[House Document 110-49]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Document
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 110-49
======================================================================
HOW OUR LAWS ARE MADE
Revised and Updated
By John V. Sullivan, Parliamentarian,
U.S. House of Representatives
Presented by Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania
July 24, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
H. Con. Res. 190 Agreed to July 25, 2007
One Hundred Tenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, the fourth day of
January, two thousand and seven
Concurrent Resolution
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring),
SECTION 1. HOW OUR LAWS ARE MADE.
(a) In General.--An edition of the brochure entitled ``How
Our Laws Are Made'', as revised under the direction of the
Parliamentarian of the House of Representatives in consultation
with the Parliamentarian of the Senate, shall be printed as a
House document under the direction of the Joint Committee on
Printing.
(b) Additional Copies.--In addition to the usual number,
there shall be printed the lesser of--
(1) 550,000 copies of the document, of which 440,000
copies shall be for the use of the House of
Representatives, 100,000 copies shall be for the use of
the Senate, and 10,000 copies shall be for the use of
the Joint Committee on Printing; or
(2) such number of copies of the document as does not
exceed a total production and printing cost of
$479,247, with distribution to be allocated in the same
proportion as described in paragraph (1), except that
in no case shall the number of copies be less than 1
per Member of Congress.
Attest:
Lorraine C. Miller,
Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Attest:
Nancy Erickson
Secretary of the Senate.
EARLIER PRINTINGS
----------
Number
Document of copies
1953, H. Doc. 210, 83d Cong. (H. Res. 251 by Mr. Reed)........ 36,771
1953, H. Doc. 210, 83d Cong. (H. Res. 251 by Mr. Reed)........ 122,732
1955, H. Doc. 210, 83d Cong. (H. Con. Res. 93 by Mr. Willis).. 167,728
1956, H. Doc. 451, 84th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 251 by Mr. Willis) 30,385
1956, S. Doc. 152, 84th Cong. (S. Res. 293 by Senator Kennedy) 182,358
1959, H. Doc. 156, 86th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 95 by Mr.
Lesinski)................................................. 228,591
1961, H. Doc. 136, 87th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 81 by Mr. Willis). 211,797
1963, H. Doc. 103, 88th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 108 by Mr. Willis) 14,000
1965, H. Doc. 103, 88th Cong. (S. Res. 9 by Senator Mansfield) 196,414
1965, H. Doc. 164, 89th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 165 by Mr. Willis) 319,766
1967, H. Doc. 125, 90th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 221 by Mr. Willis) 324,821
1969, H. Doc. 127, 91st Cong. (H. Con. Res. 192 by Mr. Celler) 174,500
1971, H. Doc. 144, 92d Cong. (H. Con. Res. 206 by Mr. Celler). 292,000
1972, H. Doc. 323, 92d Cong. (H. Con. Res. 530 by Mr. Celler). 292,500
1974, H. Doc. 377, 93d Cong. (H. Con. Res. 201 by Mr. Rodino). 246,000
1976, H. Doc. 509, 94th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 540 by Mr. Rodino) 282,400
1978, H. Doc. 259, 95th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 190 by Mr. Rodino) 298,000
1980, H. Doc. 352, 96th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 95 by Mr. Rodino). 298,000
1981, H. Doc. 120, 97th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 106 by Mr. Rodino) 298,000
1985, H. Doc. 158, 99th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 203 by Mr. Rodino) 298,000
1989, H. Doc. 139, 101st Cong. (H. Con. Res. 193 by Mr.
Brooks)................................................... 323,000
1997, H. Doc. 14, 105th Cong. (S. Con. Res. 62 by Senator
Warner)................................................... 387,000
2000, H. Doc. 197, 106th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 221 by Mr.
Thomas)................................................... 550,000
2003, H. Doc. 93, 108th Cong. (H. Con. Res. 139 by Mr. Ney)... 550,000
FOREWORD
----------
First published in 1953 by the Committee on the Judiciary
of the House of Representatives, this 24th edition of ``How Our
Laws Are Made'' reflects changes in congressional procedures
since the 23rd edition, which was revised and updated in 2003.
This edition was prepared by the Office of the Parliamentarian
of the U.S. House of Representatives in consultation with the
Office of the Parliamentarian of the U.S. Senate.
The framers of our Constitution created a strong federal
government resting on the concept of ``separation of powers.''
In Article I, Section 1, of the Constitution, the
Legislative Branch is created by the following language: ``All
legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress
of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House
of Representatives.'' Article I, Section 5, of the Constitution
provides that: ``Each House may determine the Rules of its
Proceedings, . . .''.
Upon this elegant, yet simple, grant of legislative powers
and rulemaking authority has grown an exceedingly complex and
evolving legislative process--much of it unique to each House
of Congress. To aid the public's understanding of the
legislative process, we have revised this popular brochure. For
more detailed information on how our laws are made and for the
text of the laws themselves, the reader should refer to
government internet sites or pertinent House and Senate
publications available from the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.
John V. Sullivan
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
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Page
I. Introduction....................................................1
II. The Congress....................................................1
III. Sources of Legislation..........................................4
IV. Forms of Congressional Action...................................5
Bills.................................................. 5
Joint Resolutions...................................... 6
Concurrent Resolutions................................. 7
Simple Resolutions..................................... 8
V. Introduction and Referral to Committee..........................8
VI. Consideration by Committee.....................................11
Committee Meetings..................................... 11
Public Hearings........................................ 12
Markup................................................. 14
Final Committee Action................................. 14
Points of Order With Respect to Committee Hearing
Procedure.......................................... 15
VII. Reported Bills.................................................15
Contents of Reports.................................... 16
Filing of Reports...................................... 18
Availability of Reports and Hearings................... 18
VIII. Legislative Oversight by Standing Committees...................18
IX. Calendars......................................................19
Union Calendar......................................... 19
House Calendar......................................... 20
Private Calendar....................................... 20
Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees............ 20
X. Obtaining Consideration of Measures............................20
Unanimous Consent...................................... 21
Special Resolution or ``Rule''......................... 21
Consideration of Measures Made in Order by Rule
Reported From the Committee on Rules............... 22
Motion to Discharge Committee.......................... 22
Motion to Suspend the Rules............................ 23
Calendar Wednesday..................................... 24
District of Columbia Business.......................... 24
Questions of Privilege................................. 24
Privileged Matters..................................... 25
XI. Consideration and Debate.......................................25
Committee of the Whole................................. 26
Second Reading......................................... 27
Amendments and the Germaneness Rule.................... 28
Congressional Earmarks................................. 28
The Committee ``Rises''................................ 28
House Action........................................... 29
Motion to Recommit..................................... 29
Quorum Calls and Rollcalls............................. 30
Voting................................................. 31
Electronic Voting...................................... 33
Pairing of Members..................................... 33
System of Lights and Bells............................. 33
Recess Authority....................................... 34
Live Coverage of Floor Proceedings..................... 34
XII. Congressional Budget Process...................................35
XIII. Engrossment and Message to Senate..............................36
XIV. Senate Action..................................................37
Committee Consideration................................ 37
Chamber Procedure...................................... 38
XV. Final Action on Amended Bill...................................41
Request for a Conference............................... 42
Authority of Conferees................................. 43
Meetings and Action of Conferees....................... 44
Conference Reports..................................... 46
Custody of Papers...................................... 48
XVI. Bill Originating in Senate.....................................49
XVII. Enrollment.....................................................49
XVIII.Presidential Action............................................50
Veto Message........................................... 51
Line Item Veto......................................... 52
XIX. Publication....................................................52
Slip Laws.............................................. 53
Statutes at Large...................................... 53
United States Code..................................... 54
Appendix......................................................... 55
HOW OUR LAWS ARE MADE
I. INTRODUCTION
This brochure is intended to provide a basic outline of the
numerous steps of our federal lawmaking process from the source
of an idea for a legislative proposal through its publication
as a statute. The legislative process is a matter about which
every person should be well informed in order to understand and
appreciate the work of Congress.
It is hoped that this guide will enable readers to gain a
greater understanding of the federal legislative process and
its role as one of the foundations of our representative
system. One of the most practical safeguards of the American
democratic way of life is this legislative process with its
emphasis on the protection of the minority, allowing ample
opportunity to all sides to be heard and make their views
known. The fact that a proposal cannot become a law without
consideration and approval by both Houses of Congress is an
outstanding virtue of our bicameral legislative system. The
open and full discussion provided under the Constitution often
results in the notable improvement of a bill by amendment
before it becomes law or in the eventual defeat of an
inadvisable proposal.
As the majority of laws originate in the House of
Representatives, this discussion will focus principally on the
procedure in that body.
II. THE CONGRESS
Article I, Section 1, of the United States Constitution,
provides that:
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate
and House of Representatives.
The Senate is composed of 100 Members--two from each state,
regardless of population or area--elected by the people in
accordance with the 17th Amendment to the Constitution. The
17th Amendment changed the former constitutional method under
which Senators were chosen by the respective state
legislatures. A Senator must be at least 30 years of age, have
been a citizen of the United States for nine years, and, when
elected, be an inhabitant of the state for which the Senator is
chosen. The term of office is six years and one-third of the
total membership of the Senate is elected every second year.
The terms of both Senators from a particular state are arranged
so that they do not terminate at the same time. Of the two
Senators from a state serving at the same time the one who was
elected first--or if both were elected at the same time, the
one elected for a full term--is referred to as the ``senior''
Senator from that state. The other is referred to as the
``junior'' Senator. If a Senator dies or resigns during the
term, the governor of the state must call a special election
unless the state legislature has authorized the governor to
appoint a successor until the next election, at which time a
successor is elected for the balance of the term. Most of the
state legislatures have granted their governors the power of
appointment.
Each Senator has one vote.
As constituted in the 110th Congress, the House of
Representatives is composed of 435 Members elected every two
years from among the 50 states, apportioned to their total
populations. The permanent number of 435 was established by
federal law following the Thirteenth Decennial Census in 1910,
in accordance with Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution.
This number was increased temporarily to 437 for the 87th
Congress to provide for one Representative each for Alaska and
Hawaii. The Constitution limits the number of Representatives
to not more than one for every 30,000 of population. Under a
former apportionment in one state, a particular Representative
represented more than 900,000 constituents, while another in
the same state was elected from a district having a population
of only 175,000. The Supreme Court has since held
unconstitutional a Missouri statute permitting a maximum
population variance of 3.1 percent from mathematical equality.
The Court ruled in Kirkpatrick v. Preisler, 394 U.S. 526
(1969), that the variances among the districts were not
unavoidable and, therefore, were invalid. That decision was an
interpretation of the Court's earlier ruling in Wesberry v.
Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964), that the Constitution requires that
``as nearly as is practicable one man's vote in a congressional
election is to be worth as much as another's.''
A law enacted in 1967 abolished all ``at-large'' elections
except in those less populous states entitled to only one
Representative. An ``at-large'' election is one in which a
Representative is elected by the voters of the entire state
rather than by the voters in a congressional district within
the state.
A Representative must be at least 25 years of age, have
been a citizen of the United States for seven years, and, when
elected, be an inhabitant of the state in which the
Representative is chosen. Unlike the Senate where a successor
may be appointed by a governor when a vacancy occurs during a
term, if a Representative dies or resigns during the term, the
executive authority of the state must call a special election
pursuant to state law for the choosing of a successor to serve
for the unexpired portion of the term.
Each Representative has one vote.
In addition to the Representatives from each of the States,
a Resident Commissioner from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
and Delegates from the District of Columbia, American Samoa,
Guam, and the Virgin Islands are elected pursuant to federal
law. The Resident Commissioner, elected for a four-year term,
and the Delegates, elected for two-year terms, have most of the
prerogatives of Representatives including the right to vote in
committees to which they are elected, the right to vote in the
Committee of the Whole (subject to an automatic revote in the
House whenever a recorded vote has been decided by a margin
within which the votes cast by the Delegates and the Resident
Commissioner have been decisive), and the right to preside over
the Committee of the Whole. However, the Resident Commissioner
and the Delegates do not have the right to vote on matters
before the House.
Under the provisions of Section 2 of the 20th Amendment to
the Constitution, Congress must assemble at least once every
year, at noon on the third day of January, unless by law they
appoint a different day.
A Congress lasts for two years, commencing in January of
the year following the biennial election of Members. A Congress
is divided into two regular sessions.
The Constitution authorizes each House to determine the
rules of its proceedings. Pursuant to that authority, the House
of Representatives adopts its rules anew each Congress,
ordinarily on the opening day of the first session. The Senate
considers itself a continuing body and operates under
continuous standing rules that it amends from time to time.
Unlike some other parliamentary bodies, both the Senate and
the House of Representatives have equal legislative functions
and powers with certain exceptions. For example, the
Constitution provides that only the House of Representatives
may originate revenue bills. By tradition, the House also
originates appropriation bills. As both bodies have equal
legislative powers, the designation of one as the ``upper''
House and the other as the ``lower'' House is not applicable.
The chief function of Congress is the making of laws. In
addition, the Senate has the function of advising and
consenting to treaties and to certain nominations by the
President. Under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, a vote
in each House is required to confirm the President's nomination
for Vice-President when there is a vacancy in that office. In
the matter of impeachments, the House of Representatives
presents the charges--a function similar to that of a grand
jury--and the Senate sits as a court to try the impeachment. No
impeached person may be removed without a two-thirds vote of
those Senators voting, a quorum being present. The Congress
under the Constitution and by statute also plays a role in
presidential elections. Both Houses meet in joint session on
the sixth day of January following a presidential election,
unless by law they appoint a different day, to count the
electoral votes. If no candidate receives a majority of the
total electoral votes, the House of Representatives, each state
delegation having one vote, chooses the President from among
the three candidates having the largest number of electoral
votes. The Senate, each Senator having one vote, chooses the
Vice President from the two candidates having the largest
number of votes for that office.
III. SOURCES OF LEGISLATION
Sources of ideas for legislation are unlimited and proposed
drafts of bills originate in many diverse quarters. Primary
among these is the idea and draft conceived by a Member. This
may emanate from the election campaign during which the Member
had promised, if elected, to introduce legislation on a
particular subject. The Member may have also become aware after
taking office of the need for amendment to or repeal of an
existing law or the enactment of a statute in an entirely new
field.
In addition, the Member's constituents, either as
individuals or through citizen groups, may avail themselves of
the right to petition and transmit their proposals to the
Member. The right to petition is guaranteed by the First
Amendment to the Constitution. Similarly, state legislatures
may ``memorialize'' Congress to enact specified federal laws by
passing resolutions to be transmitted to the House and Senate
as memorials. If favorably impressed by the idea, a Member may
introduce the proposal in the form in which it has been
submitted or may redraft it. In any event, a Member may consult
with the Legislative Counsel of the House or the Senate to
frame the ideas in suitable legislative language and form.
