The Honorable Gerald B. H. Solomon
Chairman, Committee on Rules

Procedure hasn't simply become more important than substance -- it has, through a strange alchemy, become the substance of our deliberations. Who rules House procedures rules the House -- and to a great degree, rules the kind and scope of political debate in this country.

It is designed to assist our Members in advancing their legislative goals by acquainting them with the daily routine on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. It does not address every parliamentary situation in the House, nor does it take the place of the House rules. It is intended to be a practical, user-friendly guide to the floor and should be used in conjunction with the rules and in consultation with the House Parliamentarians and Rules Committee.

Because procedure controls substance, success in achieving our legislative goals often depends on carefully and craftily managing the process by which legislation is considered. The best, most widely supported amendment cannot succeed if it cannot be offered. As John Dingell, former Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, once stated, "If you let me write the procedure and I let you write the substance, I'll [beat] you every time."

With the assistance of this and other similar tools, I hope to demystify the legislative process in the House and allow our rules and procedures to be used to more effectively advance the cause of a determined majority while protecting the rights of the minority.

A number of individuals contributed to the preparation of this document, most notably, the Honorable Robert E. Bauman, former Member of the House from Maryland, who wrote the original version of this manual over a decade ago, and the Honorable Robert S. Walker, former Member from Pennsylvania, who revised and updated it in 1994.

Acknowledgment of their efforts and sincere appreciation for their counsel and advice also go to Bill Pitts, former Republican Floor Assistant; Don Wolfensberger, former Republican Chief-of-Staff of the Rules Committee; Martha Morrison, Republican Floor Assistant; the Office of the Parliamentarian; and Eric Pelletier and Veronica Rolocut of the Rules Committee Parliamentary Outreach Program.

Finally, this document could not have been published and distributed without the assistance of the Congressional Institute and its president, Jerry Climer. The Institute's support and contributions were invaluable.

Gerald B. H. Solomon
January, 1997

1. THE HOUSE IS CALLED TO ORDER BY THE SPEAKER ................ 1
A. Time of Meeting...................................... 1
B. Three Day Adjournment Limit.......................... 1
C. Order of Business in the House....................... 1
D. Legislative Schedule................................. 1
E. Powers of the Speaker................................ 3
F. Morning Hour ........................................ 3

2. THE PRAYER IS OFFERED BY THE CHAPLAIN ...................... 4

3. APPROVAL OF THE JOURNAL..................................... 4

4. VOTING BY ELECTRONIC DEVICE................................. 4

5. THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG........................ 6

6. ONE-MINUTE SPEECHES......................................... 7
A. How to Make a One-Minute Speech........................ 7
B. How Not to Make a One-Minute Speech.................... 8

7. VARIOUS UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUESTS.......................... 9

8. SUSPENSION OF THE RULES.....................................10

9. SPECIAL RULES FOR MAJOR BILLS...............................11
A. Purpose of Special Rules...............................11
B. Types and Contents of Rules............................11
C. Special Provisions or Procedures.......................12
D. Consideration of Rules.................................13
E. The Previous Question..................................14
F. Adoption of the Rule...................................15

10. RESOLVING INTO THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE..................15

11. GENERAL DEBATE IN THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE..............16
A. To Speak During General Debate .....................16
B. When It Is Your Turn to Speak.......................17
C. Conduct During Debate...............................17
D. Quorum or Vote in Committee of the Whole............19

12. AMENDMENTS UNDER THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE.....................20
A. Offering an Amendment...............................20
B. Time Limits Under the Five-Minute Rule..............21
C. Protecting Your Amendment...........................22
D. How to Get a Vote on Your Amendment.................22

13. CONCLUSION OF A BILL'S CONSIDERATION......................23
A. The Committee Rises.................................23
B. Separate Votes......................................23
C. Previous Question...................................23
D. Engrossment and Third Reading of the Bill...........24
E. Motion to Recommit..................................24

14. FINAL PASSAGE OF A BILL...................................25
A. Obtaining a Roll Call Vote in the House.............25
B. General Leave ......................................26
C. Revising and Extending Your Remarks.................27
D. Motion to Reconsider................................27
E. Postponement of Votes...............................27
F. Vote Pairs..........................................28
G. Conflicts of Interest...............................28

15. CONFERENCE REPORTS........................................28

16. DISCHARGE PETITIONS.......................................31

17. END OF LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS FOR THE DAY ..................31
A. Personal Requests...................................31
B. Request for Official Leave..........................32
C. Extension of Remarks................................32
D. Adjournment.........................................33

Appendix Abridged Parliamentary Dictionary...................34

A. TIME OF MEETING: The daily hour of meeting is set by House Resolution adopted on the first day of each session. On January 7, 1997, the House adopted H.Res. 9 which established the following meeting times until May 12:

2:00 p.m. on Monday;
11:00 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday; and,
10:00 a.m. on all other days of the week.

Beginning May 12 until the end of the first session:

Noon on Monday;
10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; and, 9:00 a.m. on all other days of the week.

The hour of meeting can be changed by order of the House at any time, usually by unanimous consent after consultation between both party leaderships. Your office will be notified of any time changes by Whip call. If in doubt, check with the Republican Cloakroom (x5-7350).

B. THREE DAY ADJOURNMENT LIMIT: Article I, section 5 of the U.S. Constitution prevents either House from adjourning for more than three days (not including Sundays) unless the other House concurs. Such adjournment authority for more than three days is accomplished through the adoption by both Houses of a concurrent resolution (which does not require the signature of the President).

C. LEGISLATIVE SCHEDULE: The scheduling of legislation for House Floor action is the prerogative of the Majority Leadership. However, the following information is useful in determining the time it takes to prepare legislation for Floor consideration:

Tuesday - Committee orders bill reported; views requested.
Wednesday - Day #1 for filing views.
Thursday - Day #2 for filing views.
(May file up to 1 hour after 2 day time period expires).

Friday - Committee files report.
(May be Day #1 of report availability if report is filed the day before).
Monday - Day #1 that report is available to the House.
Tuesday - Day #2 that report is available to the House.
Wednesday - Day # 3 that report is available to the House.
Floor consideration is possible.
Thursday - Rules Committee meets to grant rule.
Friday - Rule and bill may be considered on House floor.

(It should be noted that in the 105th Congress the time to file views in Committee was changed from three to two days (Rule XI, clause 2(1)(5))

Usually on the last legislative day of the week a representative of the Minority Leadership seeks unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute to address the House for the purpose of asking the Majority Leader about the legislative program for the upcoming week. Following the announcement, the Republican Whip Office will send Republican Members a "Whip Notice" listing the specific bills to be considered including how each bill will receive Floor consideration (i.e. suspension, open rule...). Each office also receives copies of legislation scheduled for Floor consideration (if available) in a "Whip Packet" which is delivered by the Republican House Page Service. Finally, Republican offices will receive the Legislative Digest, a Republican Conference publication with summaries of the upcoming legislation.

