Parliamentary Reference Sources: House of Representatives
Released: 2008-04-04T00:00:00

Summary:
House procedures are based not solely on the code of Rules the chamber adopts at the start of each Congress, but also on constitutional mandates, published precedents reflecting authoritative rulings and interpretations of the foregoing authorities, procedural principles set forth in the manual of practice prepared by Jefferson, "rule-making" statutes, and practices that have developed without being formally adopted.. Rules adopted by committees and by the party conferences also serve as sources of parliamentary practice in the House. This report describes the coverage, format, and availability of documents that set forth these procedural authorities, and notes principles of House procedural practice that bear on appropriate use of these sources. Summaries and appendices provide citations to print and electronic versions, and list related CRS products.
The main procedural authorities of the House are set forth in the House Manual ("House Rules and Manual" or, colloquially, "Jefferson's Manual"), published in each Congress and distributed to House offices. They include the Constitution, applicable portions of Jefferson's Manual, the adopted Rules of the House, and provisions of statute that have procedural effects, often governing proceedings on specified measures. In the House Manual, provisions of each authority are accompanied by the parliamentarian's annotations of precedents interpreting those provisions. Budget resolutions may also contain provisions with procedural effect.
The current practice of the House is summarized by topic, with references to pertinent rules and precedents, in House Practice, prepared by the Office of the Parliamentarian and provided to all House offices. Precedents from 1936 to 1976 or later are set forth in full, or topical chapters, in the 16 volumes (so far) of Deschler-Brown Precedents. Currently applicable precedents, including some later than 1976, are digested in Procedure in the House, a single volume with a similar chapter structure. Precedents before 1936 are set forth in the 11 volumes (with indexes) of Hinds' and Cannon's Precedents, with their own topical order. The older works among these are out of print, but copies are available for House offices.
Other authorities include policies announced by Speakers in implementing certain rules, and "memorandums of understanding" reached by committees about areas of potentially shared jurisdiction. Some of these policies and memorandums are published in the Congressional Record. Also, House Rules require each committee to adopt and publish rules, which the Committee on Rules compiles in a single document in each Congress. Rules adopted by each party conference are in general made available only to its members. Finally, this report also mentions two brief procedural guides published under the auspices of House committees.
This report assumes a basic familiarity with House procedure. It will be updated to reflect the appearance of new editions of the documents discussed and to address substantial changes in their content and availability. Information about Senate parliamentary reference sources is covered in CRS Report RL30788, Parliamentary Reference Sources: Senate, by Megan Suzanne Lynch and [author name scrubbed].

subsections: section_title: Introduction
paragraphs: House procedures are not based solely on the Rules that the chamber adopts at the outset of each new Congress. The foundations of House parliamentary procedure also include constitutional mandates, principles of parliamentary practice set forth in Jefferson ' s Manual , provisions of law that have the force and effect of rules, published precedents reflecting authoritative rulings and interpretations of the foregoing authorities, and informal practices. They also include committee rules, "memorandums of understanding" between committees regarding committee jurisdiction, and the rules of each party's caucus or conference.
This report identifies and describes documents, published by the House or organs and offices thereof, that provide an official record of these parliamentary authorities. Members usually cite these documents when raising a point of order or defending against one. They may be grouped into three classes. The first comprises the texts of the chief authorities governing parliamentary procedure in the House. These authorities, which are presented in the House Manual with annotations by the parliamentarian, include
the Constitution; Jefferson ' s Manual ; the adopted Rules of the House; and provisions of law that have the force and effect of rules ("rule-making statutes").
A second group of official reference documents compiles and digests the precedents of the House. This group includes
House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House ; Deschler ' s (and Deschler-Brown ) Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives ; Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States . Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives and its supplements; and Cannon ' s Procedure in the House of Representatives .
Finally, parliamentary reference documents prepared by committees, offices, and other organs of the House include
Committee rules, adopted by the respective committees and compiled, in each Congress, by the House Committee on Rules in a print, Rules Adopted by Committees of the House of Representatives; "Memorandums of understanding" (often called "letters of agreement") between committees regarding committee jurisdiction; Floor Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives from the House Committee on Rules; How Our Laws Are Made from the Office of the House Parliamentarian; and the rules of the Democratic Caucus and of the Republican Conference, adopted by the respective bodies and prepared by each for its own Members.
This report begins by reviewing some principles of House procedure that condition the way in which these parliamentary reference sources can be used. The body of the report describes the format of each parliamentary reference document and the content of the authorities it contains. Many of the descriptions of printed sources also are illustrated with sample pages that show the format of the document and are annotated to indicate special features and components. Although some of these illustrations do not reflect the most recent, current edition of the document from which they are taken, the format and other features they illustrate are retained in the current editions.
Boxes following the description of each authority present information on how to locate it in various documentary sources, both in printed form and through the Internet. In these access boxes, the names of websites appear in bold type.
The appendices of the report summarize the information contained in the access boxes. Appendix A furnishes citations for each printed reference document covered in this report, and for related Congressional Research Service (CRS) products. Appendix B summarizes House parliamentary reference information available through the Internet.
Official guidance on House parliamentary procedure is available from the Office of the House Parliamentarian (5-7373). CRS staff ([phone number scrubbed]) also can assist in clarifying House rules and procedures.
section_title: Principles of House Parliamentary Procedure
paragraphs: The House applies the regulations set forth in its various parliamentary authorities in accordance with several principles that remain generally applicable across the entire range of procedural situations. Among these principles may be listed the following: (1) House procedure is governed by multiple authorities, not by chamber rules alone; (2) the House has a constitutional power to make its own rules of procedure; (3) House rules are generally not self-enforcing; (4) the House rarely disregards its precedents; and (5) the House adheres to many practices that have developed without being formally adopted. Each of these principles is discussed below.
subsections: section_title: House Procedures Are Determined by Multiple Authorities
paragraphs: Although the rules of the House may be the most obvious authority governing House parliamentary procedure, they are, as the introductory discussion has already shown, by no means the only one. The authorities by which the proceedings of the House are regulated are not mutually exclusive; rather, any concrete procedural situation is affected by the interaction among them. As a result, the course taken by any proceedings in the chamber will depend on all the different parliamentary authorities that may be pertinent to the specific circumstances.
section_title: Constitutional Rule-Making Authority of the House
paragraphs: Article I of the Constitution gives the House the authority to determine its rules of procedure. This constitutional rule-making authority affects House procedure in two different ways. First, except in the case of matters prescribed by the Constitution itself, the House can determine for itself the substance of the rules that will govern its internal procedures. The House exercises this rule-making power at the beginning of each Congress when it adopts the chamber's rules, including any amendments to, or rules additional to, those of the previous Congress.
The House also uses its rule-making power in this sense when it adopts "special rules" and when it enacts "rule-making statutes." A special rule defines a specific procedure for considering an individual measure on the floor. A rule-making statute is a law that includes provisions governing House procedures, typically by prescribing rules for the consideration of a class of measures specified by the act itself. For example, the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 contains rule-making provisions that, among other things, specify the content of the congressional budget resolution and set terms for its consideration.
Special rules and rule-making statutes have the same standing and effect as the rules of the House, because they are both created through an exercise of the House's constitutional rule-making authority. When the House uses a "rule" to set terms for considering a measure, it typically adopts the "rule" immediately preceding consideration of the measure in question. When Congress enacts a law containing rule-making provisions, it typically includes in the statute a declaration that the provisions are enacted as an exercise of the rule-making authority of each house. At the beginning of each Congress, also, the House provides for the continued effectiveness of existing rule-making statutes as part of the same action by which it adopts its general code of chamber rules.
