    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 119th Congress]
    [119th Congress]
    [House Document 118-187]
    [Front Matter]
    [Pages i-xiii]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page i]]

    ________________________________________________________________________

      118th Congress, 2d Session -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - House Document No. 118-187

                                  CONSTITUTION

                               JEFFERSON'S MANUAL

                                       AND

                              RULES OF THE HOUSE OF

                                 REPRESENTATIVES

                              OF THE UNITED STATES

                         ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS

                                 JASON A. SMITH

                                 PARLIAMENTARIAN

                  [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    59-700                       WASHINGTON : 2025

    ________________________________________________________________________

    For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing
                        U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

                                     Office

    [[Page iii]]

                              Washington, DC 20402

                              HOUSE RESOLUTION 1611

                                In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                         December 9, 2024.

        Resolved, That a revised edition of the Rules and Manual of the
    House of Representatives for the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress be
    printed as a House document, and that three thousand additional copies
    shall be printed and bound for the use of the House of Representatives,
    of which nine hundred eighty copies shall be bound in leather with thumb
    index and delivered as may be directed by the Parliamentarian of the
    House.

        Attest:

                                                    Kevin F. McCumber,

                                                                    Clerk.

    [[Page v]]

                                      (III)

                                     PREFACE

        The House Rules and Manual contains the fundamental source material
    for parliamentary procedure used in the House of Representatives: the
    Constitution of the United States; applicable provisions of Jefferson's
    Manual; Rules of the House (as of the date of this preface); provisions
    of law and resolutions having the force of Rules of the House; and
    pertinent decisions of the Speakers and other presiding officers of the
    House and Committee of the Whole interpreting the rules and other
    procedural authority used in the House of Representatives.

        The rules for the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress were adopted on
    January 3, 2025, when the House agreed to House Resolution 5. In
    addition to a series of changes to various standing rules, House
    Resolution 5 included separate free-standing orders constituting
    procedures to be followed in the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress.
    Explanations of the changes to the standing rules appear in the
    annotations following each rule in the text of this Manual.

        The substantive changes in the standing rules made by House
    Resolution 5 of the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress included:

        (1) establishment of the following set of procedures to apply during
    any district work period designated by the Speaker: automatic approval
    of the Journal of the proceedings of the previous day; authority for the
    Chair to declare the House adjourned to meet at any time within the
    three-day limit required by clause 4, section 5, article I of the
    Constitution; authority for the Speaker to appoint Members to perform
    duties of the Chair as though under clause 8(a) of rule I; and the
    tolling of periods of time under specified rules and statutory
    procedures (clause 13 of rule I);

        (2) clarification that the Chief Administrative Officer shall assist
    with the Clerk's responsibilities under clause 2(i) of rule II with
    respect to vacant Member offices (clause 4(e) of rule II);

    [[Page vi]]

        (3) elimination of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and
    references thereto (clause 9 of rule II; clause 4(d) of rule X);

        (4) restriction on privilege of resolutions causing a vacancy in the
    Office of Speaker to only those offered by a member of the majority
    party and which have accumulated eight cosponsors from the majority
    party at the time offered (clause 2(a) of rule IX);

        (5) redesignation of the Committee on Education and the Workforce as
    the Committee on Education and Workforce, and of the Committee on
    Oversight and Accountability as the Committee on Oversight and
    Government Reform (clause 1 of rule X);

        (6) authorization for committees to adopt a rule or motion enabling
    electronic voting in committee, in accordance with regulations issued by
    the chair of the Committee on Rules and the chair of the Committee on
    House Administration (clause 2(n) of rule XI);

        (7) requirement that petitions from state legislatures purporting to
    call for constitutional conventions or to rescind such calls be made
    publicly available, codifying previous separate orders to that effect
    (clause 3 of rule XII);

        (8) reservation of the first 10 numbers for bills for assignment by
    the Speaker and the second 10 numbers for bills for assignment by the
    Minority Leader, codifying previous separate orders to that effect
    (clause 7 of rule XII);

        (9) restriction on the availability of motions to suspend the rules
    to only Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays (clause 1 of rule XV); and

        (10) reinstatement of gendered language in certain portions of the
    Code of Official Conduct (clauses 8 and 15 of rule XXIII).

        In addition to the amendments cited above, the House in the 118th
    Congress amended clause 8 of rule XXIV to ensure that the restriction on
    the use of franked mail in that clause matches the same restriction in
    law, and amended clause 1(k)(7) of rule X to reflect the renaming of the
    Franking Commission as the House Communications Standards Commission (H.
    Res. 731, Dec. 5, 2023).