Even though the Majority Leadership announces a program for the week, it is possible for the program to change; therefore, it is to your benefit to follow any updates (Republican Cloakroom Recordings: x5-2020 for the legislative program and x5-7430 for the floor program).

Also remember that in addition to the announced schedule of major bills, legislative matters may be called up for consideration by "unanimous consent." In keeping with the Speaker's announced policy, unanimous consent requests are to be cleared by the Majority and Minority Leadership as well as the leadership of the committee(s) of jurisdiction.

Following clearance, these matters may come up with little notice except to the Members managing the request (i.e., the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the committee(s) of jurisdiction). If you have a specific interest in something which might come up by unanimous consent, protect yourself by contacting the appropriate committee and leadership representatives as early as possible. You might also ask the Floor staff to be on the lookout for the matter of interest.

In addition to the normal order of business as presented here, bear in mind that there are several "special legislative days" on which various "calendar calls" occur. Chief in importance are the Corrections Calendar (2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month) and the Private Calendar (1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month). Bills may also be brought up under "suspension of the rules" on Mondays and Tuesdays of each week, although this process is separate and apart from the calendar system. There is no suspension calendar. Suspension of the rules will be discussed in detail later in Section 8.

D. POWERS OF THE SPEAKER: The Speaker traditionally opens the session each day but may designate a "Speaker pro tempore" for a period of up to three legislative days. The Speaker may preside through one-minute speeches and other House business (as debate on special rules) until the House resolves itself into the Committee of the Whole, at which time the Speaker appoints a Majority Member to preside as the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole. The Speaker or Speaker pro tempore returns to the Chair when the full House session resumes.

NOTE: Rule I of the House Rules details the numerous duties of the Speaker, many of which directly affect Members, including voting and broadcasting of House proceedings. It is also important to understand the Speaker's power of recognition under clause 2 of Rule XIV. In almost all cases, it is the Chair's prerogative to recognize a Member.

E. MORNING HOUR: By agreement of both the Majority and Minority Leaderships, the House has instituted a "Morning Hour" period for special order speeches on Mondays and Tuesdays of each week. On those days prior to May 12th of each session, the House may convene 90 minutes earlier than normal for Morning Hour special order speeches.
On those days after May 12th of each session, the House may convene 60 minutes earlier than normal for the Morning Hour.

Morning Hour special order speeches are equally divided and rotated between majority and minority parties during which Members designated by the leaders may speak for up to five minutes on any subject of their choice (except for the Majority and Minority leaders who may speak for longer blocks of time). If you wish to participate, you must sign up for the time in the Cloakroom no more than one week in advance.

2. PRAYER IS OFFERED BY THE CHAPLAIN

The House Chaplain is the Reverend James David Ford. Guest Chaplains are permitted and each Member may consider inviting a clergyman from his or her district to offer the daily prayer. Contact Reverend Ford for information at Ext. 5-2509.

3. APPROVAL OF THE JOURNAL

Article I, section 5 of the U.S. Constitution requires that the House keep a Journal of its proceedings which is actually a summary of the day's actions. The Speaker is responsible for examining and approving the Journal of the previous day, after which the announcement of his approval is made to the House and can be put to a vote by any Member. However, it should be noted that the Speaker has the authority to postpone a vote on agreeing to the journal until a later time on the same legislative day.

4. VOTING BY ELECTRONIC DEVICE

When the Speaker or the Chair announces that the yeas and nays are ordered, or announces that a quorum is not present and the record vote is automatic, it is taken by electronic device. The way in which to cast your vote by electronic device is as follows:

1.) Insert voting card into the nearest voting station once blue light comes on.

2.) Press appropriate button: "yea", "nay" or "present."

3) Go to another station and reinsert card until light comes on and verifies your vote cast at the first station.

4) Visually check voting board to make sure you are recorded and that the light next to your name corresponds with your action.

5) If you do not have your voting card with you, go to the table in the Well and obtain an appropriate voting card from the boxes placed there, sign it, and give it to the Tally Clerk who sits to the left (as you face him) of the Reading Clerk's rostrum on the second level of the podium. The Clerk will then register your vote into the computer but you should visually check the board to make sure your vote is recorded correctly.

6) If you decide during a vote that you want to change your vote, you may simply reinsert your card into a voting station and press the appropriate button during the first 10 minutes of the vote if it is a 15-minute vote, or at any time during a 5-minute vote. However, during the last 5 minutes of a 15-minute vote, a change in your vote can only be made by going to the Well, taking a card from the table (green for yea, red for nay), signing it, and handing it to the Tally Clerk on the rostrum. The Clerk then registers the change and a statement will appear in the Congressional Record indicating that you changed your vote. If you use this procedure to change your vote, be sure to check the board to see that it reflects your actions. Also keep in mind that any change made during a 5-minute vote can be made by machine and no statement about the change will appear in the Record unless it comes after the voting stations are closed and before the result of the vote is announced.

NOTE: Once the roll call ends and other business begins, the vote is final -- no further voting or changing is permitted. However, you may make a statement announcing how you would have voted had you been present or correcting a mistaken vote. Such an explanatory statement can be inserted in the Record at the point immediately after the vote, but only the Member personally can make this request. A suggested script for such an explanatory statement on missed or mistaken votes may be obtained from the Republican Floor staff. It is important to remember that this statement does not affect whether or how you are recorded on the vote.

7) Rule VIII, clause 3, specifically prohibits any Member from allowing another person to cast his or her vote and from casting the vote of another Member.

8) The allotted time for a quorum call or record vote under the House rules is "not less than 15 minutes" (Rule I,(5)(a)). It is the prerogative of the Speaker or presiding officer to allow additional time beyond the 15 minutes. Often you will hear Members calling "regular order" when an electronic vote extends beyond 15 minutes under the mistaken impression that recorded votes are limited to 15 minutes -- they are not limited. The regular order is to allow more time on recorded votes if the Chair desires.

It has been the custom of the House since the 104th Congress to attempt to "limit" these 15 minute votes to 17 minutes.

The Chair will allow all Members who are on the Floor before the final announcement to be recorded, but will not hold the vote open to accommodate requests through the Cloakrooms for Members "on their way."

5. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

After approval of the Journal, the Speaker recognizes a designated Member to lead the House in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. The Member designated alternates between the majority and minority on a daily basis.