A further way in which the House's rule-making authority affects its procedure is that the House can determine when its adopted code of Rules, including rule-making statutes, should not govern its own proceedings. In practical terms, this principle allows the House, by unanimous consent, to take parliamentary actions that violate its adopted Rules, or, by a two-thirds vote, to suspend the rules for consideration of a measure. Moreover, by majority vote, the House can adopt a special rule waiving points of order that Members could normally raise under the rules of the House or under a rule-making statute.
section_title: House Rules Are Generally Not Self-Enforcing
paragraphs: Rules of the House, as well as other authorities that have the force of chamber rules (such as rule-making statutes and special rules), are normally enforced by Members raising points of order. A point of order is a claim, stated by a Member from the floor, that the House is violating or about to violate some House Rule, precedent, or other procedural authority. When a point of order is raised, the chair (the Speaker when in the House proper; the chairman when in Committee of the Whole) normally rules on its validity, often providing an explanation of the parliamentary rationale behind the ruling. If the chair sustains the point of order, the House cannot proceed with the action the point of order assails. As the next section describes, the ruling of the chair in such cases normally stands as a precedent of the House.
The chair may also enforce House Rules and other sources of procedural authority by refusing to entertain a proposed action that these authorities do not permit. In some circumstances, the chair might take the initiative to rule such an action out of order, or to make an announcement to the House regarding proper procedure. For example, the chair often reminds members of rules of decorum during debate. In many circumstances, however, the chair does not take initiative to call to the chamber's attention that a violation of House rules is taking place. Under these conditions, unless some Member raises a point of order, the House can proceed in ways contrary to the requirements of its procedural authorities.
In addition, points of order and rulings of the chair occur only on procedural questions raised pursuant to rules and precedents of the House. The chair will not rule on a point of order asserting a violation of constitutional requirements, for the chair has authority only over adopted rules and not over the Constitution. It is the practice of the House that the judgment of the chamber on a constitutional matter is to be settled by the vote of the body on the substantive question with respect to which the constitutional question is raised.
Similarly, parliamentary actions undertaken on the basis of rules of a party caucus or conference, are not enforceable on the House floor, and the same is often true of practices that have developed without being formally adopted. While party caucus and conference rules, and practices that are "informal" in this sense, form part of the basis of House procedure, they are not produced through an exercise of the chamber's constitutional rule-making authority, and hence do not have the same standing as the Rules of the House. Caucus or conference rules are created and enforced by one party, and informal practices evolve over the years as custom. Finally, rules of procedure adopted by each House committee generally cannot be enforced on the House floor, though they can be enforced in the committee that adopts them.
section_title: The House Rarely Disregards Its Precedents
paragraphs: The published precedents of the House set forth how the chamber has interpreted and applied the chamber's rules. Most precedents are formed when the chair rules on a point of order, deciding either to sustain or overrule. In principle, any Member could appeal a ruling of the chair to the House itself, which would then determine the question itself by a majority vote. This proceeding would constitute an exercise of the constitutional authority of the House over its own rules, and the resulting determination of the House would also constitute a precedent. In practice, however, the House almost never entertains appeals of rulings of the chair, and even when it does, it seldom reverses the chair; in fact, the majority usually votes at once to lay any appeal on the table, an action that has the effect of confirming the ruling of the chair.
Precedents also can be created when the chair responds to a parliamentary inquiry, or when the House makes a procedural decision by a majority vote (e.g . , to adopt a certain type of special rule).
Precedents influence the manner in which current House rules are applied by relating past decisions to the specific case before the chamber. In specific cases, it may often be necessary to consult the published precedents for guidance on how each rule has been applied. In this way, the published precedents of the House function in practice both to complement and supplement the rules of the House. Precedents, accordingly, are analogous to case law in their effect. Just as attorneys in court will cite previous judicial decisions to support their arguments, Members will cite precedents of the House to support their point of order, or to defend against one. Similarly, the chair will often support a ruling by citing the decisions of predecessors. Historically, the House rarely disregards its precedents.
Precedents do not carry equal weight. Those based on the chair's disposition of points of order or on a decision of the House by majority vote have more weight than those based on the chair's response to parliamentary inquiries. In addition, more recent precedents generally receive greater weight than earlier ones, and a precedent that is part of an evolved pattern will have more weight than one that is isolated in its effect. Moreover, all precedents must be evaluated in the historical context of the rules and practices at the time they were established. Because of the need to consider these various principles, Members needing to find precedents to support or rebut an argument might wish to seek the official advice of the Parliamentarian of the House (5-7373).
section_title: The House Adheres to Many Informal Practices
paragraphs: Some House procedural actions are undertaken on the basis of practices that have evolved over the years and become accepted custom without being formally adopted, which can be called "informal" practices. Inasmuch as practices that are "informal" in this sense are not mandated by any authoritative statement, they cannot in general be enforced on the House floor through a point of order. In practice, however, these informal practices are rarely challenged on the House floor. Many are described in documents that digest the practice of the House or compile its formal precedents. Contemporary examples of House procedures determined by these informal practices include (1) the Speaker's recognition of Members for one-minute and special order speeches; and (2) giving members of the committee or subcommittee reporting a bill priority recognition for offering floor amendments.
section_title: The House Manual and Authorities It Contains
subsections: section_title: House Manual
paragraphs: The House Manual compiles in one volume the text of all the principal parliamentary sources that have authoritative force in House proceedings, accompanied by annotations by the Parliamentarian of the House that summarize precedents and practices pertinent to each provision. The authorities included in the Manual are:
the Constitution of the United States; portions of Jefferson ' s Manual of Parliamentary Practice ; the adopted Rules of the House; rule-making statutes, especially those governing the congressional budget process and those containing congressional disapproval provisions.
The formal title of this document is Constitution, Jefferson ' s Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives, and it is usually spoken of simply as the House Manual , House Rules Manual , or House Rules and Manual . It also is often referred to as "Jefferson's Manual." In fact, however, as the preceding list shows, this colloquial reference is a misnomer, for the procedural manual actually prepared by Thomas Jefferson constitutes only one element of the contents of the volume.
An edition of the House Manual is published by the Government Printing Office as an official, numbered House Document, in each Congress, usually at some point during the first session. The edition for each Congress bears a House Document number from the preceding Congress, because the House typically authorizes it during the preceding Congress. Thus, for example, the Manual for the 110 th Congress is designated "H.Doc. 109-157."
Subsequent sections in this part of the report discuss the several parliamentary authorities incorporated in the House Manual and identify other reference sources in which each is also found. The remainder of the present section describes features of the Manual that appear uniquely in this reference source. These include
a single comprehensive index to all the authorities contained in the Manual ; the annotations by the Parliamentarian of the House to the provisions of each authority, summarizing pertinent precedents that bear on each provision; and a preface that presents a summary of changes to House Rules adopted since the last Congress.
subsections: section_title: Organization and Indexing
paragraphs: The House Manual is organized in numbered sections that run throughout the Manual in a single sequence, often with gaps between the end of one section and the start of the next. These normally remain constant from edition to edition, which facilitates citation and reference across editions. For this reason, citations to the Manual are usually given not by page number, but instead by section number. Manual section numbers are also listed at the top of each page. As discussed below, House Rules were recodified in the 106 th Congress in a revised structure that reduced their number from 52 to 28. At that time, as a result, section numbers necessarily changed in the portion of the Manual devoted to those rules.
The extensive index of the House Manual also provides citations by section number. This index breaks major topics into subheadings, and under each subheading, the topic of each provision cited is identified by a descriptive specification. Citations under the subject heading "Civil offices," for example, are identified by the following entries: "May be removed by impeachment" and "Members not to be appointed to certain." The index should be thoroughly examined in order to find all pertinent citations. For example, information on motions to suspend the rules is indexed under two subject headings: "Rules, suspension of," and "Suspension of Rules."
section_title: Parliamentarian's Annotations
paragraphs: Annotations prepared by the Parliamentarian of the House appear throughout the House Manual . These annotations, often referred to as the "Parliamentarian's notes," typically follow the clause or other provision of procedural authority to which they apply. They describe the history of the respective provision and provide useful information about its contemporary application. They explain current practice and briefly describe some of the most important precedents.