In modern times, the ``executive communication'' has become
a prolific source of legislative proposals. The communication
is usually in the form of a message or letter from a member of
the President's Cabinet, the head of an independent agency, or
the President himself, transmitting a draft of a proposed bill
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
President of the Senate. Despite the structure of separation of
powers, Article II, Section 3, of the Constitution imposes an
obligation on the President to report to Congress from time to
time on the ``State of the Union'' and to recommend for
consideration such measures as the President considers
necessary and expedient. Many of these executive communications
follow on the President's message to Congress on the state of
the Union. The communication is then referred to the standing
committee or committees having jurisdiction of the subject
matter of the proposal. The chairman or the ranking minority
member of the relevant committee often introduces the bill,
either in the form in which it was received or with desired
changes. This practice is usually followed even when the
majority of the House and the President are not of the same
political party, although there is no constitutional or
statutory requirement that a bill be introduced to effectuate
the recommendations.
The most important of the regular executive communications
is the annual message from the President transmitting the
proposed budget to Congress. The President's budget proposal,
together with testimony by officials of the various branches of
the government before the Appropriations Committees of the
House and Senate, is the basis of the several appropriation
bills that are drafted by the Committees on Appropriations of
the House and Senate.
The drafting of statutes is an art that requires great
skill, knowledge, and experience. In some instances, a draft is
the result of a study covering a period of a year or more by a
commission or committee designated by the President or a member
of the Cabinet. The Administrative Procedure Act and the
Uniform Code of Military Justice are two examples of enactments
resulting from such studies. In addition, congressional
committees sometimes draft bills after studies and hearings
covering periods of a year or more.
IV. FORMS OF CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
The work of Congress is initiated by the introduction of a
proposal in one of four forms: the bill, the joint resolution,
the concurrent resolution, and the simple resolution. The most
customary form used in both Houses is the bill. During the
109th Congress (2005-2006), 10,558 bills and 143 joint
resolutions were introduced in both Houses. Of the total number
introduced, 6,436 bills and 102 joint resolutions originated in
the House of Representatives.
For the purpose of simplicity, this discussion will be
confined generally to the procedure on a measure of the House
of Representatives, with brief comment on each of the forms.
bills
A bill is the form used for most legislation, whether
permanent or temporary, general or special, public or private.
The form of a House bill is as follows:
A BILL
For the establishment, etc. [as the title may be].
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That, etc.
The enacting clause was prescribed by law in 1871 and is
identical in all bills, whether they originate in the House of
Representatives or in the Senate.
Bills may originate in either the House of Representatives
or the Senate with one notable exception. Article I, Section 7,
of the Constitution provides that all bills for raising revenue
shall originate in the House of Representatives but that the
Senate may propose, or concur with, amendments. By tradition,
general appropriation bills also originate in the House of
Representatives.
There are two types of bills--public and private. A public
bill is one that affects the public generally. A bill that
affects a specified individual or a private entity rather than
the population at large is called a private bill. A typical
private bill is used for relief in matters such as immigration
and naturalization and claims against the United States.
A bill originating in the House of Representatives is
designated by ``H.R.'' followed by a number that it retains
throughout all its parliamentary stages. The letters signify
``House of Representatives'' and not, as is sometimes
incorrectly assumed, ``House resolution.'' A Senate bill is
designated by ``S.'' followed by its number. The term
``companion bill'' is used to describe a bill introduced in one
House of Congress that is similar or identical to a bill
introduced in the other House of Congress.
A bill that has been agreed to in identical form by both
bodies becomes the law of the land only after--
(1) Presidential approval; or
(2) failure by the President to return it with
objections to the House in which it originated within
10 days (Sundays excepted) while Congress is in
session; or
(3) the overriding of a presidential veto by a two-
thirds vote in each House.
Such a bill does not become law without the President's
signature if Congress by their final adjournment prevent its
return with objections. This is known as a ``pocket veto.'' For
a discussion of presidential action on legislation, see Part
XVIII.
joint resolutions
Joint resolutions may originate either in the House of
Representatives or in the Senate--not, as is sometimes
incorrectly assumed, jointly in both Houses. There is little
practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution and
the two forms are sometimes used interchangeably. One
difference in form is that a joint resolution may include a
preamble preceding the resolving clause. Statutes that have
been initiated as bills may be amended by a joint resolution
and vice versa. Both are subject to the same procedure except
for a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the
Constitution. When a joint resolution amending the Constitution
is approved by two-thirds of both Houses, it is not presented
to the President for approval. Rather, such a joint resolution
is sent directly to the Archivist of the United States for
submission to the several states where ratification by the
legislatures of three-fourths of the states within the period
of time prescribed in the joint resolution is necessary for the
amendment to become part of the Constitution.
The form of a House joint resolution is as follows:
joint resolution
Authorizing, etc. [as the title may be].
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That, etc.
The resolving clause is identical in both House and Senate
joint resolutions as has been prescribed by statute since 1871.
It is frequently preceded by a preamble consisting of one or
more ``whereas'' clauses indicating the necessity for or the
desirability of the joint resolution.
A joint resolution originating in the House of
Representatives is designated ``H.J. Res.'' followed by its
individual number which it retains throughout all its
parliamentary stages. One originating in the Senate is
designated ``S.J. Res.'' followed by its number.
Joint resolutions, with the exception of proposed
amendments to the Constitution, become law in the same manner
as bills.
concurrent resolutions
A matter affecting the operations of both Houses is usually
initiated by a concurrent resolution. In modern practice, and
as determined by the Supreme Court in INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S.
919 (1983), concurrent and simple resolutions normally are not
legislative in character since not ``presented'' to the
President for approval, but are used merely for expressing
facts, principles, opinions, and purposes of the two Houses. A
concurrent resolution is not equivalent to a bill and its use
is narrowly limited within these bounds. The term
``concurrent'', like ``joint'', does not signify simultaneous
introduction and consideration in both Houses.
A concurrent resolution originating in the House of
Representatives is designated ``H. Con. Res.'' followed by its
individual number, while a Senate concurrent resolution is
designated ``S. Con. Res.'' together with its number. On
approval by both Houses, they are signed by the Clerk of the
House and the Secretary of the Senate and transmitted to the
Archivist of the United States for publication in a special
part of the Statutes at Large volume covering that session of
Congress.
simple resolutions
A matter concerning the rules, the operation, or the
opinion of either House alone is initiated by a simple
resolution. A resolution affecting the House of Representatives
is designated ``H. Res.'' followed by its number, while a
Senate resolution is designated ``S. Res.'' together with its
number. Simple resolutions are considered only by the body in
which they were introduced. Upon adoption, simple resolutions
are attested to by the Clerk of the House of Representatives or
the Secretary of the Senate and are published in the
Congressional Record.
V. INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE
Any Member, Delegate or the Resident Commissioner from
Puerto Rico in the House of Representatives may introduce a
bill at any time while the House is in session by simply
placing it in the ``hopper,'' a wooden box provided for that
purpose located on the side of the rostrum in the House
Chamber. Permission is not required to introduce the measure.
The Member introducing the bill is known as the primary
sponsor. Except in the case of private bills, an unlimited
number of Members may cosponsor a bill. To prevent the
possibility that a bill might be introduced in the House on
behalf of a Member without that Member's prior approval, the
primary sponsor's signature must appear on the bill before it
is accepted for introduction. Members who cosponsor a bill upon
its date of introduction are original cosponsors. Members who
cosponsor a bill after its introduction are additional
cosponsors. Cosponsors are not required to sign the bill. A
Member may not be added or deleted as a cosponsor after the
bill has been reported by, or discharged from, the last
committee authorized to consider it, and the Speaker may not
entertain a request to delete the name of the primary sponsor
at any time. Cosponsors' names may be deleted by their own
unanimous-consent request or that of the primary sponsor. In
the Senate, unlimited multiple sponsorship of a bill is
permitted. A Member may insert the words ``by request'' after
the Member's name to indicate that the introduction of the
measure is at the suggestion of some other person or group--
usually the President or a member of his Cabinet.
In the Senate, a Senator usually introduces a bill or
resolution by presenting it to one of the clerks at the
Presiding Officer's desk, without commenting on it from the
floor of the Senate. However, a Senator may use a more formal
procedure by rising and introducing the bill or resolution from
the floor, usually accompanied by a statement about the
measure. Frequently, Senators obtain consent to have the bill
or resolution printed in the Congressional Record following
their formal statement.
In the House of Representatives, it is no longer the custom
to read bills--even by title--at the time of introduction. The
title is entered in the Journal and printed in the
Congressional Record, thus preserving the purpose of the
custom. The bill is assigned its legislative number by the
Clerk. The bill is then referred as required by the rules of
the House to the appropriate committee or committees by the
Speaker, with the assistance of the Parliamentarian. The bill
number and committee referral appear in the next issue of the
Congressional Record. It is then sent to the Government
Printing Office where it is printed and copies are made
available in the document rooms of both Houses. Printed and
electronic versions of the bill are also made available to the
public.
Copies of the bill are sent to the office of the chairman
of each committee to which it has been referred. The clerk of
the committee enters it on the committee's Legislative
Calendar.
Perhaps the most important phase of the legislative process
is the action by committees. The committees provide the most
intensive consideration to a proposed measure as well as the
forum where the public is given their opportunity to be heard.
A tremendous volume of work, often overlooked by the public, is
done by the Members in this phase. There are, at present, 20
standing committees in the House and 16 in the Senate as well
as several select committees. In addition, there are four
standing joint committees of the two Houses, with oversight
responsibilities but no legislative jurisdiction. The House may
also create select committees or task forces to study specific
issues and report on them to the House. A task force may be
established formally through a resolution passed by the House
or informally through organization of interested Members by the
House leadership.
Each committee's jurisdiction is defined by certain subject
matter under the rules of each House and all measures are
referred accordingly. For example, the Committee on the
Judiciary in the House has jurisdiction over measures relating
to judicial proceedings and 18 other categories, including
constitutional amendments, immigration policy, bankruptcy,
patents, copyrights, and trademarks. In total, the rules of the
House and of the Senate each provide for over 200 different
classifications of measures to be referred to committees. Until
1975, the Speaker of the House could refer a bill to only one
committee. In modern practice, the Speaker may refer an
introduced bill to multiple committees for consideration of
those provisions of the bill within the jurisdiction of each
committee concerned. Except in extraordinary circumstances, the
Speaker must designate a primary committee of jurisdiction on
bills referred to multiple committees. The Speaker may place
time limits on the consideration of bills by all committees,
but usually time limits are placed only on additional
committees to which a bill has been referred following the
report of the primary committee.
In the Senate, introduced measures and House-passed
measures are referred to the one committee of preponderant
jurisdiction by the Parliamentarian on behalf of the Presiding
Officer. By special or standing order, a measure may be
referred to more than one committee in the Senate.
Membership on the various committees is divided between the
two major political parties. The proportion of the Members of
the minority party to the Members of the majority party is
determined by the majority party, except that half of the
members on the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct are
from the majority party and half from the minority party. The
respective party caucuses nominate Members of the caucus to be
elected to each standing committee at the beginning of each
Congress. Membership on a standing committee during the course
of a Congress is contingent on continuing membership in the
party caucus that nominated a Member for election to the
committee. If a Member ceases to be a Member of the party
caucus, a Member automatically ceases to be a member of the
standing committee.
Members of the House may serve on only two committees and
four subcommittees with certain exceptions. However, the rules
of the caucus of the majority party in the House provide that a
Member may be chairman of only one subcommittee of a committee
or select committee with legislative jurisdiction, except for
certain committees performing housekeeping functions and joint
committees.
A Member usually seeks election to the committee that has
jurisdiction over a field in which the Member is most qualified
and interested. For example, the Committee on the Judiciary
traditionally is populated with numerous lawyers.
Members rank in seniority in accordance with the order of
their appointment to the full committee and the ranking
majority member with the most continuous service is often
elected chairman. The rules of the House require that committee
chairmen be elected from nominations submitted by the majority
party caucus at the commencement of each Congress. No Member of
the House may serve as chairman of the same standing committee
or of the same subcommittee thereof for more than three
consecutive Congresses, except in the case of the Committee on
Rules.
The rules of the House provide that a committee may
maintain no more than five committees, but may have an
oversight committee as a sixth. The standing rules allow a
greater number of subcommittees for the Committees on
Appropriations and Oversight and Government Reform. In
addition, the House may grant leave to certain committeess to
establish additional subcommittees during a given Congress.
Each committee is provided with a professional staff to
assist it in the innumerable administrative details involved in
the consideration of bills and its oversight responsibilities.
For standing committees, the professional staff is limited to
30 persons appointed by a vote of the committee. Two-thirds of
the committee staff are selected by a majority vote of the
majority committee members and one-third of the committee staff
are selected by a majority vote of minority committee members.
All staff appointments are made without regard to race, creed,
sex, or age. Minority staff requirements do not apply to the
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct because of its
bipartisan nature. The Committee on Appropriations has special
authority under the rules of the House for appointment of staff
for the minority.
VI. CONSIDERATION BY COMMITTEE
One of the first actions taken by a committee is to seek
the input of the relevant departments and agencies about a
bill. Frequently, the bill is also submitted to the Government
Accountability Office with a request for an official report of
views on the necessity or desirability of enacting the bill
into law. Normally, ample time is given for the submission of
the reports and they are accorded serious consideration.
However, these reports are not binding on the committee in
determining whether or not to act favorably on the bill.
Reports of the departments and agencies in the executive branch
are submitted first to the Office of Management and Budget to
determine whether they are consistent with the program of the
President. Many committees adopt rules requiring referral of
measures to the appropriate subcommittee unless the full
committee votes to retain the measure at the full committee.
committee meetings
Standing committees are required to have regular meeting
days at least once a month. The chairman of the committee may
also call and convene additional meetings. Three or more
members of a standing committee may file with the committee a
written request that the chairman call a special meeting. The
request must specify the measure or matter to be considered. If
the chairman does not schedule the requested special meeting
within three calendar days after the filing of the request, to
be held within seven calendar days after the filing of the
request, a majority of the members of the committee may call
the special meeting by filing with the committee written notice
specifying the date, hour, and the measure or matter to be
considered at the meeting. In the Senate, the Chair may still
control the agenda of the special meeting through the power of
recognition. Committee meetings may be held for various
purposes including the ``markup'' of legislation, authorizing
subpoenas, or internal budget and personnel matters.
A subpoena may be authorized and issued at a meeting by a
vote of a committee or subcommittee with a majority of members
present. The power to authorize and issue subpoenas also may be
delegated to the chairman of the committee. A subpoena may
require both testimonial and documentary evidence to be
furnished to the committee. A subpoena is signed by the
chairman of the committee or by a member designated by the
committee.
