Parliamentary Reference Sources: House of Representatives

Parliamentary Reference Sources:
House of Representatives
Updated April 4, 2008
Richard S. Beth
Specialist on the Congress and Legislative Process
Government and Finance Division
Megan Suzanne Lynch
Analyst on the Congress and Legislative Process
Government and Finance Division

Parliamentary Reference Sources:
House of Representatives
Summary
House procedures are based not solely on the code of Rules the chamber adopts
at the start of each Congress, but also on constitutional mandates, published
precedents reflecting authoritative rulings and interpretations of the foregoing
authorities, procedural principles set forth in the manual of practice prepared by
Jefferson, “rule-making” statutes, and practices that have developed without being
formally adopted.. Rules adopted by committees and by the party conferences also
serve as sources of parliamentary practice in the House. This report describes the
coverage, format, and availability of documents that set forth these procedural
authorities, and notes principles of House procedural practice that bear on appropriate
use of these sources. Summaries and appendices provide citations to print and
electronic versions, and list related CRS products.
The main procedural authorities of the House are set forth in the House Manual
(“House Rules and Manual” or, colloquially, “Jefferson’s Manual”), published in
each Congress and distributed to House offices. They include the Constitution,
applicable portions of Jefferson’s Manual, the adopted Rules of the House, and
provisions of statute that have procedural effects, often governing proceedings on
specified measures. In the House Manual, provisions of each authority are
accompanied by the parliamentarian’s annotations of precedents interpreting those
provisions. Budget resolutions may also contain provisions with procedural effect.
The current practice of the House is summarized by topic, with references to
pertinent rules and precedents, in House Practice, prepared by the Office of the
Parliamentarian and provided to all House offices. Precedents from 1936 to 1976 or
later are set forth in full, or topical chapters, in the 16 volumes (so far) of Deschler-
Brown Precedents. Currently applicable precedents, including some later than 1976,
are digested in Procedure in the House, a single volume with a similar chapter
structure. Precedents before 1936 are set forth in the 11 volumes (with indexes) of
Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents, with their own topical order. The older works
among these are out of print, but copies are available for House offices.
Other authorities include policies announced by Speakers in implementing
certain rules, and “memorandums of understanding” reached by committees about
areas of potentially shared jurisdiction. Some of these policies and memorandums
are published in the Congressional Record. Also, House Rules require each
committee to adopt and publish rules, which the Committee on Rules compiles in a
single document in each Congress. Rules adopted by each party conference are in
general made available only to its members. Finally, this report also mentions two
brief procedural guides published under the auspices of House committees.
This report assumes a basic familiarity with House procedure. It will be updated
to reflect the appearance of new editions of the documents discussed and to address
substantial changes in their content and availability. Information about Senate
parliamentary reference sources is covered in CRS Report RL30788, Parliamentary
Reference Sources: Senate, by Richard S. Beth and Megan Suzanne Lynch.

Contents
In troduction ......................................................1
Principles of House Parliamentary Procedure............................2
House Procedures Are Determined by Multiple Authorities ............3
Constitutional Rule-Making Authority of the House...................3
House Rules Are Generally Not Self-Enforcing......................4
The House Rarely Disregards Its Precedents.........................5
The House Adheres to Many Informal Practices......................6
The House Manual and Authorities It Contains..........................6
House Manual................................................6
Organization and Indexing...................................7
Parliamentarian’s Annotations................................7
Summary of Changes to House Rules..........................8
The Constitution..............................................9
Jefferson’s Manual............................................11
Rules of the House............................................14
Recodification ...........................................14
Procedural Provisions of Statute .................................17
Legislative Reorganization Acts.............................17
Expedited Procedures......................................18
Budget Process Statutes....................................20
Procedural Provisions in Budget Resolutions.......................20
Official Compilations of Precedents of the House........................22
House Practice...............................................22
Deschler’s Precedents .........................................26
Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents.................................29
Procedure in the House........................................32
Cannon’s Procedure..........................................35
Additional Authorities.............................................37
Speaker’s Policies............................................37
Memorandums of Understanding Regarding
Committee Jurisdiction....................................39
Rules of Internal Organizations of the House...........................41
Committee Rules of Procedure..................................41
Party Caucus or Conference Rules................................44
Other Congressional Publications on Procedure.........................45
Floor Procedures Manual......................................45
How Our Laws Are Made......................................46
Enactment of a Law...........................................47

Bibliography of House Parliamentary
Reference Sources............................................49
Official Reference Sources.....................................49
Publications of Committees and Offices of the House................50
CRS Products................................................50
Appendix B.
House Parliamentary Reference Information
Available Through the Internet..................................53
Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS)............53
CRS Guides to Congressional Processes...........................53
House Committee on Rules.....................................54
GPO Access.................................................54
Other Library of Congress Sites..................................55
Other House of Representatives Sites.............................55

Parliamentary Reference Sources:
House of Representatives
Introduction
House procedures are not based solely on the Rules that the chamber adopts at
the outset of each new Congress. The foundations of House parliamentary procedure
also include constitutional mandates, principles of parliamentary practice set forth in
Jefferson’s Manual, provisions of law that have the force and effect of rules,
published precedents reflecting authoritative rulings and interpretations of the
foregoing authorities, and informal practices. They also include committee rules,
“memorandums of understanding” between committees regarding committee
jurisdiction, and the rules of each party’s caucus or conference.
This report identifies and describes documents, published by the House or
organs and offices thereof, that provide an official record of these parliamentary
authorities. Members usually cite these documents when raising a point of order or
defending against one. They may be grouped into three classes. The first comprises
the texts of the chief authorities governing parliamentary procedure in the House.¹
These authorities, which are presented in the House Manual with annotations by the
parliamentarian, include
^!the Constitution;
^!Jefferson’s Manual;
^!the adopted Rules of the House; and
^!provisions of law that have the force and effect of rules (“rule-
making statutes”).
A second group of official reference documents compiles and digests the precedents
of the House. This group includes
^!House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures
of the House;
^!Deschler’s (and Deschler-Brown) Precedents of the U.S. House of
Represent a t i ves;
^!Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents of the House of Representatives of
the United States.
^!Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives and its supplements;
and
^!Cannon’s Procedure in the House of Representatives;

¹ Commonly (but, as explained below, misleadingly) referred to as “Jefferson’s Manual.”

Finally, parliamentary reference documents prepared by committees, offices, and
other organs of the House include
^!Committee rules, adopted by the respective committees and
compiled, in each Congress, by the House Committee on Rules in a
print, Rules Adopted by Committees of the House of Representatives;
^!“Memorandums of understanding” (often called “letters of
agreement”) between committees regarding committee jurisdiction;
^!Floor Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives from the
House Committee on Rules;
^!How Our Laws Are Made from the Office of the House
Parliamentarian; and
^!the rules of the Democratic Caucus and of the Republican
Conference, adopted by the respective bodies and prepared by each
for its own Members.
This report begins by reviewing some principles of House procedure that
condition the way in which these parliamentary reference sources can be used. The
body of the report describes the format of each parliamentary reference document and
the content of the authorities it contains. Many of the descriptions of printed sources
also are illustrated with sample pages that show the format of the document and are
annotated to indicate special features and components. Although some of these
illustrations do not reflect the most recent, current edition of the document from
which they are taken, the format and other features they illustrate are retained in the
current editions.
Boxes following the description of each authority present information on how
to locate it in various documentary sources, both in printed form and through the
Internet. In these access boxes, the names of websites appear in bold type.
The appendices of the report summarize the information contained in the access
boxes. Appendix A furnishes citations for each printed reference document covered
in this report, and for related Congressional Research Service (CRS) products.
Appendix B summarizes House parliamentary reference information available
through the Internet.
Official guidance on House parliamentary procedure is available from the Office
of the House Parliamentarian (5-7373). CRS staff (7-5700) also can assist in
clarifying House rules and procedures.
Principles of House Parliamentary Procedure
The House applies the regulations set forth in its various parliamentary
authorities in accordance with several principles that remain generally applicable
across the entire range of procedural situations. Among these principles may be
listed the following: (1) House procedure is governed by multiple authorities, not by
chamber rules alone; (2) the House has a constitutional power to make its own rules
of procedure; (3) House rules are generally not self-enforcing; (4) the House rarely