Citations to important precedents are presented in parentheses throughout the annotations. These citations refer the reader to various official publications setting forth precedents, which are described later in this report. Citations appear in the following formats:
Congressional Record : the date and (except in the case of very recent citations) the page number in the permanent Congressional Record (e.g., "January 29, 1986, p. 684"). Some citations also provide additional information, such as the number of the bill involved in the precedent. Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents : a roman numeral indicating the volume number, and the section number (e.g., "V, 5763"). Deschler ' s Precedents or Deschler-Brown Precedents : the publication's shortened title, volume number, chapter number, and section number (e.g., " Deschler-Brown Precedents , vol. 10, ch. 28, sec. 4.26"). Procedure in the House: the publication's shortened title, chapter number, and section number (e.g., " Procedure , ch. 5, sec. 8.1"). Pronouncements by the Speaker: the name of the Speaker, the date, and (except in very recent instances) the page number in the permanent Congressional Record page number (e.g., "Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 2, 1978, p. 5272"). United States Code: by title and section (e.g., "2 U.S.C. 287"); and United States Reports , compiling rulings of the Supreme Court: by volume and page (e.g., "395 U.S. 486").
The discussion of precedents in the parliamentarian's annotations has great practical value for several reasons. First, it allows the reader to see the relationship between the operation of specific clauses in the authority annotated and the precedents. Second, because the discussion is updated each time the House Manual is published, it references some important precedents that are not included in earlier compilations or digests of precedent. Last, the citations provided in parentheses can be a time-saving research tool for readers seeking precedents related to a specific clause of House Rules or of the other parliamentary authorities included in the House Manual .
Excerpts from the parliamentarian's annotations appear in many of the sample House Manual pages presented in this report. The description of each parliamentary authority discusses the information provided in the parliamentarian's annotations.
section_title: Summary of Changes to House Rules
paragraphs: This summary, which normally appears in the preface to the House Manual for the each Congress, typically covers the most substantive changes in House Rules adopted since the previous edition of the Manual .
section_title: The Constitution
paragraphs: The House Manual presents the text of the Constitution (including amendments) with annotations by the parliamentarian explaining how the House and the courts have interpreted and applied constitutional provisions. In particular, Article I, section 5 imposes several procedural requirements on the House. This part of the Constitution grants the House the authority to adopt its own rules, requires the House to keep and publish an official journal of its proceedings, mandates the presence of a quorum to conduct business in the House, and requires that a yea and nay vote be conducted upon the request of one-fifth of the Members present. The parliamentarian's annotations elaborate on how each of these constitutional provisions has been applied in practical terms in the House.
Reprinted on the following page is the constitutional provision requiring the yeas and nays, followed by some of the parliamentarian's annotations.
section_title: Jefferson's Manual
paragraphs: House Rule XXVIII, which dates from 1837, states that "the rules of parliamentary practice comprised by Jefferson ' s Manual shall govern the House in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the standing Rules and orders of the House."
Thomas Jefferson wrote this manual, the full title of which is A Manual of Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of the United States, when he served as Vice President, and hence as President of the Senate, from 1797 to 1801. Jefferson ' s Manual is a statement of parliamentary law and the philosophy behind various parliamentary actions. It is based largely on the practice of the British House of Commons in the late 18 th Century. Interestingly, while this manual was originally intended for use in the U.S. Senate, the Senate today does not take it as an authority on its own procedure.
The phrase "Jefferson's Manual" is sometimes incorrectly used to refer either to the House Manual or to the adopted Rules of the House. In fact, however, Jefferson ' s Manual is a document distinct from either, and the House Manual incorporates only those of its sections that apply to House parliamentary procedure. In the Manual , annotations by the parliamentarian explain how practices set forth in Jefferson ' s Manual either relate or no longer relate to House procedure today. These annotations demonstrate that some of the House's most important parliamentary procedures, such as those governing debate, consideration of amendments, and resolving differences between the two houses, are based in part on practices established by Jefferson ' s Manual .
An excerpt from Jefferson ' s Manual , with the parliamentarian's annotations, is reprinted on the following page.
section_title: Rules of the House
paragraphs: At the start of each Congress, the House approves a resolution ( H.Res. 6 in the 110 th Congress) adopting the Rules of the House for that Congress. The resolution usually provides for the re-adoption of the Rules of the previous House with specified amendments. In contemporary practice, these adopted amendments are recommended by the majority party. The House may adopt other changes by approving a resolution during the course of a Congress.
The House Manual presents the Rules of the House clause by clause, along with the parliamentarian's annotations for each clause, which include identification of any changes adopted since the last Congress. The House's prohibition of non-germane amendments (Rule XVI, clause 7), for example, receives detailed coverage in the parliamentarian's annotations. An excerpt from the House Manual for the 105 th Congress, showing some of these annotations, appears below.
The text of the Rules of the House are usually also published early in each Congress by the clerk in an unnumbered print. This document, often called the "Clerk's Print," incorporates any rules changes adopted by the House on opening day, and is usually the first available document containing the text of House Rules as amended. This print contains only the text of the rules themselves, with no annotations or index. The Congressional Record of the House proceedings on the resolution adopting the Rules usually includes the text of amendments to the Rules being made by the resolution.
subsections: section_title: Recodification
paragraphs: In the preface (dated June 18, 2007) to the House Manual for the 109 th Congress, the parliamentarian notes that in the 106 th Congress, the House adopted a major recodification of the Rules of the House. A similar statement has appeared in the preface to each edition of the Manual since the recodification. This recodification included a structural revision that reduced the number of rules from 52 to 28. Explanations of how each of the recodified rules is derived from provisions of in the previous codification, and of substantive changes in each recodified rule, appear in the annotations following the text of each rule in the Manual .
The preface and introductory matter in the House Manual for the 106 th Congress provided an explanation of the structure of this recodification, relating recodified provisions to those of the former codification. Material explaining the recodification, including a summary, a side-by-side comparison of the former and new code, and a table of recodification citation changes, can be found also at the website of the House Committee on Rules under the link for Rules and Precedents of the House.
section_title: Procedural Provisions of Statute
paragraphs: As already noted, the constitutional grant to each chamber of Congress of authority over its own rules permits the House to establish procedural regulations though simple resolutions, which are adopted through action of the originating chamber alone. In certain cases, nevertheless, the House institutes procedures through provisions included in statutory measures (bills and joint resolutions), which can become effective only through agreement between both houses and presentation to the President.
Because these procedures are created through an exercise of each chamber's constitutional rule-making power, they have the same standing as House and Senate rules. A statute that contains "rule-making provisions," in this sense, usually also incorporates a provision, often entitled "Exercise of Rule-Making Power," which asserts the rule-making authority of each chamber by declaring that the pertinent provisions "shall be considered as part of the rules of each House," and are subject to being changed "in the same manner ... as in the case of any other rule of such House"—that is, for example, by adoption of a simple resolution of the House.
The major legislative reorganization acts of recent decades exemplify rule-making statutes, for they include provisions with effects on procedures of the House generally. Most statutory rule-making provisions, however, specify legislative procedures to be followed in the House and the Senate in the consideration of specified matters. Some of these establish expedited procedures for congressional action on specified proposals from the executive branch that the statute permits to take effect either only with congressional approval, or only in the absence of congressional disapproval. Others, principally derived from the Congressional Budget Act and related statutes, regulate the congressional budget process. The House Manual includes provisions from all three kinds of rule-making statute, with annotations by the parliamentarian.
subsections: section_title: Legislative Reorganization Acts
paragraphs: The major legislative reorganization acts that contain provisions currently regulating House procedure are the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 and the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970. Many of the provisions of these acts that established legislative procedures have since been incorporated into the Rules of the House. The parliamentarian's annotations to the pertinent provisions of House Rules in the House Manual note their origin in the legislative reorganization acts and discuss their effect on House procedures. In addition, a separate section of the Manual sets forth, and annotates, a few provisions of these acts that have current effect but have not become incorporated into House Rules.
section_title: Expedited Procedures
paragraphs: The concluding section of the House Manual for the 110 th Congress is entitled "Statutory Legislative Procedures" (in previous editions, corresponding contents appeared under the heading "'Congressional Disapproval' Provisions Contained in Public Laws"). This section of the Manual sets forth over 50 excerpts from statutes that define special procedures for Congress to follow in disapproving or approving specified actions of the executive branch or independent agencies. Procedures of this kind typically establish expedited, or "fast track," procedures to permit the House and the Senate to enact a joint resolution in disapproval or approval of actions of the specified kinds.
