United States House Committee on Rules - Wikipedia United States House Committee on Rules This article needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ( March 2017 ) Committee on Rules 114th United States Congress Committee Logo History Founded April 2, 1789 ( 1789 - 04 - 02 ) New session started January 3, 2015 ( 2015 - 01 - 03 ) Leadership Chairman Pete Sessions ( R ) Since 2013 Ranking Member Jim McGovern ( D ) Structure Seats 15 members Political groups Majority ( 11 ) Republican ( 11 ) Minority ( 4 ) Democratic ( 4 ) Website rules.house.gov This article is part of a series on the United States House of Representatives History of the United States House of Representatives Members Current members ( by seniority by age non-voting ) Former members Hill committees ( DCCC NRCC ) Congressional districts Speaker of the United States House of Representatives ( list ) Party leaders Democratic Caucus Republican Conference Politics and procedure Committee of the Whole Closed session ( list ) Saxbe fix Committees ( list ) Procedures Origination Clause Quorum call Unanimous consent Salaries Apportionment ( Huntington -- Hill method ) Redistricting Gerrymandering Articles of impeachment Self - executing rule Rules suspension General ticket Plural district Places United States Capitol House office buildings ( Cannon Ford Longworth Rayburn ) The Committee on Rules, or ( more commonly ) Rules Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. Rather than being responsible for a specific area of policy, as most other committees are, it is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor. As such, it is one of the most powerful committees and is often described as `` an arm of the leadership '' and as the `` traffic cop of Congress. '' A rule is a simple resolution of the House of Representatives, usually reported by the Committee on Rules, to permit the immediate consideration of a legislative measure, notwithstanding the usual order of business, and to prescribe conditions for its debate and amendment. Contents 1 Jurisdiction 2 History 3 Members, 115th Congress 4 Subcommittees 5 Chairs, 1849 -- 1853 and 1880 -- present 6 Historical members and subcommittees 6.1 Members, 114th Congress 6.2 Subcommittees 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links Jurisdiction When a bill is reported out of one of the other committees, it does not go straight to the House floor, because the House, unlike the United States Senate, does not have unlimited debate and discussion on a bill. Instead, what may be said and done to a bill is strictly limited. This limitation is performed by the Rules Committee. When a bill is reported out of another committee with legislative jurisdiction, it is placed on the appropriate House Calendar for debate. Common practice, though, is for bills reported from committees to be considered in the Rules Committee, which will decide for how long and under what rules the full body will debate the proposition. Consideration by the full body can be in one of two forums : the Committee of the Whole, or on the floor of the full House of Representatives itself. Different traditions govern whether the Committee of the Whole or the House itself will debate a given resolution, and the Rules Committee generally sets the forum under which a proposition will be debated and the amendment / time limitations for every measure, too. For instance, there might be a limit on the number or types of amendments ( proposed changes to the bill ). Amendments might only be allowed to specific sections of the bill, or no amendments might be allowed at all. Besides control over amendments, the rule issued by the Rules Committee also determines the amount of speaking time assigned on each bill or resolution. If the leadership wants a bill pushed forward quietly, for instance, there might be no debate time scheduled ; if they want attention, they might allow time for lengthy speeches in support of the bill. Between control over amendments, debate, and when measures will be considered, the Rules Committee exerts vast power in the House. As such, the majority party will usually be very keen on controlling it tightly. While most House committees maintain membership in a rough proportion to the full chamber ( If the majority party controls 55 % of the House, it will tend to have 55 % of committee seats ), membership on the Rules Committee is disproportionately in favor of the majority party. History The Rules Committee was formed on April 2, 1789, during the first Congress. However, it had nowhere near the powerful role it has today. Instead, it merely proposed general rules for the House to follow when debating