disregards its precedents; and (5) the House adheres to many practices that have
developed without being formally adopted. Each of these principles is discussed
below.
House Procedures Are Determined by Multiple Authorities
Although the rules of the House may be the most obvious authority governing
House parliamentary procedure, they are, as the introductory discussion has already
shown, by no means the only one. The authorities by which the proceedings of the
House are regulated are not mutually exclusive; rather, any concrete procedural
situation is affected by the interaction among them. As a result, the course taken by
any proceedings in the chamber will depend on all the different parliamentary
authorities that may be pertinent to the specific circumstances.
Constitutional Rule-Making Authority of the House
Article I of the Constitution gives the House the authority to determine its rules
of procedure. This constitutional rule-making authority affects House procedure in
two different ways. First, except in the case of matters prescribed by the Constitution
itself, the House can determine for itself the substance of the rules that will govern
its internal procedures. The House exercises this rule-making power at the beginning
of each Congress when it adopts the chamber’s rules, including any amendments to,
or rules additional to, those of the previous Congress.
The House also uses its rule-making power in this sense when it adopts “special
rules” and when it enacts “rule-making statutes.” A special rule defines a specific
procedure for considering an individual measure on the floor. A rule-making statute
is a law that includes provisions governing House procedures, typically by
prescribing rules for the consideration of a class of measures specified by the act²
itself. For example, the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 contains rule-making
provisions that, among other things, specify the content of the congressional budget
resolution and set terms for its consideration.
Special rules and rule-making statutes have the same standing and effect as the
rules of the House, because they are both created through an exercise of the House’s
constitutional rule-making authority. When the House uses a “rule” to set terms for
considering a measure, it typically adopts the “rule” immediately preceding
consideration of the measure in question. When Congress enacts a law containing
rule-making provisions, it typically includes in the statute a declaration that the
provisions are enacted as an exercise of the rule-making authority of each house. At
the beginning of each Congress, also, the House provides for the continued
effectiveness of existing rule-making statutes as part of the same action by which it
adopts its general code of chamber rules.
A further way in which the House’s rule-making authority affects its procedure
is that the House can determine when its adopted code of Rules, including rule-
making statutes, should not govern its own proceedings. In practical terms, this

² Titles I-X of P.L. 93-344, 88 Stat. 298, as amended.

principle allows the House, by unanimous consent, to take parliamentary actions that
violate its adopted Rules, or, by a two-thirds vote, to suspend the rules for
consideration of a measure. Moreover, by majority vote, the House can adopt a
special rule waiving points of order that Members could normally raise under the
rules of the House or under a rule-making statute.
House Rules Are Generally Not Self-Enforcing
Rules of the House, as well as other authorities that have the force of chamber
rules (such as rule-making statutes and special rules), are normally enforced by
Members raising points of order. A point of order is a claim, stated by a Member
from the floor, that the House is violating or about to violate some House Rule,
precedent, or other procedural authority. When a point of order is raised, the chair
(the Speaker when in the House proper; the chairman when in Committee of the
Whole) normally rules on its validity, often providing an explanation of the
parliamentary rationale behind the ruling.³ If the chair sustains the point of order, the
House cannot proceed with the action the point of order assails. As the next section
describes, the ruling of the chair in such cases normally stands as a precedent of the
House.
The chair may also enforce House Rules and other sources of procedural
authority by refusing to entertain a proposed action that these authorities do not
permit. In some circumstances, the chair might take the initiative to rule such an
action out of order, or to make an announcement to the House regarding proper
procedure. For example, the chair often reminds members of rules of decorum
during debate. In many circumstances, however, the chair does not take initiative to
call to the chamber’s attention that a violation of House rules is taking place. Under
these conditions, unless some Member raises a point of order, the House can proceed
in ways contrary to the requirements of its procedural authorities.
In addition, points of order and rulings of the chair occur only on procedural
questions raised pursuant to rules and precedents of the House. The chair will not
rule on a point of order asserting a violation of constitutional requirements, for the
chair has authority only over adopted rules and not over the Constitution. It is the
practice of the House that the judgment of the chamber on a constitutional matter is
to be settled by the vote of the body on the substantive question with respect to which
the constitutional question is raised.⁴

³ When a point of order is raised, there are a few situations when the chair does not make
a ruling. For example, the chair does not rule on the points of order established by the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4, 109 STAT. 48). When a Member
raises a point of order against considering a measure containing unfunded mandates, the
House votes on whether to consider the measure after 10 minutes of debate. See CRS
General Distribution Memorandum, Unfunded Mandates: Procedure in the House, by
Richard S. Beth, January 31, 2000 (available through the author).
⁴ U.S. Congress, House, Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of the House of
Representatives of the United States, One Hundred Tenth Congress, 109^th Cong., 2^nd sess.,
H.Doc. 109-157, [compiled by] John V. Sullivan, Parliamentarian (Washington: GPO,
(continued...)

Similarly, parliamentary actions undertaken on the basis of rules of a party
caucus or conference, are not enforceable on the House floor, and the same is often
true of practices that have developed without being formally adopted. While party
caucus and conference rules, and practices that are “informal” in this sense, form part
of the basis of House procedure, they are not produced through an exercise of the
chamber’s constitutional rule-making authority, and hence do not have the same
standing as the Rules of the House. Caucus or conference rules are created and
enforced by one party, and informal practices evolve over the years as custom.
Finally, rules of procedure adopted by each House committee generally cannot be
enforced on the House floor, though they can be enforced in the committee that
adopts them.
The House Rarely Disregards Its Precedents
The published precedents of the House set forth how the chamber has
interpreted and applied the chamber’s rules. Most precedents are formed when the
chair rules on a point of order, deciding either to sustain or overrule. In principle,
any Member could appeal a ruling of the chair to the House itself, which would then
determine the question itself by a majority vote. This proceeding would constitute
an exercise of the constitutional authority of the House over its own rules, and the
resulting determination of the House would also constitute a precedent. In practice,
however, the House almost never entertains appeals of rulings of the chair, and even
when it does, it seldom reverses the chair; in fact, the majority usually votes at once
to lay any appeal on the table, an action that has the effect of confirming the ruling
of the chair.
Precedents also can be created when the chair responds to a parliamentary
inquiry, or when the House makes a procedural decision by a majority vote (e.g., to
adopt a certain type of special rule).
Precedents influence the manner in which current House rules are applied by
relating past decisions to the specific case before the chamber. In specific cases, it
may often be necessary to consult the published precedents for guidance on how each
rule has been applied. In this way, the published precedents of the House function
in practice both to complement and supplement the rules of the House. Precedents,
accordingly, are analogous to case law in their effect. Just as attorneys in court will
cite previous judicial decisions to support their arguments, Members will cite
precedents of the House to support their point of order, or to defend against one.
Similarly, the chair will often support a ruling by citing the decisions of predecessors.
Historically, the House rarely disregards its precedents.
Precedents do not carry equal weight. Those based on the chair’s disposition
of points of order or on a decision of the House by majority vote have more weight
than those based on the chair’s response to parliamentary inquiries. In addition, more
recent precedents generally receive greater weight than earlier ones, and a precedent
that is part of an evolved pattern will have more weight than one that is isolated in

⁴ (...continued)

2007), sec. 628. (Hereafter cited as House Manual).