These provisions of law are a type of rule-making statute because they create procedures that have the force and effect of rules of the House, Senate, or both, through an exercise of the constitutional rule-making power of the two chambers. The House Manual terms these "privileged procedures," inasmuch as they make the specified approval or disapproval measures privileged for consideration. The Manual seems to be the only readily available document to contain a compilation of these various privileged procedures. In some cases, however, the Manual includes the rule-making provisions that govern procedure in either the House or the Senate; in others, only those provisions that affect House procedure are given. Many of these statutes have been infrequently used, and the parliamentarian's annotations in this part of the Manual are fewer than in other places.
The provisions included in the Manual include some drawn from at least one statute that, like those described in the next subsection, regulates the congressional budget process: namely, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Other well-known examples include sections 2903, 2904, and 2908 of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, which govern congressional consideration of recommendations of a Base Closure and Realignment Commission, and sections 151 to 154 of the Trade Act of 1974, which establish "fast track" procedures for considering legislation related to the implementation of certain trade agreements. Reprinted on the following page is Section 151(f) of the Trade Act as it appeared in the House Manual for the 105 th Congress.
section_title: Budget Process Statutes
paragraphs: A section of the House Manual presents selected provisions of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. The provisions set forth are rule-making provisions that define specific procedures for considering budgetary legislation in the House and the Senate. For example, the Congressional Budget Act establishes special procedures for considering the congressional budget resolution and reconciliation legislation, and establishes points of order that a Member could raise against consideration of budgetary legislation.
These rule-making provisions are accompanied by the parliamentarian's annotations on how they have been applied in both the House and the Senate. Reprinted on the following page is an excerpt from Section 305(a) of the Congressional Budget Act, as it appears in the House Rules and Manual for the 105 th Congress, with the parliamentarian's annotations. This section sets forth procedures for House floor consideration of the budget resolution.
section_title: Procedural Provisions in Budget Resolutions
paragraphs: The Congressional Budget Act requires Congress to adopt each year a congressional resolution on the budget. The chief purpose of this measure is to set congressional spending, revenue, and deficit targets for the fiscal year and to allocate spending (budget authority and outlays) subject to those targets among budgetary functional categories. In recent years, however, budget resolutions have often included supplementary procedural regulations to govern subsequent action on spending bills or other budget-related measures.
The budget resolution is a concurrent resolution, which is a form of measure that becomes effective upon agreement between the two houses. Procedural provisions in budget resolutions, accordingly, resemble rule-making provisions of statute in that they operate with the same force as procedural rules of the respective houses, even though they are established through a process that involves the concurrence of bodies other than the respective houses. Like statutes that contain rule-making provisions, therefore, budget resolutions that contain procedural provisions typically also include language asserting these provisions to be adopted as an exercise of the constitutional authority of each house over its own rules and in recognition of the right of each house subsequently to alter them through its own internal procedures. These provisions are accordingly considered in this section of the report even though they are not compiled in the House Manual .
Some procedural provisions in budget resolutions have been made applicable only for the coming year's budgetary action, but others have been established as permanent procedures, and are subsequently altered or abolished only by further action in a subsequent budget resolution. Procedural provisions in budget resolutions have most often concerned procedure in the Senate, and have often appeared in budget resolutions as a result of action by the Senate. Some of them, nevertheless, have had bicameral application. Neither these procedural provisions as a whole nor only those applicable in the House, however, are comprehensively compiled in any single source. Instead, they may best be identified by examining the texts of adopted congressional budget resolutions for successive years.
Many of these procedural provisions institute new points of order that, like those established by the Budget Act itself, are available against budgetary measures or provisions contained therein. The congressional budget resolution for FY2008 ( S.Con.Res. 21 , 110 th Congress), for example, established a limitation in each house against most "advance appropriations," identified, for the House of Representatives, as appropriations, contained in a general appropriations bill or continuing resolution for FY2008, that first become available in any later fiscal year.
section_title: Official Compilations of Precedents of the House
paragraphs: As already discussed, selected precedents of the House are summarized in the parliamentarian's annotations in the House Manual . Moreover, procedural floor exchanges that establish House precedents are recorded in the Congressional Record on the dates when they occurred. In addition, however, House precedents in general are compiled, digested, described, or referenced in five official publications of the House:
House Practice ; Deschler ' s Precedents ; Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents ; Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives and its supplement; and Cannon ' s Procedure .
House Practice presents comprehensive, consolidated information about contemporary procedure in the House, including reference to the precedents and other parliamentary authorities on which it is grounded. The three collections of precedents listed compile precedents of the House, setting forth both the principles they illustrate and the proceedings that established or exemplify them. Deschler ' s Precedents compiles precedents established from 1936 through the date of publication, Hinds ' Precedents those established up to 1906, and Cannon ' s Precedents those established between 1906 and 1936.
The other two documents listed are no longer current, but can be viewed as predecessor documents of House Practice. Although the format of each document is different, each presents a digest of the then current practice of the House with citations of precedential and other authorities in which it is grounded.
When examining published precedents for their application to a particular parliamentary situation, the reader might bear in mind the principles of House procedure discussed earlier in this report. Members needing to find precedents to support or rebut a parliamentary argument might wish to seek the official advice of Office of the House Parliamentarian (5-7373).
subsections: section_title: House Practice
paragraphs: The one-volume publication House Practice is the most up-to-date reference source for information about the rules and selected precedents governing House procedure. The initial edition of this work, the full title of which is House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents, and Procedures of the House , was prepared by William Holmes Brown during the final years of his tenure (1974-1994) as House Parliamentarian. The document was designed to replace Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives (described in a later section). In 2003, the initial edition was superseded by a second, prepared under the direction of Parliamentarian Charles W. Johnson III, reflecting the modern practice of the House as of the 108 th Congress.
House Practice is organized into chapters that cover 59 subjects of House procedure (the first edition had 57). These chapters are presented in alphabetical order, and the list of chapter subjects appears as a table of contents to House Practice . Each chapter is divided into topical sections, with the main topics numbered and sometimes grouped under broader overall headings identified by letter.
Each chapter opens with a list of the chapter's main topics, by section. This list is followed by useful citations to other House parliamentary reference sources, under the heading "Research References." The House Manual , Deschler ' s Precedents, and Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents , are the most frequently cited reference sources. House Practice is the only parliamentary reference source that provides such a listing of "Research References."
The first section of each chapter reviews general principles governing the House procedure under discussion. Depending on the complexity of the procedural subject, the main topics of sections may be further divided into subtopics. For each main topic and subtopic, the text of House Practice summarizes relevant House rules and selected precedents, and cites the reference source containing their full texts. In addition, relevant chapters provide the terminology used to undertake certain parliamentary actions, such as making different motions (often under the subtopic heading "Forms").
House Practice has a separate chapter on the rules and precedents governing House consideration of budgetary legislation. (The chapter is titled "Budget Process.") This chapter's first section provides useful summaries of the main rule-making statutes related to the budget process.
Readers can use the publication's index to locate information about specific procedural topics. This index is organized around the chapter subject headings; the entries under each heading direct readers to relevant sections in that chapter. For each subject heading, the index provides a more detailed listing of procedural topics than do the outlines at the heads of the respective chapters.