6. ONE MINUTE SPEECHES

These short speeches (300 words) may be made by Members before or after legislative business each day. (If the speech given at the beginning of the day is longer than 300 words or includes extraneous materials, it will appear in the Extension of Remarks section of the Record) Any Member may seek recognition to make a speech on a subject of his or her choice not exceeding one minute in duration. One-minute speeches are often coordinated through the leadership theme team on each side to focus on particular topics, but the speeches are not limited to such topics. Participants in the theme team effort usually receive priority seating and recognition.

The one-minute speech period is granted at the discretion of the Speaker as are the number of such speeches -- some days one-minute speeches may be limited to ten or fifteen per side (Republican and Democrat); other days they may be unlimited. On rare occasions, this period is not allowed at the beginning of the day if the business of the House is heavy and time is short. In this case you should keep in mind that you are permitted to address the House for one minute at the end of legislative business for the day, provided legislative business does NOT extend past midnight.

A. HOW TO MAKE A ONE-MINUTE SPEECH: To give a one-minute speech, go to the front row of seats on the Republican side and sit down. The Speaker will recognize Members in turn, beginning on his right and alternating between the majority and minority sides. Stand to seek recognition and address the Chair by saying: "Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks."

The Speaker will respond by saying: "Without objection, so ordered." Then you may proceed to the podium in the Well and give your speech. The Chair will tell you when your minute has expired at which time you may finish the sentence in which you are engaged, but no more.

STRONG RECOMMENDATION: Read all of Rule XIV ("Of Decorum and Debate") and especially clause 1 of that rule and Jefferson's Manual, sec. xvii ("Order and Debate"), and the accompanying footnotes to both, to get an idea of what can and cannot be done or said when on the House Floor. (Note: Also see "Conduct During Debate" under Part X of this Manual, "General Debate in the Committee of the Whole.")

B. HOW NOT TO MAKE A ONE-MINUTE SPEECH:

Mr. X: "Mr. Speaker and those of you viewing these proceedings on television in your office or at home...."

POINT OF ORDER:
It is not proper at any time for a Member to refer to the television audience because of Rule XIV which states that a Member must always address the Chair and only the Chair.

_______

Mr. X: "...and those distinguished citizens of the Glens Falls Rotary Club who are here visiting the Capitol today and are with us in the House Gallery..."

POINT OF ORDER:
Clause 8 of Rule XIV states specifically that the Member may not introduce or otherwise make reference to people in the Visitors or Press Gallery.

_______

Mr. X: "...I want to state my absolute disgust about the unbelievably stupid vote yesterday in the Senate of the United States...."

POINT OF ORDER:
It is acceptable to refer to actions taken by the Senate which are a matter of public record, but it is improper to characterize Senate action or inaction and to make reference to individual Members of the Senate.

Mr. X: "...Mr. President, you are a hypocrite and a liar...."

POINT OF ORDER:
Not only is it inappropriate to address the President directly (Members must always address the Chair), but it is improper to refer to the President in a personally offensive manner.

NOTE: You do not actually have to deliver a one-minute speech. You can simply ask unanimous consent that it be placed in the Record and yield back your time. The speech will be inserted at that point, but it will appear in different type to indicate that it was not delivered in person. Also, if extraneous materials are inserted with a one-minute speech, the entire speech will appear at the end of the Record in the section reserved for "Extensions of Remarks."

7. VARIOUS UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUESTS

Keep in mind that the House does much of its noncontroversial work by "unanimous consent" (i.e., when one Member stands up and asks that something be done or permitted by unanimous consent and no other Member objects to the request). For example, these requests may involve debate time (similar to the language of a special rule) in order to consider a measure or conference report, or the waiver of points of order against a measure.

In most cases, the Chair, hearing no objection, says simply: "Without objection, so ordered."

If you are unfamiliar with the request or its motives, the best way to find out what is behind the request is to "reserve the right to object." This gives you the floor and the opportunity to inquire about the request.

If the discussion during the "reservation of the right to object" gets too long, any Member can demand "the regular order" which means that the Member reserving the right to object must stop talking and either object or withdraw the reservation.

8. SUSPENSION OF THE RULES

Under House Rule XXVII, it is in order on Monday and Tuesday of each week, and during the last six days of a session (impossible to determine unless the adjournment resolution has been adopted in advance), for the Speaker to entertain motions to suspend the rules and pass legislation. Consideration of legislation under suspension of the rules on other days of the week is possible by unanimous consent or special rule. A motion to suspend the rules requires a vote of two-thirds of the Members present and voting, and no amendments are in order unless submitted with the bill by its manager at the time the motion to suspend the rules is offered.

Debate on a bill brought up under suspension is limited to 40 minutes -- 20 minutes controlled by a Member who supports the bill and 20 minutes controlled by a Member in opposition, a division which does not always follow party lines depending on the issue. For control of the opposition time, priority is given to a Minority Member of the committee which has jurisdiction over the bill. Often the 20 minutes "in opposition" is controlled by the ranking minority member of the committee or subcommittee who may not be opposed to the measure because no one rises in opposition, but he may be challenged for control of the opposition time by another minority party member.

The Majority Leadership usually schedules several bills under suspension of the rules on the same day and the Chair announces beforehand that recorded votes on passage of each suspension, if ordered, will be postponed until the debate is concluded on all such suspensions (or for up to two legislative days).

At the conclusion of debate, the postponed votes may be "clustered" and put before the House. If several votes have been ordered and the Chair has announced that the time for voting will be reduced, the first vote in the series will consume not less than 15 minutes and all subsequent roll calls will take not less than 5 minutes each. It is important to realize when a 5-minute vote is expected, so that it will not be missed.

In the case of a series of two or more votes in which any votes after the first one will be reduced to not less than 5 minutes, you will be summoned to the Floor by two bells followed by five bells.

Bills brought up under suspension of the rules are spoken of as "suspensions" in floor terminology -- as stated earlier, there is not a suspension calendar. The purpose of considering bills under suspension is to dispose of non-controversial measures expeditiously.

9. SPECIAL RULES FOR MAJOR BILLS

A. PURPOSE OF SPECIAL RULES: Every major piece of legislation, except privileged matters such as appropriations bills (although recently most appropriations bills have required special rules as they are in violation of standing House rules) and conference reports, normally needs a "rule" to be adopted before the bill is called up, debated and amended. A "rule," also known as a "special rule" or "order of business resolution," is simply a House resolution that gives privileged status to the consideration of a bill and sets the terms for debate and amendment. Obviously, a "rule" is highly important because it controls what the House can and cannot do regarding the bill itself. Rules are simple House resolutions reported to the House by the Rules Committee, acting as an arm of the Majority Leadership. They require adoption by the House to go into effect.

B. TYPES OF RULES (all of which are considered in the Committee of the Whole:

1) An "open" rule permits general debate for a certain period of time (one, two or three hours or more depending on the importance of the legislation and the legislative schedule) and allows any Member to offer an amendment that complies with the standing rules of the House and the Budget Act.