its effect. Moreover, all precedents must be evaluated in the historical context of the
rules and practices at the time they were established. Because of the need to consider
these various principles, Members needing to find precedents to support or rebut an
argument might wish to seek the official advice of the Parliamentarian of the House
(5-7373).
The House Adheres to Many Informal Practices
Some House procedural actions are undertaken on the basis of practices that
have evolved over the years and become accepted custom without being formally
adopted, which can be called “informal” practices. Inasmuch as practices that are
“informal” in this sense are not mandated by any authoritative statement, they cannot
in general be enforced on the House floor through a point of order. In practice,
however, these informal practices are rarely challenged on the House floor. Many
are described in documents that digest the practice of the House or compile its formal
precedents. Contemporary examples of House procedures determined by these
informal practices include (1) the Speaker’s recognition of Members for one-minute
and special order speeches; and (2) giving members of the committee or
subcommittee reporting a bill priority recognition for offering floor amendments.
The House Manual and Authorities It Contains
House Manual
The House Manual compiles in one volume the text of all the principal
parliamentary sources that have authoritative force in House proceedings,
accompanied by annotations by the Parliamentarian of the House that summarize
precedents and practices pertinent to each provision. The authorities included in the
Manual are:
^!the Constitution of the United States;
^!portions of Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Practice;
^!the adopted Rules of the House;
^!rule-making statutes, especially those governing the congressional
budget process and those containing congressional disapproval
provisions.
The formal title of this document is Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of
the House of Representatives, and it is usually spoken of simply as the House
Manual, House Rules Manual, or House Rules and Manual. It also is often referred
to as “Jefferson’s Manual.” In fact, however, as the preceding list shows, this
colloquial reference is a misnomer, for the procedural manual actually prepared by
Thomas Jefferson constitutes only one element of the contents of the volume.
An edition of the House Manual is published by the Government Printing Office
as an official, numbered House Document, in each Congress, usually at some point
during the first session. The edition for each Congress bears a House Document
number from the preceding Congress, because the House typically authorizes it

during the preceding Congress. Thus, for example, the Manual for the 110^th
Congress is designated “H.Doc. 109-157.”
Subsequent sections in this part of the report discuss the several parliamentary
authorities incorporated in the House Manual and identify other reference sources in
which each is also found. The remainder of the present section describes features of
the Manual that appear uniquely in this reference source. These include
^!a single comprehensive index to all the authorities contained in the
Manual;
^!the annotations by the Parliamentarian of the House to the provisions
of each authority, summarizing pertinent precedents that bear on
each provision; and
^!a preface that presents a summary of changes to House Rules
adopted since the last Congress.
Organization and Indexing. The House Manual is organized in numbered
sections that run throughout the Manual in a single sequence, often with gaps
between the end of one section and the start of the next. These normally remain
constant from edition to edition, which facilitates citation and reference across
editions. For this reason, citations to the Manual are usually given not by page
number, but instead by section number. Manual section numbers are also listed at^th
the top of each page. As discussed below, House Rules were recodified in the 106
Congress in a revised structure that reduced their number from 52 to 28. At that
time, as a result, section numbers necessarily changed in the portion of the Manual
devoted to those rules.
The extensive index of the House Manual also provides citations by section
number. This index breaks major topics into subheadings, and under each
subheading, the topic of each provision cited is identified by a descriptive
specification. Citations under the subject heading “Civil offices,” for example, are
identified by the following entries: “May be removed by impeachment” and
“Members not to be appointed to certain.” The index should be thoroughly examined
in order to find all pertinent citations. For example, information on motions to
suspend the rules is indexed under two subject headings: “Rules, suspension of,” and
“Suspension of Rules.”
Parliamentarian’s Annotations. Annotations prepared by the
Parliamentarian of the House appear throughout the House Manual. These
annotations, often referred to as the “Parliamentarian’s notes,” typically follow the
clause or other provision of procedural authority to which they apply. They describe
the history of the respective provision and provide useful information about its
contemporary application. They explain current practice and briefly describe some
of the most important precedents.
Citations to important precedents are presented in parentheses throughout the
annotations. These citations refer the reader to various official publications setting
forth precedents, which are described later in this report. Citations appear in the
following formats:

^!Congressional Record: the date and (except in the case of very
recent citations) the page number in the permanent Congressional
Record (e.g., “January 29, 1986, p. 684”). Some citations also
provide additional information, such as the number of the bill
involved in the precedent.
^!Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents: a roman numeral indicating the
volume number, and the section number (e.g., “V, 5763”).
^!Deschler’s Precedents or Deschler-Brown Precedents: the
publication’s shortened title, volume number, chapter number, and
section number (e.g., “Deschler-Brown Precedents, vol. 10, ch. 28,
sec. 4.26”).
^!Procedure in the House: the publication’s shortened title, chapter
number, and section number (e.g., “Procedure, ch. 5, sec. 8.1”).
^!Pronouncements by the Speaker: the name of the Speaker, the date,
and (except in very recent instances) the page number in the
permanent Congressional Record page number (e.g., “Speaker
O’Neill, Mar. 2, 1978, p. 5272”).
^!United States Code: by title and section (e.g., “2 U.S.C. 287”); and
^!United States Reports, compiling rulings of the Supreme Court: by
volume and page (e.g., “395 U.S. 486”).
The discussion of precedents in the parliamentarian’s annotations has great
practical value for several reasons. First, it allows the reader to see the relationship
between the operation of specific clauses in the authority annotated and the
precedents. Second, because the discussion is updated each time the House Manual
is published, it references some important precedents that are not included in earlier
compilations or digests of precedent. Last, the citations provided in parentheses can
be a time-saving research tool for readers seeking precedents related to a specific
clause of House Rules or of the other parliamentary authorities included in the House
Manual.
Excerpts from the parliamentarian’s annotations appear in many of the sample
House Manual pages presented in this report. The description of each parliamentary
authority discusses the information provided in the parliamentarian’s annotations.
Summary of Changes to House Rules. This summary, which normally
appears in the preface to the House Manual for the each Congress, typically covers
the most substantive changes in House Rules adopted since the previous edition of
the Manual.

House Manual
U.S. Congress, House, Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of the
House of Representatives of the States, One Hundred Tenth Congress, H.Doc.

109-157, 109^th Cong., 2^nd sess., [compiled by] John V. Sullivan,

Parliamentarian (Washington: GPO, 2007).
Print: A new edition of the Manual normally appears at some point during
the first session of each Congress. When issued, the Manual is automatically
distributed to House Member and committee offices. Additional copies may
be available from the House Legislative Resource Center (6-5200).
Internet: The full text of the current House Manual can be searched online
through the following websites:
LIS, the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress:
a link to the House Manual (labeled “Jefferson’s Manual”) appears on the
House page at
[ h ttp://www.congress.gov/house.php]
GPO Access, a website of the Government Printing Office:
[ http://www.gpoaccess.gov/hrm/index .html]
The Constitution
The House Manual presents the text of the Constitution (including amendments)
with annotations by the parliamentarian explaining how the House and the courts
have interpreted and applied constitutional provisions. In particular, Article I, section
5 imposes several procedural requirements on the House. This part of the
Constitution grants the House the authority to adopt its own rules, requires the House
to keep and publish an official journal of its proceedings, mandates the presence of
a quorum to conduct business in the House, and requires that a yea and nay vote be
conducted upon the request of one-fifth of the Members present. The
parliamentarian’s annotations elaborate on how each of these constitutional
provisions has been applied in practical terms in the House.
Reprinted on the following page is the constitutional provision requiring the
yeas and nays, followed by some of the parliamentarian’s annotations.⁵

⁵ Constitution of the United States, in House Manual, One Hundred Fifth Congress, H.Doc.
104-272, 104^th Cong., 2^nd sess., [compiled by] Charles W. Johnson, Parliamentarian
(Washington: GPO, 1997), pp. 32-33.

