This digital version of the Congressional Institute’s Floor Operations Manual for the U.S. House of Representatives is designed to assist the public, Members of Congress and their staff in better understanding and following the daily activities on the Floor of the U.S. House.

224 years of legislative evolution have created procedures that are occasionally viewed as archaic. But these procedures evolved from experience in ways to enhance the operations of the Congress.The goal of such procedures is to enhance civility and order in the debate of ideas while reducing personal animosity and chaos.

Since the House establishes and follows its own rules, not Robert’s Rules of Order or other parliamentary conventions, as is often assumed; it constantly evolves its rules to meet the challenges of the day. The rules are adopted by majority vote at the time a new congress organizes, following each federal election. This version reflects the Rules adopted for the 111th Congress, which convened in January of 2009.

Thisdigital version includes an introduction writtenby the Hon. David Dreier, Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee, plus the full content of the printed version. Because it contains links to other information and additional reference sites that could not be included in the printed version, it is a more robust version of the current manual.

Parliamentary terms found in italics feature quick links to definitions. Links in regular type lead to other useful pages on this site or to outside sites. For general informationon how our Congress works, please browse through theLegislative Resources section.

Please offer your suggestions on ways we can make this more useful to citizens, students and congressional professionals to: info@conginst.org

 

 {mospagebreak title="Introduction"}

Introduction 

 

"Learn the rules and understand the precedents and
procedures of the House. The congressman who
knows how the House operates will soon be
recognized for his parliamentary skills – and his prestige
will rise among his colleagues,no matter what his party."

House Speaker John W. McCormack
(1962-1971) of Massachusetts
giving advice to new House Members

 

The deliberative nature of our representative democracy requires widespread knowledge of the legislative process among both Members and the electorate. This manual is designed to provide House Members and staff with a concise, yet informative user guide to the basic legislative process in the House of Representatives. As an addendum to the Rules of the House and Jefferson’s Manual, this easy to use manual will allow Members to better monitor or participate in the legislative proceedings of the House.

The House of Representatives is the People’s House and its legislative process and daily activities should be comprehensible to both its Members and their constituents. I believe this manual will assist in achieving this goal.

Over the years, a number of individuals have contributed to the evolutionand development of this document. Most notable were the Honorable Robert E. Bauman, former Member of the House from Maryland, who wrote the original version of this manual over a decade ago, and the Honorable Robert S. Walker, former Member from Pennsylvania, who revised and updated it in 1994. It was subsequentlyupdated in 1997 by the former chairman of the Rules Committee, the late Gerald B. H. Solomon, as part of its Parliamentary Outreach Program.

Sincere appreciation and acknowledgment must go to the Office of the Parliamentarian, the Congressional Research Service, and the Republican staff of the House Rules Committee.

The Congressional Institute deserves special thanks for its support and contributions under the able leadership of its President, Mark Strand, and its former President, Jerry Climer. The Institute is invaluable to the publication and distribution of this Manual.

David Dreier,
Ranking Member
Committee on Rules
February, 2009
111th Congress

{mospagebreak title="Chapter I: Call To Order"}

I. HOUSE IS CALLED TO ORDER BY THE SPEAKER

Time of Meeting:

The daily hour of meeting is set by a House Resolution adopted on the first day of each session. On January 6, 2009, the House adopted H. Res. 10, which established the House meeting times until May 18, 2009; however H. Res. 157, adopted on February 12, 2009, modified H. Res. 10, to establish the following meeting times: 

•  2:00 p.m. on Monday; 

•  12:00 p.m. on Tuesday;

•  10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays; and

•  9:00 a.m. on all other days of the week.

Beginning May 18, 2009 until the end of the first session:

•  Noon on Monday;

•  10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; and

•  9:00 a.m. on all other days of the week.

The hour of meeting can be changed by order of the House at any time, usually by unanimous consent after consultation between both party leaderships.

A Member’s office is notified of any time changes by a Whip call, usually by electronic mail. If in doubt, a Member’s Office should check with the Republican Cloakroom at 225-7350 or the Democratic Cloakroom at 225-7330.

Three-Day Adjournment Limit:

Article I, section 5 of the U.S. Constitution prevents either House from adjourning for more than three days (not including Sundays) unless the other House concurs. Such adjournment authority for more than three days is accomplished through the adoption by both Houses of a concurrent resolution, which does not require the signature of the President.

In the case of an emergency in which the House may be under immediate danger, the Speaker may declare an emergency recess under clause 12 of Rule I. If during a recess or adjournment of not more than three days the Speaker is notified by the Sergeant-at-Arms of an imminent danger to the place of reconvening, the Speaker may postpone the time for reconvening the House. The Speaker may also reconvene the House under those circumstances before the time previously appointed to declare the House in recess again. These circumstances require the Speaker to notify Members accordingly. At the outset of the 110th Congress, as in the 108th, the House and Senate agreed to H.Con. Res. 1, which permits the Speaker and the Majority Leader of the Senate to assemble at a place outside the District of Columbia whenever, in their opinion, the public interest shall warrant it (the Senate has yet to take action on H. Con. Res. 1).

Furthermore, the House has a rule which allows it to deal with the consequences of a terrorist attack or other catastrophe that may incapacitate large numbers of Members. The rule (clause 5(c) of rule XX) allows the House to act if a roll call vote is required following a catastrophe and a quorum cannot be achieved. Quorum is the majority of the whole number of the House and is calculated from those Members who are chose, sworn and living. Thus, if all Members of the House are alive, quorum is the majority of 435, or 218 Members. Incapacitated Members, though unable to vote, are nonetheless counted for purposes of quorum. If more than a majority of the House is incapacitated, the House would be unable to take a roll call vote because of a lack of quorum. The rule change allows for the House to conduct business with less than a majority of a fully constituted House – but only in times of catastrophe and subject to a number of procedural protections. This smaller number is called the provisional quorum. Operating with a provisional quorum lasts only until enough Members are revived for a regular quorum. Any legislation considered with a provisional quorum would be subject to the bicameral and presentment to the President requirements, and any votes adopted could be ratified or repudiated at a later time by a fully constituted House.

Legislative Schedule:

The scheduling of legislation for House Floor action is the prerogative of the majority leadership. However, the following table is useful in determining the time it takes to prepare legislation for Floor consideration under regular order:

Tuesday
Committee orders a bill reported; views requested.
Wednesday
Day #1 for filing views.
Thursday
Day #2 for filing views.
Friday
Committee files report. (May be Day #1 of report availability if report is filed the day before.)
Monday
Day #1 that report is available to the House.
Tuesday
Day #2 that report is available to the House.
Wednesday
Day #3 that report is available to the House. Floor consideration is possible.
Thursday
Rules Committee meets to grant rule.
Friday
Rule and bill may be considered on House Floor.

Usually on the last legislative day of the week, a representative of the minority leadership seeks unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute to address the House for the purpose of asking the Majority Leader about the legislative program for the upcoming week. Following the announcement, the Whip Offices will send Members “Whip Notices” for the next week listing the specific bills to be considered, including how each bill will receive Floor consideration (for example, suspension of the rules, a rule from the Rules Committee, unanimous consent, etc.). Each office also receives copies of the legislation scheduled for Floor consideration (if available) in a “Whip Packet,” which is delivered by the House Page Service. Offices will receive publications from the Republican Conference or the Democratic Caucus with summaries of the upcoming legislation. Finally, if the bill is to be considered under a rule from the Rules Committee, information about the amendment process, debate time, etc is available on the Majority’s Rules Committee website at www.rules.house.gov or the Minority’s Rules Committee website at http://rules-republicans.house.gov.

Even though the Majority Leadership announces a program for the coming week, it is possible for the program to change. Therefore, it is to a Member’s benefit to follow any updates. The Republican Cloakroom provides recorded information for the week’s program at 225-2020 and 225-7430 for the Floor program for that specific day. The Democratic Cloakroom provides recorded information for the week’s program at 225-1600 and 225-7400 for the Floor program for that specific day.

In addition to the announced schedule of major bills, legislative matters may be called up for consideration by “unanimous consent.” In keeping with the Speaker’s announced policy, unanimous consent requests of that type must be cleared by the majority and minority leaderships as well as the bipartisan leadership of the committee(s) of jurisdiction.

Following clearance, these matters may come up with little notice except to the Members managing the request (i.e., the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the committee(s) of jurisdiction). If Members have a specific interest in something that might come up by unanimous consent, they should contact the appropriate committee and leadership representatives as early as possible. A Member might also ask the Floor staff to be on the lookout for the matter of interest.

In addition to the normal order of business as presented here, there are several “special legislative days.” Bills may be brought up under “suspension of the rules” on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays of each week, although this process is separate and apart from the calendar system. There is no “suspension calendar.” Suspension of the rules will be discussed in detail later in Section VIII of this manual. Private Bills may be considered on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month. 

Powers of the Speaker:

The Speaker traditionally opens the session each day, but may designate a “Speaker pro tempore,” who is a Member of the majority party, to serve in this capacity for up to three legislative days. The Speaker or Speaker pro tempore may preside through one-minute speeches and other House business (such as debate on special rules) until the House resolves itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, at which time the Speaker appoints a majority Member to preside as the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole. The Speaker or Speaker pro tempore returns to the Chair when the Committee of the Whole rises to come back into the Whole House.

NOTE: House Rule I details the numerous duties of the Speaker, many of which directly affect Members. It is also important to understand the Speaker’s power of recognition under clause 2 of Rule XVII. In most cases, it is the Chair’s prerogative to recognize a Member. The power of recognition cannot be appealed.

Morning Hour:

By agreement of both the majority and minority leadership, the House has instituted a “Morning Hour” period for special order speeches on Monday and Tuesday of each week. On those days prior to May 16 of each session, the House may convene ninety minutes earlier than normal for Morning Hour special order speeches.

On those Tuesdays after May 16 of each session, the House may convene 60 minutes earlier than normal for Morning Hour.

Morning Hour special order speeches are equally divided and rotated between majority and minority party Members. Members designated by the leaders may speak for up to five minutes on any subject of their choice (except for the Majority and Minority Leaders and Minority Whip, who may speak for longer blocks of time). If a Member wishes to participate, he or she must sign up for the time in their respective Cloakroom.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter II: Prayer is Offered"}

II. PRAYER IS OFFERED BY THE CHAPLAIN

The House Chaplain is the Reverend Daniel Coughlin. Guest Chaplains are permitted in the Chamber and each Member may consider inviting a clergyman from his or her district to offer the daily prayer. Members should contact Father Coughlin for further information at 225-2509.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter III: Approval of the Journal"}

III. APPROVAL OF THE JOURNAL

Article I, section 5 of the U.S. Constitution requires that the House keep a Journal of its proceedings, which is a summary of the day’s actions. The Speaker is responsible for examining and approving the Journal of the previous day. The Speaker announces approval to the House immediately after the prayer is offered by the Chaplain. Following the announcement of approval by the Speaker, any Member may demand a vote on the question of the Speaker’s approval. However, the Speaker has the authority to postpone a vote on agreeing to the Speaker’s approval of the Journal until a later time on the same legislative day.

