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 Fifteenth Congress were adopted on January 3, 2017, when the House agreed to House Resolution 5. In addition to a series of changes to various standing rules, House Resolution 5 included separate free-standing orders constituting procedures to be followed in the One Hundred Fifteenth Congress. Explanations of the changes to the standing rules appear in the annotations following each rule in the text of this Manual.
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Table of Contents:
THE CONSTITUTION
PREAMBLE ............................................................................................ 3
ARTICLE I.— The legislative power .......................................... 4
II.— The executive power ........................................... 66
III.— The judicial power .............................................. 78
IV.— Obligations, duties, etc., of the States .............. 80
V.— Amendments to ................................................... 82
VI.— Law of the land, etc. ........................................... 84
VII.— Ratification of ...................................................... 89
Amendments ratified .......................................... 91
JEFFERSON’S MANUAL
SECTION I.— Importance of adhering to rules ........................ 127
III.— Privilege ............................................................... 130
VI.— Quorum ................................................................ 150
VII.— Call of the House ................................................ 151
IX.— Speaker ................................................................ 152
X.— Address ................................................................ 154
XI.— Committees ......................................................... 155
XII.— Committee of the Whole ..................................... 158
XIII.— Examination of witnesses .................................. 167
XIV.— Arrangement of business ................................... 172
XV.— Order .................................................................... 174
XVI.— Order respecting papers ..................................... 174
XVII.— Order in debate ................................................... 175
XVIII.— Orders of the House ............................................ 199
XIX.— Petition ................................................................ 202
XX.— Motion .................................................................. 204
XXI.— Resolutions .......................................................... 205
XXIII.— Bills, leave to bring in ........................................ 207
XXIV.— Bills, first reading ............................................... 207
XXV.— Bills, second reading ........................................... 208
XXVI.— Bills, commitment ............................................... 209
XXVII.— Report of committee ........................................... 219
SECTION XXVIII.— Bill, recommitment ............................................. 220
XXIX.— Bills, reports taken up ....................................... 221
XXX.— Quasi-committee ................................................. 223
XXXI.— Bill, second reading in the House ..................... 227
XXXII.— Reading papers ................................................... 229
XXXIII.— Privileged questions ........................................... 231
XXXIV.— The previous question ........................................ 244
XXXV.— Amendments ....................................................... 246
XXXVI.— Division of the question ..................................... 255
XXXVII.— Coexisting questions ........................................... 258
XXXVIII.— Equivalent questions .......................................... 259
XXXIX.— The question ........................................................ 261
XL.— Bills, third reading ............................................. 262
XLI.— Division of the House ......................................... 266
XLII.— Titles .................................................................... 271
XLIII.— Reconsideration ................................................... 272
XLIV.— Bills sent to the other House ............................. 275
XLV.— Amendments between the Houses .................... 276
XLVI.— Conferences ......................................................... 286
XLVII.— Messages .............................................................. 300
XLVIII.— Assent .................................................................. 304
XLIX.— Journals ............................................................... 307
L.— Adjournment ....................................................... 309
LI.— A session .............................................................. 311
LII.— Treaties ................................................................ 314
LIII.— Impeachment ....................................................... 318
RULES OF THE HOUSE
RULE I.— The Speaker ........................................................ 339
II.— Other Officers and Officials ............................... 363
III.— The Members, Delegates, and Resident
Commissioner of Puerto Rico.
385
IV.— The Hall of the House ........................................ 390
V.— Broadcasting the House ..................................... 398
VI.— Official Reporters and News Media Galleries .. 401
VII.— Records of the House .......................................... 413
VIII.— Response to Subpoenas ...................................... 417
IX.— Questions of Privilege ......................................... 420
X.— Organization of Committees .............................. 441
XI.— Procedures of Committees and Unfinished
Business.
554
XII.— Receipt and Referral of Measures and Matters 623
XIII.— Calendars and Committee Reports ................... 638
XIV.— Order and Priority of Business .......................... 674
XV.— Business in Order on Special Days ................... 685
RULE XVI.— Motions and Amendments ................................. 704
XVII.— Decorum and Debate .......................................... 759
XVIII.— The Committee of the Whole House on the
state of the Union.
791
XIX.— Motions Following the Amendment Stage ........ 821
XX.— Voting and Quorum Calls .................................. 837
XXI.— Restrictions on Certain Bills .............................. 868
XXII.— House and Senate Relations .............................. 928
XXIII.— Code of Official Conduct ..................................... 955
XXIV.— Limitations on Use of Official Funds ................ 968
XXV.— Limitations on Outside Earned Income and
Acceptance of Gifts.
973
XXVI.— Financial Disclosure ........................................... 1002
XXVII.— Disclosure by Members and Staff of
Employment Negotiations.
1028
XXVIII.— [Reserved] ............................................................ 1029
XXIX.— General Provisions .............................................. 1030
PROVISIONS OF LEGISLATIVE REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1946, AS AMENDED
BY THE LEGISLATIVE REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1970, APPLICABLE TO
BOTH HOUSES
Congressional adjournment ................................................................ 1035
Preservation of committee hearings .................................................. 1036
JOINT AND SELECT COMMITTEES
Economic Committee, Joint ................................................................ 1037
Taxation, Joint Committee on ............................................................ 1037
Library, Joint Committee of Congress on the ................................... 1038
Printing, Joint Committee on ............................................................ 1038
Inaugural Ceremonies, Joint Congressional Committee on ............ 1038
Select committees ................................................................................ 1038
HOUSE AND CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES
House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards ............... 1041
House Office Building Commission ................................................... 1041
Government Accountability Office ..................................................... 1041
Office of Compliance ........................................................................... 1041
Congressional Research Service ......................................................... 1042
Legislative Counsel ............................................................................. 1042
Congressional Budget Office .............................................................. 1042
Law Revision Counsel ......................................................................... 1042
Technology Assessment ...................................................................... 1042
Office of the Parliamentarian ............................................................ 1042
Speaker’s Office for Legislative Floor Activities ............................... 1043
Office of Interparliamentary Affairs .................................................. 1043
House Recording Studio ..................................................................... 1043
United States Capitol Preservation Commission ............................. 1043
Office of General Counsel ................................................................... 1043
Former Office of Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and
Operations.
1044
Office of Attending Physician ............................................................. 1044
Office of Architect of the Capitol ....................................................... 1044
House Democracy Partnership ........................................................... 1044
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission .......................................... 1044
Office of Congressional Ethics ........................................................... 1045
Early organization of the House ........................................................ 1047
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS OF CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET LAWS
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 ..................................................... 1053
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 ....................................................... 1133
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 ............................................... 1137
LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES ENACTED IN LAW
Measures privileged for consideration in House .............................. 1141
INDEX
Index .................................................................................................... 1325
Members of the House of Representatives rely upon the House Rules and Manual to adhere to parliamentary procedure and any changes to procedure, and may be interested in this publication. In addition, students studying government and politics, historians, and people interested in how Congress functions may be interested in this publication.
High school students through graduate students, and political science and constitutional law professors interested in parliamentary rules and processes may be interested in this updated volume.
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- Wickham, Thomas J.