Constitution
The text of the Constitution and its amendments, with the parliamentarian’s
annotations, is available in print and online as it appears in the House Manual,
secs. 1-258.
Print: The text of the Constitution and amendments, with annotations
prepared by CRS that include references to decisions of the Supreme Court, is
printed in: U.S. Congress, Senate, The Constitution of the United States of
America: Analysis and Interpretation, S.Doc. 108-17, 108^th Cong., 2d sess.,
prepared by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Johnny
H. Killian, George A. Costello, Kenneth R. Thomas, co-editors (Washington:
GPO, 2004). This document is often referred to as The Constitution
Annotated.
Between comprehensive revisions, The Constitution Annotated is
supplemented by “pocket parts” also prepared by CRS. The current
supplement is: U.S. Congress, Senate, The Constitution of the United States of^th
America: Analysis and Interpretation: 2006 Supplement, S.Doc. 110-6, 110
Cong., 1^st sess, prepared by the Congressional Research Service, Library of
Congress, Kenneth R. Thomas, editor-in-chief (Washington: GPO, 2007).
Internet: The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and
Interpretation is available through the following websites:
CRS, the Congressional Research Service:
[ h ttp://www.crs.gov/products/conan/]
GPO Access, a website of the Government Printing Office:
[ http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/index .html] .
The Constitution, with its amendments, is available through
THOMAS, the public access website of the Library of Congress:
[ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ const/const.html] .
Jefferson’s Manual
House Rule XXVIII, which dates from 1837, states that “the rules of
parliamentary practice comprised by Jefferson’s Manual shall govern the House in
all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the
standing Rules and orders of the House.”⁶

⁶ House Rule XXVIII, clause 1, in House Manual, sec. 1105.

Thomas Jefferson wrote this manual, the full title of which is A Manual of
Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of the United States, when he
served as Vice President, and hence as President of the Senate, from 1797 to 1801.
Jefferson’s Manual is a statement of parliamentary law and the philosophy behind
various parliamentary actions. It is based largely on the practice of the British House
of Commons in the late 18^th Century. Interestingly, while this manual was originally
intended for use in the U.S. Senate, the Senate today does not take it as an authority
on its own procedure.
The phrase “Jefferson’s Manual” is sometimes incorrectly used to refer either
to the House Manual or to the adopted Rules of the House. In fact, however,
Jefferson’s Manual is a document distinct from either, and the House Manual
incorporates only those of its sections that apply to House parliamentary procedure.
In the Manual, annotations by the parliamentarian explain how practices set forth in
Jefferson’s Manual either relate or no longer relate to House procedure today. These
annotations demonstrate that some of the House’s most important parliamentary
procedures, such as those governing debate, consideration of amendments, and
resolving differences between the two houses, are based in part on practices
established by Jefferson’s Manual.
An excerpt from Jefferson’s Manual, with the parliamentarian’s annotations, is
reprinted on the following page.⁷
Jefferson’s Manual
Those portions of Jefferson’s Manual that apply to contemporary House
procedure, with the parliamentarian’s annotations, appear in the House
Manual, secs. 283-620.
Print: The full text of Jefferson’s Manual was printed as Thomas Jefferson, A
Manual of Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of the United
States, S.Doc. 103-8, 103^rd Cong., 1^st sess., prepared by the U.S. Senate
Historical Office (Washington: GPO, 1993). This edition is no longer
available from GPO.
Internet: Available only as published in the House Manual.

⁷ Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Practice, in House Manual, One Hundred Sixth
Congress, H.Doc. 105-358, 105^th Cong., 2^nd sess., [compiled by] Charles W. Johnson,
Parliamentarian (Washington: GPO, 1999), p. 235.

Rules of the House
At the start of each Congress, the House approves a resolution (H.Res. 6 in the
110^th Congress) adopting the Rules of the House for that Congress. The resolution
usually provides for the re-adoption of the Rules of the previous House with specified
amendments. In contemporary practice, these adopted amendments are
recommended by the majority party. The House may adopt other changes by
approving a resolution during the course of a Congress.
The House Manual presents the Rules of the House clause by clause, along with
the parliamentarian’s annotations for each clause, which include identification of any
changes adopted since the last Congress. The House’s prohibition of non-germane
amendments (Rule XVI, clause 7), for example, receives detailed coverage in the
parliamentarian’s annotations. An excerpt from the House Manual for the 105^th
Congress, showing some of these annotations, appears below.⁸
The text of the Rules of the House are usually also published early in each
Congress by the clerk in an unnumbered print. This document, often called the
“Clerk’s Print,” incorporates any rules changes adopted by the House on opening day,
and is usually the first available document containing the text of House Rules as
amended. This print contains only the text of the rules themselves, with no
annotations or index. The Congressional Record of the House proceedings on the
resolution adopting the Rules usually includes the text of amendments to the Rules
being made by the resolution.
Recodification. In the preface (dated June 18, 2007) to the House Manual for
the 109^th Congress, the parliamentarian notes that in the 106^th Congress, the House
adopted a major recodification of the Rules of the House. A similar statement has
appeared in the preface to each edition of the Manual since the recodification. This
recodification included a structural revision that reduced the number of rules from
52 to 28. Explanations of how each of the recodified rules is derived from provisions
of in the previous codification, and of substantive changes in each recodified rule,
appear in the annotations following the text of each rule in the Manual.
The preface and introductory matter in the House Manual for the 106^th Congress
provided an explanation of the structure of this recodification, relating recodified
provisions to those of the former codification. Material explaining the recodification,⁹
including a summary, a side-by-side comparison of the former and new code, and a
table of recodification citation changes, can be found also at the website of the House
Committee on Rules under the link for Rules and Precedents of the House.

⁸ Rules of the House of Representatives, in House Manual, 105^th Congress, pp. 606-607.
⁹ House Manual, 106^th Congress, p. v-ix, xv-xvii.

Rules of the House
The Rules of the current House, with the parliamentarian’s annotations, appear in the
House Manual, secs. 621-1105.
Print: Rules of the House of Representatives, the unnumbered print issued by the
Clerk of the House, is automatically distributed to Member and committee offices.
The current edition is U.S. Congress, House, Rules of the House of Representatives,^th
110 Congress, prepared by Lorraine C. Miller, Clerk of the House of
Representatives (np: 2007), Sept. 14, 2007.
The text of H.Res. 6 for the 110^th Congress appears in Rules of the House,
proceedings in the House, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 153, January 4,

2007, pp. H19-H23.

Explanatory material on the recodification of the 106^th Congress, including a side-by-
side comparison of provisions of the previous and new rules, appeared in U.S.
Congress, House, Committee on Rules, The Recodification of the Rules of the House^th^st
of Representatives, committee print, 106 Cong., 1 sess. (Washington: GPO, 1999),
May 12, 1999.
Internet: The Rules of the House are available through the following sites:
LIS, the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress:
a link appears on the House page at
[ h t t p : / / www.congr e ss.go v/ house.php]
House Committee on Rules:
[ ht t p: / / www.r ul e s.house.gov/ house_r ul e s_pr ecedent s .ht m]
CRS, the Congressional Research Service:
a link appears on the “Congressional Processes” page at
[ ht t p: / / www.cr s.gov/ pr oduct s / gui des/ gui dehome.sht ml ]
The text of H.Res. 6 for the 110^th Congress is available through a search at the
following sites:
LIS, the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress:
in the Congressional Record file at
[http://www.congress.gov/crtext/110-advanced.html] and
in the bill file at
[http://www.congress.gov/].