Reprinted on the following pages are excerpts from the House Practice chapter on the "Previous Question."
section_title: Deschler's Precedents
paragraphs: The significant recent precedents of the House are set forth in a series of volumes known as Deschler ' s Precedents , the full title of which is Deschler ' s Precedents of the United States House of Representatives. Sixteen volumes have been published to date, and the preparation of additional volumes continues, under the auspices of the Parliamentarian of the House. The series was initiated by Lewis Deschler, Parliamentarian of the House from 1928 to 1974, and continued by his successors. The formal title for volume 10 and subsequent volumes is Deschler-Brown Precedents of the United States House of Representatives , in recognition of work done by William Holmes Brown, Parliamentarian of the House from 1974 to 1994.
Deschler ' s Precedents covers precedents of the House established after 1936. Given that its volumes have appeared over a period of years, the coverage of the later volumes extends to a later point than that of the earlier ones. The coverage of volume 1 concludes with the first session of the 93 rd Congress (1973), while volume 16 covers precedents established through the 105 th Congress (1997-1998). All these volumes appeared before the House recodified its rules in the 106 th Congress. Citations to House Rules in these volumes accordingly refer to rule numbers, and corresponding sections of the Manual , as they stood before the recodification.
After the series is completed, revisions of each volume are to be prepared in succession, incorporating precedents established subsequent to the publication of the present edition.
The precedents presented in Deschler ' s Precedents are organized in topical chapters, the sequence of which roughly parallels the order of action in the House. Chapter 1, for example, relates to the "Assembly of Congress," while the last chapter so far published, chapter 33, covers "House-Senate Conferences." Each chapter is divided into numbered topical sections (for example, chapter 27, on "Amendments," includes section 4, "Recognition to Offer Amendments; Priority"). In many chapters, these topical sections are often grouped under broader topical headings identified by letters (for example, chapter 5, on "The House Rules, Journal, and Record," includes part A, "House Rules and Manual").
Most chapters, and many sections, begin with an overall introduction that describes the general principles related to the House rule or practice under discussion and summarizes the principles presented by that precedents that follow. Individual precedents are presented in numbered subsections, and accordingly may be cited by chapter and number (for example: " Deschler ' s Precedents , chapter 20, section 3.11"). These subsections typically are headed by a catchline identifying the subject of the precedent, followed by a headnote in bold type stating the principle established or illustrated, after which the proceedings that constitute the precedent are set forth. The proceedings are often introduced with a sentence or two, followed in many instances by the full text of the procedural exchange that established the precedent, with a citation to the Congressional Record . If the same proceedings illustrate more than one principle, each principle will be set forth as a headnote in its own subsection, with the same, or partially the same, proceedings set forth under each.
Some precedents are followed by a "Parliamentarian's Note" that clarifies or amplifies the principle established by the precedent, or directs the reader to other parliamentary reference sources.
While no consolidated index covering all volumes of Deschler ' s Precedents has yet appeared, each chapter is headed by an "Index to Precedents" contained in that chapter. This index directs readers to the relevant section number for each precedent. In addition, the chapters of Deschler ' s Precedents correspond to those of Procedure in the House , discussed below, a work that does include an overall index. Often, accordingly, it is possible to use the index to Procedure in the House to identify the chapter in which a topic is covered, and then locate pertinent precedents in the corresponding chapter of Deschler ' s Precedents .
Reprinted below is an excerpt from Deschler ' s Precedents that covers the motions to adjourn and to postpone.
section_title: Hinds' and Cannon's Precedents
paragraphs: Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States (hereafter referred to as Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents ) is an 11-volume series containing selected rulings of the chair made, and other precedents established, between 1789 and 1936. The publication provides valuable coverage of the historical origins and evolution of House procedures up to 1936. Volumes 1-5, titled Hinds ' Precedents and published in 1907, were written by Asher Hinds (clerk at the Speaker's table for many years, and a Representative from Maine from 1911 until 1917). Volumes 6-11, titled Cannon ' s Precedents and published in 1936, were prepared by Clarence Cannon (House Parliamentarian from 1915 to 1920, and a Representative from Missouri from 1923 to 1964). Volumes 6-8 of Cannon ' s Precedents are organized around largely the same topics as Hinds ' Precedents , and essentially serve as a supplement to the earlier series. Volumes 9-11 of Cannon ' s Precedents comprise a single comprehensive index to volumes 1-8 of the combined series.
Hinds ' Precedents is organized into almost 150 topical chapters, arranged roughly according to the order of proceedings in the House. Cannon ' s Precedents duplicates largely the same chapter structure, with modifications to reflect changes in House procedure (for example, Cannon ' s Precedents includes a chapter on the discharge rule, which did not exist during the period covered by Hinds' Precedents).
The content of each series is presented in sections that are numbered sequentially throughout each respective series. Individual sections are usually cited by volume, series, and number (e.g., "IV Hinds 4823" or "VII Cannon 1530"), although the House Manual cites them by volume and number alone (e.g., "IV, 4823"). Sections at the beginning of each chapter, and sometimes those that inaugurate a topic within a chapter, often state and discuss pertinent Rules of the House and their development. Most sections, however, present individual precedents. Each such section describes the procedural exchange constituting the precedent, usually quoting the ruling of the chair and often other portions of the proceedings, and provides citations to the Congressional Record. Other sources may also be cited, such as House Rules, House committee reports, and, especially in Hinds ' Precedents , the House Journal and predecessors of the Record .
Most sections carry a headnote in bold type stating the principle discussed or illustrated. Where several consecutive sections all illustrate the same principle, however, the headnote appears only for the first section in the group. Conversely, and in contrast to Deschler ' s Precedents , proceedings that illustrate more than one principle are typically set forth in only one section, but with multiple headnotes. Sections that provide general discussion or background bearing on more than one principle may also carry more than one headnote.
Information about specific procedural topics can be located using the detailed table of contents in each volume. In addition, the comprehensive index to both series (volumes 9-11) is arranged by topic, and broad topics are broken down into numbered subtopics. Under each topic or numbered subtopic, each specific section referenced is identified not only by volume and number, but by setting forth the pertinent headnote. Finally, Cannon ' s Procedure , discussed below, also serves as an index to Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents .
Although Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents is an important reference source for an extensive understanding of House parliamentary procedure, readers not versed in the publication's historical context may find the 11-volume set to be of limited practical value for contemporary House practices. Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents is very useful, however, when other reference sources cite a specific precedent in the 11-volume set.
An excerpt from Cannon ' s Precedents is reprinted below.
section_title: Procedure in the House
paragraphs: Before the appearance of House Practice , recent precedents of the House were summarized in a one-volume publication entitled Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives . This document was sometimes referred to as Deschler ' s Procedure , but will here be called Procedure . The last consolidated edition of Procedure summarizes the most important House precedents established from 1959 through 1980. A 1985 supplement, which discussed selected precedents established from 1981 through 1984, was replaced in 1987 by one that covers those created from 1981 through 1986.
Although House Practice was designed to replace Procedure , a knowledge of how to use Procedure continues to be useful, inasmuch as other parliamentary reference sources refer to Procedure . In addition, Procedure is useful as a compilation of references to precedential proceedings occurring after the period covered by Deschler ' s Precedents . Finally, inasmuch as the chapter structure of Procedure parallels that of Deschler ' s Precedents , as mentioned in the discussion of Deschler ' s Precedents , Procedure and its index can be used as an indirect means of locating materials in Deschler ' s Precedents .
Procedure is organized in 37 chapters, each covering a topic of House procedure; for example, chapter 28 is titled "Amendments and the Germaneness Rule." Like Deschler ' s Precedents , many chapters are divided into broad headings designated by letter, and each chapter is divided into numbered sections (for example, chapter 28 includes a part D, "Amendments Imposing Qualifications or Restrictions," which comprises sections 22 through 27 of the chapter). Each chapter's section numbers begin at 1; they are not numbered sequentially throughout the entire publication. Each section is in turn divided into numbered paragraphs (for example, section 22 of chapter 28 includes paragraphs 22.1 through 22.5).
