[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 117th Congress] [117th Congress] [House Document 116-177] [Front Matter] [Pages i-xv] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov] [[Page i]] _______________________________________________________________________________ 116th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - House Document No. 116-177 CONSTITUTION JEFFERSON'S MANUAL AND RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS JASON A. SMITH PARLIAMENTARIAN [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 44-700 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE ________________________________________________________________________ For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing WASHINGTON : 2021 Office [[Page iii]] Washington, DC 20402 HOUSE RESOLUTION 1233 In the House of Representatives, U.S., November 20, 2020. Resolved, That a revised edition of the Rules and Manual of the House of Representatives for the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress be printed as a House document, and that three thousand additional copies shall be printed and bound for the use of the House of Representatives, of which nine hundred eighty copies shall be bound in leather with thumb index and delivered as may be directed by the Parliamentarian of the House. Attest: Cheryl L. Johnson, Clerk. [[Page v]] (III) P R E F A C E The House Rules and Manual contains the fundamental source material for parliamentary procedure used in the House of Representatives: the Constitution of the United States; applicable provisions of Jefferson's Manual; Rules of the House (as of the date of this preface); provisions of law and resolutions having the force of Rules of the House; and pertinent decisions of the Speakers and other presiding officers of the House and Committee of the Whole interpreting the rules and other procedural authority used in the House of Representatives. The rules for the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress were adopted on January 4, 2021, when the House agreed to House Resolution 8. In addition to a series of changes to various standing rules, House Resolution 8 included separate free-standing orders constituting procedures to be followed in the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress. Explanations of the changes to the standing rules appear in the annotations following each rule in the text of this Manual. The substantive changes in the standing rules made by House Resolution 8 of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress included: (1) removal of outdated authority for Clerk maintenance of former Speaker staff on the House payroll (clause 2(i) of rule II); (2) codification of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds and establishment of policy direction and oversight thereof (clauses 9 and 10 of rule II; clause 4(d) of rule X); (3) clarification that continuing litigation authority includes the authority to issue subpoenas (clause 8(c) of rule II); (4) expansion of admission in the Hall of the House to the Mayor of the District of Columbia and prohibition of admission in the Hall of the House for former Members, officers, and staff convicted of any crime related to the individual's election or service to the House (clause 2 and 4 of rule IV); [[Page vi]] der-neutrality clause (rules X, XXIII, XXVII, and clause 2 of rule XXIX); (5) modification of numerous provisions to establish gender-neutral terminology and elimination of a blanket gen- (6) clarification of the jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services to include the Space Force and Marine Corps (clause 1(c) of rule X); (7) modification to the committee oversight plan requirement to require priority consideration of diversity-related inequities in the development of such plans (clause 2(d) of rule X); (8) elimination of the printing requirement for availability of a report by the Committee on House Administration on expense resolutions (clause 6 of rule X); (9) modification of the availability requirement for the report on a Senate amendment reported in disagreement to permit availability pursuant to clause 3 of rule XXIX (clause 8(b) of rule XXII); (10) removal of the requirement that committee votes be made available by the committee for physical inspection in the committee offices, and expansion of amendment text availability requirement to include all amendments disposed of or withdrawn (clause 2(e) of rule XI); (11) expansion of the committee hearing witness disclosure requirements to include disclosure of any fiduciary interest in an entity with an interest in the subject matter of the hearing, to include grants as part of the foreign government disclosure, and to extend the disclosure window to 36 months (clause 2(g) of rule XI); (12) codification of a prior separate order to allow electronic filing of reports and to permit electronic signatures to satisfy certain signature requirements under the rules (rules XIII, XXV, and XXVII); (13) clarification of the application of committee subpoena authority to all persons, including current and former Presidents and Vice Presidents, as well as current or former employees of Presidential offices (clause 2(m) of rule XI); (14) modernization of the restriction on the use of committee audio and visual coverage for partisan political campaign purposes (clause 4(b) of rule XI); (15) modification of the cosponsorship process to permit Members to remove themselves as cosponsors as a matter of right (clause 7(b) of rule XII); (16) elimination of certain comparative print requirements (clause 12 of rule XXI); (17) codification of points of order against [[Page vii]] the consideration of an unreported bill or joint resolution and against the consideration of a reported bill or joint resolution that fails to include in the report a list of related committee and subcommittee hearings and the designation of at least one committee or subcommittee hearing used to develop or consider such bill or joint resolution (clause 3(c) of rule XIII; clause 12 of rule XXI); (18) elimination of the motion to recommit with instructions and of debatability of the motion to recommit, and establishment of automatic ordering of previous question thereon (clause 2 of rule XIX; clause 7(d) of rule XXII), and conforming modification to the restriction of the authority of the Committee on Rules to report a special order of business preventing the offering of a motion to recommit (clause 6(c) of rule XIII); (19) elimination of the special days for the consideration of District of Columbia business (clause 