```

[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 60 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 60

    A resolution raising a question of the privileges of the House.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 3, 1993

 Mr. Solomon submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                         the Committee on Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
    A resolution raising a question of the privileges of the House.

Whereas article I, section 1, of the 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 a House of 
        Representatives;''
Whereas article I, section 2, of the Constitution provides that, ``The House of 
        Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year by 
        the people of the several States;''
Whereas the Committee of the Whole is a device used by the House under which all 
        House Members act together to debate and amend bills raising revenues or 
        directly or indirectly appropriating money;
Whereas the Committee of the Whole is an integral part of the legislative 
        process and the means by which the House of Representatives exercises 
        its legislative powers and prerogatives under the Constitution;
Whereas on January 5, 1993, the House, in the resolution adopting the Rules of 
        the House for the One Hundred Third Congress (H. Res. 5), included 
        provisions authorizing the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and 
        the delegates from the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and 
        the Virgin Islands to vote in and preside over the Committee of the 
        Whole;
Whereas attempts to refer the proposal to a select committee to study its 
        constitutionality and to separately vote on such proposal were prevented 
        by procedural votes, and the House was thereby precluded from making a 
        separate determination as to whether such provisions are in conformance 
        with constitutional requirements and Members' sworn duty to uphold the 
        Constitution;
Whereas such proposal affects the representational rights of duly elected 
        Members of the House under the Constitution and could result in a 
        derogation or denial of such rights;
Whereas such proposal affects the constitutional lawmaking prerogatives of the 
        House and its Members and the integrity of the process by which bills 
        are considered, and thus raises a question of the privileges of the 
        House;
Whereas the House has just adopted a resolution making it in order for the 
        Speaker to declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole 
        House on the state of the Union for the consideration of legislation, 
        and this represents the first instance in the One Hundred Third Congress 
        in which the House is resolving into the Committee of the Whole under 
        the provisions of the new rule allowing non-Members of the House to vote 
        in and Chair the Committee of the Whole; and
Whereas the inability and failure of the House to make a separate determination 
        as to the constitutionality of proposal prior to this first use of the 
        rule presents the House with an ``extraordinary question'' under the 
        Constitution requiring a separate determination and thus raises a 
        question of the privileges of the House: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That, as a matter of the constitutional privileges of the 
House to make all laws and to preserve the integrity of its proceedings 
and the representational rights of its Members, the implementation of 
those provisions of House Rules as adopted on January 5, 1993, 
authorizing the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and the 
Delegates from the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Virgin 
Islands, and Guam to vote in and preside over the Committee of the 
Whole, shall be delayed until such time that the House has made a 
separate determination as to whether such provisions can and should be 
implemented by a rule of the House, consistent with article I, sections 
1 and 2, of the Constitution.

                                 <all>
```