[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 1, Chapters 1 - 6]
[Chapter 3. Party Organization]
[C. Party Committees and Informal Groups]
[§ 15. Official Objectors' Committees]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
[Page 200-206]
CHAPTER 3
Party Organization
C. PARTY COMMITTEES AND INFORMAL GROUPS
Sec. 15. Official Objectors' Committees
On the Consent and Private Calendars are placed bills of a
noncontroversial nature, susceptible of passage by the House without
extensive debate.(15) Objection may be made, however, to
consideration of any bill that has been called on either calendar, in
which case disposition of the bill proceeds according to the rules of
the House. For the purpose of determining whether objection should be
made to any bills that have been called up on either calendar, official
objectors appointed to act for each party analyze carefully the bills
to be considered.(16) Official Objectors' Committees are
appointed by each party's floor leader.(17)
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15. For general discussion of the Private and Consent Calendars, see
Ch. 22, infra.
16. See Sec. Sec. 15.2, 15.4, infra.
17. See Sec. Sec. 15.1, 15.3, infra.
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Proceedings relating to bills on the Private Calendar are set forth
in a House rule providing, in part, that,(18)
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18. Rule XXIV clause 6, House Rules and Manual Sec. 893 (1973).
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On the first Tuesday of each month . . . the Speaker shall
direct the Clerk to call the bills and resolutions on the Private
Calendar. Should objection be
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made by two or more Members to the consideration of any bill or
resolution so called, it shall be recommitted to the committee
which reported the bill or resolution, and no reservation of
objection shall be entertained by the Speaker. . . .
On the third Tuesday . . . the Speaker may direct the Clerk to
call the bills and resolutions on the Private Calendar, preference
to be given to omnibus bills containing bills or resolutions which
have previously been objected to. . . .
Proceedings relating to bills on the Consent Calendar are also set
forth in the rules. Thus, it is provided(19) that,
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19. Rule XIII clause 4, House Rules and Manual Sec. 746 (1973).
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. . . On the first and third Mondays of each month . . . the
Speaker shall direct the Clerk to call the bills in numerical
order, which have been for three legislative days upon the
``Consent Calendar.'' Should objection be made to the consideration
of any bill so called it shall be carried over on the calendar
without prejudice to the next day when the ``Consent Calendar'' is
again called, and if objected to by three or more Members it shall
immediately be stricken from the Calendar. . . .
The objectors of both parties for the Consent Calendar may agree on
and announce to the House certain rules or criteria by which the
objectors will be guided in their consideration of bills on the
calendar.(20) Similarly, objectors for the Private Calendar
generally annouce agreements they have made respecting their
consideration of bills on the Private Calendar.(1)
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20. See Sec. 15.2, infra.
1. See Sec. 15.5, infra. -------------------
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Objectors for Consent Calendar--Appointment
Sec. 15.1 Official objectors for the Consent Calendar are appointed by
each party's floor leader, who announces such appointments in the
House.
In the 91st Congress, Mr. Wayne N. Aspinall, of Colorado, one of
the objectors for the Consent Calendar, presented in the House a
statement of the rules of operation of the official objectors for the
Consent Calendar. Such statement read in part as follows:(2)
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2. 115 Cong. Rec. 6543, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 17, 1969.
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On February 18, the majority and minority floor leaders
appointed their respective members of the official objectors
committees, the gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. [Carl] Albert,
appointed three members of his party and the gentleman from
Michigan, Mr. Gerald R. Ford, appointed three members of his party.
The objectors committees are unofficial committees of the House of
Representatives, existing at the request and at the pleasure of
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the respective floor leaders of the two parties who, in order to
facilitate the proper screening of legislation which may be placed
on the Consent Calendar, designate members of each side of the
aisle charged with the specific responsibility of seeing to it that
legislation passing by such procedure is in the interest of good
government.
The floor leaders generally announce to the House their respective
appointments of objectors. Sometimes, the floor leader announces his
designation of one of the objectors as Chairman of the Official
Objectors' Committee. In the 91st Congress, the announcement of the
appointment of objectors was as follows:(3)
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3. 115 Cong. Rec. 3721, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 18, 1969.
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Mr. Gerald R. Ford [of Michigan]: Mr. Speaker, I have asked for
this time for the purpose of announcing the official objectors for
the Republican Members for the Consent Calendar. They are to be as
follows: the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Pelly), the gentleman
from Missouri (Mr. Hall), and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Johnson).
In the 84th Congress, the announcement of the appointment of
Democratic objectors for the Consent Calendar was made as
follows:(4)
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4. 101 Cong. Rec. 496, 84th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 20, 1955.
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Mr. [John W.] McCormack [of Massachusetts]: Mr. Speaker, I
desire to announce to the House the appointment of the official
Democratic objectors on the Consent Calendar as follows:
The distinguished gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Deane,
Chairman of the Committee on Consent Calendar Objectors; the
gentleman from Colorado, Mr. Aspinall; and the gentleman from
Massachusetts, Mr. Boland.