All meetings for the transaction of business of standing
committees or subcommittees, except the Committee on Standards
of Official Conduct, must be open to the public, except when
the committee or subcommittee, in open session with a majority
present, determines by record vote that all or part of the
remainder of the meeting on that day shall be closed to the
public. Members of the committee may authorize congressional
staff and departmental representatives to be present at any
meeting that has been closed to the public. Open committee
meetings may be covered by the media. Permission to cover
hearings and meetings is granted under detailed conditions as
provided in the rules of the House.
The rules of the House provide that House committees may
not meet during a joint session of the House and Senate or
during a recess when a joint meeting of the House and Senate is
in progress. Committees may meet at other times during an
adjournment or recess up to the expiration of the
constitutional term. The rules of the Senate provide that
Senate committees may not meet after two hours after the
meeting of the Senate commenced, and in no case after 2 p.m.
when the Senate is in session. Special leave for this purpose
may be granted by the Majority and Minority leaders.
public hearings
If the bill is of sufficient importance, the committee may
set a date for public hearings. The chairman of each committee,
except for the Committee on Rules, is required to make public
announcement of the date, place, and subject matter of any
hearing at least one week before the commencement of that
hearing, unless the committee chairman with the concurrence of
the ranking minority member or the committee by majority vote
determines that there is good cause to begin the hearing at an
earlier date. If that determination is made, the chairman must
make a public announcement to that effect at the earliest
possible date. Public announcements are published in the Daily
Digest portion of the Congressional Record as soon as possible
after an announcement is made and are often noted by the media.
Personal notice of the hearing, usually in the form of a
letter, is sometimes sent to relevant individuals,
organizations, and government departments and agencies.
Each hearing by a committee or subcommittee, except the
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, is required to be
open to the public except when the committee or subcommittee,
in open session and with a majority present, determines by
record vote that all or part of the remainder of the hearing on
that day shall be closed to the public because disclosure of
testimony, evidence, or other matters to be considered would
endanger national security, would compromise sensitive law
enforcement information, or would violate a law or a rule of
the House. The committee or subcommittee may by the same
procedure vote to close one subsequent day of hearing, except
that the Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services, and the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and subcommittees
thereof, may vote to close up to five additional, consecutive
days of hearings. When a quorum for taking testimony is
present, a majority of the members present may close a hearing
to discuss whether the evidence or testimony to be received
would endanger national security or would tend to defame,
degrade, or incriminate any person. A committee or subcommittee
may vote to release or make public matters originally received
in a closed hearing or meeting. Open committee hearings may be
covered by the media. Permission to cover hearings and meetings
is granted under detailed conditions as provided in the rules
of the House.
Hearings on the President's Budget are required to be held
by the Committee on Appropriations in open session within 30
days after its transmittal to Congress, except when the
committee, in open session and with a quorum present,
determines by record vote that the testimony to be taken at
that hearing on that day may be related to a matter of national
security. The committee may by the same procedure close one
subsequent day of hearing.
On the day set for a public hearing in a committee or
subcommittee, an official reporter is present to record the
testimony. After a brief introductory statement by the chairman
and often by the ranking minority member or other committee
member, the first witness is called. Cabinet officers and high-
ranking government officials, as well as interested private
individuals, testify either voluntarily or by subpoena.
So far as practicable, committees require that witnesses
who appear before it file a written statement of their proposed
testimony in advance of their appearance and limit their oral
presentations to a brief summary thereof. In the case of a
witness appearing in a nongovernmental capacity, a written
statement of proposed testimony shall include a curriculum
vitae and a disclosure of certain federal grants and contracts.
Upon request by a majority of them, minority party members
of the committee are entitled to call witnesses of their own to
testify on a measure during at least one additional day of a
hearing.
Each member of the committee is provided five minutes in
the interrogation of each witness until each member of the
committee who desires to question a witness has had an
opportunity to do so. In addition, a committee may adopt a rule
or motion to permit committee members to question a witness for
a specified period not longer than one hour. Committee staff
may also be permitted to question a witness for a specified
period not longer than one hour.
A transcript of the testimony taken at a public hearing is
made available for inspection in the office of the clerk of the
committee. Frequently, the complete transcript is printed and
distributed widely by the committee.
markup
After hearings are completed, the subcommittee usually will
consider the bill in a session that is popularly known as the
``markup'' session. The views of both sides are studied in
detail and at the conclusion of deliberation a vote is taken to
determine the action of the subcommittee. It may decide to
report the bill favorably to the full committee, with or
without amendment, or unfavorably, or without recommendation.
The subcommittee may also suggest that the committee ``table''
it or postpone action indefinitely. Each member of the
subcommittee, regardless of party affiliation, has one vote.
Proxy voting is no longer permitted in House committees.
final committee action
At full committee meetings, reports on bills may be made by
subcommittees. Bills are read for amendment in committees by
section and members may offer germane amendments. Committee
amendments are only proposals to change the bill as introduced
and are subject to acceptance or rejection by the House itself.
A vote of committee members is taken to determine whether the
full committee will report the bill favorably, adversely, or
without recommendation. If the committee votes to report the
bill favorably to the House, it may report the bill with or
without amendments. If the committee has approved extensive
amendments, the committee may decide to report the original
bill with one ``amendment in the nature of a substitute''
consisting of all the amendments previously adopted, or may
introduce and report a new bill incorporating those amendments,
commonly known as a ``clean'' bill. The new bill is introduced
(usually by the chairman of the committee), and, after referral
back to the committee, is reported favorably to the House by
the committee. A committee may table a bill or fail to take
action on it, thereby preventing its report to the House. This
makes adverse reports or reports without recommendation to the
House by a committee unusual. The House also has the ability to
discharge a bill from committee. For a discussion of the motion
to discharge, see Part X.
Generally, a majority of the committee or subcommittee
constitutes a quorum. A quorum is the number of members who
must be present in order for the committee to report. However,
a committee may vary the number of members necessary for a
quorum for certain actions. For example, a committee may fix
the number of its members, but not less than two, necessary for
a quorum for taking testimony and receiving evidence. Except
for the Committees on Appropriations, the Budget, and Ways and
Means, a committee may fix the number of its members, but not
less than one-third, necessary for a quorum for taking certain
other actions. The absence of a quorum is subject to a point of
order, an objection that the proceedings are in violation of a
rule of the committee or of the House. Committees may authorize
the chairman to postpone votes in certain circumstances.
points of order with respect to committee hearing procedure
A point of order in the House does not lie with respect to
a measure reported by a committee on the ground that hearings
on the measure were not conducted in accordance with required
committee procedure. However, certain points of order may be
made by a member of the committee that reported the measure if,
in the committee hearing on that measure, that point of order
was (1) timely made and (2) improperly disposed of.
VII. REPORTED BILLS
If the committee votes to report the bill to the House, the
committee staff writes a committee report. The report describes
the purpose and scope of the bill and the reasons for its
recommended approval. Generally, a section-by-section analysis
sets forth precisely what each section is intended to
accomplish. All changes in existing law must be indicated in
the report and the text of laws being repealed must be set out.
This requirement is known as the ``Ramseyer'' rule. A similar
rule in the Senate is known as the ``Cordon'' rule. Committee
amendments also must be set out at the beginning of the report
and explanations of them are included. Executive communications
regarding the bill may be referenced in the report.
If at the time of approval of a bill by a committee other
than the Committee on Rules a member of the committee gives
notice of an intention to file supplemental, minority, or
additional views, all members are entitled to not less than two
additional calendar days after the day of such notice
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays unless the
House is in session on those days) in which to file those views
with the clerk of the committee. Those views that are timely
filed must be included in the report on the bill. Committee
reports must be filed while the House is in session unless
unanimous consent is obtained from the House to file at a later
time or the committee is entitled to an automatic filing window
by virtue of a request for views.
The report is assigned a report number upon its filing and
is sent to the Government Printing Office for printing. House
reports are given a prefix-designator that indicates the number
of the Congress. For example, the first House report filed
during the 110th Congress was numbered 110-1.
In the printed report, committee amendments are indicated
by showing new matter in italics and deleted matter in line-
through type. The report number is printed on the bill and the
calendar number is shown on both the first and back pages of
the bill. However, in the case of a bill that was referred to
two or more committees for consideration in sequence, the
calendar number is printed only on the bill as reported by the
last committee to consider it. For a discussion of House
calendars, see Part IX.
Committee reports are perhaps the most valuable single
element of the legislative history of a law. They are used by
the courts, executive departments, and the public as a source
of information regarding the purpose and meaning of the law.
contents of reports
The report of a committee on a measure must include: (1)
the committee's oversight findings and recommendations; (2) a
statement required by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, if
the measure is a bill or joint resolution providing new budget
authority (other than continuing appropriations) or an increase
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures; (3) a cost
estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office; and (4) a statement of general
performance goals and objectives, including outcome-related
goals and objectives, for which the measure authorizes funding.
Each report accompanying a bill or joint resolution relating to
employment or access to public services or accommodations must
describe the manner in which the provisions apply to the
legislative branch. Each of these items is set out separately
and clearly identified in the report.
With respect to each record vote by a committee, the total
number of votes cast for, and the total number of votes cast
against any public measure or matter or amendment thereto and
the names of those voting for and against, must be included in
the committee report. This requirement does not apply to
certain votes taken in the Committees on Rules and Standards of
Official Conduct.
In addition, each report of a committee on a public bill or
public joint resolution must contain a statement citing the
specific powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to
enact the law proposed by the bill or joint resolution.
Committee reports that accompany bills or resolutions that
contain federal unfunded mandates are also required to include
an estimate prepared by the Congressional Budget Office on the
cost of the mandates on state, local, and tribal governments.
If an estimate is not available at the time a report is filed,
committees are required to publish the estimate in the
Congressional Record. Each report also must contain an
estimate, made by the committee, of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out that bill or joint resolution in the
fiscal year reported and in each of the five fiscal years
thereafter or for the duration of the program authorized if
less than five years. The report must include a comparison of
the estimates of those costs with any estimate made by any
Government agency and submitted to that committee. The
Committees on Appropriations, House Administration, Rules, and
Standards of Official Conduct are not required to include cost
estimates in their reports. In addition, the committee's own
cost estimates are not required to be included in reports when
a cost estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office has been submitted prior to the
filing of the report and included in the report.
It is not in order to consider bills and joint resolutions
reported from committee unless the report includes a list of
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits and limited tariff
benefits in the bill or in the report (including the name of
any Member, Delegate or Resident Commissioner who submitted a
request to the committee for each respective item included in
such list) or a statement that the proposition contains no such
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits.
filing of reports
Measures approved by a committee are to be reported by the
chairman promptly after approval. If not, a majority of the
members of the committee may file a written request with the
clerk of the committee for the reporting of the measure. When
the request is filed, the clerk must immediately notify the
chairman of the committee of the filing of the request, and the
report on the measure must be filed within seven calendar days
(excluding days on which the House is not in session) after the
day on which the request is filed. This does not apply to a
report of the Committee on Rules with respect to a rule, joint
rule, or order of business of the House or to the reporting of
a resolution of inquiry addressed to the head of an executive
department.
availability of reports and hearings
A measure or matter reported by a committee (except the
Committee on Rules in the case of a resolution providing a
rule, joint rule, or order of business) may not be considered
in the House until the third calendar day (excluding Saturdays,
Sundays, and legal holidays unless the House is in session on
those days) on which the report of that committee on that
measure has been available to the Members of the House. This
rule is subject to certain exceptions including resolutions
providing for certain privileged matters and measures declaring
war or other national emergency. A report of the Committee on
Rules on a rule, joint rule, or order of business must lay over
for one legislative day prior to consideration. However, it is
in order to consider a report from the Committee on Rules on
the same day it is reported that proposes only to waive the
availability requirement. If hearings were held on a measure or
matter so reported, the committee is required to make every
reasonable effort to have those hearings printed and available
for distribution to the Members of the House prior to the
consideration of the measure in the House. Committees are also
required, to the maximum extent feasible, to make their
publications available in electronic form. A general
appropriation bill reported by the Committee on Appropriations
may not be considered until printed transcripts of committee
hearings and a committee report thereon have been available to
the Members of the House for at least three calendar days
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays unless the
House is in session on those days).
VIII. LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT BY STANDING COMMITTEES
Each standing committee, other than the Committee on
Appropriations, is required to review and study, on a
continuing basis, the application, administration, execution,
and effectiveness of the laws dealing with the subject matter
over which the committee has jurisdiction and the organization
and operation of federal agencies and entities having
responsibility for the administration and evaluation of those
laws.
The purpose of the review and study is to determine whether
laws and the programs created by Congress are being implemented
and carried out in accordance with the intent of Congress and
whether those programs should be continued, curtailed, or
eliminated. In addition, each committee having oversight
responsibility is required to review and study any conditions
or circumstances that may indicate the necessity or
desirability of enacting new or additional legislation within
the jurisdiction of that committee, and must undertake, on a
continuing basis, future research and forecasting on matters
within the jurisdiction of that committee. Each standing
committee also has the function of reviewing and studying, on a
continuing basis, the impact or probable impact of tax policies
on subjects within its jurisdiction.
The rules of the House provide for special treatment of an
investigative or oversight report of a committee. Committees
are allowed to file joint investigative reports and to file
investigative and activities reports after the House has
completed its final session of a Congress. In addition, several
of the standing committees have special oversight
responsibilities. The details of those responsibilities are set
forth in the rules of the House.
IX. CALENDARS
The House of Representatives has four calendars of
business: the Union Calendar, the House Calendar, the Private
Calendar, and the Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees.
The calendars are compiled in one publication printed each day
the House is in session. This publication also contains a
history of Senate-passed bills, House bills reported out of
committee, bills on which the House has acted, and other useful
information.
When a public bill is favorably reported by all committees
to which referred, it is assigned a calendar number on either
the Union Calendar or the House Calendar, the two principal
calendars of business. The calendar number is printed on the
first page of the bill and, in certain instances, is printed
also on the back page. In the case of a bill that was referred
to multiple committees, the calendar number is printed only on
the bill as reported by the last committee to consider it.
union calendar
The rules of the House provide that there shall be:
A Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House on the state
of the Union, to which shall be referred public bills and
public resolutions raising revenue, involving a tax or charge
on the people, directly or indirectly making appropriations of
money or property or requiring such appropriations to be made,
authorizing payments out of appropriations already made,
releasing any liability to the United States for money or
property, or referring a claim to the Court of Claims.
The large majority of public bills and resolutions reported
to the House are placed on the Union Calendar. For a discussion
of the Committee of the Whole House, see Part XI.
house calendar
The rules further provide that there shall be:
A House Calendar, to which shall be referred all public
bills and public resolutions not requiring referral to the
Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of
the Union.