When other reference sources cite Procedure or its supplement, they typically do so by the publication's title (usually in some such shortened form as Procedure or House Procedure ), chapter number, section or paragraph number, and page number (e.g., " House Procedure , ch. 27, sec. 3.1, p. 497").
Most paragraphs of Procedure state a principle or principles established or illustrated by a specified precedent or group of related precedents. Some paragraphs instead state a general principle drawn from rules or other authorities, or present a Parliamentarian's "Note" elaborating a principle without reference to specific precedents. A key difference between Procedure and Deschler ' s Precedents is that Procedure provides only statements of the principles represented by precedents, roughly equivalent to the headnotes of subsections in Deschler ' s Precedents . Paragraphs in Procedure do not include descriptions of, or quotations from, the procedural exchanges on which they are based.
Paragraphs of Procedure that reference specific precedents usually do so by citing the location in the Congressional Record where the full text of the procedural exchange in question appears. These citations provide the Congressional Record volume and page number, the Congress and session, and the date (e.g., "113 Cong. Rec. 28649, 90 th Cong., 1 st sess., Oct. 11, 1967").
The supplement to Procedure is organized in the same manner as the main volume, and its numbering is keyed to the main volume. For chapter 24, section 7, for example, the supplement consists of a paragraph 7.3 that replaces the corresponding paragraph of the main volume, a paragraph 7.6 that adds to the corresponding section of the main volume, and a new paragraph 7.10 additional to section 7 of the main volume.
Reprinted below is an excerpt from the section of Procedure dealing with the germaneness of amendments.
section_title: Cannon's Procedure
paragraphs: Cannon ' s Procedure in the House of Representatives (hereafter referred to as Cannon ' s Procedure ), an edition of which was last published in 1963, is a one-volume summary of the major precedents presented in Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents . It also includes a few additional precedents from 1936 to 1963, as selected by the publication's author, Clarence Cannon.
The precedents are grouped in unnumbered topical chapters. Some editions of Cannon ' s Procedure have thumb tabs indicating the different chapter titles. The publication briefly summarizes the precedents and provides citations to Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents (e.g., "VIII, sec. 2661") and the Congressional Record (e.g., "84-1-13067;" this means 84 th Congress, 1 st session, page 13067). Citations such as "§764" refer to the version of the House Rules and Manual being used when Cannon ' s Procedure was published.
Cannon ' s Procedure also contains sample floor dialogues for undertaking specific parliamentary actions. While some of these dialogues are useful, many are no longer relevant to contemporary House practice. Use of these dialogues, and Cannon ' s Procedure as a whole, requires informed judgment.
An excerpt from Cannon ' s Procedure covering "Suspension of the Rules" is reprinted on the previous page. Several features of the suspension procedure discussed on this page are now obsolete, including the possibility of demanding that such a motion be seconded by a majority, to be ascertained by tellers, the days on which suspension motions are in order, and the practice that a special rule permitting such a motion on an additional day will specify the measure to be considered.
section_title: Additional Authorities
paragraphs: As noted at the outset, in the section "The House Adheres to Many Informal Practices," procedure in the House is governed not only by the Constitution, formally adopted rules, and precedents interpreting those authorities, but also by a variety of other practices that have become usual in the course of time. Although these "informal" practices have not been formally adopted by the House itself, they supplement the rules and have some guiding force. To the extent that they establish consistent standards of action, they constitute a standard that helps to determine the actual courses of action that occur in the House. In this sense, they too represent a form of procedural authority.
Some of these practices are embodied in written statements that provide additional guidance on the procedures that proceedings in the House will follow. This section discusses two authorities of this kind: (1) announced policies of the Speaker; and (2) memorandums of understanding developed by agreement between committees about the relation of their respective jurisdictions.
subsections: section_title: Speaker's Policies
paragraphs: In recent times, Speakers of the House have developed a number of policies specifying ways in which they intend to carry out certain Rules of the House or exercise certain of their discretionary powers. Although these policies are not themselves Rules of the House, they reflect an exercise of the Speaker's authority under those Rules. Speakers have periodically instituted policies of this kind through explicit announcements from the chair. Often, these policies have been developed through consultation with leaders of the minority party in the House and have continued under Speakers of both parties.
It has become customary for the Speaker, in the early days of a new Congress, to make a consolidated announcement from the chair reiterating policies she or he intends to continue to follow. This announcement normally appears in the Congressional Record , accompanied by the insertion of statements reflecting the details of the respective policies, often drawn from the original announcements from the chair of the respective policies. Other policies of a similar kind are renewed in each new Congress by unanimous consent requests from the floor, and some of these, along with additional policies, are set forth on the "Special Orders" pages of the House Calendar , which is published daily when the House is in session.
The "Announcement by the Speaker" of policies for the 110 th Congress includes reference to policies on: (1) privileges of the floor for staff and former Members; (2) the introduction of measures; (3) unanimous consent requests for consideration of measures; (4) recognition for one-minute speeches; (5) decorum in debate; (6) the conduct of electronic votes; (7) the use of handouts on the House floor; and (8) the use of cell phones and other electronic devices on the House floor. Policies set forth in the House Calendar include ones covering other forms of non-legislative debate, namely special order speeches and morning hour debates.
section_title: Memorandums of Understanding Regarding Committee Jurisdiction
paragraphs: Standing committees often develop "memorandums of understanding" (sometimes referred to as "letters of agreement") that set forth an agreement between committees about how jurisdiction over specific policy issues will be divided. These memorandums, which are usually prepared at the beginning of a new Congress, are addressed to the Speaker of the House in the form of a letter from the chairmen of the committees involved. In effect, a memorandum of understanding advises the Speaker on the referral of measures addressing specified policy issues when the jurisdictional mandate of committees may be unclear or overlap.
House Rules empower the Speaker to refer legislation to committees, and the Parliamentarian of the House acts as the agent of the Speaker in the performance of this function. Referral decisions are based principally on the statements of jurisdiction of each standing committee set forth in House Rule X and on relevant precedents. Additionally, however, the Speaker and the House Parliamentarian will, in practice, honor memorandums of understanding in deciding the referral of legislation. These memorandums of understanding are therefore an important parliamentary reference source for questions about jurisdiction over specific policy issues. Some memorandums of understanding are inserted in the Congressional Record , especially at the start of a new Congress. Others, however, are not made available publicly, and no compilation of them or digest of their effects is published.
It could be argued that memorandums of understanding have increased in importance as a result of rules changes adopted by the House in the 104 th Congress (1995-1996). One of these eliminated joint referrals, and provided instead that the Speaker designate "a committee of primary jurisdiction" when referring measures to more than one committee. This change made it important which committee is designated the "primary" committee at the time of referral. Hence, memorandums of understanding developed in the 104 th Congress and since have sometimes specified which committees should have "primary jurisdiction" over particular issues.
Another rules change in the 104 th Congress abolished three standing committees and transferred their jurisdiction to other standing committees. Some of the committees that received new jurisdiction developed memorandums of understanding about jurisdiction over the issues in question. Reprinted below is a memorandum of understanding from the 104 th Congress between the committees on National Security and Transportation and Infrastructure, which exemplifies this form of agreement.
section_title: Rules of Internal Organizations of the House
paragraphs: The chief institutional elements that make up the internal structure of the House of Representatives are the committees and the party conferences (known, in the case of the Democratic party, as the caucus). The committees, especially the standing committees established by House Rules, are chiefly responsible for developing the substance of legislative proposals, and one of the chief functions of the party conferences is to assign their respective members to leadership and committee roles. Each committee and each conference has developed its own rules, which in the modern practice are written and adopted by each individual group. Although these rules of the individual groups are not per se binding on the House as a whole, their provisions often have effects on the way proceedings in the House occur, and to that extent, they must be considered as among the procedural authorities by which the House is regulated.
subsections: section_title: Committee Rules of Procedure
paragraphs: Many provisions of House Rules, especially those of House Rule XI, regulate proceedings in, and action by, the committees of the House. In addition, however, clause 2 of Rule XI requires that each standing committee adopt its own written rules of procedure, which it must publish in the Congressional Record within 30 days of its membership being elected at the start of a new Congress. These rules of procedure cover important aspects of committee proceedings, such as quorum and voting requirements, markups, and preparation of committee reports.