2) A "modified open" rule permits general debate for a certain period of time but is restricted in some manner (time limits on amendments and/or pre-printing requirements for amendments).

3) A "structured" or "modified closed" rule permits general debate for a certain period of time and limits the amendments that may be offered or does not allow amendments to certain portions of the bill.

4) A "closed" rule permits general debate for a certain period of time, but no amendments to the bill are allowed (except those recommended by the reporting committee, if any).

NOTE: The Rules Committee has encouraged Members to pre-print amendments in the Record (in advance of their consideration) by adding a provision to special rules allowing the Chair to give priority in recognition to those Members who pre-print their amendment.

C. SPECIAL PROVISIONS OR PROCEDURES:

1) One device that is sometimes incorporated into modified rules is a "self-executing provision." In this case, when the House adopts the rule, it simultaneously adopts the amendment(s) specified in the report on the rule. No separate vote on the amendment(s) is then possible nor is an amendment to the self-executed amendment(s) in order unless the self-executed provision is made part of the base text for the purpose of further amendment.

2) Another device that is sometimes incorporated into a rule is the "most votes wins" procedure in which several alternative solutions (i.e., substitutes) to the same problem are made in order. Each amendment is debated and voted upon, and the amendment with the most votes is adopted and reported back to the House.

3) A "waiver" in a rule usually means that some standing rule of the House (such as germaneness) is being set aside to permit the bill which the rule governs to be called up for consideration or to permit certain amendments to be offered to the bill in question.

Without such a waiver, a point of order would lie against consideration of the bill or amendment and any Member could make that point of order, thereby ending consideration of the measure or amendment.

DO NOT CONFUSE a "special rule" on a bill with a standing rule contained in the Rules of the House (standing House rules). The former is an exception to or departure from the standing Rules of the House. The standing House rules are adopted by resolution on the first day of a new Congress as part of a resolution reported by the Majority party caucus (See H.Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997). Special rules are adopted in the form of simple House resolutions, but only apply to the consideration of the legislation specified in each rule.

D. CONSIDERATION OF RULES: Before a special rule is considered by the House, it is the subject of a hearing before the Rules Committee during which Members testify as to the type of rule and amendments they support. Members are usually notified by the Committee (usually in the form of a "Dear Colleague" letter and a Floor announcement by the Rules Committee Chairman) in advance of the hearing if a rule restricting the amendment process is anticipated, and are given a deadline for filing their proposed amendments with the Committee. After the Rules Committee members have had an opportunity to offer amendments to the proposed rule, the Committee votes on reporting the rule. The rule and accompanying report are usually filed that same day.

A special rule may not be considered on the same day it is reported except by a two-thirds vote of the House (unless it is within the last three days of the session).

The process for considering a rule in the House is as follows:

1) The rule is called up for consideration in the House by a majority Member (manager) of the Rules Committee.

2) A maximum of one hour of debate is permitted and the majority manager customarily yields one half of the time to the minority manager for the purposes of debate only.

3) No amendments are permitted unless the majority manager specifically yields for that purpose (which does not happen), unless the manager offers an amendment (usually by direction of the committee), OR unless the previous question is defeated (see subsection E). However, it should be noted that the rule can be altered by unanimous consent (which is very rare).

4) The previous question is moved and put to the House by the Chair and voted upon.

5) If the previous question is ordered, the rule itself is then voted on. Upon adoption of the rule, the House may proceed to general debate on the legislation.

E. THE PREVIOUS QUESTION: The previous question is a motion made in order under House Rule XVII and is the only parliamentary device in the House used for closing debate and preventing amendment. The effect of adopting the previous question is to bring the resolution to an immediate, final vote. The motion is most often made at the conclusion of debate on a rule or any motion or piece of legislation considered in the House prior to final passage. You might think about ordering the previous question in terms of answering the question: are we ready to vote on the bill or amendment before us?

In order to amend a rule (other than by using those procedures previously mentioned), the House must vote against ordering the previous question. If the previous question is defeated, the House is, in effect, turning control of the Floor over to the Minority party.

If the previous question is defeated, the Speaker then recognizes the Member who led the opposition to the previous question (usually a Member of the minority party) to control an additional hour of debate during which a germane amendment may be offered to the rule. The Member controlling the Floor then moves the previous question on the amendment and the rule. If the previous question is ordered, the next vote occurs on the amendment followed by a vote on the rule as amended.

F. ADOPTION OF THE RULE: This occurs after the disposition of the previous question. Note that most often the previous question is not a subject of controversy and is simply disposed of by the Speaker's statement that "Without objection the previous question is ordered." Next the question of adopting the rule is put, and the rule is either adopted or defeated.

10. RESOLVING INTO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

The Committee of the Whole is an ancient parliamentary device used to expedite the work of the House during debate and amendments to bills. It involves several less formal arrangements to conduct business, including a lesser number of Members required for a quorum (100 as compared to 218 in the full House) and a different procedure required to obtain a recorded vote (25 Members standing as compared to one-fifth of those present standing or lack of a quorum in the full House). Certain motions allowed in the House are prohibited in the Committee of the Whole, such as motions for the previous question, to adjourn, to reconsider a vote, or to refer or recommit.

The Speaker does not preside in the Committee of the Whole, but appoints a Member of the majority party to preside with the full authority to keep order, rule on questions, recognize Members, and order votes. The Member designated to preside is addressed as "Mr. Chairman" or in the case of a female Member as "Madam Chairman." On entering the House Chamber and facing the Chair, an easy way to determine whether the House is in the Committee of the Whole is to look at the position of the Mace to the left of the Chair: if it is in the lower position, the House is in the Committee of the Whole.

11. GENERAL DEBATE IN COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

There are two ways for the House to be resolved into the Committee of the Whole: (1) the manager of the bill may move that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole (either by authority of a special rule or by authority of the standing rules in the case of a privileged matter such as an appropriations bill); or (2) if the special rule authorizes the Speaker to declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole (in which case the resolving action is automatic and no vote is put).

Once the House has resolved into the Committee of the Whole to consider a particular measure, the parliamentary conduct of the Committee is dictated by the special rule previously adopted (refer to Section 9, Special Rules For Major Bills) as well as general House Rules.

The "first reading" of the bill is normally dispensed with by specific provision of the rule governing the bill. The Clerk reads the title and then the Chairman recognizes a majority party member who is usually the chairman of the committee or subcommittee with jurisdiction over the pending bill to manage the debate.