Generally, three members are appointed to the Official Objectors'
Committee for the Consent Calendar and three members to the Committee
of Official Objectors for the Private Calendar. There have been minor
departures from this practice. In the 85th Congress, the appointment of
four Republican objectors for the Consent Calendar was announced as
follows:(5)
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5. 103 Cong. Rec. 1488, 85th Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 4, 1957.
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Mr. [Joseph W.] Martin [Jr., of Massachusetts]: I desire to
announce the appointment on the Republican side of members on the
official objectors committee on the Consent Calendar: the gentleman
from Iowa, Mr. Cunningham; the gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr.
Byrnes; the gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Ford; and the gentleman
from Nebraska, Mr. Weaver.
In the 82d Congress, three Democratic objectors were appointed who
served on both the Consent and the Private Calendar. The announcement
of the appointments was as follows:(6)
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6. 97 Cong. Rec. 792, 82d Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 31, 1951. For other
instances in which a Member was appointed to serve as objector
for both the Consent and Private Calendar, see 115 Cong. Rec.
3721, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 18, 1969; and 101 Cong. Rec.
496, 84th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 20, 1955.
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Mr. [John W.] McCormack [of Massachusetts]: Mr. Speaker . . .
may I say that the following named Members will be the official
objectors on the Democratic side for the 82nd Congress for the
Consent Calendar and the Private Calendar: the gentleman from
Arkansas [Mr. Trimble], the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr.
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Deane], and the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Aspinall.]
Similarly, the announcement of the appointment of Democratic objectors
in the 81st Congress was made as follows:(7)
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7. 95 Cong. Rec. 925, 81st Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 7, 1949.
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Mr. McCormack: Mr. Speaker, I desire to announce the
appointment of the Objectors Committee on the Democratic side. The
distinguished gentleman from Arkansas [Mr. Trimble], the
distinguished gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Deane], and the
distinguished gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Aspinall]. The gentleman
from Arkansas [Mr. Trimble], being the ranking Member, is Chairman
of the Objectors Committee on the Democratic side.
Agreement by Official Objectors on Rules of Operation
Sec. 15.2 It has been the practice of the official objectors to agree
upon certain rules and principles that will govern their
consideration of bills on the Consent Calendar, and to present a
statement of such rules and principles to the House.
In the 91st Congress,(8) Mr. Wayne N. Aspinall, of
Colorado, one of the official objectors, presented a statement of the
rules of operation of the official objectors for the Consent Calendar.
The proceedings were as follows:
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8. 115 Cong. Rec. 6543, 6544, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 17, 1969.
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Mr. Aspinall: Mr. Speaker . . . one of the most important
procedures that the House follows in considering legislation is
known as the Consent Calendar operation. . . . It is under this
procedure that most of the acts of Congress which become public
laws are considered by the House of Representatives.
It has been the practice heretofore of the official objectors
for Consent Calendar committees--the majority members and the
minority members--to agree upon rules of procedure at the beginning
of a session. I would suggest, to the new Members especially, that
they read the statement regarding these rules of procedure, which
has the approval of and bears the initials of all the members of
the Consent Calendar committees, three members of the majority and
three members of the minority.
The statement is as follows:
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Statement of Rules of Operation of the Official Objectors for
the Consent Calendar
. . . For several sessions now objectors on both sides of
the aisle have followed certain rules for consideration of
Consent Calendar bills which they have made known to the
Members at the beginning of a session. These rules are not
publicized at this time to establish hard-and-fast procedures
but rather to advise the Members of the House as to the manner
in which the committee plans to operate throughout the 91st
Congress.
The members of the committee feel that generally no
legislation should pass by unanimous consent which involves an
aggregate expenditure of more than $1 million; second, that no
bill which changes national policy or international policy
should be permitted to pass on the Consent Calendar but rather
should be afforded the opportunity of open and extended debate;
third, that any bill which appears on the Consent Calendar,
even though it does not change national or international
policy, or does not call for an expenditure of more than $1
million, should not be approved without the membership being
fully informed of its contents, providing it is a measure that
would apply to the districts of a majority of the Members of
the House of Representatives . . . fourth, that if a bill has
been placed on the Consent Calendar and the members of the
committee having jurisdiction over the legislation show that it
has not been cleared by the Bureau of the Budget, by the
respective Department affected by such legislation, or that
such reports from the committee or from the Department show
that the legislation is not in accord with the President's
program, it should not pass on the Consent Calendar. . . .
Official Objectors for Private Calendar--Appointment
Sec. 15.3 Each party's official objectors for the Private Calendar are
appointed by the party floor leader, who announces in the House the
names of those he has appointed.