NOTE: The Journal is not the Congressional Record.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter IV: Voting by Electronic Device"}

IV. VOTING BY ELECTRONIC DEVICE

When the Speaker or the Chair announces that the yeas and nays are ordered and a recorded vote is ordered or announces that a quorum is not present and the yeas and nays are automatic, the vote is taken by electronic device. A Member casts a vote by electronic device by inserting a voting card into the nearest voting station and pressing the appropriate button: “yea,” “nay” or “present.” It is advised that Members go to another voting station and reinsert their voting card until the light comes on and verifies the vote cast at the first station. Members should also visually check the voting board to make sure that the light next to their name reflects their intended vote.

Members that do not have their voting card should go to the table in the Well and obtain an appropriate voting card from the boxes placed there (green card for yea, red card for nay, orange card for present). The Member should sign the card and give it to the Tally Clerk who will be standing on the first level of the rostrum. The Clerk will then register the vote into the computer, but the Member should visually check the board to make sure the vote is recorded correctly.

Members deciding to change their vote may do so by reinserting their card into a voting station and pressing the appropriate button during the first ten minutes of a fifteen-minute vote, or at any time during a five-minute vote. However, during the last five minutes of a fifteen-minute vote, a change in a Member’s vote can only be made by going to the Well, taking a card from the table, signing it, and handing it to the Tally Clerk on the rostrum. The Clerk then registers the change and a statement will appear in the Congressional Record indicating that the Member changed his or her vote. Members using this procedure to change their vote should be sure to check the board to see that it reflects the change. Also, Members may change their vote during a five-minute vote by machine and no statement about the change will appear in the Congressional Record unless it comes after the voting stations are closed and before the result of the vote is announced.

NOTE: Once the record vote ends (by the Chair announcing the result), and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table, the vote is final — no further voting or changing is permitted. However, if a Member has missed the vote they may submit a statement declaring how they would have voted had they been present. Such an explanatory statement containing the Member’s original signature will be inserted in the Congressional Record at the point immediately after the vote. A suggested script for such an explanatory statement on missed or mistaken votes may be obtained from the Floor staff. It is important to remember that this statement does not affect whether or how the Member is recorded on the vote.

Clause 2 of Rule III specifically prohibits Members from allowing another person to cast their vote and from casting the vote of another Member. This unethical action was banned at the beginning of the 97th Congress.

The allotted time for a quorum call or recorded vote under the rules of the House is not less than fifteen minutes (clause 2 of Rule XX). It is the prerogative of the Speaker or presiding officer to allow additional time beyond the fifteen minutes. Often one will hear Members calling “regular order” when an electronic vote extends beyond fifteen minutes under the mistaken impression that recorded votes are limited to fifteen minutes — they are not limited. The regular order is to allow more time on recorded votes if the Chair desires.

In the 110th Congress, clause 2 of Rule XX was amended to prohibit a vote from being held open for the sole purpose of reversing the outcome of the vote. This provision was not included in the 111th Congress rules package on the recommendation of a bipartisan select committee because it was found to be unworkable in practice. 

It has been the custom of the House since the 104th Congress to attempt to “limit” these fifteen-minute votes to seventeen minutes. The Chair should allow all Members who are on the Floor before the final announcement to be recorded, but is not obliged to hold the vote open to accommodate requests through the Cloakrooms for Members “on their way” to the House Floor.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter V: Pledge of Allegiance"}

V. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

After approval of the Journal, the Speaker recognizes a designated Member to lead the House in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. The Member designated alternates between the majority and minority party on a daily basis. The Member is usually informed in advance if he or she is the designated Member.

I pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter VI: One Minute Speeches"}

VI. ONE MINUTE SPEECHES

These short speeches (300 words) may be made by Members before legislative business each day. If the speech given at the beginning of the day is longer than 300 words or includes extraneous materials, it will appear in the Extension of Remarks section of the Congressional Record. Any Member may seek recognition to give a speech on a subject of his or her choice not exceeding one minute in duration. One-minute speeches are often coordinated by the majority and minority leaderships to focus on particular topics, but the speeches are not limited to such topics. Participants in these coordinated efforts usually receive priority seating and recognition.

The one-minute speech period is granted at the discretion of the Speaker, as are the number of such speeches. Some days one-minute speeches may be limited to ten or fifteen speeches per side. On other days, they may be unlimited. On occasion, this period is postponed until the end of the day if the business of the House is heavy and time is short. In this case, a Member may address the House for one minute at the end of legislative business for the day.

To give a one-minute speech, a Member should go to the front row of seats on their party’s side of the Floor and sit down. The Speaker will recognize Members in turn, alternating between the majority and minority sides. At the appropriate point, the member should stand to seek recognition and address the Chair by saying: “Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks.”

The Speaker will respond by saying: “Without objection, so ordered.” The Member may then proceed to the podium in the Well to give the speech. The Chair will tell the Member when the one minute has expired at which time the Member may finish the sentence, but no more.

NOTE: Members are strongly encouraged to read House Rule XVII, Decorum and Debate (especially clause 1), as well as section XVII of Jefferson’s Manual, Order and Debate. See also Conduct During Debate under Part XI of this Floor Procedures Manual, “General Debate in the Committee of the Whole.”

It is not proper at any time for a Member to refer to the television audience. Rule XVII states that a Member must always address the Chair and only the Chair.

Furthermore, clause 7 of Rule XVII states specifically that Members may not introduce or otherwise make reference to people in the Visitors or Press Gallery.

It is acceptable to refer to actions taken by the Senate. House rules allow for references on the House Floor to the Senate or its Members. However, these remarks must be limited to the question under debate and may not include personalities. (See clause 1 of Rule XVII).

Not only is it inappropriate to address the President of the United States directly (Members must always address the Chair), but it is also improper to refer to the President in a personally offensive manner.

NOTE: A Member does not actually have to deliver a one-minute speech. He or she can simply ask unanimous consent that it be placed in the Congressional Record and yield back his or her time. The speech will be inserted at that point, but it will appear in different type to indicate that it was not delivered in person. Also, if extraneous materials are inserted with a one-minute speech, the entire speech will appear at the end of the Congressional Record just prior to special order speeches.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter VII: Unanimous Consent Requests"}

VII. UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUESTS

The House does much of its non-controversial work by unanimous consent procedure, whereby a Member stands up and asks that something be done by or permitted by unanimous consent and no other Member objects to the request. These requests may involve debate time (similar to the language of a special rule) in order to consider a measure or conference report, or waive points of order against a measure. Before the Chair will recognize a Member for a unanimous consent request, it must be cleared by both the majority and minority leadership and relevant committee leadership.

In most cases, the Chair, hearing no objection, replies: “Without objection, so ordered.”

If a Member is unfamiliar with the request or its motives, the best way to find out what is behind the request is to “reserve the right to object.” This gives the Member the Floor and the opportunity to inquire about the request.

If the discussion during the “reservation of the right to object” proceeds for too long, any Member can demand “the regular order,” which means that the Member reserving the right to object should stop talking and either object or withdraw the reservation. The Member reserving the right to object may yield to another Member on the subject of the objection.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter VIII: Suspension of the Rules"}

VIII. SUSPENSION OF THE RULES

Under clause 1 of Rule XV, it is in order on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of each week, and during the last six days of a session, for the Speaker to entertain motions to suspend the rules and pass legislation.

Bills brought up under suspension of the rules are spoken of as “suspensions” in Floor terminology. There is no suspension calendar. The purpose of considering bills under suspension is to dispose of non-controversial measures expeditiously. Consideration of legislation under suspension of the rules on other days of the week is possible by unanimous consent or a special rule.

A motion to suspend the rules requires a vote of two-thirds of the Members present and voting. No amendments are in order unless submitted with the bill by its manager as part of the motion to suspend the rules.

Debate on a bill brought up under suspension of the rules is limited to forty minutes, twenty minutes controlled by a Member who supports the bill and twenty minutes controlled by a Member in opposition, a division that does not always follow party lines. It is typical for the chairman of the committee of jurisdiction to manage the time. For control of the opposition time, priority is given to a minority Member of the committee that has jurisdiction over the bill. Often the twenty minutes “in opposition” is controlled by the Ranking Minority Member of the committee or subcommittee who may not be opposed to the measure because no one rises in opposition. However, he or she may be challenged for control of the opposition time by another Member who qualifies as being opposed to the measure.

The majority leadership usually schedules several bills under suspension of the rules on the same day and the Chair often exercises its authority under clause 8 of Rule XX to announce beforehand that recorded votes on passage of each suspension, if ordered, will be postponed until the debate is concluded on all such suspensions (or up to two legislative days).

At the conclusion of debate, the postponed votes may be “clustered” and put before the House. If several votes have been ordered and the Chair has announced that the time for voting will be reduced, the first vote in the series will consume not less than fifteen minutes and all subsequent record votes will take not less than five minutes each. It is important for Members to be mindful of when a five-minute vote is expected, so that it will not be missed.

In the event of a series of two or more votes in which any votes after the first one will be reduced to not less than five minutes, the Member will be summoned to the Floor by two bells followed by five bells.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter IX: Special Rules for Major Bills"}

IX. SPECIAL RULES FOR MAJOR BILLS

Each major piece of legislation, except privileged matters (such as appropriations bills, budget resolutions and conference reports) not in violation of any rule of the House, normally needs a special rule to be adopted before the measure can be considered. A special rule, also known as an “order of business resolution,” is a House resolution that sets the terms for debate and amendment. A special rule is highly important because it controls what the House can and cannot do regarding the bill itself. Special rules are reported to the House by the Rules Committee, acting as an arm of the majority leadership. They require adoption by the full House by a simple majority vote in order to go into effect. Bills considered under suspension of the rules or on other special procedural days do not require a special rule in order to be considered on the House Floor.

Special rules should not be confused with the established procedures of the House. Generally speaking, special rules provide exceptions to, or departures from, the established procedures of the House. Those procedures are found in the Constitution of the United States, applicable provisions of Jefferson’s manual, rules of the House adopted on the opening day of each Congress, provisions of law and resolutions having the force of rules of the House, and established precedents by Speakers and other presiding officers of the House and Committee of the Whole.

Among the various types of special rules considered in the House, the most common are:

Open rules, which permit general debate for a certain period of time (one, two or three hours or more depending on the importance of the legislation and the legislative schedule) and allow any Member to offer an amendment that complies with the established procedures of the House under the five-minute rule.