One half of the general debate time is customarily allotted by the rule to the Minority and that time is usually managed by the Ranking Minority Member of the committee or subcommittee. In the case of privileged appropriations bills, general debate time may be fixed by unanimous consent prior to resolving into the Committee of the Whole since, without such a limitation, any Member could speak for up to an hour before the amendment process begins. (In the case where there have been multiple referrals the rule usually provides for the time each committee with jurisdiction shall be allotted)

A. TO SPEAK DURING GENERAL DEBATE: The time for general debate is controlled by the Majority and Minority Floor managers of a bill and you should ask the Majority manager at the committee table for time to speak. Normally Members of the committee with jurisdiction over the bill speak first, with those not on the committee speaking later.
The first speech is given by the Majority and the order of speakers then informally rotates back and forth across the aisle although there is no hard and fast rule to dictate this process.

If you need additional time to speak, you must ask the Floor manager to yield it to you. It is not in order to ask unanimous consent for additional time during general debate because the time is "controlled." You may instead wish to speak briefly about the bill and insert a much longer statement into the Record to cover all the points you want to make (NOTE: Different typeface will appear in the Record to distinguish unspoken words).

B. WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN TO SPEAK: The floor manager will yield you time and the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole will recognize you for the allotted time. Rise and go to a microphone. Your remarks may be prefaced by saying: "Mr. Chairman (or Madam Chairman), I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks." Then proceed to speak for the time yielded to you. The floor manager may yield you extra time to complete your statement if you request it and the time is available.

If you would like to ask a question of a Member who is speaking or make a comment, address the Chair and say: "Mr. Chairman (or Madam Chairman), will the gentleman from Maryland yield to me?" If the gentleman wishes to yield, he may do so at his discretion and must remain standing while you speak. The gentleman who has yielded may at any time "reclaim" his time and then you must stop speaking and allow him to continue.

C. CONDUCT DURING DEBATE

1) Words Taken Down: A Member should avoid impugning the motives of another Member, the Senate or the President, using offensive language, or uttering words that are otherwise deemed unparliamentary. These actions are strictly against standing House rules and are subject to a point of order. This is made by a Member "demanding that the gentleman's (or gentlewoman's) words be taken down." If this happens, the Committee of the Whole rises and the Speaker must return to the Chair and rule on the propriety of the words used.

Often the offending Member obtains unanimous consent to withdraw the inappropriate words or the demand is withdrawn before the Speaker rules and then the Member proceeds in order. However, if the Member's words are ruled out of order, they may be stricken from the Record by motion or unanimous consent, and the Member will not be allowed to speak again on that day except by motion or unanimous consent. (Rule XIV, clauses 4 and 5)

2) Relevancy: A Member may get carried away in debate and stray from the subject under discussion. If so, he or she can be subjected to a point of order that the remarks are not relevant to the debate. (Rule XIV, clause 1)

3) Speaking Out of Order: If a Member has something to say which is not relevant to the debate and just cannot wait until later, he or she may ask unanimous consent to "speak out of order" for a period of time (usually a minute or two). If granted, the Member may then speak on the desired subject for the allotted time.

4) Addressing the Chair: A Member must be standing while speaking. If not, the Member is subject to a point of order because of unparliamentary posture. (Rule XIV)

5) Walking in the Well: Members should avoid walking between the Chair and any Member who is addressing the House and Members should not walk through the Well of the House when Members are speaking. (Rule XIV)

6) Dress Code: Members should dress appropriately which has traditionally been considered to include a coat and tie for male Members and appropriate attire for female Members; Members should not wear overcoats or hats on the Floor while the House is in session; no eating, drinking, or smoking is permitted; and, the use of personal electronic equipment, including cellular telephones and laptop computers, is banned on the Floor of the House (Rule XIV, clause 7).

7) Forms of Address: Your colleagues in the House are never addressed by name on the House Floor. They are "the Gentleman from New York," or "the Gentleman from New York, Mr. Jones" or "the Gentlewoman from Maryland," or "the Gentlewoman from Maryland, Mrs. Smith."

NOTE: All of the same cautions and prohibitions mentioned above with respect to conduct during debate in the Committee of the Whole also apply to conduct in the House.

D. QUORUM OR VOTE IN COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE: A quorum in the Committee of the Whole consists of 100 Members. However, during general debate the Chairman has the discretion to refuse to entertain a point of order that a quorum is not present. If the Chair does permit a quorum call at this point and orders the call by electronic device, Members will be summoned by three bells to the House Floor to record their presence.

The Chairman must entertain a point of no quorum during consideration under the five-minute rule (the regular amendment process) if a quorum has not yet been established in the Committee of the Whole on the bill on that day. Under the same Rule, if a quorum has been established in Committee, the Chairman does not need to entertain a point of no quorum during consideration under the five-minute rule unless and until the question is put on a pending amendment or motion. Whenever such a question is put before the Committee, any Member may rise and say: "On that question I request a recorded vote, and pending that, I make a point of order that a quorum is not present."

If less than 100 Members are present, the Chair will direct that Members record their presence by electronic device. The Chair at his or her discretion may order either a "live" or "notice" quorum call. For a live quorum call, Members must respond by recording their presence or their absence will be noted in the Record. In the case of a "live" quorum call where a 5-minute vote on an amendment is expected following the quorum call, Members are summoned by three bells followed by five bells.

Alternatively, in the absence of a quorum, the Chair may order a "notice" quorum call and vacate the quorum call at any time when 100 Members appear. The Committee then continues its business, and no indication of who responded to the call will appear in the Record. In the case of a "notice" quorum call, Members are summoned by one long bell followed by three short bells. In current practice, notice quorum calls are very rare.

12. AMENDMENTS UNDER THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE

After all the general debate is concluded, either by all time having been consumed or both sides yielding back the balance of their unused time, the Chairman will direct the Clerk to read the bill for amendment. This is the so-called "second reading" of the bill. Under the standing Rules of the House, a bill is read for amendment by section (or by paragraph in the case of an appropriations bill), although a special rule may provide that it be read by title for amendment, or that it be considered as read and open for amendment at any point. Instead, a special rule may specify the order in which amendments contained in the report on the rule must be offered. The special rule frequently provides for each section (or paragraph or title) to be considered as read. In that case, the Reading Clerk only designates each section as it is reached.

A. OFFERING AN AMENDMENT: If you want to offer an amendment, stay on the floor until the Clerk reads to the point at which your amendment is in order. If you miss your opportunity to offer it at the proper time, you may not be able to offer the amendment at all unless you receive unanimous consent to return to the appropriate place in the bill OR you are able to redraft it to amend a subsequent section of the bill that has not yet been read for amendment.