bills ( rather than passing a special rule for each bill ), and was dissolved after proposing these general rules. These general rules still have a great impact on the tone of the House floor today. The Rules Committee, for a long time, lay dormant. For the first fifty years of its existence, it accomplished little beyond simply reaffirming these rules, and its role was very noncontroversial. On June 16, 1841, it made a major policy change, reducing from 2 / 3 to 1 / 2 the fraction of votes needed in the House to close debate and vote on a bill. In 1880, the modern Rules Committee began to emerge from the reorganization of the House Committees. When the Republican party took over the House in the election of 1880, they quickly realized the power that the Rules Committee possessed. One member, Thomas Brackett Reed ( R - Maine ), used a seat on the Rules Committee to vault himself to the Speakership, and gained so much power that he was referred to as `` Czar Reed ''. In the 1890s and 1900s, Reed and his successor, Joseph Gurney Cannon ( R - Illinois ) used the Rules Committee to centralize the power of the Speakership. Although their power to place members in committees and perform other functions was limited by a forced rule change in 1910, the Rules Committee retained its power. However, it ceased to function as the personal project of the Speaker, as it had originally ; instead, as the seniority system took root, it was captured by a coalition of conservative Democrats and Republicans. This state of affairs would continue until the 1960s. In 1961, Speaker Sam Rayburn ( D - Texas ), acting on the wishes of the new President John F. Kennedy and the Democratic Study Group, introduced a bill to enlarge the committee from 12 members to 15, to decrease the power of the arch - conservative chairman, Howard W. Smith ( D - Virginia ). The bill passed, 217 votes to 212. However, it was only partially successful ; the Rules Committee continued to block legislation including civil rights and education bills. In the 1970s, however, the Rules Committee was firmly under the command of the Speaker once again. As before, its primary role is to come up with special rules, to help or obstruct the chances of legislation reported to it. Members, 115th Congress Majority Party Minority Party Republican Democratic Pete Sessions, Texas 's 32nd, Chair Tom Cole, Oklahoma 's 4th, Vice Chair Rob Woodall, Georgia 's 7th Michael C. Burgess, Texas 's 26th Doug Collins, Georgia 's 9th Bradley Byrne, Alabama 's 1st Dan Newhouse, Washington 's 4th Ken Buck, Colorado 's 4th Liz Cheney, Wyoming 's at - large Jim McGovern, Massachusetts 's 2nd, Ranking Member Alcee Hastings, Florida 's 20th Jared Polis, Colorado 's 2nd, Vice Ranking Member Norma Torres, California 's 35th Sources : H. Res. 6 ( R ), H. Res. 7 ( D ). Subcommittees The Rules Committee operates with two subcommittees, one focusing on legislative and budget matters and the other focusing on the internal operations and procedures of the House. Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member Legislative and Budget Process Rob Woodall ( R - GA ) Alcee Hastings ( D - FL ) Rules and the Organization of the House Rich Nugent ( R - FL ) Jim McGovern ( D - MA ) Source : House Committee on Rules Subcommittees Chairs, 1849 -- 1853 and 1880 -- present The Committee on Rules was first a standing committee of the House, during the 31st and 32nd Congresses ( 1849 -- 1853 ). From 1853 until 1880, the panel reverted to being a select committee ( as it had been before 1849 ). Between 1880 and the revolt against Speaker Cannon, in March 1910, the Speaker of the House also served as Chairman of the Rules Committee. Chair Party State Years Note David S. Kaufman Democratic Texas 1849 -- 1851 Died in office January 31, 1851 George W. Jones Democratic Tennessee 1851 -- 1853 Samuel J. Randall Democratic Pennsylvania 1880 -- 1881 J. Warren Keifer Republican Ohio 1881 -- 1883 John G. Carlisle Democratic Kentucky 1883 -- 1889 Thomas B. Reed Republican Maine 1889 -- 1891 1st term Charles F. Crisp Democratic Georgia 1891 -- 1895 Thomas B. Reed Republican Maine 1895 -- 1899 2nd term David B. Henderson Republican Iowa 1899 -- 1903 Joseph G. Cannon Republican Illinois 1903 -- 1910 John Dalzell Republican Pennsylvania 1910 -- 1911 Robert L. Henry Democratic Texas 1911 -- 1917 Edward W. Pou Democratic North Carolina 1917 -- 1919 1st term Philip P. Campbell Republican Kansas 1919 -- 1923 Bertrand H. Snell Republican New York 1923 -- 1931 Edward W. Pou Democratic North Carolina 1931 -- 1934 2nd term. Died in office April 1, 1934. William B. Bankhead Democratic Alabama 1934 -- 1935 John J. O'Connor Democratic