Modified open rules, which permit general debate and allow any Member to offer a germane amendment under the five-minute rule subject only to a requirement that the amendment(s) be pre-printed in the Congressional Record. Modified open rules may also allow for any germane to be offered without pre-printing in the Congressional Record, but the rule may place an overall time cap on consideration of the bill for amendment.

Structured rules, which permit general debate for a certain period of time, but limit the amendments that may be offered to only those designated in the special rule or the Rules Committee report to accompany the special rule, or preclude amendments to a particular portion of a bill, even though the rest of the bill may be completely open to amendment.

Closed rules, which permit debate for a certain period of time, but do not allow amendments to be offered to the bill.

NOTE: To encourage Members to pre-print their amendments in the Congressional Record in advance of their consideration, the Rules Committee routinely includes a provision in open rules allowing the Chair to give priority in recognition to such Members. This common provision encouraging pre-printing should not be confused with the more restrictive provision in modified open rules requiring the pre-printing of amendments.

One of the most important features of a special rule is what it designates as the base text for purposes of amendment. This often may be the text of the committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute, an amendment in the nature of a substitute as modified by another amendment or a completely new text printed in the Congressional Record or in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying the rule, or consisting of the text of another introduced bill, or consisting of the text of a Committee Print of the Committee on Rules.

When a special rule waives points of order, it means that some standing rule or other established procedure of the House (such as germaneness or a provision of the Congressional Budget Act) is being set aside to permit the bill to be called up for consideration, or to permit certain amendments to be offered to the bill in question. Without such waivers, a point of order would lie against consideration of the bill or amendment and any Member could make that point of order, thereby preventing consideration of the bill or amendment.

Before a special rule is considered by the House, it is the subject of a hearing by the Rules Committee during which Members testify as to the type of rule and amendments they support. Members are usually notified by the Committee, in the form of a “Dear Colleague” letter and a Floor announcement by the Rules Committee Chairman, in advance of a meeting if a rule structuring the amendment process is anticipated. After a hearing is held, the Rules Committee will consider a motion to grant a special rule, and will then vote to report the rule to the House. The rule and accompanying report are usually filed on the same day.

A special rule may not be considered on the same day it is reported, except by a two-thirds vote of the House (unless it is within the last three days of the session). This prohibition (clause 6(a) of Rule XIII) is sometimes waived by the adoption of another special rule reported by the Rules Committee.

The process for considering a rule in the House is as follows:

• The rule is called up for consideration in the House by a majority Member (manager) of the Rules Committee.
• One hour of debate is permitted and the majority manager customarily yields one half of the time to the minority manager for the purposes of debate only.
• Amendments to special rules are very rare. Special rules can be altered by unanimous consent or the manager may offer an amendment. It is also possible but unlikely that the majority manager will yield for the purpose of amendment, or that the previous question will be defeated (see subsection E).
• The previous question is moved and put to the House by the Chair for a vote.
• Once the previous question is ordered, the House then votes on the rule. Upon adoption of the rule, the House may proceed to consideration of the legislation.

The previous question is a motion made in order under clause 1 of Rule XIX and is the major parliamentary device in the House used for closing debate and preventing further amendment. The effect of adopting the previous question is to bring the resolution to an immediate, final vote. The motion is most often made at the conclusion of debate on a rule, motion or legislation considered in the House prior to final passage. A Member might think about ordering the previous question in terms of answering the question: Is the House ready to vote on the rule, bill or amendment before it?

NOTE: The previous question is not in order under a motion to suspend the rules.
In order to amend a special rule (other than by using those procedures previously mentioned), the House must vote against ordering the previous question. If the previous question is defeated, the Speaker then recognizes the Member who led the opposition to the previous question (usually a Member of the minority party) to control an additional hour of debate during which a germane amendment may be offered to the rule. The Member controlling the Floor then moves the previous question on the amendment and the rule. If the previous question is ordered, the next vote occurs on the opposition’s amendment followed by a vote on the rule as amended.

Adoption of the rule occurs after the previous question is agreed to. When the previous question is not a subject of controversy, it is simply disposed of “without objection.” Next, the question of adopting the rule is put to the House, and the rule is either adopted or defeated. The underlying bill is not prejudiced for future consideration if the rule providing for its consideration is defeated. The Rules Committee can report another rule providing for consideration of that initial underlying bill.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter X: Resolving into the Committee"}

X. RESOLVING INTO THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

The Committee of the Whole is a parliamentary device, derived from the practice of the English House of Commons, used to expedite the work of the House during the debate and amendment process. It involves several less formal arrangements to conduct business, including a lesser number of Members required for a quorum (100 as compared to 218 in the full House). It also has a different procedure required to obtain a recorded vote (twenty-five Members standing in support as compared to the requirement of one-fifth of those present standing or a lack of a quorum in the full House). Certain motions allowed in the House are prohibited in the Committee of the Whole, such as motions for the previous question, to adjourn, to reconsider a vote, or to refer or recommit.

The Speaker does not preside in the Committee of the Whole, but appoints a Member of the majority party to preside with the full authority to keep order, rule on questions, recognize Members, and order votes. The Member designated to preside is addressed as “Mr. Chairman” or in the case of a female Member as “Madam Chairman.” On entering the House Chamber and facing the Chair, an easy way to determine whether the House is in the Committee of the Whole or in the full House is to note the position of the Mace to the left of the Chair. If it is in the lower position, the House is in the Committee of the Whole.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter XI: General Debate"}

XI. GENERAL DEBATE IN THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

There are two ways for the House to be resolved into the Committee of the Whole. Normally the House is resolved into the Committee of the Whole when, pursuant to a special rule, the Speaker declares the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole, in which case the resolving action is automatic and no vote is put to the Members. The second less common way is when the manager of the bill moves that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole (by authority of the standing rules in the case of a privileged matter such as an appropriations bill), in which case the motion is put to the Members.

Once the House has resolved into the Committee of the Whole to consider a particular measure, the parliamentary conduct of the Committee is dictated by the special rule previously adopted (refer to this manual’s Section IX, “Special Rules For Major Bills”) as well as general House Rules.

The “first reading” of the bill is normally dispensed with by the specific provisions of the special rule governing the bill. The Clerk reads the title and then the Chairman recognizes a majority and minority party member to manage the debate. This is usually the chairman and ranking member of the committee or subcommittee with jurisdiction over the pending bill.

One half of the general debate time is customarily allotted by the special rule to the minority and that time is usually managed by the Ranking Minority Member of the committee or subcommittee.

Speaking During General Debate:

The time for general debate is controlled by the majority and minority Floor Managers of a bill and a Member should ask the majority or minority manager at the committee table for time to speak. Normally, Members of the committee with jurisdiction over the bill speak first, and those not on the committee speak later. The first speech is given by the majority and the order of speakers then informally rotates back and forth across the aisle.

If Members need additional time to speak, they must ask the Floor Manager to yield more time. It is not in order to ask unanimous consent for additional time during general debate because the time is “controlled.” A Member may instead wish to speak briefly about the bill and insert a much longer statement into the Congressional Record to cover all the points the Member wants to make. (NOTE: Different typeface will appear in the Congressional Record to distinguish unspoken words.)

How a Member obtains time to speak:

The Floor Manager will yield time to a Member and the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole will recognize him/her for the allotted time. Once at a microphone, a Member’s remarks may be prefaced by saying, “Mr. Chairman (or Madam Chairman), I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.” Then he or she may proceed to speak for the time yielded. The Floor Manager may yield extra time to Members to complete their statements if requested and the time is available.

If a Member would like to ask a question of another Member who is speaking or make a comment, he or she should address the Chair and say, “Mr. Chairman (or Madam Chairman), will the gentleman (or gentlewoman) from (STATE) yield to me?” If the Member wishes to yield, he or she may do so at his or her discretion and must remain standing while the other Member speaks. The Member who has yielded may at any time “reclaim” his or her time and then the other Member must stop speaking and allow him or her to continue. A Member to whom time has been yielded can yield time to another Member as long as he or she remains standing, unless he or she is the Member controlling the debate time.

Conduct During Debate:

Words Taken Down: A Member should avoid impugning the motives of another Member, the Senate or a Member of the Senate, the Vice President or the President, as well as using offensive language or uttering words that are otherwise deemed unparliamentary. These actions violate the Rules of the House and are subject to a point of order. A point of order may be made by a Member “demanding that the gentleman’s (or gentlewoman’s) words be taken down.” If this happens in the Committee of the Whole, the Committee of the Whole rises and the Speaker must return to the Chair and rule on the propriety of the words used. In the case of remarks regarding the Senate and the President, the Chair may take the initiative and admonish Members for unparliamentary references.

Often the offending Member obtains unanimous consent to withdraw the inappropriate words or the demand is withdrawn before the Speaker rules and then the Member proceeds in order. However, if the Member’s words are ruled out of order, they may be stricken from the Congressional Record by motion or unanimous consent, and the Member will not be allowed to speak again on that day, except by motion or unanimous consent (clause 4 of Rule XVII).

Relevancy: A Member may get carried away in debate and stray from the subject under discussion. If so, he or she may be subject to a point of order that their remarks are not relevant to the debate (clause 1(b) of Rule XVII).

Speaking Out of Order: If a Member has to make an important announcement to the House that is not relevant to the debate, the Member may ask unanimous consent to “speak out of order” for a period of time (usually one minute). If granted, the Member may then speak on the desired subject for the allotted time.

Addressing the Chair: A Member must be standing while speaking. If not, the Member may be subject to a point of order because of unparliamentary posture (clause 1(a) of Rule XVII).

Walking in the Well: Members should avoid walking between the Chair and any Member who is addressing the House. In addition, Members should not walk through the Well of the House when Members are speaking (clause 5 of XVII).

Dress Code: Members should dress appropriately, which traditionally means male Members should wear a coat and tie and female Members should wear business attire. Members should not wear overcoats or hats on the Floor while the House is in session. Eating, drinking, and smoking are not permitted. The use of personal electronic equipment, including cellular telephones and personal computers, is also prohibited on the Floor of the House (clause 5 of Rule XVII).

Forms of Address: Members should not address their colleagues by their first name on the House Floor. They should be addressed as the gentleman or gentlewoman from (State).

NOTE: All of the same cautions and prohibitions mentioned above with respect to conduct during debate in the Committee of the Whole also apply to conduct during debate in the House.

Quorum and Vote in the Committee of the Whole:

A quorum in the Committee of the Whole consists of 100 Members. However, during general debate the Chairman has the discretion to refuse to entertain a point of order that a quorum is not present. If the Chair does permit a quorum call at this point and orders the call by electronic device, Members will be summoned by three bells to the House Floor to record their presence.

