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36–931 2007

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 

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E:\Seals\Congress.#13
(II)

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. 

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(III)

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 

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IV

Number 

Document of copies 

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 

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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. 

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S 

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 

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VIII 

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 

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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 

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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 

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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 

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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 commubjneal on GSDDPC74 with HEARING

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nications 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: 

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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 

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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. 

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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, 

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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 

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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 

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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 

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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 

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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 ofbjneal on GSDDPC74 with HEARING

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ficials, 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 

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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 onethird, 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 

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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 

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(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. 

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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, 

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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: 

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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 imporbjneal on GSDDPC74 with HEARING

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tant 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.lll) 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 lll hours, to be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the 

Committee on lll, 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. 

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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. lll) 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. 

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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 onehalf 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 

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tion 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 

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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. 

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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 

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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 ‘‘fiveminute 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 

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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 socalled ‘‘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, 

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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 

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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 

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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 

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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 

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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. 

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sonal 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. 

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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 

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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. 

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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 

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close 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. 

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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 

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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 prebjneal on GSDDPC74 with HEARING

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vailing 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. 

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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. 

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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 

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tion 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. 

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(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. 

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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 

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ference 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 beginbjneal on GSDDPC74 with HEARING

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ning 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. 

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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; 

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ments; 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 

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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. 

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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 

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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 sebjneal on GSDDPC74 with HEARING

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ries. 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. 

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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). 

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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. 

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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). 

Æ 

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