        Citations in this edition refer to:

        (1) Hinds' Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United
    States (volumes I through V) and Cannon's Precedents of the House of
    Representatives of the United States (volumes VI through VIII), by
    volume and section (e.g., V, 5763; VIII, 2852);

    [[Page vii]]

    U.S. House of Representatives (volume 17), and
    Deschler-Brown-Johnson-Sullivan Precedents of the U.S. House of
    Representatives (volume 18), by chapter and section (e.g., Deschler, ch.
    26, Sec. 79.7; Deschler-Brown, ch. 28, Sec. 4.26);
        (2) Deschler's Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives
    (volumes 1 through 9), Deschler-Brown Precedents of the U.S. House of
    Representatives (volumes 10 through 16), Deschler-Brown-Johnson
    Precedents of the

        (3) Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (volumes 1
    through 3), by Parliamentarian last name, chapter and section (e.g.,
    Precedents (Wickham), ch. 1, Sec. 1.1);

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

        (5) House Practice (2024), by chapter and section (e.g., House
    Practice, ch. 1, Sec. 2);

        (6) Deschler-Brown Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives
    (4th edition and 1987 supplement), by chapter and section (e.g.,
    Procedure, ch. 5, Sec. 8.1);

        (7) the United States Code, by title and section (e.g., 2 U.S.C.
    287); and

        (8) the United States Reports, by volume and page (e.g., 395 U.S.
    486).

        All of the members of the Office of the Parliamentarian - Anne
    Gooch, Julia Cook, Ben Osheroff, Christina Reid, Norma Volkmer, Lloyd
    Jenkins, Kristen Donahue, and Matthew Kowalewski, as well as Charles
    Johnson, Max Spitzer, Allison Torres-Cherry, and Tim Abel - worked
    diligently to annotate the decisions of the Chair and other
    parliamentary precedents of the 118th Congress and of the 119th Congress
    to the date of publication of this edition. Their contributions, and
    their devotion to the pursuit of excellence in the procedural practices
    of the House, are gratefully acknowledged.

        As explained further in section 283a of this publication, there is
    included for the first time language unique to the second edition of
    Jefferson's Manual, largely consisting of added insights gleaned by
    Jefferson from his review of the fourth volume of Precedents of
    Proceedings in the House of Commons, published by Clerk to the House of
    Commons John Hatsell in 1796. Such additions were omitted from
    subsequent editions of Jefferson's Manual prior to its incorporation
    into the rules of the House in 1837. Acknowledgment is due to numerous
    scholars who have explored this issue, particularly in recent years. Of
    particular note is an addition located at section 285 of this
    publication, highlighting the importance of consistency and
    predictability with respect to matters of form. It is an admonition that
    continues to ring true today.

                                                                 Jay Smith

    [[Page ix]]

      January 20, 2025

                                    CONTENTS

                                   __________

                                THE CONSTITUTION

                                                                        Page
    Preamble..........................................................     3