1) The amendment must be "germane" to the bill and to the section to which it is offered. (See clause 7 of Rule XVI for an explanation of germaneness.) Failure to comply with this Rule means that the amendment may be ruled out of order, if a point of order is made against it. Be sure to have your amendment reviewed by the Parliamentarian well in advance of the debate to ensure its germaneness and compliance to House rules.

2) Share the amendment with the appropriate Members of the committee of jurisdiction unless the element of surprise is desired. If your amendment gets a generally favorable reception, it is often possible to work with the committee Members to redraft the amendment so that they can accept it.

3) Provide sufficient copies of your amendment (15) to the Reading Clerk on the rostrum. You may either take the copies to the Clerk in advance or you may send the amendment to the desk as you offer it from the Floor.

4) Make sure the Republican Floor staff as well as the Cloakroom has information about your amendment so they can communicate it to the membership, as they must do by posting it at the leadership desk on the Floor and in the Cloakroom, and by informing Members over their beepers, if a recorded vote is ordered.

B. TIME LIMITS UNDER THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE: Under the normal process of debate during consideration of amendments, the author of an amendment is recognized for five minutes followed by recognition of a Member who wishes to speak in opposition for five minutes (hence the term "five-minute rule"). Other Members may speak for five minutes by standing to seek recognition and saying, "Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word."

This pro forma amendment is simply a device to get time without having to offer an actual amendment. Once you finish speaking on a pro forma amendment, it is considered to have been automatically withdrawn and no vote is required on it.

When speaking under the five-minute rule, a Member can obtain additional time by simply saying: "I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to proceed for an additional 5 (or 3, or 2, etc.) minutes." The Chair will respond with the usual: "Without objection, it is so ordered," but any Member can object. Unlike the time during general debate, time under the five-minute rule is not controlled by any other Member (unless specifically provided for in a special rule) and additional time can only be obtained by unanimous consent. When all Members who wish to be heard are finished, the Chair puts the question.

In addition to time limitations that may be imposed by rules governing consideration of bills, clauses 5 and 6 of Rule XXIII outline the manner in which the time for debate may be limited -- either for tactical advantage or because all parties agree that enough debate has occurred. Such limits are proposed by a Member, usually the manager of the bill, asking "unanimous consent that all time on this amendment and all amendments thereto be limited to 15 (or 30, or 40, etc.) minutes." Or the Member may ask that "all debate on this amendment (or section) and all amendments thereto end at 5:30 p.m." These requests may be granted without objection or, if objection is heard, they may be moved and subject to a vote.

C. PROTECTING YOUR AMENDMENT: It is advisable to have your amendment printed in the Record (where they will be numbered accordingly)before consideration of the bill. There are occasions in which a rule governing a bill will require amendments to be printed in the Record prior to consideration or they will not be in order, or which provides preferential treatment for pre-printed amendments. There is a special box for such amendments on the lower tier of the rostrum. If you submit an amendment for printing, remember to sign it in the upper right-hand corner -- facsimile copies are not acceptable. Once printed in the Record, you are assured that you will have five minutes to speak on the amendment, as will one opponent, even if a time limit is imposed by the Committee of the Whole. However, this protection will not apply if the rule governing the bill adopted by the House includes a time limitation or the rule does not include your amendment in the list of amendments that are to be made in order. The time for consideration of amendments may be limited overall by a rule or the rule may specify time limits for each amendment made in order.

D. HOW TO GET A VOTE ON YOUR AMENDMENT: Once all the debate has concluded on an amendment, the Chair will put the question: "The question occurs on the amendment offered by the Gentlewoman from Maryland. All those in favor will say aye. Those opposed will say no." Then the Chair will announce the outcome of the voice vote. If you are dissatisfied with the results, you may demand a "division vote." Under this little-used procedure, the Chair will first ask those in favor to rise, then those opposed. The Chair will count the members and announce the total.

If you are still unhappy with the outcome, you may request a recorded vote.

In order to obtain the recorded vote, you must have 25 Members (including yourself) rise to be counted by the Chair. As noted earlier, you may want to make a point of no quorum pending your request for a recorded vote in order to get more Members to the Floor to support your request. If so, you should say: "Mr. Chairman (or Madam Chairman), I request a recorded vote and, pending that, I make a point of order that a quorum is not present." If a sufficient number of Members stand, you should withdraw your point of no quorum and restate your request for a recorded vote.

13. CONCLUSION OF A BILL'S CONSIDERATION

A. THE COMMITTEE RISES: Usually the special rule provides that, automatically following disposition of all amendments, the Committee rises and reports the bill back to the House with the recommendation that the bill, as amended, do pass. If the rule does not include this provision, the majority manager of the bill will be recognized to make such a motion. The Committee of the Whole is then disbanded and the Speaker or a Speaker pro tempore resumes the Chair.

B. SEPARATE VOTES ON AMENDMENTS ADOPTED IN THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE: The Chair, now the Speaker, asks the House: "Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole?" Separate votes may be demanded only on amendments adopted by the Committee -- amendments that were defeated may not be voted upon again. If there is no request for any separate votes, the amendments adopted are put before the House en bloc and adopted without objection.

On the other hand, if an amendment has been adopted by a narrow margin, at this point, the opponents may try to reverse the outcome by demanding a separate vote on it in the House.

C. PREVIOUS QUESTION: Under special rules, the previous question is usually considered as having been ordered on the measure to final passage, meaning no motion or vote on the previous question is allowed.

In the absence of such a provision (such as on appropriations bills), the Speaker puts the previous question, usually without objection, on the bill and all amendments thereto.

D. ENGROSSMENT AND THIRD READING OF THE BILL: The question of engrossment and third reading of the bill is then put. This is a pro forma motion which orders the Clerk to engross the bill (prepare it for transmission to the Senate) and read its title (the "third reading").

E. MOTION TO RECOMMIT: After the third reading, but before the Speaker orders the vote on final passage of the bill (or joint resolution), a motion to recommit the bill, either with or without instructions, to the committee which originally reported it is in order. (Rule XVI and XVII) This motion is traditionally the right of the Minority and gives them one last chance to amend or kill the bill. The Rules Committee may NOT report a special rule that denies a motion to recommit with instructions if offered by the Minority Leader or his designee (Rule XI, clause 4(b)).

1) If the motion to recommit is without instructions, adoption of the motion has the practical impact of killing the bill without a final vote on its passage. In other words, the House has said, "send it back to the committee from whence it came. We don't want it as it is." The motion is not debatable if it does not include instructions.

2) If the motion to recommit is with instructions, the originating committee to which the bill is returned is bound to follow those instructions. Usually the instruction is for the committee to "report the bill back to the House forthwith with the following amendment..." The text of the amendment is then given in full. In effect, this is a last chance for the Minority to make a germane change in the bill. The motion with instructions is debatable for 10 minutes, equally divided, but not controlled (which means neither side may yield time) between the proponent and the opponent, although the time may be extended to one hour at the request of the Majority Floor manager.