4 of rule XV); (20) restriction of the authority to offer a motion to amend the title of a measure to the Majority Leader or a designee (clause 6 of rule XVI); (21) elimination of a point of order against consideration of a concurrent resolution on the budget containing reconciliation directives that specify changes in law that would require reported reconciliation legislation to cause an increase in net direct spending (clause 7 of rule XXI); (22) modification of the availability requirement for unreported bills and joint resolutions to allow the publicly-available text of an unintroduced bill or joint resolution to count for purposes of availability under the rule (clause 11 of rule XXI); (23) removal of outdated proscriptive regulatory requirement for the ethics rule prohibiting Members from serving as an officer or director of a public company (clause 19(c) of rule XXIII); (24) prohibition against the prevention of or retaliation for the provision of truthful information by an individual to the Committee on Ethics, the Office of Congressional Ethics, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, or law enforcement (clause 20 of rule XXIII); (25) prohibition against the disclosure of the identity of or personally identifiable information about individuals providing information pursuant to specified whistleblower laws (clause 21 of rule XXIII); and [[Page viii]] (26) conforming update to the name of the House Communications Standards Commission (clause 5 of rule XXIV). In addition to the amendments cited above, the definition of ``mass mailing'' in clause 9 of rule XXIV was expanded (P.L. 116-260, Dec. 27, 2020) and clause 3(g) of rule II was modified to conform the Committee on Ethics appeals process under such clause to similar appeals processes established in the 117th Congress (sec. 8, H. Res. 85, Feb. 2, 2021, p. _). Citations in this edition refer to: (1) Hinds' Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States (volumes I through V) and Cannon's Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States (volumes VI through VIII), by volume and section (e.g., V, 5763; VIII, 2852); (2) Deschler's Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (volumes 1 through 9), Deschler-Brown Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (volumes 10 through 16), Deschler-Brown-Johnson Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (volume 17), and Deschler-Brown-Johnson-Sullivan Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (volume 18), by chapter and section (e.g., Deschler, ch. 26, Sec. 79.7; Deschler-Brown, ch. 28, Sec. 4.26); (3) Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (volumes 1 through 2), by Parliamentarian last name, chapter and section (e.g., Precedents (Wickham), ch. 1, Sec. 1.1); (4) the Congressional Record, by date and page (e.g., Jan. 29, 1986, p. 684); (5) House Practice (2017), by chapter and section (e.g., House Practice, ch. 1, Sec. 2); (6) Deschler-Brown Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives (4th edition and 1987 supplement), by chapter and section (e.g., Procedure, ch. 5, Sec. 8.1); (7) the United States Code, by title and section (e.g., 2 U.S.C. 287); and (8) the United States Reports, by volume and page (e.g., 395 U.S. 486). [[Page ix]] All of the members of the Office of the Parliamentarian - Anne Gooch, Kyle T. Jones, Julia Cook, Ben Osheroff, Christina Reid, Lloyd Jenkins, Kristen Donahue, and Matthew Kowalewski, as well as Charles Johnson, Max Spitzer, Andrew Neal, Catherine Moran, and Bryan Feldblum - worked diligently to annotate the decisions of the Chair and other parliamentary precedents of the 116th Congress and of the 117th Congress to the date of publication of this edition. Their contributions, and their devotion to the pursuit of excellence in the procedural practices of the House, are gratefully acknowledged. Finally, we take a moment to express our gratitude to Thomas J. Wickham, Jr., not only for his significant contribution to this publication but for his decades of service to the office. Tom's immeasurable knowledge and adroit application of House procedure were matched only by his reverence for the institution and his commitment to mentorship. Like his predecessors, Tom has left an indelible mark on his colleagues and on the procedure of the House. Jay Smith [[Page xi]] March 31, 2021 C O N T E N T S __________ THE CONSTITUTION Page Preamble.......................................................... 3 Article I.--The legislative power..................... 4 II.--The executive power....................... 68 III.--The judicial power........................ 81 IV.--Obligations, duties, etc., of the States.. 83 V.--Amendments to............................. 85 VI.--Law of the land, etc...................... 87 VII.--Ratification of........................... 92 Amendments ratified....................... 94 JEFFERSON'S MANUAL Section I.--Importance of adhering to rules........... 129 III.--Privilege................................. 132 VI.--Quorum.................................... 153 VII.--Call of the House......................... 154 IX.--Speaker................................... 154 X.--Address................................... 157 XI.--Committees................................ 157 XII.--Committee of the Whole.................... 161 XIII.--Examination of witnesses.................. 170 XIV.--Arrangement of business................... 175 XV.--Order..................................... 176 XVI.--Order respecting papers................... 177 XVII.--Order in debate........................... 178 XVIII.--Orders of the House....................... 203 XIX.--Petition.................................. 207 XX.--Motion.................................... 208 XXI.--Resolutions............................... 209 XXIII.--Bills, leave to bring in.................. 211 XXIV.--Bills, first reading...................... 212 XXV.--Bills, second reading..................... 212 XXVI.--Bills, commitment......................... 213 XXVII.--Report of committee....................... 224 [[Page xii]] Page Section XXVIII.--Bill, recommitment........................ 225 XXIX.--Bills, reports taken up................... 226 XXX.--Quasi-committee........................... 228 XXXI.--Bill, second reading in the House......... 231 XXXII.--Reading papers............................ 234 XXXIII.--Privileged questions...................... 236 XXXIV.--The previous question..................... 249 XXXV.--Amendments................................ 251 XXXVI.--Division of the question.................. 260 XXXVII.--Coexisting questions...................... 