[United States Senate Manual, 113th Congress]
[S. Doc. 113-1]
[Standing Rules of the Senate]
[Pages 52-56]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
28 RULE XXVIII
CONFERENCE COMMITTEES; REPORTS; OPEN MEETINGS
28.1 1.\35\ The presentation of reports of committees of
conference shall always be in order when available on each
Senator's desk except when the Journal is being read or a
question of order or a motion to adjourn is pending, or
while the Senate is voting or ascertaining the presence of a
quorum; and when received the question of proceeding to the
consideration of the report, if raised, shall be immediately
put, and shall be determined without debate.
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\35\ As amended by S. Res. 28, 99-2, Feb. 27, 1986.
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2.\36\ (a) When a message from the House of
Representatives is laid before the Senate, it shall be in
order for a single, non-divisible motion to be made that
includes--
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\36\ Paragraph 2 added pursuant to S. Res. 16, 113-1,
Jan. 24, 2013.
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(1) a motion to disagree to a House amendment
or insist upon a Senate amendment;
(2) a motion to request a committee of
conference with the House or to agree to a request
by the House for a committee of conference; and
(3) a motion to authorize the Presiding
Officer to appoint conferees (or a motion to appoint
conferees).
(b) If a cloture motion is presented on a motion made
pursuant to subparagraph (a), the motion shall be debatable
for no more than 2 hours, equally divided in the usual form,
after which the Presiding Officer, or the clerk at the
direction of the Presiding Officer, shall lay the motion
before the Senate. If cloture is then invoked on the motion,
the question shall be on the motion, without further debate.
28.2a 3. (a) \37\ Conferees shall not insert in their report
matter not committed to them by either House, nor shall they
strike from the bill matter agreed to by both Houses.
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\37\ Paragraphs 3 and 4 amended pursuant to Pub. L. 110-
81, Sep. 14, 2007, and paragraphs 5-6 were added. Paragraphs
3 through 6 renumbered and amended pursuant to S. Res. 16,
113-1, Jan. 24, 2013.
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28.2b (b) If matter which was agreed to by both Houses is
stricken from the bill a point of order may be made against
the report, and if the point of order is sustained, the
report is rejected or shall be recommitted to the committee
of conference if the House of Representatives has not
already acted thereon.
28.2c (c) If new matter is inserted in the report, a point of
order may be made against the conference report and it shall
be disposed of as provided under paragraph 5.
28.3a 4. (a) In any case in which a disagreement to an
amendment in the nature of a substitute has been referred to
conferees--
(1) it shall be in order for the conferees to
report a substitute on the same subject matter;
(2) the conferees may not include in the report
matter not committed to them by either House; and
(3) the conferees may include in their report in
any such case matter which is a germane modification
of subjects in disagreement.
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28.3b (b) In any case in which the conferees violate
subparagraph (a), a point of order may be made against the
conference report and it shall be disposed of as provided
under paragraph 5.
28.4a 5. (a) A Senator may raise a point of order that one or
more provisions of a conference report violates paragraph 3
or paragraph 4, as the case may be. The Presiding Officer
may sustain the point of order as to some or all of the
provisions against which the Senator raised the point of
order.
28.4b (b) If the Presiding Officer sustains the point of order
as to any of the provisions against which the Senator raised
the point of order, then those provisions against which the
Presiding Officer sustains the point of order shall be
stricken. After all other points of order under this
paragraph have been disposed of--
(1) the Senate shall proceed to consider the
question of whether the Senate should recede from
its amendment to the House bill, or its disagreement
to the amendment of the House, and concur with a
further amendment, which further amendment shall
consist of only that portion of the conference
report that has not been stricken;
(2) the question in clause (1) shall be decided
under the same debate limitation as the conference
report; and
(3) no further amendment shall be in order.
28.5a 6. (a) Any Senator may move to waive any or all points
of order under paragraph 3 or 4 with respect to the pending
conference report by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of
the Members, duly chosen and sworn. All motions to waive
under this paragraph shall be debatable collectively for not
to exceed 1 hour equally divided between the Majority Leader
and the Minority Leader or their designees. A motion to
waive all points of order under this paragraph shall not be
amendable.
28.5b (b) All appeals from rulings of the Chair under
paragraph 5 shall be debatable collectively for not to
exceed 1 hour, equally divided between the Majority and the
Minority Leader or their designees. An affirmative vote of
three-fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and
sworn, shall be required in the Senate to sustain an appeal
of the ruling of the Chair under paragraph 5.
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28.6 7.\38\ Each report made by a committee of conference to
the Senate shall be printed as a report of the Senate. As so
printed, such report shall be accompanied by an explanatory
statement prepared jointly by the conferees on the part of
the House and the conferees on the part of the Senate. Such
statement shall be sufficiently detailed and explicit to
inform the Senate as to the effect which the amendments or
propositions contained in such report will have upon the
measure to which those amendments or propositions relate.
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\38\ Paragraphs 7 through 9 renumbered pursuant to Pub.
L. 110-81, Sep. 14, 2007, and paragraph 10 was added.
Paragraphs 7 through 10 renumbered pursuant to S. Res. 16,
113-1, Jan. 24, 2013.
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28.7 8. If time for debate in the consideration of any report
of a committee of conference upon the floor of the Senate is
limited, the time allotted for debate shall be equally
divided between the majority party and the minority party.
28.8 9. Each conference committee between the Senate and the
House of Representatives shall be open to the public except
when managers of either the Senate or the House of
Representatives in open session determine by a rollcall vote
of a majority of those managers present, that all or part of
the remainder of the meeting on the day of the vote shall be
closed to the public.
28.9a 10. (a)(1) It shall not be in order to vote on the
adoption of a report of a committee of conference unless
such report has been available to Members and to the general
public for at least 48 hours before such vote. If a point of
order is sustained under this paragraph, then the conference
report shall be set aside.
(2) For purposes of this paragraph, a report of a
committee of conference is made available to the general
public as of the time it is posted on a publicly accessible
website controlled by a Member, committee, Library of
Congress, or other office of Congress, or the Government
Printing Office, as reported to the Presiding Officer by the
Secretary of the Senate.
28.9b (b)(1) This paragraph may be waived in the Senate with
respect to the pending conference report by an affirmative
vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.
A motion to waive this paragraph shall be debatable for not
to exceed 1 hour equally divided between the Majority Leader
and the Minority Leader or their designees.
(2) An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members,
duly chosen and sworn, shall be required to sustain an
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appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised
under this paragraph. An appeal of the ruling of the Chair
shall be debatable for not to exceed 1 hour equally divided
between the Majority and the Minority Leader or their
designees.
28.9c (c) This paragraph may be waived by joint agreement of
the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the Senate,
upon their certification that such waiver is necessary as a
result of a significant disruption to Senate facilities or
to the availability of the Internet.