[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 111th Congress]
[111st Congress]
[House Document 110-162]
[Front Matter]
[Pages 1-13]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
[[Page i]]
110th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - House Document No. 110-162
________________________________________________________________________
CONSTITUTION
JEFFERSON'S MANUAL
AND
RULES OF THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE UNITED STATES
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
JOHN V. SULLIVAN
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TONGRESS.#13
PARLIAMENTARIAN
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
50-600
________________________________________________________________________
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
WASHINGTON : 2009
Office
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Washington, DC 20402
HOUSE RESOLUTION 1513
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
September 27, 2008.
Resolved, That a revised edition of the Rules and Manual of the
House of Representatives for the One Hundred Eleventh Congress be
printed as a House document, and that three thousand additional copies
shall be printed and bound for the use of the House of Representatives,
of which nine hundred copies shall be bound in leather with thumb index
and delivered as may be directed by the Parliamentarian of the House.
Attest:
Lorraine C. Miller,
Clerk.
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(III)
P R E F A C E
The House Rules and Manual contains the fundamental source material
for parliamentary procedure used in the House of Representatives: the
Constitution of the United States; applicable provisions of Jefferson's
Manual; Rules of the House (as of the date of this preface); provisions
of law and resolutions having the force of Rules of the House; and
pertinent decisions of the Speakers and other presiding officers of the
House and Committee of the Whole interpreting the rules and other
procedural authority used in the House of Representatives.
The rules for the One Hundred Eleventh Congress were adopted on
January 6, 2009, when the House agreed to House Resolution 5. In
addition to a series of changes to various standing rules, House
Resolution 5 included separate free-standing orders constituting
procedures to be followed in the One Hundred Eleventh Congress.
Explanations of the changes to the standing rules appear in the
annotations following each rule in the text of this Manual.
In the One Hundred Sixth Congress, the House adopted a
recodification of the Rules of the House. For an explanation of the
recodified format, see the Preface and other introductory matter for the
House Rules and Manual for the One Hundred Sixth Congress (H. Doc. 105-
358).
The substantive changes in the standing rules made by House
Resolution 5 of the 111th Congress included:
(1) modification of the audit responsibilities of the Inspector
General (clause 6(c) of rule II);
(2) enhancement of the oversight jurisdiction of the Committee on
Homeland Security (clause 3(g) of rule X);
(3) oversight of the services of the Architect of the Capitol by the
Committee on House Administration (clause 4(d) of rule X);
(4) elimination of committee chair tenure limitation generally, with
exceptional treatment for the Committee on the Budget (clause 5 of rule
X);
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(5) requirement for committees to request their call on Calendar
Wednesday, and elimination of the restriction on the ability of the
Committee on Rules to report a rule dispensing with the call (clause 6
of rule XV; clause 6 of rule XIII);
(6) authority for the Chair to postpone proceedings notwithstanding
the operation of the previous question pursuant to a special order of
business (clause 1 of rule XIX);
(7) restriction on permissible instructions in a motion to recommit
to those proposing an amendment or amendments reported forthwith, and
rendering certain motions to recommit without instructions debatable
(clause 2 of rule XIX);
(8) repeal of policy on holding electronic votes open for the sole
purpose of reversing the outcome of such votes (clause 2(a) of rule XX);
(9) prohibition against the consideration of general appropriation
conference reports in the absence of proper disclosure of congressional
earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits, and against
consideration of a rule or order waiving such prohibition (clause 9 of
rule XXI);
(10) with regard to the prohibition on consideration of certain
measures containing direct spending and revenues reducing a surplus or
increasing a deficit, (1) modification of the pertinent time periods for
calculating such effect, (2) cumulation of such calculation in the case
of a special order of business combining in one engrossment separately-
passed measures, and (3) exclusion from such calculation of certain
emergency items (clause 10 of rule XXI); and
(11) application to all Members of the requirement to disclose
certain employment negotiations (clause 1 of rule XXVII).
In addition to the amendments cited above, gender-based references
throughout the standing rules were eliminated or replaced with gender-
neutral language (sec. 2(l), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2009, p. _), clause 2 of
rule XI was amended to require committees to hold certain hearings
regarding waste, fraud, or abuse in certain federal programs, and clause
1(d)(3) of rule XI was amended to require committee activity reports to
include such hearings (H. Res. 40, 111th Cong., Jan. 14, 2009, p. _),
and clause 11(a)(1) of rule X was amended to increase the size and ratio
of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (H. Res. 97, 111th
Cong., Jan. 28, 2009, p. _).