The Chairman must entertain a point of order that a quorum is not present during consideration of a measure under the five-minute rule (the regular amendment process) if a quorum has not yet been established in the Committee of the Whole on the bill on that day. However, if a quorum has been established in Committee, the Chairman may not later entertain a point of no quorum during consideration under the five-minute rule unless and until the question is put on a pending amendment or motion. Whenever such a question is put before the Committee, any Member may rise and say: “On that question I request a recorded vote, and pending that, I make a point of order that a quorum is not present.”

If less than 100 Members are present, the Chair will direct that Members record their presence by electronic device. The Chair at his or her discretion may order either a “live” or “notice” quorum call. For a live quorum call, Members must respond by recording their presence. A Member’s absence will be noted in the Congressional Record. In the case of a “live” quorum call where a five-minute vote on an amendment is expected following the quorum call, Members are summoned by three bells followed by five bells.

Alternatively, in the absence of a quorum, the Chair may order a “notice” quorum call and vacate the quorum call at any time when 100 Members appear. The Committee then continues its business, and no indication of who responded to the call will appear in the Congressional Record. In the case of a “notice” quorum call, Members are summoned by one long bell followed by three short bells. In current practice, notice quorum calls are very rare.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter XII: Amendments"}

XII. AMENDMENTS UNDER THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE

After all of the general debate has concluded, either by all time having been consumed or both sides yielding back the balance of their unused time, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole will direct the Reading Clerk to read the bill for amendment. This is the so-called “second reading” of the bill. Under the standing Rules of the House, a bill is read for amendment by section (or by paragraph in the case of an appropriations bill), although a special rule may provide that it be read by title for amendment, or that it be considered as read and open for amendment at any point. A special rule may also specify the order in which amendments must be offered.

The special rule frequently provides for each section (or paragraph or title) to be considered as read. In that case, the Reading Clerk only designates each section as it is reached.

Offering an Amendment:

If a Member wants to offer an amendment, he or she must be on the Floor when the Clerk reads to the point at which the amendment is in order. At that point, the Member asks for recognition to offer the amendment. If a Member misses the opportunity to offer the amendment at the proper time, he or she may not be able to offer the amendment at all unless unanimous consent is granted to return to the appropriate place in the bill or the Member is able to redraft it to amend a subsequent section of the bill that has not yet been read for amendment. In general, Members should be sure that their amendments comply with the rules of the House.

Amendments must be germane to the bill and to the section to which it is offered. (See clause 7 of Rule XVI for an explanation of germaneness.) Failure to comply with this Rule means that the amendment may be ruled out of order if a point of order is made against it. Amendments should be reviewed by a Parliamentarian well in advance of the debate to ensure its germaneness and compliance with House rules.

Amendments should be shared with the appropriate Members of the committee of jurisdiction unless the element of surprise is desired. Review by the committee of jurisdiction, which may recommend alternative language to make an amendment more acceptable, will enhance the prospects for passage.

Members should also provide sufficient copies of their amendment (a minimum of ten) to the Reading Clerk on the rostrum. The Member may either take the copies to the Clerk in advance or may send the amendment to the desk as the Member offers it from the Floor.

Members should make sure the Floor and cloakroom staffs have information about their amendments so they can communicate them to the membership by posting them at the leadership desk on the Floor and in the cloakroom, and by informing Members over their pagers if record vote(s) are ordered.

Time Limits Under the Five Minute Rule:

Under the normal process of debate during consideration of amendments, the author of an amendment is recognized for five minutes, followed by recognition of a Member who wishes to speak in opposition for five minutes. Other Members may speak for five minutes by standing to seek recognition and saying, “Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.”

This pro forma amendment is simply a device to get time without having to offer an actual amendment. Once a Member is finished speaking on a pro forma amendment, it is considered to have been automatically withdrawn and no vote is required on it.

When speaking under the five-minute rule, a Member may be able to obtain additional time by asking unanimous consent to proceed for the additional time desired. If an objection is heard, the Member may not proceed with additional debate time. Unlike general debate, time under the five-minute rule is not allocated to any specific Member, unless specifically provided for in a special rule. Additional time can be obtained by unanimous consent or by asking other Members who have not consumed all of their five minutes to yield time. When all Members who wish to be heard on an amendment are finished, the Chair puts the question to a vote.

In addition to time limitations that may be imposed by special rules governing consideration of bills, clause 8 of Rule XVIII outlines the manner in which the time for debate may be limited — either for tactical advantage or because all parties agree that enough debate has occurred. Such limits are proposed by a Member, usually the manager of the bill, asking unanimous consent that all time on an amendment and all amendments thereto be limited to a specified amount of time. A Member may ask that all debate on an amendment (or section) and all amendments thereto end at a certain time. These requests may be granted “without objection” or, if an objection is heard, they may be offered as a motion and be subject to a vote.

Protecting an Amendment:

It is advisable for Members to have their amendments printed in the Congressional Record (where they will be numbered accordingly) before their consideration. There are occasions in which a special rule governing a bill will require amendments to be printed in the Congressional Record prior to their consideration. Normally, however, such special rules, if open, will provide preferential treatment for pre-printed amendments. There is a special box for such amendments on the lower tier of the rostrum. If the Member submits an amendment for printing, it must be signed in the upper right-hand corner. Facsimile copies are not acceptable. Once printed in the Congressional Record, the Member is assured five minutes to speak on the amendment under an open rule, as will one opponent, even if a time limit is imposed by the Committee of the Whole. However, this protection will not apply if the special rule governing the bill adopted by the House includes a time limitation or the rule does not include the Member’s amendment in the list of amendments that are to be made in order. The time for consideration of amendments may be limited overall by a rule, or the rule may specify time limits for each amendment made in order.

How to Get a Vote on an Amendment:

Once all debate has concluded on an amendment, the Chair will state, “The question occurs on the amendment offered by the Gentleman (or Gentlewoman) from (State). All those in favor will say aye. Those opposed will say no.” Then the Chair will announce the outcome of the voice vote. Typically, if any Member is dissatisfied with the outcome of the voice vote, he or she may demand a recorded vote on the amendment.

NOTE: Rarely will a Member demand a “division” vote before requesting a recorded vote. Under this little-used procedure, the Chair will first ask those in favor to rise, then those opposed. The Chair will count the Members and announce the total. If the Member is still unsatisfied with the outcome, a record vote may be requested.

In order to obtain a record vote, 25 Members must rise to be counted by the Chair. As noted earlier, a point of no quorum can be made pending the request for a record vote in order to get more Members to the Floor to support the request. If so, the Member should say: “Mr. Chairman (or Madam Chairman), I request a record vote and, pending that, I make a point of order that a quorum is not present.” If a sufficient number of Members stand, the point of no quorum should be withdrawn and the request for a record vote restated.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter XIII: Conclusion of a Bill’s Consideration"}

XIII. CONCLUSION OF A BILL’S CONSIDERATION

Committee of the Whole Rises:

Usually a special rule will provide that, automatically following the disposition of all amendments, the Committee of the Whole rises and reports the bill back to the House with the recommendation that the bill, as amended, does pass. If the rule does not include this provision, the majority manager of the bill will be recognized to make such a motion. The Committee of the Whole then rises and the Speaker or a Speaker pro tempore resumes the Chair.

Separate Votes on Amendments Adopted in the Committee of the Whole:

The Chair, now the Speaker, asks the House: “Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole?” Separate votes may be demanded only on amendments adopted by the Committee. Amendments that were defeated may not be voted on again. If there is no request for any separate votes, the amendments adopted are put before the House en bloc and adopted without objection. On the other hand, if an amendment has been adopted by a narrow margin or a voice vote in the Committee of the Whole, at this point, the opponents may try to reverse the outcome by demanding a separate vote on it in the House.

Previous Question:

Under a special rule, the ordering of the previous question is typically automatic to ensure that the measure makes it to final passage; therefore, no vote on the previous question is allowed. In the absence of such a provision (such as on appropriations bills considered without a special rule), the Speaker will move that the previous question be ordered “without objection.” If an objection is heard, the motion for the previous question must be voted on.

At the beginning of the 111th Congress the rules were changed to allow the Speaker to indefinitely postpone consideration of a measure, if that measure is being considered pursuant to a rule or special order of the House, regardless of the operation of the previous question (Rule XIX, clause 1(c)).  

Engrossment and Third Reading of the Bill:

This is a routine motion that orders the Clerk to prepare the measure for transmission to the Senate and read its title (the “third reading”).

Motion to Recommit:

After the engrossment and third reading of a bill or joint resolution (but not simple resolutions, concurrent resolutions and conference reports), a Member opposed to the measure is given preference in recognition to offer a motion to recommit the measure, with or without instructions, to the committee that originally reported the measure. This motion is traditionally the right of the minority and gives them one last chance to return the measure to committee or have its version voted on. The Rules Committee may not report a special rule on a bill or joint resolution that denies a motion to recommit with instructions if offered by the Minority Leader or his designee.

If the motion to recommit is without instructions it is not debatable and has the effect of sending the bill back to a committee until such time the committee decides to take further action on the bill or joint resolution.

Usually the instructions are for the committee to “report the bill back to the House forthwith with the following amendment….” The text of the amendment is then read in full. The motion to recommit with instructions is debatable for ten minutes, equally divided, but not controlled, which means neither side may yield or reserve time, between the proponent and the opponent, although the time may be extended to one hour at the request of the majority Floor manager.

If the motion is adopted, the bill is recommitted with such “forthwith” instructions. The bill is immediately reported back to the House on the spot with the amendment, the amendment is voted on, and the House proceeds to final passage of the bill.

At the beginning of the 111th Congress the rules were changed to deny the Minority the option of recommitting a bill or joint resolution with any instructions other than “forthwith” instructions. Prior to the 111th Congress, motions to recommit could include instructions directing a committee to report back to the House “promptly” rather than “forthwith.” Such instructions generally required the committee to examine and report back a specific amendment. The rule change also prohibits motions instructing a committee to hold further hearings, or that an investigation be conducted and that a report of that investigation be made to the House.  

In order of priority, the Minority Leader and then minority party Members on the committee handling the bill, by seniority, have the right to offer the motion. This does not preclude Members of the majority party from offering the motion to recommit. They “qualify” to offer the motion if they state that they oppose the bill. The Member who qualifies and offers the motion usually votes against final passage of the bill if the motion to recommit fails.

 

{mospagebreak title="Chapter XIV: Passage of a Bill"}

XIV. FINAL PASSAGE OF A BILL

In bringing a measure to a final passage vote, the Speaker is required under House rules to first put the question to a voice vote by stating, “As many as are in favor (as the question may be), say `Aye.’ As many as are opposed, say ‘No.’” The Speaker then makes the “call” on which side prevails. The only remedy available to any Member that disagrees with the Speaker’s announcement on the voice vote is to demand a division or recorded vote.

