New Series of Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives

The Office of the Parliamentarian is publishing a set of updated precedents, Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives. This new set will document, explain, and discuss House precedents occurring since the last publication. The first volume is available and is comprised of four chapters: Assembly of Congress, Oaths, Party Organization, and House Facilities and Capitol Grounds. The Office of the Compilation of Precedents, Office of the Parliamentarian, will be publishing subsequent volumes for this set on a regular basis.

H. Doc. 115-62 - Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (2017 series), Volume 1
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About Prior Precedents of the House

The early parliamentary precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives were published by Asher Hinds (Hinds’ Precedents) in 1907 and by Clarence Cannon (Cannon’s Precedents) in 1936. These eight volumes compile precedents from 1789 until 1936.

The Deschler, Deschler-Brown, Deschler-Brown-Johnson and Deschler-Brown-Johnson-Sullivan Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives comprise 41 chapters and document the parliamentary precedents and procedural practices of the House from 1936 until 2013; and Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives will follow the topical outline of the Deschler set of precedents. Each chapter will reflect coverage from the date of publication of the proceeding, corresponding to the Deschler’s Precedents chapter to the opening day proceedings of the 115th Congress.

Each chapter contains a brief procedural summary and numerous precedents in the following format: a headnote stating a principle of parliamentary procedure, accompanied by a relevant transcript of the Congressional Record proceedings. The chapters will offer explanatory footnotes and prefatory material to the various headnotes, offering insights and cross-references to materials across the various sets of precedents. Citation authorities will be provided in the front matter of volumes.