Citations in this edition refer to:
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States (volumes VI through VIII), by volume and section (e.g., V, 5763;
VIII, 2852);
(1) Hinds' Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United
States (volumes I through V) and Cannon's Precedents of the House of
Representatives of the United
(2) Deschler's Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives
(volumes 1 through 9) and the Deschler-Brown Precedents of the U.S.
House of Representatives (volumes 10 through 16), by chapter and section
(e.g., Deschler, ch. 26, Sec. 79.7; Deschler-Brown, ch. 28, Sec. 4.26);
(3) the Congressional Record, by date and page (e.g., Jan. 29, 1986,
p. 684);
(4) House Practice (2003), by chapter and section (e.g., House
Practice, ch. 1, Sec. 2);
(5) Deschler-Brown Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives
(4th edition and 1987 supplement), by chapter and section (e.g.,
Procedure, ch. 5, Sec. 8.1);
(6) the United States Code, by title and section (e.g., 2 U.S.C.
287); and
(7) the United States Reports, by volume and page (e.g., 395 U.S.
486).
Readers are invited to refer to the prefaces of Hinds', Cannon's,
and Deschler's Precedents (Volumes I, VI, and 1, respectively) for
comprehensive overviews by those editors of the procedural history of
the House of Representatives from 1789 to 1976.
All of the members of the Office of the Parliamentarian -- Tom
Wickham, Ethan Lauer, Carrie Wolf, Max Spitzer, Jay Smith, Liz
Woodworth, Gay Topper, Brian Cooper, Lloyd Jenkins, and Monica
Rodriguez, as well as Charles Johnson, Bob Cover, Deborah Khalili, Bryan
Feldblum, and Andrew Neal -- worked diligently to annotate the decisions
of the Chair and other parliamentary precedents of the 110th Congress
and of the 111th Congress to the date of publication of this edition.
Their contributions, and their devotion to the pursuit of excellence in
the procedural practices of the House, are gratefully acknowledged.
Particular appreciation goes to Ethan Lauer for his initiative and
resourcefulness in managing the project and to Tom Wickham for his
operational leadership.
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House: Asher Hinds, Clarence Cannon, Lewis Deschler, William Holmes
Brown, and Charles Johnson.
It is appropriate from time to time to express gratitude for the
wealth of recorded precedent that guides the procedural practices of the
House. Although the continual refinement of written rules and the
endless ingenuity of legislative practitioners yield questions of first
impression more frequently than one might expect, even more remarkable
is how regularly the right answer to a procedural question is readily
supplied in the work of our predecessors in compiling the parliamentary
precedents of the
John V. Sullivan
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June 16, 2009
C O N T E N T S
__________
THE CONSTITUTION
Page
Preamble.......................................................... 3
Article I.--The legislative power..................... 4
II.--The executive power....................... 65
III.--The judicial power........................ 77
IV.--Obligations, duties, etc., of the States.. 79
V.--Amendments to............................. 81
VI.--Law of the land, etc...................... 83
VII.--Ratification of........................... 87
Amendments ratified....................... 90
JEFFERSON'S MANUAL
Section I.--Importance of adhering to rules........... 125
III.--Privilege................................. 128
VI.--Quorum.................................... 147
VII.--Call of the House......................... 148
IX.--Speaker................................... 149
X.--Address................................... 151
XI.--Committees................................ 152
XII.--Committee of the Whole.................... 155
XIII.--Examination of witnesses.................. 164
XIV.--Arrangement of business................... 169
XV.--Order..................................... 171
XVI.--Order respecting papers................... 171
XVII.--Order in debate........................... 172
XVIII.--Orders of the House....................... 193
XIX.--Petition.................................. 197
XX.--Motion.................................... 198
XXI.--Resolutions............................... 199
XXIII.--Bills, leave to bring in.................. 201
XXIV.--Bills, first reading...................... 201
XXV.--Bills, second reading..................... 202
XXVI.--Bills, commitment......................... 203
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XXVII.--Report of committee....................... 213
Page
Section XXVIII.--Bill, recommitment........................ 214
XXIX.--Bills, reports taken up................... 216
XXX.--Quasi-committee........................... 217
XXXI.--Bill, second reading in the House......... 221
XXXII.--Reading papers............................ 223
XXXIII.--Privileged questions...................... 225
XXXIV.--The previous question..................... 238
XXXV.--Amendments................................ 240
XXXVI.--Division of the question.................. 249
XXXVII.--Coexisting questions...................... 252
XXXVIII.--Equivalent questions...................... 253
XXXIX.--The question.............................. 255
XL.--Bills, third reading...................... 256
XLI.--Division of the House..................... 260
XLII.--Titles.................................... 266
XLIII.--Reconsideration........................... 266
XLIV.--Bills sent to the other House............. 269
XLV.--Amendments between the Houses............. 270
XLVI.--Conferences............................... 280
XLVII.--Messages.................................. 293
XLVIII.--Assent.................................... 298
XLIX.--Journals.................................. 300
L.--Adjournment............................... 302
LI.--A session................................. 304
LII.--Treaties.................................. 307
