    [United States Senate Manual, 116th Congress]
    [S. Doc. 116-1]
    [Standing Rules of the Senate]
    [Pages 52-56]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

            28                           RULE XXVIII

                        CONFERENCE COMMITTEES; REPORTS; OPEN MEETINGS

          28.1      1.\35\ The presentation of reports of committees of
                conference shall always be in order when available on each
                Senator's desk except when the Journal is being read or a
                question of order or a motion to adjourn is pending, or
                while the Senate is voting or ascertaining the presence of a
                quorum; and when received the question of proceeding to the
                consideration of the report, if raised, shall be immediately
                put, and shall be determined without debate.
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                    \35\ As amended by S. Res. 28, 99-2, Feb. 27, 1986.

    [[Page 53]]

         28.2a      2.\36\ (a) When a message from the House of
                Representatives is laid before the Senate, it shall be in
                order for a single, non-divisible motion to be made that
                includes--
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                    \36\ Paragraph 2 added by S. Res. 16, 113-1, Jan. 24,
                2013.
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                              (1) a motion to disagree to a House amendment
                        or insist upon a Senate amendment;
                              (2) a motion to request a committee of
                        conference with the House or to agree to a request
                        by the House for a committee of conference; and
                              (3) a motion to authorize the Presiding
                        Officer to appoint conferees (or a motion to appoint
                        conferees).
         28.2b      (b) If a cloture motion is presented on a motion made
                pursuant to subparagraph (a), the motion shall be debatable
                for no more than 2 hours, equally divided in the usual form,
                after which the Presiding Officer, or the clerk at the
                direction of the Presiding Officer, shall lay the motion
                before the Senate. If cloture is then invoked on the motion,
                the question shall be on the motion, without further debate.
         28.3a      3. (a) \37\ Conferees shall not insert in their report
                matter not committed to them by either House, nor shall they
                strike from the bill matter agreed to by both Houses.
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                    \37\ Paragraphs 3 and 4 amended by Pub. L. 110-81, Sep.
                14, 2007, and paragraphs 5 and 6 were added. Paragraphs 3
                through 6 renumbered and amended by S. Res. 16, 113-1, Jan.
                24, 2013.
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         28.3b      (b) If matter which was agreed to by both Houses is
                stricken from the bill a point of order may be made against
                the report, and if the point of order is sustained, the
                report is rejected or shall be recommitted to the committee
                of conference if the House of Representatives has not
                already acted thereon.
         28.3c      (c) If new matter is inserted in the report, a point of
                order may be made against the conference report and it shall
                be disposed of as provided under paragraph 5.
         28.4a      4. (a) In any case in which a disagreement to an
                amendment in the nature of a substitute has been referred to
                conferees--
                            (1) it shall be in order for the conferees to
                        report a substitute on the same subject matter;
                            (2) the conferees may not include in the report
                        matter not committed to them by either House; and
                            (3) the conferees may include in their report in
                        any such case matter which is a germane modification
                        of subjects in disagreement.
         28.4b      (b) In any case in which the conferees violate
                subparagraph (a), a point of order may be made against the
                con

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                ference report and it shall be disposed of as provided under
                paragraph 5.
         28.5a      5. (a) A Senator may raise a point of order that one or
                more provisions of a conference report violates paragraph 3
                or paragraph 4, as the case may be. The Presiding Officer
                may sustain the point of order as to some or all of the
                provisions against which the Senator raised the point of
                order.
         28.5b      (b) If the Presiding Officer sustains the point of order
                as to any of the provisions against which the Senator raised
                the point of order, then those provisions against which the
                Presiding Officer sustains the point of order shall be
                stricken. After all other points of order under this
                paragraph have been disposed of--
                            (1) the Senate shall proceed to consider the
                        question of whether the Senate should recede from
                        its amendment to the House bill, or its disagreement
                        to the amendment of the House, and concur with a
                        further amendment, which further amendment shall
                        consist of only that portion of the conference
                        report that has not been stricken;
                            (2) the question in clause (1) shall be decided
                        under the same debate limitation as the conference
                        report; and
                            (3) no further amendment shall be in order.

         28.6a      6. (a) Any Senator may move to waive any or all points
                of order under paragraph 3 or 4 with respect to the pending
                conference report by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of
                the Members, duly chosen and sworn. All motions to waive
                under this paragraph shall be debatable collectively for not
                to exceed 1 hour equally divided between the Majority Leader
                and the Minority Leader or their designees. A motion to
                waive all points of order under this paragraph shall not be
                amendable.
         28.6b      (b) All appeals from rulings of the Chair under
                paragraph 5 shall be debatable collectively for not to
                exceed 1 hour, equally divided between the Majority and the
                Minority Leader or their designees. An affirmative vote of
                three-fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and
                sworn, shall be required in the Senate to sustain an appeal
                of the ruling of the Chair under paragraph 5.

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          28.7      7.\38\ Each report made by a committee of conference to
                the Senate shall be printed as a report of the Senate. As so
                printed, such report shall be accompanied by an explanatory
                statement prepared jointly by the conferees on the part of
                the House and the conferees on the part of the Senate. Such
                statement shall be sufficiently detailed and explicit to
                inform the Senate as to the effect which the amendments or
                propositions contained in such report will have upon the
                measure to which those amendments or propositions relate.
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                    \38\ Paragraphs 7 through 9 renumbered by Pub. L. 110-
                81, Sep. 14, 2007, and paragraph 10 was added. Paragraphs 7
                through 10 renumbered by S. Res. 16, 113-1, Jan. 24, 2013.
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          28.8      8. If time for debate in the consideration of any report
                of a committee of conference upon the floor of the Senate is
                limited, the time allotted for debate shall be equally
                divided between the majority party and the minority party.
          28.9      9. Each conference committee between the Senate and the
                House of Representatives shall be open to the public except
                when managers of either the Senate or the House of
                Representatives in open session determine by a rollcall vote
                of a majority of those managers present, that all or part of
                the remainder of the meeting on the day of the vote shall be
                closed to the public.
        28.10a      10. (a)(1) It shall not be in order to vote on the
                adoption of a report of a committee of conference unless
                such report has been available to Members and to the general
                public for at least 48 hours before such vote. If a point of
                order is sustained under this paragraph, then the conference
                report shall be set aside.
                    (2) For purposes of this paragraph, a report of a
                committee of conference is made available to the general
                public as of the time it is posted on a publicly accessible
                website controlled by a Member, committee, Library of
                Congress, or other office of Congress, or the Government
                Printing Office, as reported to the Presiding Officer by the
                Secretary of the Senate.
        28.10b      (b)(1) This paragraph may be waived in the Senate with
                respect to the pending conference report by an affirmative
                vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.
                A motion to waive this paragraph shall be debatable for not
                to exceed 1 hour equally divided between the Majority Leader
                and the Minority Leader or their designees.
                    (2) An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members,
                duly chosen and sworn, shall be required to sustain an

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                appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised
                under this paragraph. An appeal of the ruling of the Chair
                shall be debatable for not to exceed 1 hour equally divided
                between the Majority and the Minority Leader or their
                designees.
        28.10c      (c) This paragraph may be waived by joint agreement of
                the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the Senate,
                upon their certification that such waiver is necessary as a
                result of a significant disruption to Senate facilities or
                to the availability of the Internet.