Bills not involving a cost to the government and
resolutions providing special orders of business are examples
of bills and resolutions placed on the House Calendar.
private calendar
The rules also provide that there shall be:
A Private Calendar, . . . to which shall be referred all
private bills and private resolutions.
All private bills reported to the House are placed on the
Private Calendar. The Private Calendar is called on the first
and third Tuesdays of each month. If two or more Members object
to the consideration of any measure called, it is recommitted
to the committee that reported it. By tradition, there are six
official objectors, three on the majority side and three on the
minority side, who make a careful study of each bill or
resolution on the Private Calendar. The official objectors'
role is to object to a measure that does not conform to the
requirements for that calendar and prevent the passage without
debate of nonmeritorious bills and resolutions. Alternative
procedures reserved for public bills are not applicable to
reported private bills.
calendar of motions to discharge committees
When a majority of the Members of the House sign a motion
to discharge a committee from consideration of a public bill or
resolution, that motion is referred to the Calendar of Motions
to Discharge Committees. For a discussion of the motion to
discharge, see Part X.
X. OBTAINING CONSIDERATION OF MEASURES
Certain measures, either pending on the House and Union
Calendars or unreported and pending in committee, are more
important and urgent than others and a system permitting their
consideration ahead of those that do not require immediate
action is necessary. If the calendar numbers alone were the
determining factor, the bill reported most recently would be
the last to be taken up as all measures are placed on the House
and Union Calendars in the order reported.
unanimous consent
The House occasionally employs the practice of allowing
reported or unreported measures to be considered by the
unanimous agreement of all Members in the House Chamber. The
power to recognize Members for a unanimous-consent request is
ultimately in the discretion of the Chair, and recent Speakers
have issued strict guidelines on when such a request is to be
entertained. Most unanimous-consent requests for consideration
of measures may only be entertained by the Chair when assured
that the majority and minority floor and committee leaderships
have no objection.
special resolution or ``rule''
To avoid delays and to allow selectivity in the
consideration of public measures, it is possible to have them
taken up out of their order on their respective calendar or to
have them discharged from the committee or committees to which
referred by obtaining from the Committee on Rules a special
resolution or ``rule'' for their consideration. The Committee
on Rules, which is composed of majority and minority members
but with a larger proportion of majority members than other
committees, is specifically granted jurisdiction over
resolutions relating to the order of business of the House.
Typically, the chairman of the committee that has favorably
reported the bill requests the Committee on Rules to originate
a resolution that will provide for its immediate or subsequent
consideration. If the Committee on Rules has determined that
the measure should be taken up, it may report a resolution
reading substantially as follows with respect to a bill on the
Union Calendar or an unreported bill:
Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this
resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to rule XVIII, declare the
House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union for the consideration of the bill (H.R.___)
entitled, etc. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed
with. After general debate, which shall be confined to the bill
and shall not to exceed ___ hours, to be equally divided and
controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the
Committee on ___, the bill shall be read for amendment under
the five-minute rule. At the conclusion of the consideration of
the bill for amendment, the Committee shall rise and report the
bill to the House with such amendments as may have been
adopted, and the previous question shall be considered as
ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage
without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with
or without instructions.
If the measure is on the House Calendar or the
recommendation is to avoid consideration in the Committee of
the Whole, the resolution might read as follows:
Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it
shall be in order to consider the bill (H.R. ___) entitled,
etc., in the House, etc.
The resolution may waive points of order against the bill.
A point of order is an objection that a pending matter or
proceeding is in violation of a rule of the House. The bill may
be susceptible to various points of order that may be made
against its consideration, including an assertion that the bill
carries a retroactive federal income tax increase, contains a
federal unfunded mandate, or has not been reported from
committee properly. At times, the rule may ``self-execute''
changes to the bill, that is, incorporate the changes in the
bill upon adoption of the rule. The rule may also make a
specified ``manager's amendment'' in order prior to any other
amendment or may make a ``compromise substitute'' amendment in
order as original text to replace the version reported from
committee. When a rule limits or prevents floor amendments, it
is popularly known as a ``closed rule'' or ``modified closed
rule.'' However, a rule may not deny the minority party the
right to offer a motion to recommit the bill with proper
amendatory or general instructions. For a discussion of the
motion to recommit, see Part XI.
consideration of measures made in order by rule reported from the
committee on rules
When a rule has been reported to the House, it is referred
to the House Calendar and if it is to be considered on the same
legislative day reported, it requires a two-thirds vote for its
consideration. Normally, however, the rule is on the calendar
for at least one legislative day, and if not called up for
consideration by the Member who filed the report within seven
legislative days thereafter, any member of the Committee on
Rules may call it up as a privileged matter, after having given
one calendar day notice of the Member's intention to do so. The
Speaker will recognize any member of the committee seeking
recognition for that purpose.
If the House has adopted a resolution making in order a
motion to consider a bill, and such a motion has not been
offered within seven calendar days thereafter, such a motion
shall be privileged if offered by direction of all reporting
committees having initial jurisdiction of the bill.
motion to discharge committee
A Member may present to the Clerk a motion in writing to
discharge a committee from the consideration of a public bill
or resolution that has been referred to it 30 legislative days
prior thereto. A Member also may file a motion to discharge the
Committee on Rules from further consideration of a resolution
providing a special rule for the consideration of a public bill
or resolution reported by a standing committee, or a special
rule for the consideration of a public bill or resolution that
has been referred to a standing committee for 30 legislative
days. This motion to discharge the Committee on Rules may be
made only when the resolution has been referred to that
committee at least seven legislative days prior to the filing
of the motion to discharge. The motion may not permit
consideration of nongermane amendments. The motion is placed in
the custody of the Journal Clerk, where Members may sign it at
the House rostrum when the House is in session. The names of
Members who have signed a discharge motion are made available
electronically and published in the Congressional Record on a
weekly basis. When 218 Members have signed the motion, it is
entered in the Journal, printed with all the signatures thereto
in the Congressional Record, and referred to the Calendar of
Motions to Discharge Committees.
On the second and fourth Mondays of each month, except
during the last six days of a session, a Member who has signed
a motion to discharge that has been on the calendar at least
seven legislative days may call up the motion. The motion to
discharge is debated for 20 minutes, one-half in favor of the
proposition and one-half in opposition.
If the motion to discharge a standing committee of the
House from a public bill or resolution pending before the
committee prevails, a Member who signed the motion may move
that the House proceed to the immediate consideration of the
bill or resolution. If the motion is agreed to, the bill or
resolution is considered immediately under the general rules of
the House. If the House votes against the motion for immediate
consideration, the bill or resolution is referred to its proper
calendar with the same status as if reported by a standing
committee.
If the motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from a
resolution prevails, the House shall immediately consider such
resolution. If the resolution is adopted, the House proceeds to
its execution. This is the modern practice for utilization of
the discharge rule.
motion to suspend the rules
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of each week and during
the last six days of a session, the Speaker may entertain a
motion to suspend the rules of the House and pass a public bill
or resolution. Sometimes the motion is allowed on other days by
unanimous consent or a rule from the Committee on Rules. For
example, the House by rule from the Committee on Rules provided
for the motion on a Sunday when the House was in session.
Members need to arrange in advance with the Speaker to be
recognized to offer such a motion. The Speaker usually
recognizes only a majority member of the committee that has
reported or has primary jurisdiction over the bill. The motion
to suspend the rules and pass the bill is debatable for 40
minutes, half of the time in favor of the proposition and half
in opposition. The motion may not be separately amended but may
be amended in the form of a manager's amendment included in the
motion when it is offered. Because the rules may be suspended
and the bill passed only by affirmative vote of two-thirds of
the Members voting, a quorum being present, this procedure is
usually used only for expedited consideration of relatively
noncontroversial measures.
calendar wednesday
On Wednesday of each week, unless dispensed with by
unanimous consent or by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the
Members voting, a quorum being present, the standing committees
are called in alphabetical order. A committee when named may
call up for consideration any bill reported by it and pending
on either the House or Union Calendar. The report on the bill
must have been available for three days and must not be
privileged under the rules of the House. General debate is
limited to two hours and must be confined to the subject matter
of the measure, the time being equally divided between those
for and those against. An affirmative vote of a simple majority
of the Members present is sufficient to pass the measure. The
purpose of this rarely utilized procedure is to provide an
alternative method of consideration when the Committee on Rules
has not reported a rule for a specific bill.
district of columbia business
On the second and fourth Mondays of each month, after the
disposition of motions to discharge committees and after the
disposal of business on the Speaker's table requiring only
referral to committee, the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform may call up for consideration any District of
Columbia business reported from that committee. This procedure
is rarely utilized in the modern House.
questions of privilege
House rules provide special treatment for questions of
privilege. Questions of privilege are classified as those
questions: (1) affecting the rights of the House collectively,
its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings; or
(2) affecting the rights, reputations, and conduct of Members,
individually, in their representative capacity. A question of
privilege has been held to take precedence over all questions
except the motion to adjourn. Questions of the privileges of
the House, those concerning the rights of the House
collectively, take the form of a resolution which may be called
up by any Member after proper notice. A question of personal
privilege, affecting the rights, reputation, and conduct of
individual Members, may be raised from the floor without formal
notice and does not result in a vote. Debate on a question of
privilege proceeds under the hour rule, with debate on a
question of the privileges of the House divided between the
proponent and the leader of the opposing party or a designee.
privileged matters
Under the rules of the House, certain matters are regarded
as privileged matters and may interrupt the order of business.
Conference reports, veto messages from the President, and
certain amendments to measures by the Senate after the stage of
disagreement between the two Houses are examples of privileged
matters. Certain reports from House committees are also
privileged, including reports from the Committee on Rules,
reports from the Committee on Appropriations on general
appropriation bills, printing and committee funding resolutions
reported from the Committee on House Administration, and
reports on Member's conduct from the Committee on Standards of
Official Conduct. Bills, joint resolutions, and motions may
also take on privileged status as a result of special
procedures written into statute. The Member in charge of such a
matter may call it up at practically any time for immediate
consideration when no other business is pending. Usually, this
is done after consultation with both the majority and minority
floor leaders so that the Members of both parties will have
advance notice.
At any time after the reading of the Journal, a Member, by
direction of the Committee on Appropriations, may move that the
House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole House on
the state of the Union for the purpose of considering a general
appropriation bill. A general appropriation bill may not be
considered in the House until three calendar days (excluding
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays unless the House is in
session on those days) after printed committee reports and
hearing transcripts on the bill have been available to the
Members.
XI. CONSIDERATION AND DEBATE
Consideration of measures may involve several stages, the
most pertinent of which are discussed below. Also discussed are
various restrictions on House consideration, as well as voting
methods and mechanisms.
committee of the whole
In order to expedite the consideration of bills and
resolutions, the rules of the House provide for a parliamentary
mechanism, known as the Committee of the Whole House on the
state of the Union, that enables the House to act with a quorum
of less than the requisite majority of the entire House. A
quorum in the Committee of the Whole is 100 members. All
measures on the Union Calendar--those involving a tax, making
appropriations, authorizing payments out of appropriations
already made, or disposing of property--must be first
considered in the Committee of the Whole.
The Committee on Rules reports a rule allowing for
immediate consideration of a measure by the Committee of the
Whole. After adoption of the rule by the House, the Speaker may
declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole.
When the House resolves into the Committee of the Whole, the
Speaker leaves the chair after appointing a Chairman to
preside.
The rule referred to in the preceding paragraph also fixes
the length of the debate in the Committee of the Whole. This
may vary according to the importance of the measure. As
provided in the rule, the control of the time is usually
divided equally between the chairman and the ranking minority
member of the relevant committee. Members seeking to speak for
or against the measure may arrange in advance with the Member
in control of the time on their respective side to be allowed a
certain amount of time in the debate. Members may also ask the
Member speaking at the time to yield to them for a question or
a brief statement. A transcript of the proceedings in the House
and the Senate is printed daily in the Congressional Record.
Frequently, permission is granted a Member by unanimous consent
to revise and extend his remarks in the Congressional Record if
sufficient time to make a lengthy oral statement is not
available during actual debate. These revisions and extensions
are printed in a distinctive type and cannot substantively
alter the verbatim transcript.
The conduct of the debate is governed principally by the
rules of the House that are adopted at the opening of each
Congress. In the 106th Congress, the rules were recodified for
simplification and clarity. Jefferson's Manual, prepared by
Thomas Jefferson for his own guidance as President of the
Senate from 1797 to 1801, is another recognized authority. The
House has a long-standing rule that the provisions of
Jefferson's Manual should govern the House in all applicable
cases and where they are not inconsistent with the rules of the
House. Most parliamentary questions arising during the course
of debate are responded to by a ruling based on a precedent in
a similar situation. The Parliamentarian of the House is
present in the House Chamber in order to assist the Speaker or
the Chairman in making a correct ruling on parliamentary
questions.
second reading
During general debate on a bill, an accurate account of the
time used on both sides is kept and the Chairman terminates the
debate when all the time allowed under the rule has been
consumed. After general debate, the second reading of the bill
begins. The second reading is a section-by-section reading
during which amendments may be offered to a section when it is
read. Under many special ``modified closed'' rules adopted by
the House, certain bills are considered as read and open only
to prescribed amendments under limited time allocations. Under
an ``open'' amendment process, a Member is permitted five
minutes to explain the proposed amendment, after which the
Member who is first recognized by the Chair is allowed to speak
for five minutes in opposition to it. There is technically no
further debate on that amendment, thereby effectively
preventing filibuster-like tactics. This is known as the
``five-minute rule.'' However, Members may offer an amendment
to the amendment, for separate five-minute debate, or may offer
a pro forma amendment--``to strike the last word''--which does
not change the language of the amendment but allows the Member
five minutes for debate. Each substantive amendment and
amendment thereto is put to the Committee of the Whole for
adoption unless the House has adopted a special rule ``self-
executing'' the adoption of certain amendments in the Committee
of the Whole. The House may, after initially adopting an open
rule, later alter that rule by unanimous consent to establish a
``universe'' or list of amendments to a bill. This procedure is
most commonly used on general appropriation bills because of
the volume of amendments.