The status of these committee rules is clarified by the parliamentarian's annotations accompanying Rule XI in the House Manual . Rule XI requires that the rules adopted by committees must be consistent with the Rules of the House, and do not supersede those established by House Rule XI. Committee rules can be enforced in the committee that adopts them, but generally are not enforceable on the House floor. In Procedure in the House, the House Parliamentarian explains that "[a] point of order does not normally lie in the House against consideration of a bill by reason of defective committee procedures occurring prior to the time the bill was ordered reported to the House. Such point of order, if made in the House, may be overruled on the ground that the rules of a particular committee are for that committee to interpret unless they are in direct conflict with the rules of the House or unless the House rules specifically permit the raising of such objections."
In each Congress, the House Committee on Rules usually issues a print that compiles the rules of procedure adopted by all House standing committees. The rules of each committee also appear in the Congressional Record on the date they were submitted for publication. Many committees also publish their rules in pamphlet form in a committee print, or in the committee's interim or final "Legislative Calendar."
Reprinted on the preceding page is an excerpt from the rules of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for the 105 th Congress, as it appeared in the print of the Committee on Rules.
section_title: Party Caucus or Conference Rules
paragraphs: The rules of the House Democratic Caucus and Republican Conference are adopted by the House Members of the respective parties. This action takes place when the parties hold their early organizational meetings for the coming new Congress after the November congressional election. Upon adoption, the rules are printed and distributed to Members belonging to the respective conference. Ordinarily, the printed versions present only the text of the rules, without annotations or references. Typically, the printed copies generally are issued only to the members of the respective party, and are not made available more publicly.
The rules of the conferences are created only by authority of the respective parties in the House, not through an exercise of the constitutional power of the full House to determine its rules. As a result, these rules are not directly enforceable on the House floor, and the documents containing them are not official parliamentary reference sources of the House. Nevertheless, conference rules are binding on Members of the respective parties insofar as action in the respective organizations is concerned. In some cases, in addition, these rules govern actions that may be taken in the proceedings of the House by members and leaders of the respective party. For this reason, an understanding of House proceedings can often be facilitated by reference to these rules.
Important components of these rules are provisions governing the selection and terms of party floor and committee leaders, the assignment of members to committees, and meetings of the conference itself. Some of these rules also address topics of procedure on the floor and in House-Senate conference committees, and, accordingly, can affect how the chamber as a whole considers legislation. For example, Rule 38 of Democratic Caucus rules for the 110 th Congress directs the party leadership not to consent to the consideration of any measure by a suspension of the rules if it: (1) has not been cleared by the party's floor and committee leadership; (2) will be amended other than by committee amendments; (3) is "major" legislation; (4) was opposed by more than one third of the reporting committee; or (5) is shown by any cost estimates to cost more than $100 million in any fiscal year. Rule 28 of the Republican Conference imposes corresponding, although not identical, restrictions on requests for consideration by suspension of the rules on the part of that party's leadership.
section_title: Other Congressional Publications on Procedure
paragraphs: Several additional publications prepared by various committees and offices of the House provide valuable information about House parliamentary procedure and practices. While these publications are not official parliamentary reference sources, they come from official congressional sources and often make references to official sources such as the rules of the House and published precedents. This section describes two publications of this kind that are issued under the auspices of House committees.
subsections: section_title: Floor Procedures Manual
paragraphs: Floor Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives is designed to provide a ready reference for practical guidance on undertaking a variety of parliamentary actions, including reference to applicable House rules and, often, typical procedural language. The work, also styled Floor Procedures Manual , consists of a series of short sections, currently 18 in number, arranged in rough correspondence with the daily order of business in the House, from the Speaker's call to order through adjournment. An "Abridged Parliamentary Dictionary" appears as an appendix. New in the edition for the 110 th Congress is a section addressing the operation and implications of the new House Rules regulating the "earmark" provisions that may appear in appropriations and other legislation.
The introduction to the Floor Procedures Manual , by the former Chairman and current ranking minority member of the House Committee on Rules, explains that the manual is intended "to provide House Members and staff with a concise, yet informative user guide to the basic legislative process in the House of Representatives."
The original version of this document was entitled Floor Operations Manual , and was written by Robert E. Bauman, a former Member of the House from Maryland, principally for the use of Republican Members. Subsequent editions were revised and updated, sometimes under the title of " Republican Floor Operations Manual ," by other leading Republican Members and former Members. After Republicans gained the House majority in the 104 th Congress, versions of the document were prepared, and distributed to House offices, under the auspices of the House Committee on Rules. Recent editions have been prepared through the Committee or, in the 110 th Congress, its Republican contingent. They have been published by The Congressional Institute, Inc., a non-governmental organization, and distributed to Member offices by the Committee on Rules or the committee's Republican members.
section_title: How Our Laws Are Made
paragraphs: How Our Laws Are Made was first published in 1953 by the House Judiciary Committee. The work provides a summary of the legislative process focusing on House procedures, from the drafting of legislation to final approval and presidential action. Although the document is intended for nonspecialists, its summary descriptions of House procedures serve as a useful reference source.
The 23 rd edition of How Our Laws Are Made was published in 2003. Prepared by the Office of the House Parliamentarian in consultation with the Office of the Senate Parliamentarian, the 23 rd edition is available online. It reflects changes in congressional procedures since the 22 nd edition, which was revised and updated in 2000. Some earlier editions included sample documents from key stages of the process.
section_title: Enactment of a Law
paragraphs: The Senate has maintained a publication providing a concise summary of the legislative process under the title Enactment of a Law: Procedural Steps in the Legislative Process . This document, prepared by the Parliamentarian of the Senate under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate, explains Senate floor procedures and the functions of the various Senate officials, such as the Secretary of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms, and the Senate Parliamentarian. Some information about House and conference procedures and presidential action also is provided. In addition, the document contains illustrations of some of the chief kinds of document used in the legislative process.
Enactment of a Law has not appeared in a new printed edition since 1981 and appears no longer to be readily available in print. An updated version, however, was prepared in February 1997 by Senate Parliamentarian Robert B. Dove, and is available on-line. This online version reflects changes made to the congressional budget process and Senate rules and procedures since the last printed edition.
Appendix A. Bibliography of House Parliamentary Reference Sources
Official Reference Sources
U.S. Congress. House. Cannon ' s Procedure in the House of Representatives . 87 th Congress, 2 nd session. H.Doc. No. 610. Washington: GPO, 1963.
——. Constitution, Jefferson ' s Manual and the Rules of the House (published each Congress as a House document). 109 th Congress, 2 nd session. H.Doc. No.109-157. Washington: GPO, 2007.
—— . Deschler ' s Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (in 16 volumes to date; volumes 10-16 are formally titled Deschler-Brown Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives ). 94 th Congress, 2 nd session. H.Doc. No. 94-661. Washington: GPO, 1977.
—— . Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents of the House of Representatives (in 11 volumes). Washington: GPO, 1907-1908, 1935-1941.
——. House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House . 108 th Congress, 1 st session. Washington: GPO, 2003.
—— . Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives , A Summary of the Modern Precedents and Practices of the House, 86 th Cong. - 97 th Cong. Washington: GPO, 1982.
—— . Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1985 Supplement . Washington: GPO, 1986.
——. Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1987 Supplement . Washington: GPO, 1987.