In the 89th Congress, during the course of describing procedures
relating to the Private Calendar, Mr. Edward P. Boland, of
Massachusetts, remarked that, ``The majority leader and minority leader
each appoint three Members to serve as Private Calendar objectors
during a Congress.''(9)
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9. 111 Cong. Rec. 3914, 89th Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 2, 1965.
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The following announcements, made in the 91st
Congress,(10) represent the usual manner in which the floor
leader notifies the House of his appointment of official objectors:
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10. 115 Cong. Rec. 3721, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 18, 1969.
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(Mr. Carl Albert, of Oklahoma, asked and was given permission
to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. Albert [after announcing appointment of Consent Calendar
objectors]:
I have also designated as official objectors for the majority
for the Private Calendar the following Members: the
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gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Boland), the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Davis), and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr.
Edmondson). . . .
Mr. Gerald R. Ford [of Michigan] [after announcing appointment
of Consent Calendar objectors]:
Also, Mr. Speaker, the official objectors for the Republican
Members for the Private Calendar are to be as follows: the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Clarence J. Brown), and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Hunt).
In the 91st Congress, when Mr. Garry E. Brown, of Michigan, was
appointed to replace a member of the Republican Objectors Committee for
the Private Calendar, the following announcement was made by the
Minority Leader:(11)
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11. 116 Cong. Rec. 7677, 91st Cong. 2d Sess., Mar. 17, 1970.
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Mr. Gerald R. Ford: Mr. Speaker, I announce that the Republican
Members of the Private Calendar objectors committee for the
remainder of the 2nd session of the 91st Congress will be: the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Brown), and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Brown).
Similarly, in the 84th Congress, on Apr. 26, 1955,(12) the
Minority Leader announced as follows:
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12. 101 Cong. Rec. 5120, 84th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Mr. [Joseph W.] Martin [Jr., of Massachusetts]: Mr. Speaker, I
desire to announce that Mr. William K. Van Pelt has been placed
upon the list of objectors on the Private Calendar, representing
the minority, to take the place of the gentleman from Ohio [Mr.
Ayres].
As in the case of appointments to the Official Objectors Committee
for the Consent Calendar,(13) announcements of appointments
to the Official Objectors Committee for the Private Calendar have
sometimes included the designation of a chairman.(14)
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13. See Sec. 15.1, supra.
14. See 101 Cong. Rec. 496, 84th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 20, 1955
(announcement by Mr. John W. McCormack [Mass.] ).
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As noted above,(15) a Member has sometimes been
appointed to serve on both the Official Objectors Committee for the
Private Calendar and the Official Objectors Committee for the Consent
Calendar.
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15. See Sec. 15.1, supra.
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Functions of Official Objectors
Sec. 15.4 The Official Objectors Committees for the Private Calendar
study all bills placed on that calendar, and may make objection to
any private bill when the calendar is called.
In the 89th Congress, Mr. Edward P. Boland, of Massachusetts,
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in the course of discussing procedures relating to the Private
Calendar, remarked as follows:(16)
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16. 111 Cong. Rec. 3914, 89th Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 2, 1965.
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The objectors have the responsibility of carefully studying all
bills which are placed on the Private Calendar. When the Private
Calendar is called, the objectors are on the floor ready to object
to any private bill which they feel is objectionable for any
reason. Seated near them to provide technical assistance are the
majority and minority legislative clerks.
Should any Member have a doubt or question about a particular
private bill, he can get assistance from the objectors, their
clerks, or from the Member who introduced the bill.
Agreement as to Bills to be Considered
Sec. 15.5 The official majority and minority objectors for the Private
Calendar agree upon rules governing their consideration of private
bills, and announce such rules in the House. The official objectors
usually agree that they will consider only those bills which have
been on the Private Calendar for a period of seven calendar days.
In the 89th Congress, Mr. Edward P. Boland, of Massachusetts, in
the course of describing procedures relating to the Private Calendar,
announced as follows:(17)
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17. 111 Cong. Rec. 3914, 3915, 89th Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 2, 1965.
Similar announcements have been made in other Congresses; see,
for example, 115 Cong. Rec. 6656, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., Mar.
18, 1969.
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The great volume of private bills and the desire to have an
opportunity to study them carefully before they are called on the
Private Calendar has caused the six objectors to agree upon certain
ground rules. Those rules limit consideration of bills placed on
the Private Calendar only shortly before the Calendar is called.
The agreement is as follows:
Reaffirming the policy initially adopted on June 3, 1958,
the members of the majority and minority Private Calendar
objectors committees have today agreed that during the 89th
Congress they will consider only those bills which have been on
the Private Calendar for a period of seven calendar days,
excluding the day the bills are reported and the day the
Private Calendar is called.
It is agreed that the majority and minority legislative
clerks will not submit to the objectors any bills which do not
meet this requirement.
This policy will be strictly observed except during the
closing days of each session when House rules are suspended.