At any time after debate has begun on proposed amendments
to a section or paragraph of a bill under the five-minute rule,
the Committee of the Whole may by majority vote of the Members
present close debate on the amendment or the pending section or
paragraph. However, if debate is closed on a section or
paragraph before there has been debate on an amendment that a
Member has caused to be printed in the Congressional Record at
least one day prior to floor consideration of the amendment,
the Member who caused the amendment to be printed in the Record
is given five minutes in which to explain the amendment. Five
minutes is also given to speak in opposition to the amendment
but no further debate on the amendment is allowed. Amendments
placed in the Congressional Record must indicate the full text
of the proposed amendment, the name of the Member proposing it,
the number of the bill or amendment to which it will be
offered, and the point in the bill or amendment thereto where
the amendment is intended to be offered. These amendments
appear in the portion of the Record designated for that
purpose.
amendments and the germaneness rule
The rules of the House prohibit amendments of a subject
matter different from the text under consideration. This rule,
commonly known as the germaneness rule, is one of the most
important rules of the House of Representatives because of the
obvious need to keep the focus of a body the size of the House
on a predictable subject matter. The germaneness rule applies
to the proceedings in the House, the Committee of the Whole,
and the standing committees. There are hundreds of prior
rulings or ``precedents'' on germaneness available to guide the
Chair.
congressional earmarks
A House rule provides that it is not in order to consider
bills and joint resolutions reported from a committee unless
the committee report includes a list of congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits and limited tariff benefits in the bill or
in the report, or a statement that the measure contains none of
these items. The report must include the name of any Member,
Delegate or Resident Commissioner who submitted a request to
the committee for each respective item included in the list.
This rule also applies to conference reports, unreported bills
and joint resolutions, and to a so-called ``manager's
amendment'' offered at the outset of the amendment process by a
member of the committee of initial referral under the terms of
a special rule. With respect to unreported bills, unreported
joint resolutions and managers' amendments, the rule requires
the list or statement to be printed in the Congressional Record
prior to consideration. In the case of a conference report, the
list or statement must be included in the joint explanatory
statement prepared by the managers of the House and the
managers of the Senate. A special rule from the Committee on
Rules that waives the requirements of this rule is subject to a
special point of order and vote.
the committee ``rises''
At the conclusion of the consideration of a bill for
amendment, the Committee of the Whole ``rises'' and reports the
bill to the House with any amendments that have been adopted.
In rising, the Committee of the Whole reverts back to the House
and the Chairman of the Committee is replaced by the Speaker of
the House. The House then acts on the bill and any amendments
adopted by the Committee of the Whole. If the Committee of the
Whole rises on motion prior to the conclusion of consideration
of amendments, the bill must return to the Committee of the
Whole for subsequent consideration. Thus, the simple motion to
rise may be used to immediately halt consideration of a bill
similar to a motion to adjourn in the House.
house action
Debate on a bill in the House is cut off by moving and
ordering ``the previous question.'' All debate is cut off on
the bill if this motion is carried by a majority of the Members
voting, a quorum being present, or by a special rule ordering
the previous question upon the rising of the Committee of the
Whole. The Speaker then puts the question: ``Shall the bill be
engrossed and read a third time?'' If this question is decided
in the affirmative, the bill is read a third time by title only
and voted on for passage.
If the previous question has been ordered by the terms of
the rule on a bill reported by the Committee of the Whole, the
House immediately votes on whatever amendments have been
reported by the Committee in the order in which they appear in
the bill unless voted on en bloc. After completion of voting on
the amendments, the House immediately votes on the passage of
the bill with the amendments it has adopted. However, a motion
to recommit, as described in the next section, may be offered
and voted on prior to the vote on passage.
The Speaker may postpone a recorded vote on final passage
of a bill or resolution, as well as other matters, for up to
two legislative days.
Measures that do not have to be considered in the Committee
of the Whole are considered in the House in accordance with the
terms of the rule limiting debate on the measure or under the
``hour rule.'' The hour rule limits the amount of time that a
Member may occupy in debate on a pending question to 60
minutes. Generally, the opportunity for debate may also be
curtailed if the Speaker makes the rare determination that a
motion is dilatory.
After passage or rejection of the bill by the House, a
motion to reconsider it is automatically laid on the table by
unanimous consent. The motion to reconsider is tabled to
prohibit this motion from being made at a later date because
the vote of the House on a proposition is not final and
conclusive until there has been an opportunity to reconsider
it.
motion to recommit
After the previous question has been ordered on a bill or
joint resolution, it is in order to offer one motion to
recommit the bill or joint resolution to a committee, and the
Speaker gives preference in recognition for that purpose to a
minority party Member who is opposed to the bill or joint
resolution. This motion is not subject to debate. However, a
motion to recommit with instructions offered after the previous
question has been ordered is debatable for 10 minutes, except
that the majority floor manager may demand that the debate be
extended to one hour. Whatever time is allotted for debate is
divided equally between the proponent and an opponent of the
motion. Instructions in the motion to recommit normally take
the form of germane amendments proposed by the minority to
immediately change the final form of the bill prior to passage.
Instructions may also be ``general,'' consisting of nonbinding
instructions to the committee to take specified actions such as
to ``promptly'' review the bill with a particular political
viewpoint or to hold further hearings. Such general
instructions may not contain argument.
quorum calls and rollcalls
Article I, Section 5, of the Constitution provides that a
majority of each House constitutes a quorum to do business and
authorizes a smaller number than a quorum to compel the
attendance of absent Members. In order to fulfill this
constitutional responsibility, the rules of the House provide
alternative procedures for quorum calls in the House and the
Committee of the Whole.
In the absence of a quorum, 15 Members may initiate a call
of the House to compel the attendance of absent Members. Such a
call of the House must be ordered by a majority vote. A call of
the House is then ordered and the call is taken by electronic
device or by response to the alphabetical call of the roll of
Members. Absent Members have a minimum of 15 minutes from the
ordering of the call of the House by electronic device to have
their presence recorded. If sufficient excuse is not offered
for their absence, they may be sent for by the Sergeant-at-Arms
and their attendance secured and retained. The House then
determines the conditions on which they may be discharged.
Members who voluntarily appear are, unless the House otherwise
directs, immediately admitted to the Hall of the House and must
report their names to the Clerk to be entered on the Journal as
present. Compulsory attendance or arrest of Members has been
rare in modern practice.
The rules of the House provide special authority for the
Speaker to recognize a Member of the Speaker's choice to move a
call of the House at any time.
When a question is put to a vote by the Speaker and a
quorum fails to vote on such question, if a quorum is not
present and objection is made for that reason, there is a call
of the House unless the House adjourns. The call is taken by
electronic device and the Sergeant-at-Arms may bring in absent
Members. The yeas and nays on the pending question are at the
same time considered as ordered and an ``automatic'' recorded
vote is taken. The Clerk utilizes the electronic system or
calls the roll and each Member who is present may vote on the
pending question. If those voting on the question and those who
are present and decline to vote together make a majority of the
House, the Speaker declares that a quorum is constituted and
the pending question is decided as the majority of those voting
have determined.
The rules of the House prohibit points of order of no
quorum unless the Speaker has put a question to a vote.
If the House should be without a quorum due to catastrophic
circumstances, the rules of the House establish procedures by
which a provisional number of the House may operate until a
sufficient number of Members to constitute a quorum appears.
The rules for quorum calls are different in some respects
in the Committee of the Whole. The first time the Committee of
the Whole finds itself without a quorum during a day the
Chairman is required to order the roll to be called by
electronic device, unless the Chairman orders a call of the
Committee. However, the Chairman may refuse to entertain a
point of order of no quorum during general debate. If on a
call, a quorum (100 Members) appears, the Committee continues
its business. If a quorum does not appear, the Committee rises
and the Chairman reports the names of the absentees to the
House. The rules provide for the expeditious conduct of quorum
calls in the Committee of the Whole. The Chairman may suspend a
quorum call after 100 Members have recorded their presence.
Under such a short quorum call, the Committee will not rise and
proceedings under the quorum call are vacated. In that case, a
recorded vote, if ordered immediately following the termination
of the short quorum call, is a minimum of 15 minutes. In the
alternative, the Chair may choose to permit a full 15-minute
quorum call, wherein all Members are recorded as present or
absent, to be followed by a five-minute record vote on the
pending question. Once a quorum of the Committee of the Whole
has been established for a day, a quorum call in the Committee
is only in order when the Committee is operating under the
five-minute rule and the Chairman has put the pending question
to a vote. The rules prohibit a point of order of no quorum
against a vote in which the Committee of the Whole agrees to
rise. However, an appropriate point of no quorum would be
permitted against a vote defeating a motion to rise.
voting
There are three methods of voting in the Committee of the
Whole that are also employed in the House. These are the voice
vote, the division, and the recorded vote. The yea-and-nay vote
is a method used only in the House, and it may be automatic if
a Member objects to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not
present.
To conduct a voice vote the Chair puts the question: ``As
many as are in favor say `Aye'. As many as are opposed, say
`No'. '' The Chair determines the result on a comparison of the
volume of ayes and noes. This is the form in which the vote is
ordinarily taken in the first instance.
If it is difficult to determine the result of a voice vote,
a division may be demanded by a Member or initiated by the
Chair. The Chair then states: ``As many as are in favor will
rise and stand until counted.'' After counting those in favor
he calls on those opposed to stand and be counted, thereby
determining the number in favor of and those opposed to the
question.
If any Member requests a recorded vote and that request is
supported by at least one-fifth of a quorum of the House (44
Members), or 25 Members in the Committee of the Whole, the vote
is taken by electronic device. After the recorded vote is
concluded, the names of those voting and those not voting are
entered in the Journal. Members have a minimum of 15 minutes to
be counted from the time the record vote is ordered. The
Speaker may reduce the period for voting to five minutes on
subsequent votes in certain situations where there has been no
intervening debate or business. The Speaker is not required to
vote unless the Speaker's vote would be decisive.
The modern practice in the Committee of the Whole postpones
and clusters votes on amendments to maximize efficient
scheduling of voting. The Chairman of the Committee of the
Whole has discretionary authority to postpone votes on
amendments and to reduce the time for voting on amendments to
five minutes following a 15-minute vote on the first amendment
in a series. The Chairman is not allowed to postpone votes on
matters other than amendments and is mindful not to postpone
votes where the outcome could be prejudicial to the offering of
another amendment.
In the House, the support of one-fifth of the Members
present is necessary under the Constitution for ordering the
yeas and nays. When the yeas and nays are ordered, a recorded
vote is ordered, or a point of order is made that a quorum is
not present, the Clerk activates the electronic system or calls
the roll and reports the result to the Speaker, who announces
it to the House. Many legislative questions may be postponed to
a time selected by the Speaker within two legislative days.
The rules of the House require a three-fifths vote to pass
a bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that
contains a specified type of federal income tax rate increase.
The rules of the House also provide for automatic yeas and nays
on votes on passage of certain fiscal measures including a
concurrent resolution on the budget or a general appropriation
bill. The Constitution requires the yeas and nays on a vote
overriding a Presidential veto.
The rules prohibit a Member from: (1) casting another
Member's vote or recording another Member's presence in the
House or the Committee of the Whole; or (2) authorizing another
individual to cast a vote or record the Member's presence in
the House or the Committee of the Whole.
electronic voting
Recorded votes are usually taken by electronic device,
except when the Speaker orders the vote to be recorded by other
methods prescribed by the rules of the House. In addition,
quorum calls are generally taken by electronic device. The
electronic system works as follows: A number of vote stations
are attached to selected chairs in the Chamber. Each station is
equipped with a vote card slot and four indicators, marked
``yea'', ``nay'', ``present'', and ``open'' that are lit when a
vote is in progress and the system is ready to accept votes.
Each Member is provided with an encyrpted Vote-ID Card. A
Member votes by inserting the voting card into any one of the
vote stations and pressing the appropriate button to indicate
the Member's choice. If a Member is without a Vote-ID Card or
wishes to change his vote during the last five minutes of a
vote, the Member may be recorded by handing a paper ballot to
the Tally Clerk, who then records the vote electronically
according to the indicated preference of the Member. The paper
ballots are green for ``yea,'' red for ``nay,'' and orange for
``present.''
pairing of members
The former system of pairing of Members, where a Member
could arrange in advance to be recorded as being either in
favor of or opposed to the question by being ``paired'' with
another absent Member who holds contrary views on the question,
has largely been eliminated. The rules still allow for ``live
pairs.'' A live pair is where a Member votes as if not paired,
subsequently withdraws that vote, and then asks to be marked
``present'' to protect the other Member. The most common
practice is for absent Members to submit statements for the
Record stating how they would have voted if present on specific
votes.
system of lights and bells
Due to the diverse nature of daily tasks that they have to
perform, it is not practicable for Members to be present in the
House or Senate Chamber at every minute that the body is in
session. Furthermore, many of the routine matters do not
require the personal attendance of all the Members. A system
consisting of electric lights and bells or buzzers located in
various parts of the Capitol Building and House and Senate
Office Buildings alerts Members to certain occurrences in the
House and Senate Chambers.
In the House, the Speaker has ordered that the bells and
lights comprising the system be utilized as follows:
1 long bell followed by a pause and then 3 bells and 3 lights
on the left--Start or continuation of a notice or short quorum
call in the Committee of the Whole that will be vacated if and
when 100 Members appear on the floor. Bells are repeated every
five minutes unless the call is vacated or the call is
converted into a regular quorum call.
1 long bell and extinguishing of 3 lights on the left--Short
or notice quorum call vacated.
2 bells and 2 lights on the left--15 minute recorded vote,
yea-and-nay vote or automatic rollcall vote by electronic
device. The bells are repeated five minutes after the first
bell.
2 bells and 2 lights on the left followed by a pause and then
2 more bells--15 minute vote taken by a call of the roll. The
bells are repeated when the Clerk reaches the R's in the first
call of the roll.
2 bells followed by a pause and then 5 bells--First vote on
clustered votes. Two bells are repeated five minutes after the
first bell. The first vote will be not less than 15 minutes
with successive votes being not less than five minutes. Each
successive vote is signaled by five bells.
3 bells and 3 lights on the left--15 minute quorum call in
either the House or in the Committee of the Whole by electronic
device. The bells are repeated five minutes after the first
bell.
3 bells followed by a pause and then 3 more bells--15 minute
quorum call by a call of the roll. The bells are repeated when
the Clerk reaches the R's in the first call of the roll.
3 bells followed by a pause and then 5 more bells--Quorum
call in the Committee of the Whole that may be followed
immediately by a five-minute recorded vote.
4 bells and 4 lights on the left--Adjournment of the House.
5 bells and 5 lights on the left--Any five-minute vote.
6 bells and 6 lights on the left--Recess of the House.
12 bells at 2-second intervals with 6 lights on the left--
Civil Defense Warning.
The 7th light indicates that the House is in session.
recess authority
The House may by vote authorize the Speaker to declare a
recess under the rules of the House. The Speaker also has the
authority to declare the House in recess for a short time when
no question is pending before the House or in the case of an
emergency.
live coverage of floor proceedings
The rules of the House provide for unedited radio and
television broadcasting and recording of proceedings on the
floor of the House. However, the rules prohibit the use of
these broadcasts and recordings for any political purpose or in
any commercial advertisement. The rules of the Senate also
provide for broadcasting and recording of proceedings in the
Senate Chamber with similar restrictions.