Procedural Provisions of Statute
As already noted, the constitutional grant to each chamber of Congress of
authority over its own rules permits the House to establish procedural regulations
though simple resolutions, which are adopted through action of the originating
chamber alone. In certain cases, nevertheless, the House institutes procedures
through provisions included in statutory measures (bills and joint resolutions), which
can become effective only through agreement between both houses and presentation
to the President.
Because these procedures are created through an exercise of each chamber’s
constitutional rule-making power, they have the same standing as House and Senate
rules. A statute that contains “rule-making provisions,” in this sense, usually also
incorporates a provision, often entitled “Exercise of Rule-Making Power,” which
asserts the rule-making authority of each chamber by declaring that the pertinent
provisions “shall be considered as part of the rules of each House,” and are subject
to being changed “in the same manner ... as in the case of any other rule of such
House” — that is, for example, by adoption of a simple resolution of the House.¹⁰
The major legislative reorganization acts of recent decades exemplify rule-
making statutes, for they include provisions with effects on procedures of the House
generally. Most statutory rule-making provisions, however, specify legislative
procedures to be followed in the House and the Senate in the consideration of
specified matters. Some of these establish expedited procedures for congressional
action on specified proposals from the executive branch that the statute permits to
take effect either only with congressional approval, or only in the absence of
congressional disapproval. Others, principally derived from the Congressional
Budget Act and related statutes, regulate the congressional budget process. The
House Manual includes provisions from all three kinds of rule-making statute, with
annotations by the parliamentarian.
Legislative Reorganization Acts. The major legislative reorganization acts
that contain provisions currently regulating House procedure are the Legislative¹¹¹²
Reorganization Act of 1946 and the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970.
Many of the provisions of these acts that established legislative procedures have¹³
since been incorporated into the Rules of the House. The parliamentarian’s
annotations to the pertinent provisions of House Rules in the House Manual note
their origin in the legislative reorganization acts and discuss their effect on House
procedures. In addition, a separate section of the Manual sets forth, and annotates,

¹⁰ For example, Section 904(a)(1) and 904(a)(2) of the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-344, 88 Stat. 298, as amended).
¹¹ P.L. 79-601, 60 Stat. 812.
¹² P.L. 91-510, 84 Stat. 1140.
¹³ For example, the requirement that all House standing committees adopt written rules of
procedure (House Rule XI, clause 2) was originally a provision of the Legislative
Reorganization Act of 1970. This requirement was incorporated into the rules of the House
in 1971. See Rules of the House of Representatives in House Manual, sec. 791.

a few provisions of these acts that have current effect but have not become
incorporated into House Rules.
Expedited Procedures. The concluding section of the House Manual for^th
the 110 Congress is entitled “Statutory Legislative Procedures” (in previous
editions, corresponding contents appeared under the heading “‘Congressional
Disapproval’ Provisions Contained in Public Laws”). This section of the Manual
sets forth over 50 excerpts from statutes that define special procedures for Congress
to follow in disapproving or approving specified actions of the executive branch or
independent agencies. Procedures of this kind typically establish expedited, or “fast
track,” procedures to permit the House and the Senate to enact a joint resolution in
disapproval or approval of actions of the specified kinds.
These provisions of law are a type of rule-making statute because they create
procedures that have the force and effect of rules of the House, Senate, or both,
through an exercise of the constitutional rule-making power of the two chambers.
The House Manual terms these “privileged procedures,” inasmuch as they make the
specified approval or disapproval measures privileged for consideration. The Manual
seems to be the only readily available document to contain a compilation of these
various privileged procedures. In some cases, however, the Manual includes the
rule-making provisions that govern procedure in either the House or the Senate; in
others, only those provisions that affect House procedure are given. Many of these
statutes have been infrequently used, and the parliamentarian’s annotations in this
part of the Manual are fewer than in other places.
The provisions included in the Manual include some drawn from at least one
statute that, like those described in the next subsection, regulates the congressional
budget process: namely, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act¹⁴
of 1985. Other well-known examples include sections 2903, 2904, and 2908 of the
Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990,¹⁵ which govern congressional
consideration of recommendations of a Base Closure and Realignment Commission,
and sections 151 to 154 of the Trade Act of 1974,¹⁶ which establish “fast track”
procedures for considering legislation related to the implementation of certain trade
agreements. Reprinted on the following page is Section 151(f) of the Trade Act as^th¹⁷
it appeared in the House Manual for the 105 Congress.

¹⁴ P.L. 99-177, 99 Stat. 1037, as amended; often called the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act.
¹⁵ Title XXIX of P.L. 101-510, 104 Stat. 1485 at 1808f., as amended.
¹⁶ P.L. 93-618, 93 Stat. 1978, as amended.
¹⁷ “Congressional Disapproval” Provisions Contained in Public Laws, in House Manual,

105^th Congress, p. 1070.

Budget Process Statutes. A section of the House Manual presents selected
provisions of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974¹⁸ and¹⁹
the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. The provisions set forth are rule-making
provisions that define specific procedures for considering budgetary legislation in the
House and the Senate. For example, the Congressional Budget Act establishes
special procedures for considering the congressional budget resolution and
reconciliation legislation, and establishes points of order that a Member could raise
against consideration of budgetary legislation.
These rule-making provisions are accompanied by the parliamentarian’s
annotations on how they have been applied in both the House and the Senate.
Reprinted on the following page is an excerpt from Section 305(a) of the^th
Congressional Budget Act, as it appears in the House Rules and Manual for the 105
Congress, with the parliamentarian’s annotations.²⁰ This section sets forth
procedures for House floor consideration of the budget resolution.
Statutory Legislative Procedures
Provisions of statute that establish expedited procedures in the House for
specified measures appear as “Legislative Procedures Enacted in Law” in
House Manual, sec. 1130 through 1130(32). Provisions relating to legislative
procedure contained in the Congressional Budget Act (2 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or
enacted by the Budget Enforcement Act on 1990 (in title XIII of P.L. 101-508)
appear under the heading “Congressional Budget Act; Budget Enforcement
Act” in House Manual, sec. 1127, 1129. Certain provisions of the Legislative
Reorganization Act of 1946, applicable to both houses, appear under the
heading “Legislative Reorganization Acts” in House Manual, sec. 1106-1107.
Procedural Provisions in Budget Resolutions
The Congressional Budget Act requires Congress to adopt each year a
congressional resolution on the budget. The chief purpose of this measure is to set
congressional spending, revenue, and deficit targets for the fiscal year and to allocate
spending (budget authority and outlays) subject to those targets among budgetary
functional categories. In recent years, however, budget resolutions have often
included supplementary procedural regulations to govern subsequent action on
spending bills or other budget-related measures.

¹⁸ P.L. 93-344, 88 Stat. 298, as amended; commonly referred to as the Congressional Budget
Act.
¹⁹ P.L. 101-508, 104 Stat. 1388-573, as amended. This rule-making statute and the
preceding one, together with relevant House precedents, are discussed in the “Budget
Process” chapter of U.S. Congress, House, House Practice: A Guide to the Rules,^th^st
Precedents and Procedures of the House, 108 Cong., 1 sess. (Washington: GPO, 2003),
pp. 188-190.
²⁰ Congressional Budget Act, in House Manual, 105^th Congress, pp. 918-919.

The budget resolution is a concurrent resolution, which is a form of measure that
becomes effective upon agreement between the two houses. Procedural provisions
in budget resolutions, accordingly, resemble rule-making provisions of statute in that
they operate with the same force as procedural rules of the respective houses, even
though they are established through a process that involves the concurrence of bodies
other than the respective houses. Like statutes that contain rule-making provisions,
therefore, budget resolutions that contain procedural provisions typically also include
language asserting these provisions to be adopted as an exercise of the constitutional
authority of each house over its own rules and in recognition of the right of each
house subsequently to alter them through its own internal procedures. These
provisions are accordingly considered in this section of the report even though they
are not compiled in the House Manual.
Some procedural provisions in budget resolutions have been made applicable
only for the coming year’s budgetary action, but others have been established as
permanent procedures, and are subsequently altered or abolished only by further
action in a subsequent budget resolution. Procedural provisions in budget resolutions
have most often concerned procedure in the Senate, and have often appeared in
budget resolutions as a result of action by the Senate. Some of them, nevertheless,
have had bicameral application. Neither these procedural provisions as a whole nor
only those applicable in the House, however, are comprehensively compiled in any
single source. Instead, they may best be identified by examining the texts of adopted
congressional budget resolutions for successive years.
Many of these procedural provisions institute new points of order that, like those
established by the Budget Act itself, are available against budgetary measures or
provisions contained therein. The congressional budget resolution for fiscal year
2008 (S.Con.Res. 21, 110^th Congress), for example, established a limitation in each
house against most “advance appropriations,” identified, for the House of
Representatives, as appropriations, contained in a general appropriations bill or
continuing resolution for fiscal year 2008, that first become available in any later
fiscal year.²¹
Procedural Provisions in Congressional Budget Resolutions
Procedural provisions applicable to the House that originated in congressional
budget resolutions are not comprehensively compiled in any official source.
They may best be identified by examining the texts of the budget resolutions
themselves.
Internet: Congressional budget resolutions that contain procedural provisions
are available in searchable form through
LIS, the legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress:
[ h ttp://www.congress.gov/110-advanced.html]

²¹ S.Con.Res. 21, 110^th Cong., sec. 206(b).