U.S. Congress. House. House Committee on Rules. Rules Adopted by the Committees of the House of Representatives, 110 th Congress, 2007-2008 . Committee print. 110 th Congress, 1 st session. Washington: GPO, 2007.
U.S. Congress. House. Rules of the House of Representatives , an unnumbered print usually issued each session of Congress by the Clerk of the House.
U.S. Congress. Senate. A Manual of Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of the United States (more commonly known as Jefferson ' s Manual ). 103 rd Congress, 1 st session. S.Doc. 103-8. Washington: GPO, 1993.
Publications of Committees and Offices of the House
Floor Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives was issued in January 1999 by the House Rules Committee and published by the Congressional Institute. An earlier version entitled Floor Operations Manual: U.S. House of Representatives was issued in April 1997. A version under the title House Republican Floor Manual was issued by the Office of the House Majority Leader in January 1997.
How Our Laws Are Made (23 rd edition) , prepared by the Office of the House Parliamentarian, 108 th Congress, 1 st session. H.Doc. No. 108-93. Washington: GPO, 2003.
CRS Products
Most titles, including multimedia and the general distribution memorandum, are available from the CRS Home Page at http://www.crs.gov .
CRS Report 98-995, The Amending Process in the House of Representatives , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RL30244, The Committee Markup Process in the House of Representatives , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RS20147, Committee of the Whole: An Introduction , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 95-187, Committee System: Rules Changes in the House, 104 th Congress , by [author name scrubbed] (pdf).
CRS Report 97-138, Committee System: Rules Changes in the House, 105 th Congress , by [author name scrubbed] (pdf).
CRS Report RS20017, Committee System Rules Changes in the House, 106 th Congress , by [author name scrubbed] (pdf).
CRS Report RS20769, Committee System Rules Changes in the House, 107 th Congress , by [author name scrubbed] (pdf).
CRS Report RS21382, Committee System Rules Changes in the House, 108 th Congress , by [author name scrubbed] (pdf).
CRS Report RS22018, Committee System Rules Changes in the House, 109 th Congress , by [author name scrubbed] (pdf).
CRS Report RL32207, Commonly Used Motions and Requests in the House of Representatives , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 96-708, Conference Committee and Related Procedures: An Introduction , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RS21339, Congress' Early Organization Meetings , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RL32200, Debate, Motions, and Other Actions in the Committee of the Whole , by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 97-856, The Discharge Rule in the House: Recent Use in Historical Context , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 97-552, The Discharge Rule in the House: Principal Features and Uses , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RL31382, Expulsion, Censure, Reprimand, and Fine: Legislative Discipline in the House of Representatives , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 98-888, "Fast-Track" or Expedited Procedures: Their Purposes, Elements, and Implications , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RL30725, The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the House Floor , coordinated by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RL30945, House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 98-169, House Committee Reports: Required Contents , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 98-309, House Legislative Procedures: Published Sources of Information , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 97-357, House Rules Affecting Committees , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 97-1045, House Rules and Precedents Affecting Committee Markup Procedures , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 98-262, House Rules Manual: Summary of Contents , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 98-228, House Voting Procedures: Forms and Requirements , coordinated by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RS20067, How Measures Are Brought to the House Floor: A Brief Introduction , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 95-563, The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RS20131, Morning Hour Debates: Current House Practices , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RL33860, The Motion to Recommit in the House: The Minority's Motion , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RL30135, One-Minute Speeches: Current House Practices , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 97-865, Points of Order in the Congressional Budget Process , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 98-696, Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 98-710, " Self-Executing " Rules Reported by the House Committee on Rules , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 97-780, The Speaker of the House: House Officer, Party Leader, and Representative , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RL30136, Special Order Speeches: Current House Practices , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 96-938, Special Rules in the House of Representatives , by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed] (pdf).
CRS Report 98-314, Suspension of the Rules in the House: Principal Features , by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 98-988, Voting and Quorum Procedures in the House of Representatives , by [author name scrubbed] (pdf).
Appendix B. House Parliamentary Reference Information Available Through the Internet
Throughout this report, Internet locations and websites at which electronic versions of various House parliamentary reference sources are available have been cited. This appendix lists these online resources in a single compendium for the convenience of the reader.
The vast majority of the referenced links can be accessed through one of three "gateway" websites maintained by legislative branch organizations: the Legislative Information System (LIS), GPO Access, and the House Committee on Rules website. Each of these sites (detailed below) provides a good entry point for research into House parliamentary procedure. Documents relating to House parliamentary procedure can also be found at other Library of Congress and House of Representatives websites at the locations indicated.
Internet addresses are provided for documents cited. The list is current as of this report's publication date. Given that information on the Internet is constantly changing, this list should not be considered exhaustive.
Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS)
http://www.congress.gov (Available to Congress Only) The Legislative Information System was released at the start of the 105 th Congress. The information in the system is organized into six Web pages: Home, Senate, House, Government, News, and A-Z Index. Each page is accessible by clicking on one of the navigation tabs near the top of the page. The Senate and House pages include multiple links under the category "Rules, and Procedures." The "Government" page includes a link to GPO Access (Legislative), where many documents related to parliamentary procedure are located.
CRS Guides to Congressional Processes
/analysis/pages/congressionaloperations.aspx The latest version of this CRS electronic guide provides a wealth of information relating to House and Senate procedures. There are links to current versions of House and Senate rules and CRS reports on specific procedural topics. Electronic versions of How Our Laws Are Made and Enactment of a Law provide an overview of procedures in each chamber. Links within the fact sheets and procedural overviews take the user directly to pertinent House or Senate rules and to definitions in Congressional Quarterly's American Congressional Dictionary .
House Committee on Rules
http://www.house.gov/rules/ In addition to the House Rules and Manual , the text of House rules, and House Practice , this location includes links to explanatory material about House rules and procedure developed by the committee itself and by several other sources. There are links here to numerous sub-pages covering all of the following topics:
Rules and Precedents of the House, Parliamentary Terms and Definitions, General Parliamentary Procedure, the Budget Process, House Committee Procedures, House Floor Procedures, Resolving Differences with the Senate, Senate Process and Procedure, Parliamentary Outreach Program, Special Rules Reported, and the Opening Day Rules Package.
House Rules Committee Web page on "Rules and Precedents of the House," provides links to several procedural publications and documents. http://www.rules.house.gov/house_rules_precedents.htm
House Rules Committee Web page for the Rules of the 110 th Congress, provides a link to a copy of the entire document. http://www.house.gov/rules/house_rules.htm
Provides a link, identified as "A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House," to the text of House Practice at the GPO Access Internet location. http://www.house.gov/rules/house_rules_precedents.htm
Rules Committee link to the 1999 version of Floor Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives. http://www.rules.house.gov/house_rules_precedents.htm
GPO Access
GPO Access Home Page http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html
Searchable version of the House Manual . http://www.gpoaccess.gov/hrm/index.html
A searchable version of the 1992 edition of The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation) , and the 1996, 1998, and 2000 supplements is available through http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/search.html . A pdf version of a more recent edition of the main volume (S.Doc. 108-17) can be accessed through http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/index.html . These documents are prepared by the Congressional Research Service, which also maintains an online version at http://www.crs.gov/products/conan/index.shtml .
Searchable version of House Practice . http://www.gpoaccess.gov/hpractice/index.html
Provides links to rules of most House committees. http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html
Other Library of Congress Sites
Constitution http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/const.html
Bill of Rights http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/billofrights.html
How Our Laws Are Made, version dated June 20, 2003. http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html
Other House of Representatives Sites
House Home Page http://www.house.gov
Clerk's print of House Rules for the 110 th Congress, dated September 14, 2007. http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/rules110/110th.pdf
Links to How Our Laws Are Made, House Practice, and other parliamentary sources http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/legprocess.html
House Committees Web Page http://www.house.gov/CommitteeWWW.html
Most committee websites include a link to "committee rules." Links to these rules are listed below: