The Annual Calendar:
After a general election for the U.S. House of Representatives, a new Congress convenes at the beginning of the following January, usually on January 3, for a two-year term. Each Congress is divided into two (2) one-year sessions.
The current Congress, the 119th, convened on January 3, 2025. The first session of the 119th Congress is projected to conclude the week of December 14, 2025. The calendar for the second session of the 119th Congress will be released in November 2025.
The Majority Leader is responsible for planning the House’s annual calendar–i.e., when the House will meet in Washington, and when the House will be adjourned for Members to return to their Districts for the weekend or District Work Periods. Provisions of the U.S. Constitution and Federal law, along with long-standing House practice, guide the Majority Leader in determining the House’s schedule. In general, Members can expect a District Work Period around most Federal holidays, several religious holidays, and for the month of August. Though the Majority Leader releases a calendar each year, it may be altered during the year if needed.
The Weekly Legislative Schedule:
The scheduling of legislation for House Floor action is the prerogative of the Majority leadership, an activity coordinated by the Majority Leader’s office. Information about the annual, weekly, and daily schedule may be found on the Majority Leader’s website at: https://www.majorityleader.gov/.
At the end of each week, 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.).
The House of Representatives also provides access to the text of legislation to be considered on the House Floor via the electronic repository at docs.house.gov. Data is provided in accordance with the rules of the House by both the Majority Leader’s Office and the Committee on Rules, while the Clerk’s Office manages the site. (Text posted on docs.house.gov may provide an early indication of what legislation the House will consider even before the Leadership offices formally release their notices about the legislative program.)
If the House will debate a bill pursuant to a rule from the Rules Committee, information about the amendment process, debate time, etc., is available on the Majority’s Rules Committee website at rules.house.gov or the Minority’s Rules Committee website at democrats-rules.house.gov. (Special rules are discussed in detail in section 5.1 of this manual.)
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 Chair and Ranking 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 committees 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. There is no “suspension calendar.” Suspension of the rules will be discussed in detail later in section 4 of this manual.
Forecasting and Changing the Legislative Program:
| Tuesday Committee orders a bill reported; views requested. |
| Wednesday Day #1 for filling views. |
| Thursday Day #2 for filling views. |
| Friday Committee files report. |
| Monday Rules Committee meeting to grant rule is possible. |
| Tuesday Rule may be considered on the Floor. Bill may be considered on House Floor. |
| Wednesday Bill may be considered on House Floor. |
Once the legislative agenda for the week is released, it is relatively well set. Nonetheless, it is possible for the schedule to change. Therefore, it is to a Member’s benefit to follow any updates. The Republican Cloakroom provides weekly and daily schedule updates on their website (https://repcloakroom.house.gov/) and real-time updates via X, @repcloakroom. 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. Additional updates from the Democratic Cloakroom are also available on their website (https://democraticcloakroom.house.gov/) or on X, @demcloakroom.
On occasion, Members and staff ask the committee that has jurisdiction over a piece of legislation to change when the House debates and votes on that legislation. Committees do not have the authority to change the House’s legislative program. That is the prerogative of the Majority Leader’s office. If a Member merely wishes to change when he or she speaks during general debate on a piece of legislation (when considered under a special rule) or during debate on a bill brought up under a suspension of the rules, they may contact the committee of jurisdiction to ask about this possibility.