XII. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET PROCESS
The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of
1974, as amended, provides Congress with a procedure to
establish appropriate spending and revenue levels for each
year. The congressional budget process, as set out in that Act,
is designed to coordinate decisions on sources and levels of
revenues and on objects and levels of expenditures. Its basic
method is to prescribe the overall size of the fiscal pie and
the particular sizes of its various pieces. Each year the
Congress adopts a concurrent resolution imposing overall
constraints on revenues and spending and distributing the
overall constraint on spending among groups of programs and
activities.
Congress aims to complete action on a concurrent resolution
on the budget for the next fiscal year by April 15. Congress
may adopt a later budget resolution that revises the most
recently adopted budget resolution. One of the mechanisms
Congress uses to implement the constraints on revenue and
spending is called the reconciliation process. Reconciliation
is a multiple-step process designed to bring existing law in
conformity with the most recently adopted concurrent resolution
on the budget. The first step in the reconciliation process is
the language found in a concurrent resolution on the budget
instructing House and Senate committees to determine and
recommend changes in laws that will achieve the constraints
established in the concurrent resolution on the budget. The
instructions to a committee specify the amount of spending
reductions or revenue changes a committee must attain and leave
to the discretion of the committee the specific changes to laws
or bills that must be made. The subsequent steps involve the
combination of the various instructed committees'
recommendations into an omnibus reconciliation bill or bills
which are reported by the Committee on the Budget or by the one
committee instructed, if only one committee has been
instructed, and considered by the House. In the Senate,
reconciliation bills reported from committee are entitled to
expedited consideration, permitting a majority of Senators,
rather than sixty, to ensure consideration of the bill with
limited time for amendments. Congress aims to complete action
on reconciliation measures by a specified date each year.
The Budget Act maintains that reconciliation provisions
must be related to reconciling the budget. This principle is
codified in section 313 of the Budget Act, the so-called Byrd
Rule, named after Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia.
Section 313 provides a point of order in the Senate against
extraneous matter in reconciliation bills. Determining what is
extraneous is a difficult task for the Senate's Presiding
Officer. The Byrd Rule may only be waived in the Senate by a
three-fifths vote and sixty votes are required to overturn the
presiding officer's ruling.
After Congress has completed action on a concurrent
resolution on the budget for a fiscal year, the Budget Act
provides a point of order against legislation that does not
conform to the constraints on spending and revenue set out in
the resolution.
Both the House and Senate have in place a budget
enforcement mechanism informally known as ``pay-as-you-go,'' or
``Paygo.'' Under this system, it is not in order to consider
legislation that increases the deficit or reduces the surplus
over a given period of fiscal years. It is also not in order to
consider a concurrent resolution on the budget, or an amendment
thereto, or a conference report thereon, that contains
reconciliation directives if the effect of such measures would
be to increase the deficit or reduce the surplus over a given
period of fiscal years.
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, through an
amendment to the Congressional Budget Act, established
requirements on committees with respect to measures containing
unfunded intergovernmental mandates. An unfunded
intergovernmental mandate is the imposition of a substantial
financial requirement or obligation on a state, local, or
tribal government. The Act also established a unique point of
order to enforce the requirements of the Act with respect to
intergovernmental mandates in excess of a given threshold. In
the House, an unfunded mandate point of order is not disposed
of by a ruling of the Chair but by the Chair putting the
question of consideration to the body. The House or the
Committee of the Whole then decides by vote whether or not to
proceed with the measure with the alleged mandate contained
therein.
XIII. ENGROSSMENT AND MESSAGE TO SENATE
The preparation of a copy of the bill in the form in which
it has passed the House can be a detailed and complicated
process because of the large number and complexity of
amendments to some bills adopted by the House. These amendments
may be offered during a spirited debate with little or no prior
formal preparation. The amendment may be for the purpose of
inserting new language, substituting different words for those
set out in the bill, or deleting portions of the bill. In some
cases, amendments offered from the floor are written in
longhand. Each amendment must be inserted in precisely the
proper place in the bill, with the spelling and punctuation
exactly as it was adopted by the House. It is extremely
important that the Senate receive a copy of the bill in the
precise form in which it has passed the House. The preparation
of such a copy is the function of the Enrolling Clerk.
In the House, the Enrolling Clerk is under the Clerk of the
House. In the Senate, the Enrolling Clerk is under the
Secretary of the Senate. The Enrolling Clerk receives all the
papers relating to the bill, including the official Clerk's
copy of the bill as reported by the standing committee and each
amendment adopted by the House. From this material, the
Enrolling Clerk prepares the engrossed copy of the bill as
passed, containing all the amendments agreed to by the House.
At this point, the measure ceases technically to be called a
bill and is termed ``An Act'' signifying that it is the act of
one body of the Congress, although it is still popularly
referred to as a bill. The engrossed bill is printed on blue
paper and is signed by the Clerk of the House. Bills may also
originate in the Senate with certain exceptions. For a
discussion of bills originating in the Senate, see Part XVI.
XIV. SENATE ACTION
The Parliamentarian, in the name of the Vice President, as
the President of the Senate, refers the engrossed bill to the
appropriate standing committee of the Senate in conformity with
the rules of the Senate. The bill is reprinted immediately and
copies are made available in the document rooms of both Houses.
This printing is known as the ``Act print'' or the ``Senate
referred print.''
committee consideration
Senate committees give the bill the same detailed
consideration as it received in the House and may report it
with or without amendment. A committee member who wishes to
express an individual view or a group of Members who wish to
file a minority report may do so by giving notice, at the time
of the approval of a report on the measure, of an intention to
file supplemental, minority, or additional views. These views
may be filed within three days with the clerk of the committee
and become a part of the report. When a committee reports a
bill, it is reprinted with the committee amendments indicated
by showing new matter in italics and deleted matter in line-
through type. The calendar number and report number are
indicated on the first and back pages, together with the name
of the Senator making the report. If the committee chooses to
file a report to accompany the bill, it is printed at this
time, along with any minority or individual views.
All committee meetings, including those to conduct
hearings, must be open to the public. However, a majority of
the members of a committee or subcommittee may, after
discussion in closed session, vote in open session to close a
meeting or series of meetings on the same subject for no longer
than 14 days if it is determined that the matters to be
discussed or testimony to be taken will disclose matters
necessary to be kept secret in the interests of national
defense or the confidential conduct of the foreign relations of
the United States; will relate solely to internal committee
staff management or procedure; will tend to charge an
individual with a crime or misconduct, to disgrace or injure
the professional standing of an individual, or otherwise to
expose an individual to public contempt, or will represent a
clearly unwarranted invasion of the privacy of an individual;
will disclose law enforcement information that is required to
be kept secret; will disclose certain information regarding
certain trade secrets; or may disclose matters required to be
kept confidential under other provisions of law or government
regulation.
chamber procedure
The rules of procedure in the Senate differ to a large
extent from those in the House. The Senate relies heavily on
the practice of obtaining unanimous consent for actions to be
taken. For example, at the time that a bill is reported, the
Majority Leader may ask unanimous consent for the immediate
consideration of the bill. If the bill is of a noncontroversial
nature and there is no objection, the Senate may pass the bill
with little or no debate and with only a brief explanation of
its purpose and effect. If there is any objection, the report
must lie over one legislative day and the bill is placed on the
calendar.
Measures reported by standing committees of the Senate may
not be considered unless the report of that committee has been
available to Senate Members for at least two days (excluding
Sundays and legal holidays) prior to consideration of the
measure in the Senate. This requirement may be waived by
agreement of the Majority and Minority leaders and does not
apply in certain emergency situations or where no report has
been submitted on the measure.
In the Senate, measures are brought up for consideration by
a simple unanimous consent request, by a complex unanimous
consent agreement, or by a motion to proceed to the
consideration of a measure on the calendar. A unanimous consent
agreement, sometimes referred to as a ``time agreement'', makes
the consideration of a measure in order and often limits the
amount of debate that will take place on the measure and lists
the amendments that will be considered. The offering of a
unanimous consent request to consider a measure or the offering
of a motion to proceed to the consideration of a measure is
reserved, by tradition, to the Majority Leader. Usually, a
motion to consider a measure on the calendar is made only when
unanimous consent to consider the measure cannot be obtained.
There are two calendars in the Senate, the Calendar of
Business and the Executive Calendar. All legislation is placed
on the Calendar of Business and treaties and nominations are
placed on the Executive Calendar. Unlike the House, there is no
differentiation on the Calendar of Business between the
treatment of: (1) bills raising revenue, general appropriation
bills, and bills of a public character appropriating money or
property; and (2) other bills of a public character not
appropriating money or property.
The rules of the Senate provide that at the conclusion of
the morning business for each ``legislative day'' the Senate
proceeds to the consideration of the calendar. In the Senate,
the term ``legislative day'' means the period of time from when
the Senate adjourns until the next time the Senate adjourns.
Because the Senate often ``recesses'' rather than ``adjourns''
at the end of a daily session, the legislative day usually does
not correspond to the 24-hour period comprising a calendar day.
Thus, a legislative day may cover a long period of time--from
days to weeks, or even months. Because of this and the modern
practice of waiving the call of the calendar by unanimous
consent at the start of a new legislative day, it is rare to
have a call of the calendar. When the calendar is called, bills
that are not objected to are taken up in their order, and each
Senator is entitled to speak once and for five minutes only on
any question. Objection may be interposed at any stage of the
proceedings, but on motion the Senate may continue
consideration after the call of the calendar is completed, and
the limitations on debate then do not apply.
On any day (other than a Monday that begins a new
legislative day), following the announcement of the close of
morning business, any Senator, usually the Majority Leader,
obtaining recognition may move to take up any bill out of its
regular order on the calendar. The five-minute limitation on
debate does not apply to the consideration of a bill taken up
in this manner, and debate may continue until the hour when the
Presiding Officer of the Senate ``lays down'' the unfinished
business of the day. At that point consideration of the bill is
discontinued and the measure reverts back to the Calendar of
Business and may again be called up at another time under the
same conditions.
When a bill has been objected to and passed over on the
call of the calendar it is not necessarily lost. The Majority
Leader, after consulting the Minority Leader, determines the
time at which the bill will be considered. At that time, a
motion is made to consider the bill. The motion is debatable if
made after the morning hour.
When a Senator is recognized by the Presiding Officer, the
Senator may speak for as long as the Senator wishes and loses
the floor only when the Senator yields it or takes certain
parliamentary actions that forfeit the Senator's right to the
floor. However, a Senator may not speak more than twice on any
one question in debate on the same legislative day without
leave of the Senate. Debate ends when a Senator yields the
floor and no other Senator seeks recognition, or when a
unanimous consent agreement limiting the time of debate
dictates that debate is concluded.
On occasion, Senators opposed to a measure may extend
debate by making lengthy speeches or a number of speeches at
various stages of consideration intended to prevent or defeat
action on the measure. This is the tactic known as
``filibustering.'' Debate may be closed, however, if 16
Senators sign a motion to that effect and the motion is carried
by three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn. Such a
motion is voted on one hour after the Senate convenes,
following a quorum call on the next day after a day of session
has intervened. This procedure is called ``invoking cloture.''
In 1986, the Senate amended its rules to limit ``post-cloture''
consideration to 30 hours. ``Post-cloture,'' a Senator may
speak for not more than one hour and may yield all or a part of
that time to the majority or minority floor managers of the
bill under consideration or to the Majority or Minority leader.
The Senate may increase the time for ``post-cloture'' debate by
a vote of three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn.
After the time for debate has expired, the Senate may consider
only amendments actually pending before voting on the bill.
While a measure is being considered it is subject to
amendment and each amendment, including those proposed by the
committee that reported the bill, is considered separately.
Generally, there is no requirement that proposed amendments be
germane to the subject matter of the bill except in the case of
general appropriation bills or where ``cloture'' has been
invoked. Under the rules, a ``rider'', an amendment proposing
substantive legislation to an appropriation bill, is
prohibited. However, this prohibition may be suspended by two-
thirds vote on a motion to permit consideration of such an
amendment on one day's notice in writing. Debate must be
germane during the first three hours after business is laid
down unless determined to the contrary by unanimous consent or
on motion without debate.
After final action on the amendments the bill is ready for
engrossment and the third reading, which is by title only. The
Presiding Officer then puts the question on the passage and a
voice vote is usually taken although a yea-and-nay vote is in
order if demanded by one-fifth of the Senators present. A
simple majority is necessary for passage. Before an amended
measure is cleared for its return to the House of
Representatives, or an unamended measure is cleared for
enrollment, a Senator who voted with the prevailing side, or
who abstained from voting, may make a motion within the next
two days to reconsider the action. If the measure was passed
without a recorded vote, any Senator may make the motion to
reconsider. That motion is usually tabled and its tabling
constitutes a final determination. If, however, the motion is
granted, the Senate by majority vote may either affirm its
action, which then becomes final, or reverse it.
The original engrossed House bill, together with the
engrossed Senate amendments, if any, or the original engrossed
Senate bill, as the case may be, is then returned to the House
with a message stating the action taken by the Senate. Where
the Senate has adopted amendments, the message requests that
the House concur in them.
For a more detailed discussion of Senate procedure, see
Enactment of a Law, by Robert B. Dove, former Parliamentarian
of the Senate.
XV. FINAL ACTION ON AMENDED BILL
On their return to the House, the official papers relating
to the amended measure are placed on the Speaker's table to
await House action on the Senate amendments. Although rarely
exercised, the Speaker has the authority to refer Senate
amendments to the appropriate committee or committees with or
without time limits on their consideration. If the amendments
are of a minor or noncontroversial nature, any Member, usually
the chairman of a committee that reported the bill, may, at the
direction of the committee, ask unanimous consent to take the
bill with the amendments from the Speaker's table and agree to
the Senate amendments. At this point, the Clerk reads the title
of the bill and the Senate amendments. If there is no
objection, the amendments are then declared to be agreed to,
and the bill is ready to be enrolled for presentation to the
President. If unanimous consent is not obtainable, the few
bills that do not require consideration in the Committee of the
Whole are privileged and may be called up from the Speaker's
table by motion for immediate consideration of the amendments.
A simple majority is necessary to carry the motion and thereby
complete floor action on the measure. A Senate amendment to a
House bill is subject to a point of order that it must first be
considered in the Committee of the Whole, if, originating in
the House, it would be subject to that point of order. Most
Senate amendments require consideration in the Committee of the
Whole and this procedure by privileged motion is seldom
utilized.
request for a conference
The mere fact that each House may have separately passed
its own bill on a subject is not sufficient to make either bill
eligible for conference. One House must first take the
additional step of amending and then passing the bill of the
other House to form the basis for a conference. A Member,
usually the chairman of the committee of jurisdiction, may
request unanimous consent to take the House bill with the
Senate amendments from the Speaker's table, disagree to the
amendments and request or agree to a conference with the Senate
to resolve the disagreeing votes of the two Houses. In the case
of a Senate bill with House amendments, the House may insist on
the House amendments and request a conference. For a discussion
of bills originating in the Senate, see Part XVI. If there is
objection, the Speaker may recognize a Member for a motion, if
offered by the direction of the primary committee and of all
reporting committees that had initial referral of the bill, to:
(1) disagree to the Senate amendments and ask for or agree to a
conference; or (2) insist on the House amendments to a Senate
bill and request or agree to a conference. This may also be
accomplished by a motion to suspend the rules with a two-thirds
vote or by a rule from the Committee on Rules. If there is no
objection to the request, or if the motion is carried, a motion
to instruct the managers of the conference would be in order.