If the bill is recommitted with such "forthwith" instructions, the bill is immediately reported back to the House on the spot with the amendment, the amendment is voted on, and the House proceeds to final passage of the bill.

Note: The bill does not disappear into some legislative limbo as some seem to think. It either is killed (by adoption of a straight motion to recommit without instructions) or comes immediately back (by adoption of the "forthwith" motion to recommit with instructions).

The motion to recommit is the prerogative of the minority party. In order of priority, the minority leader and then minority party Members on the committee handling the bill, by seniority, have the right to offer the motion. They "qualify" to offer the motion if they state that they oppose the bill at least in its current form. The Member who qualifies and offers the motion should also vote against final passage of the bill if the motion to recommit fails.

It is also worth noting that a motion to recommit need not instruct that an amendment be adopted. The motion may also direct that further hearings be held, or that an investigation be conducted and that a report of that investigation be made to the House, so long as the instruction is germane to the bill as amended. However, in the case of such general instructions, the committee cannot be required to report the bill back to the House, although it is certainly not precluded from doing so.

14. FINAL PASSAGE OF A BILL

If the bill has been important enough to have been debated, amended and subjected to a motion to recommit, it is often important enough to have a roll call vote on final passage. However, there may also be times when conventional wisdom might dictate that a roll call vote on final passage should be avoided, if possible.

A. OBTAINING A ROLL CALL VOTE IN THE HOUSE: There are several ways to obtain roll call votes:

1) Whenever a quorum (218 Members) is not present, a roll call vote can be obtained because the Constitution requires that a quorum be present to do business. Simply address the Chair and say: "Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and I make a point of order that a quorum is not present."

An alternate means of obtaining a roll call vote when a quorum is NOT present is to request the "yeas and nays" which requires that one-fifth of those Members present stand up to order the vote (This could be as many as 87 if all 435 Members are present or as few as 1, if less than 5 Members are on the Floor). The magic words are: "Mr. Speaker, on that vote I demand the yeas and nays." The Speaker will respond by saying, "All those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will stand and remain standing while the Chair counts." Once the Chair determines that one-fifth of those present support the demand, the vote is ordered.

2) To obtain a roll call vote when a quorum IS present say: "Mr. Speaker, on that I demand a recorded vote." A "recorded vote" under these circumstances requires only one-fifth of the entire House membership (44 Members) to stand and support the request. Although there is a technical difference between a roll call vote and a recorded vote, both are conducted in the same way - by use of the electronic voting system.

B. GENERAL LEAVE: It is customary after consideration of a bill for the Majority Floor manager of the bill to ask: "Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of the bill just passed." Once this request is granted, you may insert your remarks on the bill without having to ask permission personally. They should be labeled "General Leave." Be advised, that if the material is submitted rather than actually spoken on the Floor, it will appear in different type in the Record.

C. REVISING AND EXTENDING YOUR REMARKS: Once a Member has requested to see his or her remarks before they are printed in the Record, especially those made during debate when other Members are involved, certain rules of courtesy should be followed. As soon as the Official Reporter gives you the transcript, correct it for grammatical errors and immediately return it so that other Members may do the same.

Never change the substance of your remarks -- make ONLY grammatical corrections (clause 9, Rule XIV). If you wish to elaborate on your statement with tables or other "extraneous material," and permission has not been granted under general leave, you must obtain permission for that specifically, and it can only be granted in the House and not in the Committee of the Whole. Be advised that it will take approximately one hour between the time you speak and the time your transcribed remarks will be available on the Floor.

D. MOTION TO RECONSIDER: Under Rule XVIII, the motion to reconsider is available to any Member who votes on the prevailing side of a question and who wishes to move reconsideration on the same or succeeding legislative day. This normally only occurs when Members (usually minority party Members) determine there is a need to slow down the legislative process. It is the common practice in the House for the Speaker to follow final passage of most bills or resolutions with the statement: "Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table." If no objection is raised, this has the parliamentary effect of ending any possibility that another vote on the bill can take place.

E. POSTPONEMENT OF VOTES: Under clause 5(b)(1), Rule I, the Speaker has the discretion to postpone votes for up to two legislative days on a number of questions, including final passage of bills. Other questions which can be postponed by the Speaker include adoption of resolutions and ordering the previous question on: (1) the adoption of a resolution; (2) the question of passing a bill; (3) the question of instructing conferees after a conference has been convened; (4) the question of agreeing to a conference report; and, (5) votes on amendments or motions to recommit Corrections Calendar bills.

F. VOTE PAIRS: If you miss a vote, it may be possible for you to obtain a "pair," assuming you make the request in a timely fashion. Under clause 2, Rule VIII, a Member who is absent can arrange to have a "pair" with another Member who is absent. Both names will then appear after the roll call -- your name will be listed as being "for" and another Member's position as being "against" or vice versa. Your position on the issue in question is then on the public record even though you were not present to vote and you will be recorded as having been absent. However, it may not always be possible to find a Member on the opposite side of the question with whom to pair you, in which case you may want to insert a statement in the Record at that point indicating how you would have voted. For information about pairs, contact the Republican Floor staff.

G. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Clause 1 of Rule VIII dictates that each Member must be present in the Hall of the House during its sessions "unless excused or necessarily prevented" and "shall vote on each question put, unless he has a direct personal or pecuniary interest in the event of such question." It has been ruled that only the Member himself or herself can decide whether such a conflict exists and not even the Speaker will question his judgment, nor can any other Member challenge his vote on such grounds. Let your conscience be your guide especially in light of Rule XLIII, Code of Official Conduct. If you believe you have such a conflict, you can vote "present" on the roll call and include an explanation in the Record, if you wish.

15. CONFERENCE REPORTS

In order for a bill to be presented to the President for signature, it must pass both the House and Senate in the exact same form. The device used for reaching agreement between the two Houses is often, but not always, a conference committee. Sometimes differences between the two bodies are resolved by amendment -- e.g., the House will agree to the bill as passed by the Senate with an amendment and the Senate will subsequently concur with that amendment.

A bill may be sent to conference by unanimous consent or, if objection is heard, by motion or suspension. Rule XX provides that a motion to request or agree to a conference with the Senate is in order if the motion is made by direction of the committee with jurisdiction over the legislation. If such a motion has not been authorized by the committee, a special rule may be required to go to conference. Therefore, it is in the Majority's interest to conclude committee mark-ups with a motion to authorize the Chairman in advance to take all steps necessary to proceed to conference when that stage of the process eventually is reached.

