Guide to Legislative Process in the House

X. OBTAINING CONSIDERATION OF MEASURES

Obviously certain measures pending on the House and Union Calendars are more important and urgent than others and it is necessary to have a system permitting their consideration ahead of those that do not require immediate action. Because all measures are placed on those calendars in the order in which they are reported to the House, the latest bill reported would be the last to be taken up if the calendar number alone were the determining factor.

Special Resolutions | Consideration of Measures in Order by Resolution
Previously Reported from the Committee on Rules | Motion to Discharge Committee
Motion to Suspend the Rules | Calendar Wednesday | District of Columbia Business
Privileged Matters

SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS

To avoid delays and to provide some degree of selectivity in the consideration of measures, it is possible to have them taken up out of order by obtaining from the Committee on Rules a special resolution or "rule" for their consideration. The Committee on Rules, which is composed of majority and minority Members but with a larger proportion of majority Members than other committees, is specifically granted jurisdiction over resolutions relating to the order of business of the House. Usually the Chairman of the committee that has favorably reported the bill appears before the Committee on Rules accompanied by the sponsor of the measure and one or more Members of the Chairman's committee in support of the request for a resolution providing for its immediate consideration. If the Committee on Rules is satisfied that the measure should be taken up it will report a resolution reading substantially as follows with respect to a bill on the Union Calendar:

Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to move that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill (H.R. ___) entitled, etc., and the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. After general debate, which shall be confined to the bill and shall continue not to exceed __ hours, to be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on ___, the bill shall be read for amendment under the five-minute rule. At the conclusion of the consideration of the bill for amendment, the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been adopted, and the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

If the measure is on the House Calendar the resolution reads substantially as follows:

Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider the bill (H.R. ___) entitled, etc., in the House.

The resolution may waive points of order against the bill. Various points of order may be made against consideration of bills or joint resolutions including a bill that carries a retroactive federal income tax increase, contains a federal unfunded mandate, or fails to fulfill certain committee report requirements. When a special resolution limits or prevents floor amendments, it is popularly known as a "closed rule" or "modified closed rule." However, a special resolution may not deny the minority party the right to offer a motion to recommit with amendatory instructions. For a discussion of the motion to recommit, see Part XI.

CONSIDERATION OF MEASURES MADE IN ORDER BY RESOLUTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON RULES

When a "rule" has been reported to the House, and is not considered immediately, it is referred to the calendar and, if not called up for consideration by the Member making the report within seven legislative days thereafter, any Member of the Committee on Rules may call it up as a question of privilege (after having given one calendar day notice of the Member's intention to do so) and the Speaker will recognize any Member of the Committee seeking recognition for that purpose. For a discussion of privileged questions, see the matter under the heading "Privileged Matters" at the end of this part.

If, within seven calendar days after a measure has, by resolution, been made in order for consideration by the House, a motion has not been offered for its consideration, the Speaker may recognize a Member of the committee that reported the measure to offer a motion that the House consider it, if the Member has been duly authorized by that committee to offer the motion.

There are several other methods of obtaining consideration of bills that either have not been reported by a committee or, if reported, for which a special resolution or "rule" has not been obtained. Two of those methods, a motion to discharge a committee and a motion to suspend the rules, are discussed next.

MOTION TO DISCHARGE COMMITTEE

A Member may present to the Clerk a motion in writing to discharge a committee from the consideration of a public bill or resolution that has been referred to it 30 days prior thereto. A Member also may file a motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from further consideration of a resolution providing a special rule for the consideration of a public bill or resolution reported by a standing committee, or a special rule for the consideration of a public bill or resolution that has remained in a standing committee 30 legislative days or more without action. This motion may be made only when the resolution, from which it is moved to discharge the Committee on Rules, has been referred to that committee at least seven legislative days prior to the filing of the motion to discharge. The motion may not permit consideration of nongermane amendments. The motion is placed in the custody of the Clerk, who arranges some convenient place for the signature of Members. The names of Members who have signed a discharge motion are published in the Congressional Record on a weekly basis. When a majority of the total membership of the House has signed the motion, it is entered on the Journal, printed with the signatures thereto in the Congressional Record, and referred to the Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees.