This initial motion to instruct is the prerogative of the
minority party. The instructions to conferees usually urge the
managers to accept or reject a particular Senate or House
provision or to take a more generally described political
position to the extent possible within the scope of the
conference. However, such instructions may not contain argument
and are not binding on House or Senate conferees. After the
motion to instruct is disposed of, the Speaker then appoints
the managers, informally known as conferees, on the part of the
House and a message is sent to the Senate advising it of the
House action. A majority of the Members appointed to be
conferees must have been supporters of the House position, as
determined by the Speaker. The Speaker must appoint Members
primarily responsible for the legislation and must include, to
the fullest extent feasible, the principal proponents of the
major provisions of the bill as it passed the House. The
Speaker may appoint conferees from more than one committee and
may specify the portions of the House and Senate versions to
which they are assigned. The number is fixed by the Speaker and
majority party representation generally reflects the ratio for
the full House committee, but may be greater on important
bills. The Speaker also has the authority to name substitute
conferees on specific provisions and add or remove conferees
after the original appointment.
If the Senate agrees to the request for a conference, a
similar committee is appointed by the Presiding Officer of the
Senate. Both political parties may be represented on the Senate
conference committee. The Senate and House committees need not
be the same size but each House has one vote in conference as
determined by a majority within each set or subset of
conferees.
The request for a conference may only be made by the body
in possession of the official papers. Occasionally, the Senate,
anticipating that the House will not concur in its amendments,
votes to insist on its amendments and requests a conference on
passage of the bill prior to returning the bill to the House.
This practice serves to expedite the matter because time may be
saved by the designation of the Senate conferees before
returning the bill to the House. The body asking for the
conference normally acts last on the report to be submitted by
the conferees and a motion to recommit the conference report is
not available to the body that acts last.
authority of conferees
Although the managers on the part of each House meet
together as one committee they are in effect two separate
committees, each of which votes separately and acts by a
majority vote. For this reason, variances in the number of
managers from each House are largely immaterial.
The House conferees are strictly limited in their
consideration to matters in disagreement between the two
Houses. Consequently, they may not strike or amend any portion
of the bill that was not amended by the other House.
Furthermore, they may not insert new matter that is not germane
to or that is beyond the scope of the differences between the
two Houses. Where the Senate amendment revises a figure or an
amount contained in the bill, the conferees are limited to the
difference between the two numbers and may neither increase the
greater nor decrease the smaller figure. Neither House may
alone, by instructions, empower its managers to make a change
in the text to which both Houses have agreed.
When a disagreement to an amendment in the nature of a
substitute is committed to a conference committee, managers on
the part of the House may propose a substitute that is a
germane modification of the matter in disagreement, but the
introduction of any language in that substitute presenting
specific additional matter not committed to the conference
committee by either House is not in order. Moreover, their
report may not include matter not committed to the conference
committee by either House. The report may not include a
modification of any specific matter committed to the conference
committee by either or both Houses if that modification is
beyond the scope of that specific matter as committed to the
conference committee.
The managers on the part of the House are under specific
guidelines when in conference on general appropriation bills.
An amendment by the Senate to a general appropriation bill
which would be in violation of the rules of the House, if such
amendment had originated in the House, including an amendment
changing existing law, providing appropriations not authorized
by law, or providing reappropriations of unexpended balances,
or an amendment by the Senate providing for an appropriation on
a bill other than a general appropriation bill, may not be
agreed to by the managers on the part of the House. However,
the House may grant specific authority to agree to such an
amendment by a separate vote on a motion to instruct on each
specific amendment.
meetings and action of conferees
The rules of the House require that one conference meeting
be open to the public, unless the House, in open session,
authorizes the managers to close the meeting. When the report
of the conference committee is read in the House, a point of
order may be made that the conferees failed to comply with the
House rule requiring an open conference meeting. If the point
of order is sustained, the conference report is considered
rejected by the House and a new conference is deemed to have
been requested.
The rules of the House provide that, in conducting
conferences with the Senate, the managers on the part of the
House should endeavor to ensure that meetings for the
resolution of differences between the two Houses occur only
under circumstances in which every manager on the part of the
House has notice of the meeting and a reasonable opportunity to
attend, that all provisions on which the two Houses disagree
are considered as open to discussion at any meeting of a
conference committee, and that papers reflecting a conference
agreement are held inviolate to change without renewal of the
opportunity of all managers on the part of the House to
reconsider their decisions to sign or not to sign the
agreement. The rules of the House also require that managers on
the part of the House be provided a unitary time and place at
which to sign or not sign the conference report and joint
explanatory statement, and that they have access to at least
one complete copy of the final conference agreement for the
purpose of recording or not recording their approval of the
agreement.
There are generally three forms of recommendations
available to the conferees when reporting back to their bodies:
(1) That one House recede from all (or certain of)
its amendments.
(2) That one House recede from its disagreement to
all (or certain of) the other House's amendments and
agree thereto.
(3) That one House recede from its disagreement to
all (or certain of) the other House's amendments and
agree thereto with amendments.
In most instances, the result of the conference is a
compromise growing out of the third type of recommendation
available to the conferees because one House has originally
substituted its own bill to be considered as a single
amendment. The complete report may be composed of any one or
more of these recommendations with respect to the various
amendments where there are numbered amendments. In earlier
practice, on general appropriation bills with numbered Senate
amendments, because of the special rules preventing House
conferees from agreeing to Senate amendments changing existing
law or appropriations not authorized by law, the conferees
often found themselves, under the rules or in fact, unable to
reach an agreement with respect to one or more amendments and
reported back a statement of their inability to agree on those
particular amendments. These amendments were acted upon
separately. This partial disagreement is not practicable where,
as in current practice, the Senate strikes out all after the
enacting clause and substitutes its own bill that must be
considered as a single amendment.
If they are unable to reach any agreement whatsoever, the
conferees report that fact to their respective bodies and the
amendments may be disposed of by motion. New conferees may be
appointed in either or both Houses. In addition, the Houses may
provide a new nonbinding instruction to the conferees as to the
position they are to take.
After House conferees on any bill or resolution in
conference between the two bodies have been appointed for 20
calendar days and 10 legislative days and have failed to make a
report, a motion to instruct the House conferees, or discharge
them and appoint new conferees, is privileged. The motion can
be made only after the Member announces his intention to offer
the motion and only at a time designated by the Speaker in the
legislative schedule of the following day. Like the initial
motion to instruct, the 20-day motion may not contain argument
and must remain within the scope of conference. In addition,
during the last six days of a session, it is a privileged
motion to move to discharge, appoint, or instruct House
conferees after House conferees have been appointed 36 hours
without having made a report.
conference reports
When the conferees, by majority vote of each group, have
reached complete agreement or find that they are able to agree
with respect to some but not all separately numbered
amendments, they make their recommendations in a report made in
duplicate that must be signed by a majority of the conferees
appointed by each body on each provision to which they are
appointed. The minority of the managers have no authority to
file a statement of minority views in connection with the
conference report. The report is required to be printed in both
Houses and must 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. The statement must be
sufficiently detailed and explicit to inform Congress of the
effects of the report on the matters committed to conference.
In the Senate, the presentation of a conference report
always is in order except when the Journal is being read, a
point of order or motion to adjourn is pending, or while the
Senate is voting or ascertaining the presence of a quorum. When
the report is received, the question of proceeding to the
consideration of the report, if raised, is immediately voted on
without debate. The report is not subject to amendment in
either body and must be accepted or rejected as an entirety. If
the time for debate on the adoption of the report is limited,
the time allotted must be equally divided between the majority
and minority party. The Senate, acting first, prior to voting
on agreeing to the report may by majority vote order it
recommitted to the conferees. When the Senate agrees to the
report, its managers are thereby discharged and it then
delivers the original papers to the House with a message
advising that body of its action.
A report that contains any recommendations which extend
beyond the scope of differences between the two Houses is
subject to a point of order in its entirety unless that point
of order is waived in the House by unanimous consent, adoption
of a rule reported from the Committee on Rules, or the
suspension of the rules by a two-thirds vote. In the Senate, a
report exceeding the scope of conference is likewise subject to
a point of order.
It is not in order in the House to consider a conference
report that differs in any way (other than clerical) from the
text agreed to by the conferees, as recorded by their placement
of their signatures (or not) on the sheets prepared to
accompany the conference report and joint explanatory
statement. Furthermore, as described earlier, it is not in
order to consider a conference report unless the joint
explanatory statement includes a list of congressional
earmarks, limited tax benefits and limited tariff benefits in
the conference report and joint explanatory statement, or a
statement that the measure contains none of these items.
The presentation of a conference report in the House is in
order at any time, except during a reading of the Journal or
the conduct of a record vote, a vote by division, or a quorum
call. The report is considered in the House and may not be sent
to the Committee of the Whole on the suggestion that it
contains matters ordinarily requiring consideration in that
Committee. The report may not be received by the House if the
required joint statement does not accompany it.
However, it is not in order to consider either: (1) a
conference report; or (2) a motion to dispose of a Senate
amendment reported in disagreement by a conference committee,
until the third calendar day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and
legal holidays unless the House is in session on those days)
after the report and accompanying statement have been filed in
the House and made available to the Members in the
Congressional Record. However, these provisions do not apply
during the last six days of the session. It is also not in
order to consider a conference report or a motion to dispose of
a Senate amendment reported in disagreement unless copies of
the report and accompanying statement, together with the text
of the amendment, have been available to Members for at least
two hours before their consideration. By contrast, it is always
in order to call up for consideration a report from the
Committee on Rules on the same day reported that proposes only
to waive the availability requirements for a conference report
or a Senate amendment reported in disagreement. The time
allotted for debate on a conference report or motion is one
hour, equally divided between the majority party and the
minority party. However, if the majority and minority floor
managers both support the conference report or motion, one-
third of the debate time must be allotted to a Member who is
opposed, if claimed. If the House does not agree to a
conference report that the Senate has already agreed to, the
report may not be recommitted to conference. In that situation,
the Senate conferees are discharged when the Senate agrees to
the report. The House may then request a new conference with
the Senate and conferees must be reappointed.
If a conference report is called up in the House containing
matter which would be in violation of the rules of the House
with respect to germaneness if the matter had been offered as
an amendment in the House, and which is contained either: (1)
in the Senate bill or Senate amendment to the House measure and
accepted by the House conferees or agreed to by the conference
committee with modification; or (2) in a substitute amendment
agreed to by the conference committee, a point of order may be
made at the beginning of consideration that nongermane matter
is contained in the report. The point of order may be waived by
a special rule. If the point of order is sustained, a motion to
reject the nongermane matter identified by the point of order
is privileged. The motion is debatable for 40 minutes, half of
the time in favor of, and half in opposition to, the motion.
Notwithstanding the final disposition of a point of order made
with respect to the report, or of a motion to reject nongermane
matter, further points of order may be made with respect to the
report, and further motions may be made to reject other
nongermane matter in the conference report not covered by any
previous point of order which has been sustained. If a motion
to reject has been adopted, after final disposition of all
points of order and motions to reject, the conference report is
considered rejected and the question then pending before the
House is whether: (1) to recede and concur with an amendment
that consists of that portion of the conference report not
rejected; or (2) to insist on the House amendment. If all
motions to reject are defeated and the House thereby decides to
permit the inclusion of the nongermane Senate matter in the
conference report, then, after the allocation of time for
debate on the conference report, it is in order to move the
previous question on the adoption of the conference report.
Similar procedures are available in the House when the
Senate proposes an amendment to a measure that would be in
violation of the rule against nongermane amendments, and
thereafter it is (1) reported in disagreement by a committee of
conference or (2) before the House and the stage of
disagreement is reached.
The numbered amendments of the Senate reported in
disagreement may be voted on separately and may be adopted by a
majority vote after the adoption of the conference report
itself as though no conference had been had with respect to
those amendments. The Senate may recede from all amendments, or
from certain of its amendments, insisting on the others with or
without a request for a further conference with respect to
them. If the House does not accept the amendments insisted on
by the Senate, the entire conference process may begin again
with respect to them. One House may also further amend an
amendment of the other House until the third degree of
amendment within that House is reached.
custody of papers
The custody of the official papers is important in
conference procedure because either body may act on a
conference report only when in possession of the papers.
Traditionally, the papers are transmitted to the body agreeing
to the conference and from that body to the managers of the
House that asked for the conference. The latter in turn carry
the papers with them to the conference and at its conclusion
turn them over to the managers of the House that agreed to the
conference. The managers of the House that agreed to the
conference deliver them to their own House, which acts first on
the report, and then delivers the papers to the other House for
final action on the report. However, if the managers on the
part of the House agreeing to the conference surrender the
papers to the House asking for the conference, the report may
be acted on first by the House asking for the conference.
At the conclusion of the conference, each group of
conferees retains one copy of the report that has been made in
duplicate and signed by a majority of the managers of each
body. The House copy is signed first by the House managers and
the Senate copy is signed first by its managers.
A bill cannot become law until it has been approved in
identical form by both Houses of Congress. When the bill has
finally been approved by both Houses, all the original papers
are transmitted to the Enrolling Clerk of the body in which the
bill originated.
XVI. BILL ORIGINATING IN SENATE
The preceding discussion has described the legislative
process for bills originating in the House. When a bill
originates in the Senate, this process is reversed. When the
Senate passes a bill that originated in the Senate, it is sent
to the House for consideration unless it is held to become a
vehicle for a similar House bill if and when passed by the
House. The Senate bill is referred to the appropriate House
committee for consideration or held at the Speaker's table at
the Speaker's discretion. If the committee reports the bill to
the full House and if the bill is passed by the House without
amendment, it is enrolled. If the House passes an amended
version of the Senate bill, the bill is returned to the Senate
for action on the House amendments. The Senate may agree to the
amendments or request a conference to resolve the disagreement
over the House amendments or may further amend the House
amendments. In accordance with the Constitution, the Senate
cannot originate evenue measures. By tradition, the House also
originates general appropriation bills. If the Senate does
originate a revenue measure either as a Senate bill or an
amendment to a non-revenue House bill, it can be returned to
the Senate by a vote of the House as an infringement of the
constitutional prerogative of the House.
