3512). See also the discussion in Sec. 525, infra. 
But it has been held that when the previous question has been demanded 
or ordered on a motion to concur, a motion to amend is not in order (V, 
5488). The motion to refer also takes precedence of the motions to agree 
or disagree (V, 6172-6174), but the demanding or ordering of the 
previous question does not prevent a motion to refer (V, 5575). The 
motion to refer takes precedence of the motions to agree or disagree 
and, under clause 2 of rule XIX is in order pending a demand for or 
after the ordering of the previous question, before the stage of 
disagreement has been reached (V, 5575, 6172-6174), but not after the 
stage of disagreement when the most preferential motion tending to bring 
the two Houses together is already pending (Speaker Albert, Sept. 16, 
1976, p. 30887).


[[Page 269]]

 to propose amendments, and to make it as perfect as they can, 
before the question of disagreeing is put.


Sec. 487. The motions to agree and disagree as related 
to motions to amend.

  1st. To  agree; 2d. To disagree.--Either of these 
concludes the other necessarily, for the positive of either is exactly 
the equivalent to the negative of the other, and no other alternative 
remains. On either motion amendments to the amendment may be proposed; 
e.g., if it be moved to disagree, those who are for the amendment have a 
right




Sec. 488. No equivalent questions on 
motions to recede, insist, and adhere.

  3d. To recede.--You  may then either insist or 
adhere.                         4th. To insist.--You may then either 
recede or adhere.


  5th. To adhere.--You may then either recede or insist.


  Consequently the negative of these is not equivalent to a positive 
vote the other way. It does not raise so necessary an implication as may 
authorize the Secretary by inference to enter another vote; for two 
alternatives still remain, either of which may be adopted by the House.


  Under the earlier practice in the House it was held that voting down 
the motion to recede and concur was tantamount to insistence but not the 
equivalent of adherence (Speaker Clark, July 2, 1918, p. 8648). But the 
more recent practice is that when the House disagrees to a motion to 
recede and concur in a Senate amendment some further action must be 
taken to dispose of the amendment (Speaker Bankhead, July 9, 1937, p. 
7007; Speaker McCormack, Sept. 19, 1962, p. 19945) and the question may 
recur on a pending motion to insist or such a motion is then entertained 
from the floor (Deschler-Brown, ch. 32, Sec. 7.21; Speaker Albert, June 
25, 1973, p. 21172).