Obtaining a Recorded Vote in the House:

Because the Constitution requires a quorum to be present to do business, whenever a quorum (218 Members) is not present, a recorded vote can be obtained by addressing the Chair and declaring: “Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and I make a point of order that a quorum is not present.”

An alternate means of obtaining a recorded vote when a quorum is not present is to request the “yeas and nays,” which requires that one-fifth of those Members present stand up to order the vote. This could be as many as 87 if all 435 Members are present, or as few as one if less than five Members are on the Floor. Once the Chair determines that one-fifth of those present support the demand for the yeas and nays, the vote is ordered.

A Member can obtain a recorded vote when a quorum (218 Members or more) is present by addressing the Chair and declaring: “Mr. Speaker, on that I demand a recorded vote.” A “recorded vote” under these circumstances requires only one-fifth of a quorum (44 Members) to stand and support the request.

General Leave:

It is customary after consideration of a bill for the majority Floor Manager to ask unanimous consent that all Members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of the bill just passed. Once this request is granted, Members may insert remarks on the bill without having to ask permission personally. The remarks should be labeled “General Leave.” If the material is submitted rather than actually spoken on the Floor, it will appear in different type in the Congressional Record.

Revising and Extending Remarks:

Once a Member has requested to see his or her remarks before they are printed in the Congressional Record, especially those made during debate when other Members are involved, certain rules of courtesy should be followed. As soon as the Official Reporter gives the transcript to the Member, it should be corrected for grammatical errors and immediately returned so that other Members may do the same.

The substance of a Member’s remarks should not be changed — only grammatical corrections are allowed to be made. If elaboration is desired with tables or other “extraneous material,” and permission has not been granted under general leave, specific permission must be obtained in the House and not in the Committee of the Whole. It will take approximately one hour between the time a speech is given and the time the transcribed remarks will be available on the Floor.

Motion to Reconsider:

The motion to reconsider is available to any Member who votes on the prevailing side of a question and who wishes to move reconsideration on the same or succeeding legislative day. This often occurs when Members (usually minority Members) determine there is a need to slow down the legislative process. After final passage, it is the common practice in the House for the Speaker to declare, “Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.” If no objection is raised, this has the parliamentary effect of ending any possibility that another vote on the bill can take place.

Postponement of Votes:

The Speaker has the discretion to postpone votes for up to two legislative days on a number of questions, including final passage of bills. Other questions that can be postponed by the Speaker include adoption of resolutions, motions to instruct, agreements to conference reports, previous question votes on any of the above matters, suspensions, motions to reconsider (and motions to table reconsideration), and agreements to amendments reported from the Committee of the Whole. The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole has the authority to postpone and cluster votes on amendments.

Clustering of Votes:

The Speaker may reduce the voting time to five minutes for electronic voting on certain questions after a fifteen-minute record vote has been taken. Votes can only be clustered by the Chair when there has not been intervening business between the votes in question.

Vote Pairs and Missed Votes:

The practice of announcing “general pairs” or the “pairing” of votes was eliminated in the 106th Congress. While “general pairs” are no longer announced, “live pairs” are still permitted. A “live pair” is an informal agreement between one Member present and voting and another on the opposite side of the question who is absent. By agreement, the voting member withdraws his or her vote and records his or her self as “present.” If the present Member wishes to announce the “pair,” they must do so prior to the announcement of the final vote total.

If a Member misses a vote, they may have their position on the missed vote made part of the public record by inserting a brief statement in the Congressional Record at the proper point indicating how the Member would have voted. Such statements appear in the Congressional Record under the heading “Personal Explanation.” For more information about this practice, contact the Floor staff.

Conflicts of Interest:

Each Member must be present in the Hall of the House during its sessions “unless excused or necessarily prevented” and “shall vote on each question put, unless he or she has a direct personal or pecuniary interest in the event of such question.” It has been ruled that only the Member can decide whether such a conflict exists and not even the Speaker will question his or her judgment, nor can any other Member challenge his or her vote on such grounds. Members should let their consciences be their guide. If Members believe they have such a conflict, they can vote “present” on the record vote and include an explanation in the Congressional Record.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter XV: Conference Reports"}

XV. CONFERENCE REPORTS

In order for a bill to be presented to the President for signature, it must pass both the House and Senate in the exact same form. The device used for reaching agreement between the two Houses is often, but not always, a conference committee. Sometimes differences between the two bodies are resolved by amendment — e.g., the House will agree to the bill as passed by the Senate with an amendment and the Senate will subsequently concur with that amendment.

A bill may be sent to conference by special rule or unanimous consent. If an objection is heard, the bill may be sent to conference by motion or suspension. A motion to request or agree to a conference with the Senate is in order if offered by direction of the primary committee and of all reporting committees of initial referral. If such a motion has not been authorized by the committee, a special rule may be required to go to conference. The 109th rules of the House include a change that gives committees the option to adopt a rule directing the chairman of the committee to offer a privileged motion to go to conference at any time the chairman deems it appropriate during a Congress.

Following the motion to go to conference, but prior to the appointment of conferees, the Speaker will recognize a minority Member, with preference given to the minority Floor manager (if recognition is sought) to offer a motion to instruct House conferees. The motion is debatable for one hour, divided between the majority and the minority managers. If both support the motion, however, a third Member may demand time in opposition. All three Members are then recognized for one-third of the time. The motion to instruct conferees is not amendable unless the previous question is defeated. The instructions are not binding and they may not propose to do what the conferees could not otherwise do under the Rules of the House (e.g. exceed the scope of the conference). Additional opportunities to instruct occur when a conference report is recommitted or after twenty calendar days and ten legislative days if the conference has failed to report. A Member who wishes to offer a motion to instruct conferees after twenty-and-ten days must notify the House one day in advance of offering the motion.

Conferees are named by the Speaker and usually include Members of the committee(s) of jurisdiction and principal proponents of the legislation’s major provisions.

When a conference agreement is reached, it comes back to the House in the form of a “conference report” that the House must consider and approve. Unless waived, the rules of the House require that a conference report be filed at least three calendar days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) before it can be called up for consideration. The rules also require that a majority of the conferees sign the conference report. After that time, it becomes privileged and can be called up at any time. If the conference report violates a rule of the House, it may be subject to a point of order that would prevent its consideration.

Debate on a conference report is limited to one hour, the time divided between the majority and the minority, unless the majority party manager and the minority party manager both support the conference report. In that case, one-third of the debate time will be given to an opponent of the conference report who makes such a demand.

Before adoption of the conference report, a motion may be in order to recommit the conference report to the committee on conference, either with instructions (that must be within the authority of the conferees and comply with the rules of the House) or without instructions, although separate debate time is not allowed on either motion. Such a motion is only in order if the Senate has not yet acted on the conference report, thereby discharging its conferees, and the instructions in the motion to recommit are not binding because the House cannot bind Senate conferees. A Member qualifies to offer the motion if he or she opposes the conference report and states that fact.

If the House is first to act and the motion to recommit is adopted, the conference must meet again and a new conference report must be filed prior to consideration of the measure again. The rule requiring a three-day layover of conference reports still applies unless waived by special rule.

Following debate on the conference report and in the absence of a motion to recommit or upon the defeat of such a motion, a vote then occurs on adoption of the conference report, which may not be amended on the Floor.

When dealing with appropriations conference reports, there may be times when conferees cannot reach agreement on all the amendments in disagreement. Also, there may be times when conferees must report provisions outside the conference report. For example, conferees may not exceed the scope of the conference or include legislative or unauthorized provisions in an appropriations bill. In those cases, the conferees will present a conference report to the House and Senate that includes all amendments on which agreement has been reached but excludes the amendments that remain in real or technical disagreement. The conference report is considered first and, assuming adoption of the conference report, the amendments in disagreement are then considered and disposed of individually.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter XVI: Discharge Petitions"}

XVI. DISCHARGE PETITIONS

After a bill has been introduced and referred to committee for 30 legislative days or more, any Member may file a motion with the Clerk of the House to discharge the committee from further consideration of the bill. A Member may also file a motion to discharge the Rules Committee from consideration of a special rule after the rule has been pending before the Rules Committee for at least seven legislative days and the bill has been reported by a standing committee or has been referred to a standing committee for thirty legislative days.

Discharge petitions may cover only a single introduced measure, not multiple bills. A motion to discharge must only provide for the consideration of similar subject matter. In other words, a discharge motion cannot waive the germaneness rule.

If a Member is successful in convincing a majority of the total membership of the House (218 Members) to sign a discharge petition, the petition becomes eligible for consideration on the second or fourth Monday of the month after a seven legislative day layover (except during the last six days of any session when the layover is waived). The discharge motion is debatable for twenty minutes, equally divided between the proponents and an opponent. If the motion to discharge a bill is adopted, it is in order to move that the House immediately consider the bill itself. If the motion to discharge a rule is adopted, the House turns immediately to consideration of the rule.

NOTE: Signatures on a discharge petition must be made available to the public by the Clerk and are made available on the Internet. The names of new signatories are printed in the Congressional Record on the last legislative day of each week.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter XVII: End of Legislative Day"}

XVII. END OF LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS FOR THE DAY

After completion of the scheduled legislative business, it is customary at the end of the day for the House to consider miscellaneous unanimous consent requests that were not made earlier in the day, including personal requests of individual Members.

Personal Requests:

Such requests can only be made by the Member benefiting from the request. These include to:

• Make a correction in the Congressional Record;

• Have a Member’s name removed as a cosponsor of a bill or resolution (this request
may also be made by the original sponsor of the measure);

• Include extraneous material exceeding two pages in the Congressional Record, which must be accompanied by a cost estimate from Government Printing Office.

Official Leave:

Members are allowed to be absent and excused on grounds of necessity which can include a death in the family, illness or official business. A request for a leave of absence should be made through the Cloakroom and signed by the appropriate party leader. Such requests are laid before the House each evening and made a part of the Congressional Record.

Extension of Remarks:

Members may insert comments in the section of the Congressional Record entitled “Extension of Remarks” by submitting to the Cloakroom such remarks with the Member’s original signature. It is no longer necessary to obtain “permission” to include extensions in the Congressional Record. All material submitted must bear an original Member’s signature in the upper right-hand corner of the front page — facsimiles are not permitted — and the Member’s typed name to be sure of identification. Members must be sure clerks will title the extension themselves.

If the extraneous material to be inserted will exceed two pages of the Congressional Record, it must be submitted to the Government Printing Office in advance for a cost estimate. When the estimate is received, the Member must ask leave of the House in person that it be printed, notwithstanding the cost. At the beginning or the end of the day, the Member must ask unanimous consent to extend his or her remarks in the Congressional Record and to include therein extraneous material notwithstanding the fact that it exceeds two pages. As part of the unanimous consent request, the Member also should include a cost estimate by the GPO. (As of May 2004, it is estimated that each page of the Congressional Record costs $290.00.)