New York 1935 -- 1939 Adolph J. Sabath Democratic Illinois 1935 -- 1947 1st term Leo E. Allen Republican Illinois 1947 -- 1949 1st term Adolph J. Sabath Democratic Illinois 1949 -- 1952 2nd term. Died in office November 6, 1952. Leo E. Allen Republican Illinois 1953 -- 1955 2nd term Howard W. Smith Democratic Virginia 1955 -- 1967 William M. Colmer Democratic Mississippi 1967 -- 1973 Ray J. Madden Democratic Indiana 1973 -- 1977 James J. Delaney Democratic New York 1977 -- 1979 Richard W. Bolling Democratic Missouri 1979 -- 1983 Claude D. Pepper Democratic Florida 1983 -- 1989 Died in office May 30, 1989 Joe Moakley Democratic Massachusetts 1989 -- 1995 Gerald B.H. Solomon Republican New York 1995 -- 1999 David T. Dreier Republican California 1999 -- 2007 1st term Louise M. Slaughter Democratic New York 2007 -- 2011 David T. Dreier Republican California 2011 -- 2013 2nd term Pete Sessions Republican Texas 2013 -- present Historical members and subcommittees Members, 114th Congress Majority Party Minority Party Republican Democratic Pete Sessions, Texas 's 32nd, Chairman Virginia Foxx, North Carolina 's 5th, Vice Chair Tom Cole, Oklahoma 's 4th Rob Woodall, Georgia 's 7th Michael C. Burgess, Texas 's 26th Steve Stivers, Ohio 's 15th Doug Collins, Georgia 's 9th Bradley Byrne, Alabama 's 1st Dan Newhouse, Washington 's 4th Louise Slaughter, New York 's 25th, Ranking Member James P. McGovern, Massachusetts 's 2nd Alcee Hastings, Florida 's 20th Jared Polis, Colorado 's 2nd Sources : H. Res. 6 ( Chairs ), H. Res. 7 ( D ), H. Res. 17 ( R ) and H. Res. 22 ( D ). Subcommittees The Rules Committee operates with two subcommittees, one focusing on legislative and budget matters and the other focusing on the internal operations and procedures of the House. Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member Legislative and Budget Process Rob Woodall ( R - GA ) Alcee Hastings ( D - FL ) Rules and the Organization of the House Rich Nugent ( R - FL ) Jim McGovern ( D - MA ) See also List of current United States House of Representatives committees United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration Current United States congressional committees Senate ( list ) Aging ( Special ) Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Appropriations Armed Services Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Budget Commerce, Science, and Transportation Energy and Natural Resources Environment and Public Works Ethics ( Select ) Finance Foreign Relations Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Indian Affairs Intelligence ( Select ) Judiciary Narcotics ( Caucus ) Rules and Administration Small Business and Entrepreneurship Veterans ' Affairs House ( list ) Agriculture Appropriations Armed Services Budget Education and the Workforce Energy and Commerce Ethics Financial Services Foreign Affairs Homeland Security House Administration Intelligence ( Permanent Select ) Judiciary Natural Resources Oversight and Government Reform Rules Science, Space, and Technology Small Business Transportation and Infrastructure Veterans ' Affairs Ways and Means ( Whole ) Joint ( list ) Budget and Appropriations Process Reform ( Select ) Economic Inaugural Ceremonies ( Special ) Library Printing Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans ( Select ) Taxation ( Conference ) Standing committees, Defunct committees References Jump up ^ `` Committee on Rules ''. U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Rules. Retrieved November 3, 2006. Jump up ^ A Pre-Twentieth Century look at the House Committee on Rules, by Walter J. Olezek ( House of Representatives, Rules Committee Democrats website ; accessed January 16, 2011 ) Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Kaufman, David Spangler ( id : K000021 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 16, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Jones, George Washington ( id : J000222 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 16, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Randall, Samuel Jackson ( id : R000039 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 16, 2011. Jump up ^ Committee on Rules -- A History ( House of Representatives, Rules Committee Democrats website ; accessed January 16, 2011 ( confirms Randall was Chairman ) Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Keifer, Joseph Warren ( id : K000048 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Carlisle, John Griffin ( id : C000152 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Reed, Thomas Brackett ( id : R000128 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Crisp, Charles Frederick ( id : C000908 