263 XXXVIII.--Equivalent questions...................... 264 XXXIX.--The question.............................. 266 XL.--Bills, third reading...................... 267 XLI.--Division of the House..................... 271 XLII.--Titles.................................... 276 XLIII.--Reconsideration........................... 276 XLIV.--Bills sent to the other House............. 280 XLV.--Amendments between the Houses............. 281 XLVI.--Conferences............................... 291 XLVII.--Messages.................................. 304 XLVIII.--Assent.................................... 309 XLIX.--Journals.................................. 311 L.--Adjournment............................... 314 LI.--A session................................. 315 LII.--Treaties.................................. 319 LIII.--Impeachment............................... 322 RULES OF THE HOUSE Rule I.--The Speaker............................... 345 II.--Other Officers and Officials.............. 371 III.--The Members, Delegates, and Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico............... 396 IV.--The Hall of the House..................... 401 V.--Broadcasting the House.................... 410 VI.--Official Reporters and News Media Galleries................................. 412 VII.--Records of the House...................... 425 VIII.--Response to Subpoenas..................... 429 IX.--Questions of Privilege.................... 432 X.--Organization of Committees................ 454 XI.--Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business.................................. 567 XII.--Receipt and Referral of Measures and Matters................................... 639 XIII.--Calendars and Committee Reports........... 655 XIV.--Order and Priority of Business............ 691 XV.--Business in Order on Special Days......... 701 [[Page xiii]] Page Rule XVI.--Motions and Amendments.................... 720 XVII.--Decorum and Debate........................ 776 XVIII.--The Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union........................ 809 XIX.--Motions Following the Amendment Stage..... 840 XX.--Voting and Quorum Calls................... 854 XXI.--Restrictions on Certain Bills............. 884 XXII.--House and Senate Relations................ 943 XXIII.--Code of Official Conduct.................. 970 XXIV.--Limitations on Use of Official Funds...... 987 XXV.--Limitations on Outside Earned Income and Acceptance of Gifts....................... 992 XXVI.--Financial Disclosure...................... 1021 XXVII.--Disclosure by Members and Staff of Employment Negotiations................... 1047 XXVIII.--Statutory Limit on the Public Debt........ 1048 XXIX.--General Provisions........................ 1051 Provisions of Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as Amended by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, Applicable to Both Houses Congressional adjournment......................................... 1057 Preservation of committee hearings................................ 1058 Joint and Select Committees Economic Committee, Joint......................................... 1059 Taxation, Joint Committee on...................................... 1059 Library, Joint Committee of Congress on the....................... 1060 Printing, Joint Committee on...................................... 1060 Inaugural Ceremonies, Joint Congressional Committee on............ 1060 Select committees................................................. 1060 [[Page xiv]] House and Congressional Offices House Communications Standards Commission......................... 1063 House Office Building Commission.................................. 1063 Government Accountability Office.................................. 1063 Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.......................... 1063 Congressional Research Service.................................... 1064 Legislative Counsel............................................... 1064 Congressional Budget Office....................................... 1064 Law Revision Counsel.............................................. 1064 Technology Assessment............................................. 1064 Office of the Parliamentarian..................................... 1064 Speaker's Office for Legislative Floor Activities................. 1065 Page Office of Interparliamentary Affairs.............................. 1065 House Recording Studio............................................ 1065 United States Capitol Preservation Commission..................... 1065 Office of General Counsel......................................... 1065 Former Office of Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations. 1066 Office of Attending Physician..................................... 1066 Office of Architect of the Capitol................................ 1066 House Democracy Partnership....................................... 1066 Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission................................ 1066 Office of Congressional Ethics.................................... 1067 Early organization of the House................................... 1069 Miscellaneous Provisions of Congressional Budget Laws Congressional Budget Act of 1974.................................. 1075 Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.................................... 1157 Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010............................... 1161 Legislative Procedures Enacted in Law Measures privileged for consideration in House.................... 1165 [[Page xv]] Index Index............................................................. 1361 GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS Rule XIV First. Prayer by Chaplain. Second. Approval of Journal. Third. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Fourth. Correction of reference of public bills. Fifth. Disposal of business on Speaker's table. Sixth. Unfinished business. Seventh. The morning hour for the consideration of bills. Eighth. Motions to go into Committee of the Whole. Ninth. Orders of the day. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS Every Monday: Mondays Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1. First Tuesday: Tuesdays Private Calendar. Rule XV, clause 5. Individual private bills Every Tuesday: considered on first Tuesday of each month. Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause 1. Call of Committees under Calendar Wednesday. Rule XV, clause 6. Every Wednesday: Wednesdays Motions to suspend rules. Rule XV, clause