Official Compilations of Precedents of the House
As already discussed, selected precedents of the House are summarized in the
parliamentarian’s annotations in the House Manual. Moreover, procedural floor
exchanges that establish House precedents are recorded in the Congressional Record
on the dates when they occurred. In addition, however, House precedents in general
are compiled, digested, described, or referenced in five official publications of the
House:
^!House Practice;
^!Deschler’s Precedents;
^!Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents;
^!Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives and its supplement;
and
^!Cannon’s Procedure.
House Practice presents comprehensive, consolidated information about
contemporary procedure in the House, including reference to the precedents and other
parliamentary authorities on which it is grounded. The three collections of
precedents listed compile precedents of the House, setting forth both the principles
they illustrate and the proceedings that established or exemplify them. Deschler’s
Precedents compiles precedents established from 1936 through the date of
publication, Hinds’ Precedents those established up to 1906, and Cannon’s
Precedents those established between 1906 and 1936.
The other two documents listed are no longer current, but can be viewed as
predecessor documents of House Practice. Although the format of each document
is different, each presents a digest of the then current practice of the House with
citations of precedential and other authorities in which it is grounded.
When examining published precedents for their application to a particular
parliamentary situation, the reader might bear in mind the principles of House
procedure discussed earlier in this report. Members needing to find precedents to
support or rebut a parliamentary argument might wish to seek the official advice of
Office of the House Parliamentarian (5-7373).
House Practice
The one-volume publication House Practice is the most up-to-date reference
source for information about the rules and selected precedents governing House
procedure. The initial edition of this work, the full title of which is House Practice:
A Guide to the Rules, Precedents, and Procedures of the House, was prepared by
William Holmes Brown during the final years of his tenure (1974-1994) as House
Parliamentarian.²² The document was designed to replace Procedure in the U.S.
House of Representatives (described in a later section). In 2003, the initial edition
was superseded by a second, prepared under the direction of Parliamentarian Charles

²² W[illia]m Holmes Brown, House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and
Procedures of the House, 104^th Cong., 2^nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 1996).

W. Johnson III, reflecting the modern practice of the House as of the 108^th
Congress.²³
House Practice is organized into chapters that cover 59 subjects of House
procedure (the first edition had 57). These chapters are presented in alphabetical
order, and the list of chapter subjects appears as a table of contents to House
Practice. Each chapter is divided into topical sections, with the main topics
numbered and sometimes grouped under broader overall headings identified by letter.
Each chapter opens with a list of the chapter’s main topics, by section. This list
is followed by useful citations to other House parliamentary reference sources, under
the heading “Research References.” The House Manual, Deschler’s Precedents, and
Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents, are the most frequently cited reference sources.
House Practice is the only parliamentary reference source that provides such a listing
of “Research References.”
The first section of each chapter reviews general principles governing the House
procedure under discussion. Depending on the complexity of the procedural subject,
the main topics of sections may be further divided into subtopics. For each main
topic and subtopic, the text of House Practice summarizes relevant House rules and
selected precedents, and cites the reference source containing their full texts. In
addition, relevant chapters provide the terminology used to undertake certain
parliamentary actions, such as making different motions (often under the subtopic
heading “Forms”).
House Practice has a separate chapter on the rules and precedents governing
House consideration of budgetary legislation. (The chapter is titled “Budget
Process.”) This chapter’s first section provides useful summaries of the main rule-
making statutes related to the budget process.
Readers can use the publication’s index to locate information about specific
procedural topics. This index is organized around the chapter subject headings; the
entries under each heading direct readers to relevant sections in that chapter. For
each subject heading, the index provides a more detailed listing of procedural topics
than do the outlines at the heads of the respective chapters.
Reprinted on the following pages are excerpts from the House Practice chapter
on the “Previous Question.”²⁴

²³ W[illia]m Holmes Brown and Charles W. Johnson, House Practice: A Guide to the Rules,
Precedents and Procedures of the House, 108^th Cong., 1^st sess. (Washington: GPO, 2003).
²⁴ Brown, House Practice, 104^th Cong., pp. 653, 664.

House Practice
William Holmes Brown and Charles W. Johnson, House Practice: A Guide to
the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House, 108^th Cong., 1^st sess.
(Washington: GPO, 2003).
Print: At the time this report was issued, copies of the 2003 edition of House
Practice were no longer available from the Legislative Resource Center. A
new edition was in preparation. When available, it will be distributed to
House Member and committee offices. Members will be able to request
additional copies from the House Legislative Resource Center/House
Document Room (6-5200).
Internet: The 2003 edition of House Practice is available through these sites:
LIS, the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress:
a link appears on the House page at
[ h ttp://www.congress.gov/house.php]
GPO Access, a website of the Government Printing Office:
[ h ttp://www.gpoaccess.gov/hpractice/browse.html]
Deschler’s Precedents
The significant recent precedents of the House are set forth in a series of
volumes known as Deschler’s Precedents, the full title of which is Deschler’s
Precedents of the United States House of Representatives.²⁵ Sixteen volumes have
been published to date, and the preparation of additional volumes continues, under
the auspices of the Parliamentarian of the House. The series was initiated by Lewis
Deschler, Parliamentarian of the House from 1928 to 1974, and continued by his
successors. The formal title for volume 10 and subsequent volumes is Deschler-
Brown Precedents of the United States House of Representatives, in recognition of
work done by William Holmes Brown, Parliamentarian of the House from 1974 to

1994.

Deschler’s Precedents covers precedents of the House established after 1936.
Given that its volumes have appeared over a period of years, the coverage of the later
volumes extends to a later point than that of the earlier ones. The coverage of
volume 1 concludes with the first session of the 93^rd Congress (1973), while volume
16 covers precedents established through the 105^th Congress (1997-1998). All these
volumes appeared before the House recodified its rules in the 106^th Congress.

²⁵ Lewis Deschler, Deschler’s Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (vol. 1-9),
and Lewis Deschler and W[illia]m Holmes Brown, Deschler-Brown Precedents of the U.S.^th^st
House of Representatives (vol. 10-16), H.Doc. 94-661, 94 Cong., 1 sess. (Washington:
GPO, 1977-1991).