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Henderson, David Bremner ( id : H000478 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Cannon, Joseph Gurney ( id : C000121 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Dalzell, John ( id : D000016 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Henry, Robert Lee ( id : H000516 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Pou, Edward William ( id : P000474 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 15, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Campbell, Philip Pitt ( id : C000097 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Snell, Bertrand Hollis ( id : S000652 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Bankhead, William Brockman ( id : B000113 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` O'Connor, John Joseph ( id : O000030 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Sabath, Adolph Joachim ( id : S000001 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Allen, Leo Elwood ( id : A000138 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Smith, Howard Worth ( id : S000554 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Colmer, William Meyers ( id : C000645 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Madden, Ray John ( id : M000039 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Delaney, James Joseph ( id : D000211 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Bolling, Richard Walker ( id : B000605 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Pepper, Claude Denson ( id : P000218 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Moakley, John Joseph ( id : M000834 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Solomon, Gerald Brooks Hunt ( id : S000675 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Dreier, David Timothy ( id : D000492 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Slaughter, Louise McIntosh ( id : S000480 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 14, 2011. Jump up ^ United States Congress. `` Sessions, Pete ( id : S000250 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 26, 2013. Further reading Brauer, Carl M. `` Women Activists, Southern Conservatives, and the Prohibition of Sex Discrimination in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act '', 49 Journal of Southern History, February 1983 online via JSTOR Dierenfield, Bruce J. Keeper of the Rules : Congressman Howard W. Smith of Virginia ( 1987 ) Dion, Douglas, and John D. Huber. `` Procedural choice and the house committee on rules. '' Journal of Politics ( 1996 ) 58 # 1 pp : 25 - 53. online Jenkins, Jeffery A., and Nathan W. Monroe. `` Buying negative agenda control in the us house. '' American Journal of Political Science ( 2012 ) 56 # 4 pp : 897 - 912. online Jones, Charles O. `` Joseph G. Cannon and Howard W. Smith : an Essay on the Limits of Leadership in the House of Representatives '' Journal of Politics 1968 30 ( 3 ) : 617 - 646. Moffett, Kenneth W. `` Parties and Procedural Choice in the House Rules Committee. '' Congress & the Presidency ( 2012 ) 39 # 1 Race, A. `` House Rules and Procedure. '' in New Directions in Congressional Politics ( 2012 ) : 111 + Robinson, James Arthur. The House rules committee ( 1963 ) Schickler, Eric ; Pearson, Kathryn. `` Agenda Control, Majority Party Power, and the House Committee on Rules, 1937 - 52, '' Legislative Studies Quarterly ( 2009 ) 34 # 4 pp 455 - 491 Woods, Clinton Jacob, `` Strange Bedfellows : Congressman Howard W. Smith and the Inclusion of Sex Discrimination in the 1964 Civil Rights Act, '' Southern Studies, 16 ( Spring -- Summer 2009 ), 1 -- 32. External links Government of the United States portal Official website of the committee ( Archive ) House Rules Committee. Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov. House Rules Committee Hearings and Meetings Video. Congress.gov. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_House_Committee_on_Rules&oldid=837154725 '' Categories : Committees of the United States House of Representatives 1789 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1789 Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles in need of updating from March 2017 All Wikipedia articles in need of updating Use mdy dates from March 2017 Infobox legislature with background color Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Edit links This page was last edited on 19 April 2018, at 01 : 57. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: the rules committee in the house of representatives is able to
Answer: determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor; in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor