The parliamentary procedures by which the House conducts its business derive from a variety of different sources. In the first instance, the U.S. Constitution provides that the House shall have the authority to make its own rules of proceeding and also lays out several additional procedural requirements relating to such matters as: voting by the yeas and nays; quorums; keeping the House Journal; expulsion of Members; and adjournments of Congress.
(1) Additional procedural requirements in the Constitution relate to the enactment of legislation, such as the requirement that all revenue bills originate in the House, and the President’s role in signing or vetoing legislation (subject to congressional override).
(2) Beyond these relatively few constitutional requirements, the primary source of House procedures are the standing rules themselves. As discussed elsewhere,
(3) the standing rules are adopted at the beginning of each Congress, and are applicable to all House procedures from the point of adoption until the expiration of that Congress (unless altered by subsequent House action).
(4) Prior to the adoption of rules, the House is governed by principles of general parliamentary law,
(5) as well as customs or traditions of the House that its membership considers applicable.
Chapter 5. The House Rules, House Journal, and Congressional Record
A. The House Rules
§ 1. Sources; Judicial Authority
§ 2. The House Rules and Manual
§ 3. Applicability; Construction
§ 4. Abrogation; Waiver
§ 5. Adoption of Rules; General Parliamentary Law
§ 6. Amending the Standing Rules
§ 7. Statutory Rulemaking
§ 8. Separate Orders and Orders of the House
§ 9. The Speaker’s Announced Policies B. House Journal
§10. In General
§11. Precedence
§12. Approving the Journal
§13. Reading the Journal
§14. Amending or Correcting the Journal C. Congressional Record
§15. In General; Purpose and Status
§16. Authority Over the Congressional Record
§17. Format
§18. Matters Printed in the Congressional Record
§19. Correction of Errors
§20. Revising and Extending Remarks
§21. Insertion of Extraneous Material
§22. Deletion of Unparliamentary Remarks
§23. Availability; Notice
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x PRECEDENTS OF THE HOUSE
Chapter 6. Officers, Officials, and Employees A. The Speaker
§ 1. Definition and Nature of Office
§ 2. Authority and Duties
§ 3. Power of Appointment
§ 4. Restrictions on the Speaker’s Authority
§ 5. The Speaker as a Member
§ 6. Preserving Order
§ 7. Ethics Investigations of the Speaker B. The Speaker Pro Tempore
§ 8. Definition and Nature of Office; Authorities
§ 9. Oath of Office
§10. Term of Office
§11. Designation of a Speaker Pro Tempore
§12. Election of a Speaker Pro Tempore; Authorities C. Elected House Officers
§13. In General
§14. The Clerk
§15. The Sergeant–at–Arms
§16. The Chaplain
§17. The Chief Administrative Officer D. Other House Officials and Capitol Employees
§18. The Parliamentarian
§19. General Counsel; Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group
§20. Inspector General
§21. Legislative Counsel
§22. Law Revision Counsel
§23. House Historian
§24. House Pages
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xi CONTENTS E. House Employees As Party Defendant or Witness
§26. Current Procedures for Responding to Subpoenas
§27. History of Former Procedures for Responding to Subpoenas F. House Employment and Administration
§28. Employment Practices
§29. Salaries and Benefits of House Officers, Officials, and Employees
§30. Creating and Eliminating Offices; Reorganizations
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Members of the House of Representatives, media members covering Congressional activities and anyone studying or interested in the processes guiding Congressional activities would find this information useful.
