Following one-minute speeches, the House commonly recesses until later in the afternoon or disposes of business such as messages received from the President or department heads. Following the disposition of such business or after the recess, the House considers and votes on legislation per the schedule arranged by the Majority Leader’s office.
Legislation usually comes to the Floor by one of two ways: pursuant to a special rule or by a motion to suspend the rules and pass the legislation. These two methods, and less-common but important methods, are discussed in detail in Part II, “Debating Legislation on the Floor.”