Following the motion to go to conference, but prior to the appointment of conferees, the Speaker will recognize the Minority Floor manager (if recognition is sought) to offer a motion to instruct House conferees. The motion is debatable for one hour, divided between the Majority and the Minority managers. If both support the motion, however, a third Member may demand time in opposition. All three Members are then recognized for one-third of the time. The motion to instruct conferees is unamendable unless the previous question is defeated. The instructions are not binding and they may not propose to do what the conferees could not otherwise do under the Rules (i.e., exceed the scope of the conference). Additional opportunities to instruct occur after 20 days if the conference has failed to report, and when a conference report is recommitted. The Member who wishes to offer a motion to instruct conferees at this point must notify the House one day in advance of offering the motion.

Conferees are named by the Speaker and usually represent the committee(s) of jurisdiction and principal proponents of the legislation's major provisions.

When a conference agreement is reached, it comes back to the House in the form of a "conference report" which the House must consider and approve. Unless the requirement is waived, the rules require that a conference report be filed at least three calendar days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) before it can be called up for consideration. After that time, it becomes privileged and can be called up at any time.

Debate on a conference report takes up to one hour, the time divided between the majority and the minority, unless the majority party manager and the minority party manager both support the conference report. In that case, one-third of the debate time will be given to an opponent of the conference report who makes such a demand.

Before adoption of the conference report, a motion may be in order to recommit the conference report to the committee on conference, either with instructions (that must be within the authority of the conferees) or without instructions, although no separate debate time is allowed on the motion. Such a motion is only in order if the Senate has not yet acted on the conference report thereby discharging the conferees, and the instructions in the motion to recommit are not binding because the House cannot bind Senate conferees. A Member qualifies to offer the motion if he or she opposes the bill and states that fact.

If the House is first to act and the motion to recommit is adopted, the conference must meet again -- a new conference report must be filed prior to consideration -- it may not be considered immediately.

Following debate on the conference report and in the absence of a motion to recommit or upon the defeat of such a motion, a vote then occurs on adoption of the conference report (a conference report may not be amended on the Floor).

You should also be aware that when dealing with appropriations conference reports, there may be times when conferees cannot reach agreement on all the amendments in disagreement or there may be times when conferees must report provisions outside the conference report (i.e., they exceed the scope of the conference or they violate clause 2 of Rule XXI -- legislating on an appropriation bill or appropriating unauthorized funds). In those cases, the conferees will present a conference report to the House and Senate that includes all amendments on which agreement has been reached but excludes the amendments that remain in real or technical disagreement. The conference report is considered first and then, assuming adoption of the conference report, the amendments in disagreement are considered and disposed of individually.

16. DISCHARGE PETITIONS

After a bill has been introduced and referred to committee for thirty legislative days or more, any Member may file a motion with the Clerk of the House to discharge the committee from further consideration of the bill, or to discharge the Rules Committee of a special rule, pending before the committee for at least seven legislative days, providing for the consideration of such a bill.

Beginning in the 105th Congress, discharge petitions may cover only a single introduced measure (not multiple bills). If the Member is successful in convincing a majority of the total membership of the House (218 Members) to sign a discharge petition, the petition becomes eligible for consideration on the second or fourth Monday of the month after a seven legislative day layover (except during the last six days of any session when the layover is waived). The discharge motion is debatable for 20 minutes, one-half of the time for the proponents and one-half of the time for the opponents. If the motion to discharge a bill is adopted, it is then in order to move that the House immediately consider the bill itself; if the motion to discharge a rule is adopted, the House turns immediately to consideration of the rule.

Note: Under a rules change in the 103rd Congress, signatures on a discharge petition must be made available to the public on a daily basis by the Clerk. The names of new signatories are printed in the Record on the last legislative day of each week.

17. END OF LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS FOR THE DAY

After completion of the scheduled legislative business, it is customary at the end of the day for the House to consider any miscellaneous unanimous consent requests which have not been made earlier in the day, including personal requests of individual Members.

A. PERSONAL REQUESTS: Certain personal requests can only be made by the Member himself or herself, including:

1) a request to make a correction in the Record;

2) a request to have your name removed as a cosponsor of a bill or resolution (this request may also be made by the original sponsor of the measure);

3) a request for inclusion in "Extension of Remarks" of extraneous material exceeding two pages in the Record which must be accompanied by a cost estimate from the Public Printer; and

4) a request to include in the Record a personal explanation of a missed vote if you want it to appear immediately after the vote (otherwise it may be inserted as an Extension of Remarks).

B. REQUEST FOR OFFICIAL LEAVE: Clause 1 of Rule VIII allows Members to be absent and excused on grounds of necessity which can include a death in the family, illness or official business. Requests for leaves of absence should be made through the Cloakroom and are signed by the appropriate party Leader. They are laid before the House each evening and made a part of the Record. It is a good idea to use this device since Federal statutes require docking the pay of Members who are absent without leave -- although the law has not been enforced.

C. EXTENSION OF REMARKS: A form is provided on the Republican Leadership table on the Floor for Members who wish to obtain permission to extend their remarks in the section of the Record entitled "Extensions of Remarks." You may sign yourself up or make the request of the Cloakroom. The Member on duty at the close of each day asks permission for such extensions which can include extraneous materials. Things to remember:

1) NO material may be submitted for the Record without some type of permission. Check with the Floor staff, if you are unsure whether you have the necessary permission;

2) ALL material submitted must bear an original Member's signature in the upper right-hand corner of the front page -- facsimiles are not permitted, and the Member's typed name to be sure of identification;

3) If the extraneous material you plan to insert will exceed two pages of the Record, it must be submitted to GPO in advance for a cost estimate. When the estimate is received the Member must ask leave of the House IN PERSON, that notwithstanding the cost, it be printed. At the beginning or the end of the day the Member must stand and seek recognition. The Speaker will say, "For what purpose does the gentleman/gentlewoman from rise?" The Member will respond by saying, "I ask unanimous consent to extend my remarks in the Record and to include therein extraneous material notwithstanding the fact that it exceeds two pages and is estimated by the GPO to cost $ ." (As of June 1996, it cost $435.00 per page for the first two pages and $239.00 for every page thereafter)

Extensions should be placed in the folder on the leadership table, delivered to the Cloakroom, handed to the Record clerks who sit at the bottom tier of the rostrum during session, or delivered to the Office of the Official Reporters of Debates in Room HT-60 of the Capitol by 5 p.m. or 15 minutes after the House adjourns, whichever is later.

D. ADJOURNMENT: A motion to adjourn closes the business of the day. It is wise to check with the Cloakroom and make sure of the time to which the House has adjourned, if you have any doubt in your mind.

APPENDIX

Amendments (Types of) - A proposal of a Member of Congress to alter the text of a bill or another amendment. An amendment usually is voted on in the same manner as a bill.