Extensions should be delivered to the Cloakroom, handed to the Congressional Record clerks who sit at the bottom tier of the rostrum during session, or delivered to the Office of the Official Reports of Debates in Room HT-60 of the Capitol by 5 p.m. or fifteen minutes after the House adjourns, whichever is later.

Special Orders:

Members may request special orders through their Cloakroom in five-minute increments up to sixty minutes in length. Special order speeches are given after legislative business is completed for the day. They may be on any topic, and may either be given orally or submitted in writing (as with extensions of remarks). Members are recognized first for five-minute special orders, alternating between the majority and minority. At the conclusion of five-minute special orders, the Chair will recognize Members who wish to speak for longer periods of time, also alternating between the majority and minority. Special orders cannot be requested more than one week in advance and cannot be entertained after midnight. Any questions concerning special orders should be directed to the Cloakrooms.

Adjournment:

A motion to adjourn closes the business of the day.

{mospagebreak title="Chapter XVIII: Earmark Rules"} 

 

XVIII. EARMARK RULES

At the beginning of the 110th Congress the House adopted new rules concerning the consideration of Member directed projects or “earmarks,” specifically clause 9 of Rule XXI and clause 17 of Rule XXIII (the Code of Official Conduct). These rules followed efforts in the 109th Congress to provide greater transparency in the earmarking process. 

The rules are intended to prohibit the consideration of legislation that does not identify individual earmarks and the Members who sponsored them. The rules also require the distribution of the information in a way that makes it readily available before the legislation is considered, and certification by earmark sponsors that neither they nor their spouses have a financial interest in the earmark.  

Point of Order:

Clause 9 of Rule XXI requires the chairman of the committee of initial referral to either disclose all earmarks contained in a bill, joint resolution, or conference report, or certify that the bill, joint resolution, or conference report contain no earmarks, and provide that information either in the accompanying report or printed in the Congressional Record. If the chairman of the committee of initial referral does not fulfill either of these requirements prior to the consideration of the measure, a point of order would lay against the consideration of the measure. This requirement also applies to unreported measures (in which case the information must be printed in the Congressional Record).  

Clause 9(c) of Rule XXI prohibits the Rules Committee from waiving those disclosure requirements. If the Rules Committee reports a rule waiving clause 9 of Rule XXI, it would then be in order to raise a point of order against consideration of the rule. Disposition of the point of order raised against the rule would be determined by the Chair putting the question of consideration after twenty minutes of debate on the point of order equally divided and controlled by the Member initiating the point of order and a member opposed. At the conclusion of debate on the point of order the Chair will put the question as follows: “Not withstanding the assertion of the gentleman/lady from (STATE), that House Resolution XXX violates clause 9(c) of Rule XXI, shall the House now consider House Resolution XXX?”

Members should also be aware that clause 9(a)(3) of Rule XXI applies the point of order to the initial amendment made in order under a special rule from the Rules Committee if that amendment is authored by a Member of the committee of initial referral. Clause 9(a)(3) requires the sponsor of the amendment to comply with the same disclosure requirements by having a statement printed in the Congressional Record either disclosing earmarks contained in their amendment or certifying that there are no earmarks in their amendment. 

The earmark rule was modified at the beginning of the 111th Congress in order to incorporate provisions of a standing order which had been adopted in the 110th Congress, H. Res. 491.  Concern was raised in the 110th Congress about the enforceability of the rule, particularly as it applies to conference reports. Specifically, Members were concerned that there was no way to debate the point of order if a Member questioned the accuracy or completeness of the list contained in the statement of managers accompanying the conference report. This problem arises because the current practice of the Rules Committee is to waive all points of order except clause 9 and 10 of Rule XXI, meaning that the point of order against a conference report is never armed. 

The modifications made at the beginning of the 111th Congress, creates some enforceability for this provision against conference reports for the regular appropriations bills. The modification codified a point of order against a conference report to accompany a regular general appropriations bill (debatable as a question of consideration) for the failure to include a list of “air dropped” earmarks in the joint statement of managers. Unlike other points of order raised under clause 9 of Rule XXI, this point of order does not have a congnizability standard, allowing Members to question the accuracy or completeness of the list. 

Clause 17 of Rule XXIII (the Code of Official Conduct) imposes a disclosure requirement on a Member who requests a congressional earmark, a limited tax benefit, or a limited tariff benefit in any bill or joint resolution or in any conference report on a bill or joint resolution. The committee of primary jurisdiction over the bill shall determine, using the definitions of “earmark,” “limited tax benefit,” and “limited tariff benefit” provided in clauses 9(d), (e), and (f) of Rule XXI, whether any particular spending provision constitutes an earmark or a request for an earmark.

A Member can raise the point of order at the point the manager calls up the conference report by saying: “M. Speaker, I raise a point of order under clause 9(b) of Rule XXI against the conference report for the failure to include a [complete/accurate] list of congressional earmarks.” 

If the rule providing for consideration of the conference report waives all points of order, the point of order automatically moves to the rule. The form of that point of order is: “M. Speaker, I raise a point of order against H. Res. ____ under clause 9(b) of Rule XXI, because the resolution contains a waiver of all points of order against the conference report and its consideration.”

The point of order would then be debated as if raised under clause 9(c) of Rule XXI.

Earmark Certification:

A Member who requests an earmark or other provision must provide a written statement to the chairman and ranking member of the committee of jurisdiction of the bill, resolution, or report that contains the following information: 

• The name of the Member; 

• In the case of an earmark, the name and address of the intended recipient or if there is no intended recipient, the location of the activity;

• In the case of a limited tax or tariff benefit, the name of the beneficiary;

• The purpose of the earmark or limited tax or tariff benefit; and

• A certification that both the Member and the Member’s spouse have no “financial interest” in the earmark or limited tax or tariff benefit.

Clause 17(a)(5) of Rule XXIII (the Code of Official Conduct), requires a Member who requests an earmark to certify that the Member and his or her spouse have “no financial interest in such congressional earmark.” In the great majority of cases, Members should readily be able to determine whether they have a financial interest in an earmark by simply determining whether or not it would be reasonable to conclude that the provisions would have a direct and foreseeable effect on the pecuniary interests of the Member or the Member’s spouse. However; Members are strongly encouraged to consult the Standards Committee for guidance with any fact specific questions they have.
 
Additionally, various committees and the Republican Conference have their own standards for certifications and disclosures regarding earmarks, limited tax benefits, and limited tariff benefits. Members are strongly encouraged to check with the committee of jurisdiction before requesting an earmark to ensure that they are complying with all applicable standards.
 
 
 

 

{mospagebreak title="Appendix"}

APPENDIX II: CONGRESSIONAL GLOSSARY

APPENDIX: ABRIDGED PARLIAMENTARY DICTIONARY

 

Adjournment | Amendments | Bill | BillsIntroduced | BudgetAuthority | BudgetOutlay | BudgetResolution | Calendar | Chair | Chaplain | ChiefAdministrative Officer | Clerk | Cloakroom | ClusteredVotes | Committees | CommitteeAllocations | Committeeof the Whole | ConferenceReport | Desk | EnBloc | EngrossedBill | EnrolledBill | Expedited Procedures | FirstReading | Five-MinuteRule | Floor | FloorManager | Free Trade Agreements | Gallery | Germaneness | Hopper | HouseBill (H.R.) | HouseConcurrent Resolution (H. Con. Res.) | HouseJoint Resolution (H. J. Res.) | HouseResolution (H. Res.) | Layon the Table | LegislativeHistory | Mace | MarkingUp | Motion to Recommit | Officeof the Parliamentarian | OfficialReporter | Order | ParliamentaryInquiry | Pointof Order | PrivateBill | Privilege | PrivilegedMatters | PreviousQuestion | Quorum | RamseyerRule | Reading for Amendment | Recess | Recognition | Reconsideration | Re-Referral | RollCall Vote | Rostrum | Rules | SenateBill (S.) | SenateConcurrent Resolution (S. Con. Res.) | SenateJoint Resolution (S. J. Res.) | SenateResolution (S. Res.) | Sergeant-at-Arms | Speaker | StandingCommittees | Suspensionof the Rules | UnanimousConsent | UnanimousConsent Agreements | Waiver | Well | Whip |YieldingTime

Adjournment to a Day Certain – Adjournment under a motion or resolution that fixes the next time of meeting. Under the Constitution, both Houses must agree to a concurrent resolution for either House to adjourn for more than three days. A session of Congress is not ended by adjournment to a day certain.

Adjournment Sine Die – Adjournment without definitely fixing a day for reconvening; literally “adjournment without a day.” Usually used to connote the final adjournment of a session of Congress. A session can continue until noon, January 3, of the following year, when, under the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, it automatically terminates.

Amendments(Types of) – A proposal of a Member of Congress to alter the text of a bill or another amendment. An amendment usually is voted on in the same manner as a bill.

Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute – An amendment that seeks to replace the entire text of an underlying bill. The adoption of such an amendment precludes any further amendment to that bill under the regular process (Also, see Substitute Amendment).

Pro Forma Amendment – A motion whereby a Member secures five minutes to speak on an amendment under debate in the Committee of the Whole. The Member gains recognition from the Chair by moving to “strike the last word.” The motion requires no vote, does not change the amendment under debate, and is deemed automatically withdrawn at the expiration of the five minutes of debate.

Substitute Amendment – An amendment that replaces the entire text of a pending amendment.

Bill -The principal vehicle employed by lawmakers forintroducing their proposals (enacting or repealinglaws, for example) in the House. Bills are designatedH. R. 1, H. R. 2 and so on depending on the orderin which they are introduced.

Bills Introduced – In both the House and Senate, any number of Members may join in introducing a single bill or resolution. The first Member listed is the sponsor of the bill, and all Members’ names following the sponsor’s are the bill’s cosponsors. When introduced, a bill is referred to the committee or committees that have jurisdiction over the subject with which the bill is concerned. Under the standing rules of the House and Senate, bills are referred by the Speaker in the House and by the presiding officer in the Senate. In practice, the House and Senate parliamentarians act for these officials and refer the bills.

Budget Authority – Authority provided by law to incur into financial obligations that normally result in the outlay of funds. The main forms of budget authority are appropriations, borrowing authority, contract authority, and entitlement authority.

Budget Outlay – Payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.

Budget Resolution – A concurrent resolution which outlines in broad parameters the levels of spending and revenues for the next fiscal year. The concurrent resolution, which is not signed by the President, contains allocations of spending authority for House and Senate committees which serve as constraints on their consideration of legislation. The Appropriations Committee gets an allocation for discretionary spending.