On the second and fourth Mondays of each month, except during the last six days of a session, a Member who has signed a motion to discharge, that has been on the calendar at least seven legislative days, may seek recognition and be recognized for the purpose of calling up the motion. The bill or resolution is then read by title only. After 20 minutes of debate, one-half in favor of the proposition and one-half in opposition, the House proceeds to vote on the motion to discharge.

If the motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from a resolution pending before the Committee prevails, the House shall immediately consider such a resolution. If the resolution is adopted, the House proceeds to its execution. This is the modern practice for utilization of the discharge rule.

If the motion to discharge one of the standing committees of the House from a public bill or resolution pending before the committee prevails, a Member who signed the motion may move that the House proceed to the immediate consideration of the bill or resolution. If the motion is agreed to, the bill or resolution is considered immediately under the general rules of the House. If the House votes against the motion for immediate consideration, the bill or resolution is referred to its proper calendar with the same rights and privileges it would have had if reported favorably by the standing committee.

MOTION TO SUSPEND THE RULES

On Monday and Tuesday of each week and during the last six days of a session, the Speaker may entertain a motion to suspend the rules of the House and pass a bill or resolution. Arrangement must be made in advance with the Speaker to recognize the Member who wishes to offer the motion. The motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill is then debated for 40 minutes, one-half by those in favor of the proposition and one-half by those opposed. The motion may not be separately amended, and if amendments to the bill are proposed they must be included in the motion when it is made. Because the rules may be suspended and the bill passed only by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members voting, a quorum being present, this procedure is usually used only for expedited consideration of relatively non-controversial measures.

The Speaker may postpone all recorded and yea-nay votes on certain questions before the House including a motion to suspend the rules and the passage of bills and resolutions until the end of that legislative day or the next two legislative days. At that time the House disposes of the deferred votes consecutively without further debate. After the first deferred fifteen-minute recorded vote is taken, the Speaker may reduce to not less than five minutes the time period for subsequent deferred votes. If the House adjourns before completing action on one or more deferred votes, these must be the first order of business on the next legislative day. By eliminating intermittent recorded votes on suspensions, this procedure reduces interruptions of committee meetings and also reduces the time Members spend on suspension days going back and forth between the floor and their committee rooms or offices.

CALENDAR WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday of each week, unless dispensed with by unanimous consent or by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members voting, a quorum being present, the standing committees are called in alphabetical order. A committee when named may call up for consideration any bill reported by it on a previous day and pending on either the House or Union Calendar and not otherwise in order pursuant to a special order of business. Not more than two hours of general debate is permitted on any measure called up on Calendar Wednesday and all debate must be confined to the subject matter of the measure, the time being equally divided between those for and those against it. The affirmative vote of a simple majority of the Members present is sufficient to pass the measure.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BUSINESS

The second and fourth Mondays in each month, after the disposition of motions to discharge committees and after the disposal of business on the Speaker's table requiring only referral to committee, are set aside, when claimed by the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, for the consideration of any District of Columbia business that is presented by that Committee.

PRIVILEGED MATTERS

Under the rules of the House certain matters are regarded as privileged matters and may interrupt the order of business, for example, reports from the Committee on Rules, reports from the Committee on Appropriations on the general appropriation bills, printing and committee funding resolutions reported from the Committee on House Oversight, and reports on Member's conduct from the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

At any time after the reading of the Journal, a Member, by direction of the Committee on Appropriations, may move that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the purpose of considering general appropriation bills. General appropriation bills may not be considered in the House until three calendar days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays unless the House is in session on those days) after printed committee reports and hearings on them have been available to the Members. The limit on general debate is generally fixed by a special resolution or rule.

Other examples of privileged matters are conference reports, certain amendments to measures by the Senate after the stage of disagreement between the two Houses, veto messages from the President of the United States, and resolutions privileged pursuant to statute. The Member in charge of such a matter may call it up at practically any time for immediate consideration. Usually, this is done after consultation with both the majority and minority floor leaders so that the Members of both parties will have advance notice.