LIII.--Impeachment............................... 311
RULES OF THE HOUSE
Rule I.--The Speaker............................... 331
II.--Other Officers and Officials.............. 352
III.--The Members, Delegates, and Resident
Commissioner of Puerto Rico............... 372
IV.--The Hall of the House..................... 376
V.--Broadcasting the House.................... 384
VI.--Official Reporters and News Media
Galleries................................. 387
VII.--Records of the House...................... 398
VIII.--Response to Subpoenas..................... 402
IX.--Questions of Privilege.................... 406
X.--Organization of Committees................ 426
XI.--Procedures of Committees and Unfinished
Business.................................. 537
XII.--Receipt and Referral of Measures and
Matters................................... 603
XIII.--Calendars and Committee Reports........... 617
XIV.--Order and Priority of Business............ 651
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XV.--Business in Order on Special Days......... 662
Page
Rule XVI.--Motions and Amendments.................... 681
XVII.--Decorum and Debate........................ 734
XVIII.--The Committee of the Whole House on the
state of the Union........................ 762
XIX.--Motions Following the Amendment Stage..... 791
XX.--Voting and Quorum Calls................... 806
XXI.--Restrictions on Certain Bills............. 836
XXII.--House and Senate Relations................ 891
XXIII.--Code of Official Conduct.................. 918
XXIV.--Limitations on Use of Official Funds...... 929
XXV.--Limitations on Outside Earned Income and
Acceptance of Gifts....................... 933
XXVI.--Financial Disclosure...................... 962
XXVII.--Disclosure by Members and Staff of
Employment Negotiations................... 987
XXVIII.--Statutory Limit on Public Debt............ 988
XXIX.--General Provisions........................ 991
Provisions of Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as Amended by the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, Applicable to Both Houses
Congressional adjournment......................................... 995
Preservation of committee hearings................................ 996
Joint and Select Committees
Economic Committee, Joint......................................... 997
Internal Revenue Taxation, Joint Committee on..................... 997
Library, Joint Committee of Congress on the....................... 998
Printing, Joint Committee on...................................... 998
Inaugural Ceremonies, Joint Congressional Committee on............ 998
Select committees................................................. 998
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House and Congressional Offices
House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards............... 1001
House Office Building Commission.................................. 1001
Government Accountability Office.................................. 1001
Office of Compliance.............................................. 1001
Congressional Research Service.................................... 1002
Legislative Counsel............................................... 1002
Congressional Budget Office....................................... 1002
Law Revision Counsel.............................................. 1002
Technology Assessment............................................. 1002
Office of the Parliamentarian..................................... 1002
Office of Floor Assistants........................................ 1003
Page
Office of Interparliamentary Affairs.............................. 1003
House Recording Studio............................................ 1003
United States Capitol Preservation Commission..................... 1003
Office of General Counsel......................................... 1003
Office of Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations........ 1004
Office of Attending Physician..................................... 1004
Office of Architect of the Capitol................................ 1004
House Democracy Assistance Commission............................. 1004
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission................................ 1004
Office of Congressional Ethics.................................... 1005
Early organization of the House................................... 1007
Miscellaneous Provisions of Congressional Budget Laws
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.................................. 1013
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.................................... 1091
Legislative Procedures Enacted in Law
Measures privileged for consideration in House.................... 1097
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Index
Index............................................................. 1269
GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS
Rule XIV
First. Prayer by Chaplain.
Second. Approval of Journal.
Third. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Fourth. Correction of reference of public bills.
Fifth. Disposal of business on Speaker's table.
Sixth. Unfinished business.
Seventh. The morning hour for the consideration of bills.
Eighth. Motions to go into Committee of the Whole.
Ninth. Orders of the day.
SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS
Second and fourth Mondays:
Mondays
Motions to discharge committees. Rule XV, clause 2.
Every Monday:
District of Columbia Business. Rule XV, clause 4.
Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1.
First and third Tuesdays:
Tuesdays
Private Calendar. Rule XV, clause 5. Individual private bills
considered on first Tuesday of each month, omnibus private bills
Every Tuesday:
may be considered on third Tuesday of each month.
Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1.
Call of Committees under Calendar Wednesday. Rule XV, clause 7.
Every Wednesday:
Wednesdays
Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1.