Citations to House Rules in these volumes accordingly refer to rule numbers, and
corresponding sections of the Manual, as they stood before the recodification.
After the series is completed, revisions of each volume are to be prepared in
succession, incorporating precedents established subsequent to the publication of the
present edition.
The precedents presented in Deschler’s Precedents are organized in topical
chapters, the sequence of which roughly parallels the order of action in the House.
Chapter 1, for example, relates to the “Assembly of Congress,” while the last chapter
so far published, chapter 33, covers “House-Senate Conferences.” Each chapter is
divided into numbered topical sections (for example, chapter 27, on “Amendments,”
includes section 4, “Recognition to Offer Amendments; Priority”). In many chapters,
these topical sections are often grouped under broader topical headings identified by
letters (for example, chapter 5, on “The House Rules, Journal, and Record,” includes
part A, “House Rules and Manual”).
Most chapters, and many sections, begin with an overall introduction that
describes the general principles related to the House rule or practice under discussion
and summarizes the principles presented by that precedents that follow. Individual
precedents are presented in numbered subsections, and accordingly may be cited by
chapter and number (for example: “Deschler’s Precedents, chapter 20, section
3.11”). These subsections typically are headed by a catchline identifying the subject
of the precedent, followed by a headnote in bold type stating the principle established
or illustrated, after which the proceedings that constitute the precedent are set forth.
The proceedings are often introduced with a sentence or two, followed in many
instances by the full text of the procedural exchange that established the precedent,
with a citation to the Congressional Record. If the same proceedings illustrate more
than one principle, each principle will be set forth as a headnote in its own
subsection, with the same, or partially the same, proceedings set forth under each.
Some precedents are followed by a “Parliamentarian’s Note” that clarifies or
amplifies the principle established by the precedent, or directs the reader to other
parliamentary reference sources.
While no consolidated index covering all volumes of Deschler’s Precedents has
yet appeared, each chapter is headed by an “Index to Precedents” contained in that
chapter. This index directs readers to the relevant section number for each precedent.
In addition, the chapters of Deschler’s Precedents correspond to those of Procedure
in the House, discussed below, a work that does include an overall index. Often,
accordingly, it is possible to use the index to Procedure in the House to identify the
chapter in which a topic is covered, and then locate pertinent precedents in the
corresponding chapter of Deschler’s Precedents.
Reprinted below is an excerpt from Deschler’s Precedents that covers the
motions to adjourn and to postpone.²⁶

²⁶ Deschler’s Precedents, vol. 7, chapter 23, p. 84.

Deschler’s Precedents
Lewis Deschler, Deschler’s Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives
(vol. 1-9); Lewis Deschler and William Holmes Brown, Deschler-Brown
Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (vol. 10-16), H.Doc. 94-661,

94^th Cong., 1^st sess. (Washington: GPO, 1977-1991).

Print: Volumes 1-11 of Deschler’s Precedents are out of print, although
Member offices may obtain the complete set published to date (volumes 1-16)
by writing the Superintendent of Documents at the Government Printing
Office. The Office of the Parliamentarian will facilitate such requests. Also,
copies of the set are available for reference at the House Legislative Resource
Center/House Library (B-106 Cannon House Office Building) and the La
Follette Congressional Reading Room (202 Madison Building, Library of
Congress).
Internet: Deschler’s Precedents is available online through
LIS, the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress:
a link appears on the House page at
[ h ttp://www.congress.gov/house.php]
House Committee on Rules:
[ h ttp://www.rules.house.gov/house_rules_precedents.htm]
GPO Access, a website of the Government Printing Office:
[ h ttp://www.gpoaccess.gov/precedents/deschler/index .html]
Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents
Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United
States (hereafter referred to as Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents) is an 11-volume
series containing selected rulings of the chair made, and other precedents established,
between 1789 and 1936.²⁷ The publication provides valuable coverage of the
historical origins and evolution of House procedures up to 1936. Volumes 1-5, titled
Hinds’ Precedents and published in 1907, were written by Asher Hinds (clerk at the
Speaker’s table for many years, and a Representative from Maine from 1911 until
1917). Volumes 6-11, titled Cannon’s Precedents and published in 1936, were
prepared by Clarence Cannon (House Parliamentarian from 1915 to 1920, and a
Representative from Missouri from 1923 to 1964). Volumes 6-8 of Cannon’s
Precedents are organized around largely the same topics as Hinds’ Precedents, and

²⁷ Asher C. Hinds, Hinds’ Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States,
(Washington: GPO, 1907-1908), vol. 1-5, and Clarence Cannon, Cannon’s Precedents of
the House of Representatives of the United States (Washington: GPO, 1935-1941), vol. 6-11.

essentially serve as a supplement to the earlier series. Volumes 9-11 of Cannon’s
Precedents comprise a single comprehensive index to volumes 1-8 of the combined
series.
Hinds’ Precedents is organized into almost 150 topical chapters, arranged
roughly according to the order of proceedings in the House. Cannon’s Precedents
duplicates largely the same chapter structure, with modifications to reflect changes
in House procedure (for example, Cannon’s Precedents includes a chapter on the
discharge rule, which did not exist during the period covered by Hinds’ Precedents).
The content of each series is presented in sections that are numbered
sequentially throughout each respective series. Individual sections are usually cited
by volume, series, and number (e.g., “IV Hinds 4823” or “VII Cannon 1530”),
although the House Manual cites them by volume and number alone (e.g., “IV,
4823”). Sections at the beginning of each chapter, and sometimes those that
inaugurate a topic within a chapter, often state and discuss pertinent Rules of the
House and their development. Most sections, however, present individual
precedents. Each such section describes the procedural exchange constituting the
precedent, usually quoting the ruling of the chair and often other portions of the
proceedings, and provides citations to the Congressional Record. Other sources may
also be cited, such as House Rules, House committee reports, and, especially in
Hinds’ Precedents, the House Journal and predecessors of the Record.
Most sections carry a headnote in bold type stating the principle discussed or
illustrated. Where several consecutive sections all illustrate the same principle,
however, the headnote appears only for the first section in the group. Conversely,
and in contrast to Deschler’s Precedents, proceedings that illustrate more than one
principle are typically set forth in only one section, but with multiple headnotes.
Sections that provide general discussion or background bearing on more than one
principle may also carry more than one headnote.
Information about specific procedural topics can be located using the detailed
table of contents in each volume. In addition, the comprehensive index to both series
(volumes 9-11) is arranged by topic, and broad topics are broken down into
numbered subtopics. Under each topic or numbered subtopic, each specific section
referenced is identified not only by volume and number, but by setting forth the
pertinent headnote. Finally, Cannon’s Procedure, discussed below, also serves as an
index to Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents.
Although Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents is an important reference source for
an extensive understanding of House parliamentary procedure, readers not versed in
the publication’s historical context may find the 11-volume set to be of limited
practical value for contemporary House practices. Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents
is very useful, however, when other reference sources cite a specific precedent in the

11-volume set.

An excerpt from Cannon’s Precedents is reprinted below.²⁸

²⁸ Cannon’s Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States (Washington:
GPO, 1936), vol. VIII, p. 854.

Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents
Asher C. Hinds, Hinds’ Precedents of the House of Representatives of the
United States, (Washington: GPO, 1907-1908), vol. 1-5, and Clarence
Cannon, Cannon’s Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United
States (Washington: GPO, 1935-1941), vol. 6-11.
Print: Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents is out of print, but copies are
available for reference at the House Legislative Resource Center/House
Library (B-106 Cannon ) and the LaFollette Congressional Reading Room
(202 Madison Building, Library of Congress).
Internet: Volumes 1-5 of Hinds’ Precedents are available through:
GPO Access, a website of the Government Printing Office:
[ http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house/precedents/hinds/hinds.html] .
Procedure in the House
Before the appearance of House Practice, recent precedents of the House were
summarized in a one-volume publication entitled Procedure in the U.S. House of
Representatives. This document was sometimes referred to as Deschler’s Procedure,
but will here be called Procedure. The last consolidated edition of Procedure
summarizes the most important House precedents established from 1959 through²⁹
1980. A 1985 supplement, which discussed selected precedents established from

1981 through 1984, was replaced in 1987 by one that covers those created from 1981³⁰

through 1986.
Although House Practice was designed to replace Procedure, a knowledge of
how to use Procedure continues to be useful, inasmuch as other parliamentary
reference sources refer to Procedure. In addition, Procedure is useful as a
compilation of references to precedential proceedings occurring after the period
covered by Deschler’s Precedents. Finally, inasmuch as the chapter structure of
Procedure parallels that of Deschler’s Precedents, as mentioned in the discussion of

²⁹ Lewis Deschler and W[illia]m Holmes Brown, Procedure in the U.S. House of
Representatives: A Summary of the Modern Precedents and Practices of the House: 86^th^th
Congress — 97 Congress (Washington: GPO, 1982).
³⁰ Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1985 Supplement: Annotations of the
Precedents of the House for the 97^th and 98^th Congresses, prepared by the Office of the
Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives (Washington: GPO, 1986), and Procedure
in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1987 Supplement: Annotations of the Precedents of^th^th^th
the House for the 97, 98, and 99 Congresses, prepared by the Office of the
Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives (Washington: GPO, 1987).