Calendar -An agenda or list of business awaiting possible action by the House or Senate. The House has four calendars (the Discharge Calendar, the House Calendar, the Private Calendar and the Union Calendar).

Chair – Termused to identify both the position of chairmanand/or the person presiding over an official proceeding.

Chaplain of the House or Senate – He or she opens the legislative session with a formal prayer, a custom since the First Congress. The Chaplain provides pastoral counseling to Members, their families and staff. Guest Chaplains of various denominations regularly offer the prayer.

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) – He or she is responsible for certain administrative and financial activities that support the operations of the House, including the finance office, Members’ accounts, information resources, human resources, office systems management, furniture, office supplies, postal operations, food services, and various media services.

Clerk of the House – As the chief legislative officer, he or she directs administrative activities that support the legislative process including keeping the Journal, recording all votes, certifying bill passage and processing all legislation.

Cloakroom – Democratic and Republican cloakrooms adjacent to the Housechamber serve as gathering places for party members to discuss chamber business privately.

Clustered Votes – The practice of postponing votes on amendments until all amendments have been offered and debated in order to maximizeefficient scheduling of voting. The Rules of the House provide the Chairman of the Committeeof the Whole discretionary authority to postpone votes on amendments and to reduce time for voting on amendments.

Committee -A panel of Members elected or appointed to perform some service or function for its parent body. Congress has three types of committees: standing, special or select, joint. Committees conduct investigations, make studies, issue reports and recommendations, and, in the case of standing committees, review and prepare measures on their assigned subjects for action by their respective houses. Most committees divide their work among several subcommittees or, in some cases, task forces, but only the full committee may submit reports or measures to its house or to Congress. With rare exceptions, the majority party in a house holds a majority of the seats on its committees, and their chairmen are also from that party.

Committee Allocation – The distribution, pursuant to section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act, of new budget authority and outlays to House and Senate committees. The allocation, which may not exceed the relevant amounts in the budget resolution, usually is made in the joint explanatory statement that accompanies the conference report on the budget resolution.

Committeeof the Whole – A committee composed of all House Members created to expedite the consideration of bills, other measures and amendments on the Floor of the House. In the Committee of the Whole, a quorum is 100 Members (as compared to 218 in a fully populated House) and debate on amendments is conducted under the five-minute rule (as compared to the hour rule in the House). In addition, certain motions allowed in the House are prohibited in the Committee of the Whole including, but not limited to, motions for the previous question, to table, to adjourn, to reconsider a vote, and to refer or recommit.

Conference Report – Comparable, but not identical, bills adopted by each house of Congress are sent to a special bicameral “conference” committee created solely to resolve the differences. The compromise bill negotiated by the conference committee is sent back to both houses with an accompanying "conference report," which is printed and available to Members. It is submitted to each chamber for its consideration, approval or disapproval. If approved, the final bill then goes to the President for his signature or veto.

Desk – The presiding officer’s desk. In parliamentary parlance, a member may send an amendment or a written motion to “the desk,” or a measure may be “held at the desk.”

En Bloc – Several amendments offered and considered as a group. Because Members normally may offer an amendment at a time for consideration, they must obtain unanimous consent to offer amendments en bloc, or a rule providing for consideration of a measure may provide authority for a member to offer amendments en bloc.

Engrossed Bill – The official copy of a bill or joint resolution as passed by one chamber, including the text as amended by Floor action, and certified by the clerk of the House or the secretary of the Senate (as appropriate). Amendments by one house to a measure or amendments of the other also are engrossed. House engrossed documents are printed on blue paper; the Senate’s are printed on white paper.

Enrolled Bill – The final official copy of a bill or joint resolution that both houses have passed in identical form. An enrolled bill is printed on parchment. After it is certified by the chief officer of the house in which it originated and signed by the House Speaker and the Senate president pro tempore, the measure is sent to the president for his signature.

Expedited Procedures – Procedures that provide a special process for the accelerated Congressional consideration of legislation. This accelerated process usually includes consideration in committee and on the Floor of the House and Senate. Furthermore, these procedures often involve a departure from the regular order of the House. Expedited procedures are provided by law, as opposed to by a special rule.

First Reading – A rarely used practice whereby the House clerk reads aloud the entire contents of a bill when it is introduced or at the beginning of House deliberation of the measure.

Five-Minute Rule – A debate-limiting rule of the House used when the House sits as the Committee of the Whole. A Member offering an amendment is allowed to speak for five minutes in support of each amendment and an opponent is allowed to speak for five minutes in opposition. Other Members may rise to “strike the last word” and receive five minutes to speak in favor or opposition. Additional time for speaking can be obtained through a unanimous consent request.

Floor -Refers to the chamber in which the House or Senatemeets. Action "on the floor" is thatwhich occurs as part of a formal session of thefull House. An action "from the floor" isone taken by a Member during a session of the House.A Member who has been recognized to speak by theChair is said to "have the floor."

FloorManager – The Member designated to leadand organize consideration of a bill on the floor.Floor managers are usually the chairman and rankingminority member of the reporting committee ortheir designees.

Free Trade Agreements – The establishment of bilateral or multilateral trade agreements establishing free-trade areas (FTAs) require changes in U.S. trade legislation. Trade law sets out procedures for the enactment of such legislation and its implementation. This law provides for expedited congressional consideration of the relevant measure and, as a rule, prohibits any amendments to it. The expedited consideration, originally called “fast track” procedure, but recently also named “trade authorities procedures (TAPs),” provides for mandatory consideration of the measure by Congress once introduced, with specific deadlines for each legislative phase, and a final up-or-down vote.

Gallery -A seating area above the chamber where the public may observe House proceedings. Certain areas of the gallery are reserved for accredited media (see picture) or Members’ families, but most galleryspace is open to the public upon presentation of a gallery pass obtained from a Member of Congressor an officer of the House.

Germaneness -A rule requiring amendments pertain to the same subject as the matter under consideration. Questions of germaneness, both in committee and on the House Floor, are determined by the Chair and/or the Speaker subject to appeal to the House or the Committee.

Hopper – A box on the clerk’s desk in the House chamber into which Members deposit bills and resolutions to introduce them. To “drop a bill in the hopper” is to introduce it.

House Bill (H.R.) – H.R. stands for House of Representatives and designates a measure as a bill, followed by a number assigned in the order in which bills are introduced during a two-year Congress. A bill becomes a law if passed in identical form by both houses and signed by the president, or passed over the president’s veto, or if the president fails to sign it within ten days after receiving it while Congress is in session.

House Concurrent Resolution (H. Con. Res.) – H. Con. Res. stands for House Concurrent Resolution. This is a resolution that requires approval by both houses but is not sent to the president for his signature and therefore cannot have the force of law. Concurrent resolutions deal with the prerogatives or internal affairs of Congress as a whole. For example, they serve as the vehicles for agreeing to congressional budget decisions, fixing the time of congressional adjournments, agreeing to a joint session, expressing the sense of Congress on domestic and foreign issues, correcting errors in enrolled bills, authorizing the printing of documents of interest to both houses, and creating temporary joint committees.

House Joint Resolution (H. J. Res.) – H. J. Res. stands for House Joint Resolution. This is a legislative measure that Congress usually uses for purposes other than general legislation. Like a bill, it has the force of law when passed by both houses and either approved by the president or passed over the president’s veto. Unlike a bill, a joint resolution enacted into law is not called an act; it retains its original title. Most often, joint resolutions deal with such relatively limited matters, such as the correction of errors in existing law, continuing appropriations, a single appropriation, or the establishment of permanent joint committees. Unlike bills, however, joint resolutions also are used to propose constitutional amendments; these do not require the president’s signature and become effective only when ratified by three-fourths of the states. While a preamble is not considered appropriate in a bill, it may be included in a joint resolution to set forth the events or facts that prompted the measure, for example, a declaration of war.

House Resolution (H. Res.) – H. Res. stands for House Resolution. This type of measure is a simple resolution; that is, a nonlegislative measure that is effective only in the House and does not require concurrence with the Senate or approval by the president. Simple resolutions express nonbinding opinions on policies or issues or deal with the internal affairs or prerogatives of the House. They are used to establish select and special committees, appoint the members of standing committees, and amend the standing rules. In the House, the Rules Committee reports its special rules in the form of simple resolutions.

Lay on the Table – A motion to “lay on the table” is not debatable and is usually a method of making a final, adverse determination of a matter.

Legislative History – The documents that accompanied a bill throughout the legislative process comprise its legislative history. These include the committee report, the conference committee report and the statement of managers (if applicable), and the text of the Floor debate in both chambers. Legislative history is used by federal agencies to clarify vague provisions in the laws they are required to implement.

Mace -The Mace of the U.S. House of Representatives is one of the oldest and most important symbols of our nation’s government. The first Speaker of the House approved the Mace as the proper symbol of the Sergeant at Arms in carrying out the duties of this office. The design of the Mace is derived from an ancient battle weapon and the Roman fasces (a bundle of rods containing an ax with a projecting blade, carried in front of magistrates in ancient Rome). The ceremonial Mace consists of 13 ebony rods – representing the original 13 states of the Union – bound together by silver bands, topped with a silver globe on which sits an intricately cast solid silver eagle. The Mace is placed by the Sergeant at Arms on a pedestal at the Speaker’s right each time the House convenes. The Mace is moved to the lower pedestal of the Speaker’s rostrum when the Speaker declares the House into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of legislation. To restore orderin the Chamber, the Speaker may direct the Sergeant at Arms to take the Mace from its pedestal and present it before an unruly Member.

Marking Up a Bill – The process by which a committee or subcommittee moves through the contents of a measure, debating and voting on amendments to its provisions by revising, adding, or subtracting language prior to ordering the measure reported.

Motion to Recommit – A motion made on the Floor after the engrossment and third reading of a bill or resolution, but prior to the Chair posing the question on final passage. Preference is given to a Member who is opposed to the bill and is reserved by tradition to the minority party. The Speaker usually gives priority recognition to the bill’s minority Floor manager. The motion to recommit may be without instructions, which is non-debatable and has the effect of killing the bill, or with instructions (subject to ten minutes of debate split between a proponent and opponent, and usually directs the reporting committee to amend “forthwith,” meaning immediately, or rewrite the bill in a specified way). The Rules Committee’s responsibility on the motion to recommit is different for simple resolutions or concurrent resolutions, but may apply to conference reports where the House acts first.

Office of the Parliamentarian – An office managed, supervised and administered by a non-partisan Parliamentarian appointed by the Speaker. This office is responsible for advising the presiding officer, Members and staff on the rules and procedures of the House, as well as for compiling and preparing the precedents of the House. All consultation with this office is confidential (if requested).

Official Reporter – Official Reporters are responsible for collecting material for printing in the Congressional Record. These Clerks sit in the center of the first tier of the rostrum on the House Floor. All submissions for the Record, for example, extensions of remarks, corrections to Member’s Floor statements, and extraneous material, are given to the Official Reporters.