                Article I.--The legislative power.....................     4

                       II.--The executive power.......................    69

                      III.--The judicial power........................    83

                       IV.--Obligations, duties, etc., of the States..    85

                        V.--Amendments to.............................    87

                       VI.--Law of the land, etc......................    89

                      VII.--Ratification of...........................    94

                            Amendments ratified.......................    96

                               JEFFERSON'S MANUAL

                Section I.--Importance of adhering to rules...........   131

                      III.--Privilege.................................   135

                       VI.--Quorum....................................   156

                      VII.--Call of the House.........................   157

                       IX.--Speaker...................................   157

                        X.--Address...................................   160

                       XI.--Committees................................   161

                      XII.--Committee of the Whole....................   164

                     XIII.--Examination of witnesses..................   173

                      XIV.--Arrangement of business...................   178

                       XV.--Order.....................................   180

                      XVI.--Order respecting papers...................   181

                     XVII.--Order in debate...........................   182

                    XVIII.--Orders of the House.......................   208

                      XIX.--Petition..................................   212

                       XX.--Motion....................................   213

                      XXI.--Resolutions...............................   214

                    XXIII.--Bills, leave to bring in..................   216

                     XXIV.--Bills, first reading......................   217

                      XXV.--Bills, second reading.....................   217

                     XXVI.--Bills, commitment.........................   218

                    XXVII.--Report of committee.......................   229

    [[Page x]]                                                          Page

           Section XXVIII.--Bill, recommitment........................   230

                     XXIX.--Bills, reports taken up...................   231

                      XXX.--Quasi-committee...........................   233

                     XXXI.--Bill, second reading in the House.........   236

                    XXXII.--Reading papers............................   239

                   XXXIII.--Privileged questions......................   241

                    XXXIV.--The previous question.....................   254

                     XXXV.--Amendments................................   256

                    XXXVI.--Division of the question..................   265

                   XXXVII.--Coexisting questions......................   268

                  XXXVIII.--Equivalent questions......................   269

                    XXXIX.--The question..............................   271

                       XL.--Bills, third reading......................   272

                      XLI.--Division of the House.....................   276

                     XLII.--Titles....................................   281

                    XLIII.--Reconsideration...........................   281

                     XLIV.--Bills sent to the other House.............   285

                      XLV.--Amendments between the Houses.............   286

                     XLVI.--Conferences...............................   296

                    XLVII.--Messages..................................   310

                   XLVIII.--Assent....................................   315

                     XLIX.--Journals..................................   317

                        L.--Adjournment...............................   319

                       LI.--A session.................................   321

                      LII.--Treaties..................................   324

                     LIII.--Impeachment...............................   328

                               RULES OF THE HOUSE

                   Rule I.--The Speaker...............................   351

                       II.--Other Officers and Officials..............   379

                      III.--The Members, Delegates, and Resident

                            Commissioner of Puerto Rico...............   404

                       IV.--The Hall of the House.....................   409

                        V.--Broadcasting the House....................   417

                       VI.--Official Reporters and News Media

                            Galleries.................................   420

                      VII.--Records of the House......................   432

                     VIII.--Response to Subpoenas.....................   437

                       IX.--Questions of Privilege....................   440

                        X.--Organization of Committees................   463

                       XI.--Procedures of Committees and Unfinished

                            Business..................................   577

                      XII.--Receipt and Referral of Measures and

                            Matters...................................   651

                     XIII.--Calendars and Committee Reports...........   667

                      XIV.--Order and Priority of Business............   705

                       XV.--Business in Order on Special Days.........   716

    [[Page xi]]

                                                                        Page

                 Rule XVI.--Motions and Amendments....................   735

                     XVII.--Decorum and Debate........................   792

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

                            state of the Union........................   825

                      XIX.--Motions Following the Amendment Stage.....   856

                       XX.--Voting and Quorum Calls...................   870

                      XXI.--Restrictions on Certain Bills.............   901

                     XXII.--House and Senate Relations................   962

                    XXIII.--Code of Official Conduct..................   989

                     XXIV.--Limitations on Use of Official Funds......  1006

                      XXV.--Limitations on Outside Earned Income and

                            Acceptance of Gifts.......................  1011

                     XXVI.--Financial Disclosure......................  1040

                    XXVII.--Disclosure by Members and Staff of

                            Employment Negotiations...................  1042

                   XXVIII.--[Reserved]................................  1043

                     XXIX.--General Provisions........................  1044
    Provisions of Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as Amended by the

        Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, Applicable to Both Houses
    Congressional adjournment.........................................  1049
    Preservation of committee hearings................................  1050

                           Joint and Select Committees
    Economic Committee, Joint.........................................  1051
    Taxation, Joint Committee on......................................  1051
    Library, Joint Committee of Congress on the.......................  1052
    Printing, Joint Committee on......................................  1052
    Inaugural Ceremonies, Joint Congressional Committee on............  1052
    Select committees.................................................  1052

    [[Page xii]]

                         House and Congressional Offices
    House Communications Standards Commission.........................  1055
    House Office Building Commission..................................  1055
    Government Accountability Office..................................  1055
    Office of Congressional Workplace Rights..........................  1055
    Congressional Research Service....................................  1056
    Legislative Counsel...............................................  1056
    Congressional Budget Office.......................................  1056
    Law Revision Counsel..............................................  1056
    Technology Assessment.............................................  1056
    Office of the Parliamentarian.....................................  1056
    Speaker's Office for Legislative Floor Activities.................  1057

                                                                        Page

    Office of Interparliamentary Affairs..............................  1057
    House Recording Studio............................................  1057
    United States Capitol Preservation Commission.....................  1057
    Office of General Counsel.........................................  1057
    Former Office of Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations.  1058
    Office of Attending Physician.....................................  1058
    Office of Architect of the Capitol................................  1058
    House Democracy Partnership.......................................  1058
    Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission................................  1058
    Office of Congressional Conduct...................................  1059
    Early organization of the House...................................  1061

              Miscellaneous Provisions of Congressional Budget Laws
    Congressional Budget Act of 1974..................................  1067
    Budget Enforcement Act of 1990....................................  1149
    Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010...............................  1153

                      Legislative Procedures Enacted in Law
    Measures privileged for consideration in House....................  1158

    [[Page xiii]]

                                      Index
    Index.............................................................  1363

                            GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS

                                    Rule XIV

                  First. Prayer by Chaplain.

                  Second. Approval of Journal.

                  Third. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

                  Fourth. Correction of reference of public bills.

                  Fifth. Disposal of business on Speaker's table.

                  Sixth. Unfinished business.

                  Seventh. The morning hour for the consideration of bills.

                  Eighth. Motions to go into Committee of the Whole.

                  Ninth. Orders of the day.

                            SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS

    Every Monday:

                                     Mondays

      Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1.

    First Tuesday:

                                    Tuesdays

      Private Calendar. Rule XV, clause 5. Individual private bills

    Every Tuesday:

            considered on first Tuesday of each month.

      Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1.

    Call of Committees under Calendar Wednesday. Rule XV, clause 6.

    Every Wednesday:

                                   Wednesdays

      Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1.