XVII. ENROLLMENT
When a bill has been agreed to in identical form by both
bodies--either: (1) without amendment by the second House to
consider it; (2) by the first House's concurrence in the second
House's amendments; or (3) by agreement in both bodies to the
conference report--a copy of the bill is enrolled for
presentation to the President.
The preparation of the enrolled bill is a painstaking and
important task because it must reflect precisely the effect of
all amendments, either by way of deletion, substitution, or
addition, agreed to by both bodies. The Enrolling Clerk of the
House, with respect to bills originating in the House, receives
the original engrossed bill, the engrossed Senate amendments,
the signed conference report, all messages from the Senate, and
a notation of the final action by the House, for the purpose of
preparing the enrolled copy. From these documents, the
Enrolling Clerk must meticulously prepare for presentation to
the President the final form of the bill as it was agreed to by
both Houses. On occasion, as many as 500 amendments have been
adopted, each of which must be set out in the enrollment
exactly as agreed to, and all punctuation must be in accord
with the action taken.
The enrolled bill is printed on parchment paper and
certified by the Clerk of the House stating that the bill
originated in the House of Representatives. A bill originating
in the Senate is examined and certified by the Secretary of the
Senate. A House bill is then examined for accuracy by the
Clerk. When satisfied with the accuracy of the bill, the Clerk
attaches a slip stating that the bill is truly enrolled and
sends it to the Speaker of the House for signature. By
tradition, all bills, regardless of the body in which they
originated, are signed first by the Speaker and then by the
Vice President of the United States, who, under the
Constitution, serves as the President of the Senate, or by the
elected President pro tempore of the Senate. The Speaker of the
House may sign enrolled bills whether or not the House is in
session. The President of the Senate may sign bills only while
the Senate is actually sitting but advance permission is
normally granted to sign during a recess or after adjournment.
If the Speaker or the President of the Senate is unable to sign
the bill, it may be signed by an authorized Member of the
respective House. After both signatures are affixed, a House
bill is returned to the Clerk for presentation to the President
for action under the Constitution. A Senate bill is presented
to the President by the Secretary of the Senate.
XVIII. PRESIDENTIAL ACTION
Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution provides in part
that--
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of
Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a Law,
be presented to the President of the United States.
In actual practice, the Clerk, or the Secretary of the
Senate when the bill originated in that body, delivers the
original enrolled bill to a clerk at the White House and
obtains a receipt. The fact of the delivery is then reported to
the House by the Clerk. Delivery to a White House clerk has
customarily been regarded as presentation to the President and
as commencing the constitutional period for presidential
action.
Copies of the enrolled bill usually are transmitted by the
White House to the various departments interested in the
subject matter so that they may advise the President on the
issues surrounding the bill.
If the President approves the bill, he signs it and usually
writes the word ``approved'' and the date. However, the
Constitution requires only that the President sign it.
The bill may become law without the President's signature
by virtue of the constitutional provision that if the President
does not return a bill with objections within 10 days
(excluding Sundays) after it has been presented to the
President, it becomes law as if the President had signed it.
However, if Congress by their adjournment prevent its return,
it does not become law. This is known as a ``pocket veto;''
that is, the bill does not become law even though the President
has not sent his objections to the Congress. The Congress has
interpreted the President's ability to pocket veto a bill to be
limited to adjournment ``sine die'' of a Congress and not to
interim adjournments or first session adjournments where the
originating House of Congress through its agents is able to
receive a veto message for subsequent reconsideration by that
same Congress when it reconvenes. The extent of pocket veto
authority has not been definitively decided by the courts.
Notice of the signing of a bill by the President is sent by
message to the House in which it originated and that House
informs the other, although this action is not necessary for
the act to be valid. The action is also noted in the
Congressional Record.
A bill becomes law on the date of approval or passage over
the President's veto, unless it expressly provides a different
effective date.
veto message
By the terms of the Constitution, if the President does not
approve the bill ``he shall return it, with his Objections to
that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter
the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to
reconsider it.'' A bill returned with the President's
objections need not be voted on at once when laid before the
House since the vetoed bill can be postponed, referred to
committee, or tabled before the question on passage is pending.
A vetoed bill is always privileged until directly voted upon,
and a motion to take it from the table or from committee is in
order at any time.
The question of override is put by the Speaker as follows:
``Will the House, on reconsideration, pass the bill, the
objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding?''
Under the Constitution, a vote by the yeas and nays is required
to pass a bill over the President's veto. The Clerk activates
the electronic system or calls the roll with those in favor of
passing the bill answering ``Aye,'' and those opposed ``No.''
If fewer than two-thirds of the Members present vote in the
affirmative, a quorum being present, the bill is rejected, and
a message is sent to the Senate advising that body of the House
action. However, if two-thirds vote in the affirmative, the
bill is sent with the President's objections to the Senate,
unless that body has acted first, together with a message
advising it of the action in the House.
If the Senate joins the House and votes two-thirds in the
affirmative to pass the bill, the measure becomes the law of
the land notwithstanding the objections of the President, and
it is ready for publication as a binding statute.
line item veto
From 1997 until it was declared unconstitutional in 1998,
the Line Item Veto Act provided the President authority to
cancel certain individual items contained in a bill or joint
resolution that he had signed into law. The law allowed the
President to cancel only three types of fiscal items: a dollar
amount of discretionary budget authority, an item of new direct
spending, or a tax change benefiting a class of 100 or fewer.
While the Act has not been repealed, the Supreme Court in
Clinton v. City of New York, 24 U.S. 417 (1998), struck down
the Line Item Veto Act as unconstitutional.
XIX. PUBLICATION
One of the important steps in the enactment of a valid law
is the requirement that it shall be made known to the people
who are to be bound by it. There would be no justice if the
state were to hold its people responsible for their conduct
before it made known to them the unlawfulness of such behavior.
In practice, our laws are published immediately upon their
enactment so that the public will be aware of them.
If the President approves a bill, or allows it to become
law without signing it, the original enrolled bill is sent from
the White House to the Archivist of the United States for
publication. If a bill is passed by both Houses over the
objections of the President, the body that last overrides the
veto transmits it. It is then assigned a public law number, and
paginated for the Statutes at Large volume covering that
session of Congress. The public and private law numbers run in
sequence starting anew at the beginning of each Congress and
are prefixed for ready identification by the number of the
Congress. For example, the first public law of the 110th
Congress is designated Public Law 110-1 and the first private
law of the 110th Congress is designated Private Law 110-1.
slip laws
The first official publication of the statute is in the
form generally known as the ``slip law.'' In this form, each
law is published separately as an unbound pamphlet. The heading
indicates the public or private law number, the date of
approval, and the bill number. The heading of a slip law for a
public law also indicates the United States Statutes at Large
citation. If the statute has been passed over the veto of the
President, or has become law without the President's signature
because he did not return it with objections, an appropriate
statement is inserted instead of the usual notation of
approval.
The Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and
Records Administration, prepares the slip laws and provides
marginal editorial notes giving the citations to laws mentioned
in the text and other explanatory details. The marginal notes
also give the United States Code classifications, enabling the
reader immediately to determine where the statute will appear
in the Code. Each slip law also includes an informative guide
to the legislative history of the law consisting of the
committee report number, the name of the committee in each
House, as well as the date of consideration and passage in each
House, with a reference to the Congressional Record by volume,
year, and date. A reference to presidential statements relating
to the approval of a bill or the veto of a bill when the veto
was overridden and the bill becomes law is included in the
legislative history as a citation to the Weekly Compilation of
Presidential Documents.
Copies of the slip laws are delivered to the document rooms
of both Houses where they are available to officials and the
public. They may also be obtained by annual subscription or
individual purchase from the Government Printing Office and are
available in electronic form. Section 113 of title 1 of the
United States Code provides that slip laws are competent
evidence in all the federal and state courts, tribunals, and
public offices.
statutes at large
The United States Statutes at Large, prepared by the Office
of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records
Administration, provide a permanent collection of the laws of
each session of Congress in bound volumes. The latest volume
containing the laws of the first session of the 109th Congress
is number 119 in the series. Each volume contains a complete
index and a table of contents. A legislative history appears at
the end of each law. There are also marginal notes referring to
laws in earlier volumes and to earlier and later matters in the
same volume.
Under the provisions of a statute enacted in 1895, these
volumes are legal evidence of the laws contained in them and
will be accepted as proof of those laws in any court in the
United States.
The Statutes at Large are a chronological arrangement of
the laws exactly as they have been enacted. The laws are not
arranged according to subject matter and do not reflect the
present status of an earlier law that has been amended.
united states code
The United States Code contains a consolidation and
codification of the general and permanent laws of the United
States arranged according to subject matter under 50 title
headings, largely in alphabetical order. It sets out the
current status of the laws, as amended, without repeating all
the language of the amendatory acts except where necessary. The
Code is declared to be prima facie evidence of those laws. Its
purpose is to present the laws in a concise and usable form
without requiring recourse to the many volumes of the Statutes
at Large containing the individual amendments.
The Code is prepared by the Law Revision Counsel of the
House of Representatives. New editions are published every six
years and cumulative supplements are published after the
conclusion of each regular session of the Congress. The Code is
also available in electronic format.
Twenty-four of the 50 titles have been revised and enacted
into positive law, and one title has been eliminated by
consolidation with another title. Titles that have been revised
and enacted into positive law are legal evidence of the law and
may be updated by direct amendment. Eventually all the titles
will be revised and enacted into positive law.
A P P E N D I X
SELECT LIST OF GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
Constitution of the United States of America
Analysis and Interpretation, with annotations of cases
decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to June 28,
2002; prepared by Congressional Research Service, Library of
Congress, Johnny H. Killian, George A. Costello, Kenneth R.
Thomas, co-editors: Senate Document 103-6 (1996); updated
Senate Document 107-27 (2002).
House Rules and Manual
Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and Rules of the House of
Representatives of the United States, prepared by John V.
Sullivan, Parliamentarian of the House, House Document 109-157
(2007). New editions are published each Congress.
Senate Manual
Containing the rules, orders, laws, and resolutions
affecting the business of the United States Senate; Jefferson's
Manual, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation,
Constitution of the United States, etc., prepared under the
direction of Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. New
editions are published each Congress.
Hinds' and Cannon's Precedents of the House of Representatives
Including references to provisions of the Constitution,
laws, and decisions of the Senate, by Asher C. Hinds. Vols. 1-5
(1907).
Vols. 6-8 (1935), as compiled by Clarence Cannon, are
supplementary to vols. 1-5 and cover the 28-year period from
1907 to 1935, revised up to and including the 73d Congress.
Vols. 9-11 (1941) are index-digest to vols. 1-8.
Deschler-Brown Precedents of the United States House of Representatives
Including references to provisions of the Constitution and
laws, and to decisions of the courts, covering the period from
1928 to date, by Lewis Deschler, J.D., D.J., M.P.L., LL.D.,
Parliamentarian of the House (1928-1974), Wm. Holmes Brown,
Parliamentarian of the House (1974-1994).
Vols. 1-16 have been published, additional volumes in
preparation.
Cannon's Procedure in the House of Representatives
By Clarence Cannon, A.M., LL.B., LL.D., Member of Congress,
sometime Parliamentarian of the House, Speaker pro tempore,
Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, Chairman of the
Committee on Appropriations, etc.
House Practice, A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the
House
By Wm. Holmes Brown, Parliamentarian of the House (1974-
1994); updated 2003 by Charles W. Johnson, Parliamentarian of
the House (1994-2004).
Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives, Fourth Edition (1982)
(1987 Supp.)
By Lewis Deschler, J.D., D.J., M.P.L., LL.D.,
Parliamentarian of the House (1928-1974), and Wm. Holmes Brown,
Parliamentarian of the House (1974-1994).
Senate Procedure
By Floyd M. Riddick, Parliamentarian Emeritus of the
Senate, Alan S. Frumin, Parliamentarian of the Senate: Senate
Document No. 101-28 (1992).
Calendars of the House of Representatives and History of Legislation
Published each day the House is in session; prepared under
the direction of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Committee Calendars
Published periodically by most of the standing committees
of the House of Representatives and Senate, containing the
history of bills and resolutions referred to the particular
committee.
Digest of Public General Bills and Resolutions
A brief synopsis of public bills and resolutions, and
changes made therein during the legislative process; prepared
by American Law Division, Congressional Research Service,
Library of Congress.
Congressional Record
Proceedings and debates of the House and Senate, published
daily, and bound with an index and history of bills and
resolutions at the conclusion of each session of the Congress.
The record of debates prior to 1874 was published in the Annals
of Congress (1789-1824), The Register of Debates (1824-1837),
and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873). Debates from 1774-1873
are available electronically from a website maintained by the
Library of Congress.
Journal of the House of Representatives
Official record of the proceedings of the House, published
at the conclusion of each session under the direction of the
Clerk of the House.
Journal of the United States Senate
Official record of the proceedings of the Senate, published
at the conclusion of each session under the direction of the
Secretary of the Senate.
United States Statutes at Large
Containing the laws and concurrent resolutions enacted, and
reorganization plans and proclamations promulgated during each
session of the Congress, published annually under the direction
of the Archivist of the United States by the Office of the
Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, D.C. 20408.
Supplemental volumes: Tables of Laws Affected, Volumes 70-
84 (1956-1970), Volumes 85-89 (1971-1975), containing tables of
prior laws amended, repealed, or patently affected by
provisions of public laws enacted during that period.
Additional parts, containing treaties and international
agreements other than treaties, published annually under the
direction of the Secretary of State until 1950.
United States Code
The general and permanent laws of the United States in
force on the day preceding the commencement of the session
following the last session the legislation of which is
included: arranged in 50 titles; prepared under the direction
and supervision of the Law Revision Counsel of the House of
Representatives. New editions are published every six years and
cumulative supplements are published annually.
Federal Register
Presidential Proclamations, Executive Orders, and federal
agency orders, regulations, and notices, and general documents
of public applicability and legal effect, published daily. The
regulations therein amend the Code of Federal Regulations.
Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National
Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. 20408.
Code of Federal Regulations
Cumulates in bound volumes the general and permanent rules
and regulations of Federal agencies published in the Federal
Register, including Presidential documents. Each volume of the
Code is revised at least once each calendar year and issued on
a quarterly basis. Published by the Office of the Federal
Register, National Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, D.C. 20408.
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
Containing statements, messages, and other presidential
materials released by the White House during the preceding
week, published every Monday by the Office of the Federal
Register, National Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, D.C. 20408.
History of the United States House of Representatives
Prepared by Congressional Research Service, Library of
Congress, House Document 103-324.
The Senate, 1789-1989, Addresses on the History of the United States
Senate, Vol. 1
By Senator Robert C. Byrd, Senate Document No. 100-20
(1988).
Historical Almanac of the United States Senate
By Senator Bob Dole, Senate Document No. 100-35 (1989).