Order – Theway in which procedures are followed under theRules of the House.

Parliamentary Inquiry – A member’s question, posed to the presiding officer, about a pending procedural situation. The chair is not required to answer such questions, but usually does if they are proper inquiries and properly made. A proper inquiry deals only with questions of procedure on a pending matter, not with hypothetical situations or the interpretation or consistency of amendments.

Point of Order – An objection that the pending proposal (bill, amendment, motion, etc.) is in violation of a rule of the House. The validity of points of order is determined by the presiding officer, and if held valid, the offending bill, amendment or provision is ineligible for consideration. Points of order may be waived by special rules.

Private Bill – A bill that affects an individual or a private entity, rather than the population at large.

Privilege -A status relating to the rights of the House and its members and the priority of motions and actions on the Floor of the House. “Privileged questions” relate to the order of legislative business, while “questions of privilege” relate to matters affecting the safety, dignity or integrity of the House, or the rights, reputation or conduct of a Member acting as a representative.

Privileged Matters – House rules give certain House committees a “green light” to bring certain categories of legislation to the House Floor for immediate debate. The Speaker must recognize any Chairman for the purpose of calling up a privileged matter reported from his or her committee. Examples of privileged matter include special rules from the Rules Committee, conference reports from any conference committee, congressional budget resolutions from the Budget Committee, censure or expulsion resolutions from the Ethics Committee, and general appropriations bills from the Appropriations Committee.

Previous Question – A motion offered in the House to end debate and preclude further amendments from being offered. In effect, it asks, “Are we ready to vote on the issue before us?” If the previous question is ordered in the House, all debate ends and usually the House immediately votes on the pending bill or amendment. If the previous question is defeated, control of debate shifts to the leading opposition member (usually the minority Floor manager) who then manages an hour of debate and may offer a germane amendment to the pending business. The effect of defeating the previous question is to turn over control of the Floor to the minority or opposition.

Quorum – The number of Members whose presence is required for the House to conduct business. A quorum in the House is a majority of the Members (218). A quorum in the Committee of the Whole is 100 Members. A quorum is presumed to be present until its absence is demonstrated. If a quorum is not present when the question is put, a point of order can be made that a quorum is not present, at which time the Speaker (or Chair) counts for a quorum. If the Speaker (or Chair) determines that a quorum is not present, Members may be summoned to the Floor. If a quorum fails to respond to the call, the only business in order is a motion to adjourn or a motion to direct the sergeant-at-arms to request the attendance of absentees.

Ramseyer Rule – A House rule requiring that committee reports contain a comparative print showing, through typographical devices such as italic print, the changes in existing law made by the proposed committee language (the “Cordon Rule” is a parallel rule of the Senate).

Reading for Amendment – In the Committee of the Whole, after a clerk has read or designated a section or paragraph of a measure, it is the House practice to complete action on all amendments to that section or paragraph before moving on to the next section or paragraph. A full reading of a section’s text is often waived by unanimous consent or by a special rule from the Rules Committee, in which case the clerk reads only the section’s number or designates the paragraph. Sometimes, by unanimous consent or special rule, a measure is read or designated by title rather than by section or paragraph.

Recess – A temporary interruption of the House’s (or a committee’s)business. The chair will “call the Houseto recess” usually for a specific time period.This allows the House to temporarily suspend officiallegislative business without adjourning the entiresession of Congress.

Recognition – Permission by the presiding officer for a Member to speak or propose a procedural action. A Member seeking recognition must rise and address the chair, but may not do so while another Member holds the Floor unless that Member has violated a rule. Generally, recognition in the House is within the chair’s discretion. Under some circumstances, the chair’s discretion is absolute; under others, the chair may be required to recognize a Member eventually but not necessarily the first time the Member seeks recognition. Under still other circumstances, the chair is required to recognize certain Members for specific purposes. However, the Speaker must recognize Members for privileged business and motions, but when several Members seek recognition on business of equal privilege, the Speaker has discretion in deciding whom to recognize first. By tradition and practice, both the Speaker and the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole follow certain priorities of recognition during debate. In both houses, the chair’s recognition authority is not subject to appeal.

Reconsideration – A motion to reconsider the vote by which an action was taken has, until it is disposed of, the effect of putting the action in abeyance. In essence, it is a motion to vote again on that which was just agreed to.

Re-Referral – The assignment of a measure to a committee different from the committee to which the measure was initially referred. Usually used to correct erroneous initial referrals.

Roll Call Vote – A vote that is recordedby the Clerk and made part of the public record. Members of the House of Representatives vote by “electronic device,” where in Members insert encrypted Vote-ID cards into vote stations located in the House Chamber and press the vote of their choice (“yea,” “nay,” or “present”).

Rostrum – The Rostrum is the location from which the Speaker of the House presides. Under the Constitution, the Speaker is elected by Members of the House. Although it is not mandated by the Constitution, each Speaker has been a Member of the House. The middle of the three levels of the rostrum is used for addresses to the Congress by the president or visiting heads of state.

Rules (types of) – There are two specific types of Rules.

Standing Rules – These are the standing Rules governing the normal order of business in the House or in a committee. These Rules are adopted by the full House and by each committee at the beginning of each Congress. These Rules generally govern such matters as the duties of officers, the code of conduct, the order of business, admission to the Floor, parliamentary procedures on handling amendments and voting, and jurisdictions of committees.

Special Rules – These involve a departure from the standing rules of the House for the consideration of specified House action. They are resolutions reported by the Rules Committee, most of which govern the handling of a particular bill on the House Floor.

Senate Bill (S.) – S. stands for Senate and designates a measure introduced in the Senate as a bill, followed by a number assigned in the order in which bills are introduced during a two-year Congress. A bill becomes a law if passed in identical form by both houses and signed by the president, or passed over the president’s veto, or if the president fails to sign it within ten days after receiving it while Congress is in session.

Senate Concurrent Resolution (S. Con. Res.) – S. Con. Res. is an abbreviation for Senate Concurrent Resolution. This is a resolution that requires approval by both houses but is not sent to the president for his signature and therefore cannot have the force of law. Concurrent resolutions deal with the prerogatives or internal affairs of Congress as a whole. For example, they serve as the vehicles for agreeing to congressional budget decisions, fixing the time of congressional adjournments, agreeing to a joint session, expressing the sense of Congress on domestic and foreign issues, correcting errors in enrolled bills, authorizing the printing of documents of interest to both houses, and creating temporary joint committees.

Senate Joint Resolution (S. J. Res.) – S. J. Res. is an abbreviation for Senate Joint Resolution. This is a legislative measure that Congress usually uses for purposes other than general legislation. Like a bill, it has the force of law when passed by both houses and either approved by the president or passed over the president’s veto. Unlike a bill, a joint resolution enacted into law is not called an act; it retains its original title. Most often, joint resolutions deal with such relatively limited matters, such as the correction of errors in existing law, continuing appropriations, a single appropriation, or the establishment of permanent joint committees. Unlike bills, however, joint resolutions also are used to propose constitutional amendments; these do not require the president’s signature and become effective only when ratified by three-fourths of the states. While a preamble is not considered appropriate in a bill, it may be included in a joint resolution to set forth the events or facts that prompted the measure, for example, a declaration of war.

Senate Resolution (S. Res.) – S. Res. stands for Senate Resolution. This type of measure is a simple resolution; that is, a non-legislative measure that is effective only in the Senate and does not require concurrence with the Senate or approval by the president. Simple resolutions express nonbinding opinions on policies or issues or deal with the internal affairs or prerogatives of the Senate. They are used to establish select and special committees, appoint the members of standing committees, and amend the standing rules.

Sergeant-at-Arms – The Sergeant-at-Arms is the chief law enforcement officer for the House of Representatives. The officer is responsible for maintaining security, order, and decorum in the House Chamber, House wing of the Capitol and the House office buildings.

Standing Committees – These permanent House panels are identified in House Rule X, which also lists the jurisdiction of each committee. Because they have legislative jurisdiction, standing committees consider bills and issues and recommend measures for consideration by the full House. They also have oversight responsibility to monitor agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions, and, in some cases, in areas that cut across committee jurisdictions.

Suspension of the Rules – A timesaving method used to consider legislation. By suspending the rules and passing a measure, this procedure has the effect of preventing any points of order from being raised against a measure for violation of a rule. Under this procedure, the bill is un-amendable (except for one amendment by the Floor manager if offered as part of the motion) and debate on the motion and the measure is limited to forty minutes equally divided between a proponent and an opponent. A motion to recommit is not in order under this procedure. However, a favorable vote of two-thirds of those present is necessary for passage. This procedure is in order every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and is intended to be reserved for relatively non-controversial bills. Both the Republican Conference and Democratic Caucus have their own internal rules for determining whether legislation is eligible for suspension consideration.

Unanimous Consent – A method used to expedite consideration of non-controversial measures on the House Floor. Proceedings of the House or actions on legislation often take place by unanimous consent of the House (i.e., without objection by any Member), whether or not a rule of the House is being violated.

Unanimous Consent Agreements – Agreements negotiated among Senators by the Majority and Minority Leaders to limit debate on a specified measure, to restrict amendments to it, and to waive points of order. Requires the consent of every Senator and may be denied by a single objection. These agreements, also called “time agreements,” are the Senate parallel to “special rules” from the House Rules Committee.

Waiver – A temporary setting aside of one or more rules by prohibiting points of order that might be raised to enforce those rules. The House uses special rules from the Rules Committee for this purpose. In addition, the House procedure for suspending the rules and passing a measure implicitly imposes a blanket waiver because it suspends all rules, including statutory rules that might conflict with the suspension procedure or the measure’s passage.

Well – The area immediately in front of the rostrum in the House chamber. Members stand in the well to address the House.

Whip – The Whip’s principle responsibility is to count probably votes by polling Members on legislation in order to maintain support for the respective House leadership positions. The term “whip” is derived from the British term "whipper in", who was the person responsible for keeping the foxhounds from leaving the pack. A Whip was first used in the British House of Commons in the late eighteenth century and then in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1897, when Representative James A. Tawney (R-Minn.) was appointed whip by Speaker Thomas Reed (R-Maine) to help keep track of party Members. The Whip is now elected by his or her peers in the House of Representatives.

Yielding Time – Once a Member has been recognized by the Speaker (or Chair) to speak, he controls the Floor; in general, no other Member may speak without being granted permission to do so by the Member recognized. Another Member who wishes to speak will ask the recognized Member to yield by saying, “Will the gentleman yield to me?

 

This glossary is based on definitions provided by the House Rules Committee, the Clerk of the House, and the Secretary of the Senate. Interactive pop-ups are powered by Box Over.