Deschler’s Precedents, Procedure and its index can be used as an indirect means
of locating materials in Deschler’s Precedents.
Procedure is organized in 37 chapters, each covering a topic of House
procedure; for example, chapter 28 is titled “Amendments and the Germaneness
Rule.” Like Deschler’s Precedents, many chapters are divided into broad headings
designated by letter, and each chapter is divided into numbered sections (for
example, chapter 28 includes a part D, “Amendments Imposing Qualifications or
Restrictions,” which comprises sections 22 through 27 of the chapter). Each
chapter’s section numbers begin at 1; they are not numbered sequentially throughout
the entire publication. Each section is in turn divided into numbered paragraphs (for
example, section 22 of chapter 28 includes paragraphs 22.1 through 22.5).
When other reference sources cite Procedure or its supplement, they typically
do so by the publication’s title (usually in some such shortened form as Procedure
or House Procedure), chapter number, section or paragraph number, and page
number (e.g., “House Procedure, ch. 27, sec. 3.1, p. 497”).
Most paragraphs of Procedure state a principle or principles established or
illustrated by a specified precedent or group of related precedents. Some paragraphs
instead state a general principle drawn from rules or other authorities, or present a
Parliamentarian’s “Note” elaborating a principle without reference to specific
precedents. A key difference between Procedure and Deschler’s Precedents is that
Procedure provides only statements of the principles represented by precedents,
roughly equivalent to the headnotes of subsections in Deschler’s Precedents.
Paragraphs in Procedure do not include descriptions of, or quotations from, the
procedural exchanges on which they are based.
Paragraphs of Procedure that reference specific precedents usually do so by
citing the location in the Congressional Record where the full text of the procedural
exchange in question appears. These citations provide the Congressional Record
volume and page number, the Congress and session, and the date (e.g., “113 C^ONG.
R^EC. 28649, 90^th Cong., 1^st sess., Oct. 11, 1967”).
The supplement to Procedure is organized in the same manner as the main
volume, and its numbering is keyed to the main volume. For chapter 24, section 7,
for example, the supplement consists of a paragraph 7.3 that replaces the
corresponding paragraph of the main volume, a paragraph 7.6 that adds to the
corresponding section of the main volume, and a new paragraph 7.10 additional to
section 7 of the main volume.
Reprinted below is an excerpt from the section of Procedure dealing with the
germaneness of amendments.³¹

³¹ Procedure in the House, p. 593.

Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives
Lewis Deschler and William Holmes Brown, Procedure in the U.S. House of
Representatives: A Summary of the Modern Precedents and Practices of the
House: 86^th Congress — 97^th Congress (Washington: GPO, 1982).
Print: Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives and its supplement are
out of print. Copies are available for reference at the House Legislative
Resource Center/House Library (B-106 Cannon House Office Building), the
La Follette Congressional Reading Room (202 Madison Building, Library of
Congress), and the CRS Longworth (B-221) and Rayburn (B-335) House
Office Building Reference Centers.
Internet: Not available.
Cannon’s Procedure
Cannon’s Procedure in the House of Representatives (hereafter referred to as
Cannon’s Procedure), an edition of which was last published in 1963, is a one-
volume summary of the major precedents presented in Hinds’ and Cannon’s
Precedents.³² It also includes a few additional precedents from 1936 to 1963, as
selected by the publication’s author, Clarence Cannon.
The precedents are grouped in unnumbered topical chapters. Some editions of
Cannon’s Procedure have thumb tabs indicating the different chapter titles. The
publication briefly summarizes the precedents and provides citations to Hinds’ and
Cannon’s Precedents (e.g., “VIII, sec. 2661”) and the Congressional Record (e.g.,^th^st
“84-1-13067;” this means 84 Congress, 1 session, page 13067). Citations such as
“§764” refer to the version of the House Rules and Manual being used when
Cannon’s Procedure was published.
Cannon’s Procedure also contains sample floor dialogues for undertaking
specific parliamentary actions. While some of these dialogues are useful, many are
no longer relevant to contemporary House practice. Use of these dialogues, and
Cannon’s Procedure as a whole, requires informed judgment.

³² Clarence Cannon, Cannon’s Procedure in the House of Representatives, H.Doc. 610, 87^th
Cong., 2^nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 1963).

An excerpt from Cannon’s Procedure covering “Suspension of the Rules” is
reprinted on the previous page.³³ Several features of the suspension procedure
discussed on this page are now obsolete, including the possibility of demanding that
such a motion be seconded by a majority, to be ascertained by tellers, the days on
which suspension motions are in order, and the practice that a special rule permitting
such a motion on an additional day will specify the measure to be considered.
Cannon’s Procedure
Clarence Cannon, Cannon’s Procedure in the House of Representatives,
H.Doc. 610, 87^th Cong., 2^nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 1963).
Print: Cannon’s Procedure is out of print, the edition cited being the last one
published. Copies are available for reference at the House Legislative
Resource Center/House Library (B-106 Cannon House Office Building) and
the La Follette Congressional Reading Room (202 Madison Building, Library
of Congress).
Internet: Not available.
Additional Authorities
As noted at the outset, in the section “The House Adheres to Many Informal
Practices,” procedure in the House is governed not only by the Constitution, formally
adopted rules, and precedents interpreting those authorities, but also by a variety of
other practices that have become usual in the course of time. Although these
“informal” practices have not been formally adopted by the House itself, they
supplement the rules and have some guiding force. To the extent that they establish
consistent standards of action, they constitute a standard that helps to determine the
actual courses of action that occur in the House. In this sense, they too represent a
form of procedural authority.
Some of these practices are embodied in written statements that provide
additional guidance on the procedures that proceedings in the House will follow.
This section discusses two authorities of this kind: (1) announced policies of the
Speaker; and (2) memorandums of understanding developed by agreement between
committees about the relation of their respective jurisdictions.
Speaker’s Policies
In recent times, Speakers of the House have developed a number of policies
specifying ways in which they intend to carry out certain Rules of the House or
exercise certain of their discretionary powers. Although these policies are not

³³ Ibid., p. 456.

themselves Rules of the House, they reflect an exercise of the Speaker’s authority
under those Rules. Speakers have periodically instituted policies of this kind through
explicit announcements from the chair. Often, these policies have been developed
through consultation with leaders of the minority party in the House and have
continued under Speakers of both parties.
It has become customary for the Speaker, in the early days of a new Congress,
to make a consolidated announcement from the chair reiterating policies she or he
intends to continue to follow. This announcement normally appears in the
Congressional Record, accompanied by the insertion of statements reflecting the
details of the respective policies, often drawn from the original announcements from
the chair of the respective policies. Other policies of a similar kind are renewed in
each new Congress by unanimous consent requests from the floor, and some of these,
along with additional policies, are set forth on the “Special Orders” pages of the
House Calendar, which is published daily when the House is in session.
The “Announcement by the Speaker” of policies for the 110^th Congress includes
reference to policies on: (1) privileges of the floor for staff and former Members; (2)
the introduction of measures; (3) unanimous consent requests for consideration of
measures; (4) recognition for one-minute speeches; (5) decorum in debate; (6) the
conduct of electronic votes; (7) the use of handouts on the House floor; and (8) the
use of cell phones and other electronic devices on the House floor. Policies set forth
in the House Calendar include ones covering other forms of non-legislative debate,
namely special order speeches and morning hour debates.
Speaker’s Policies
The Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi), “Announcement by the Speaker,”
remarks from the chair in the House and inserted materials, Congressional
Record, daily edition, vol. 153, Jan. 5, 2007, pp. H59-H61.
“Special Orders” in U.S. Congress, House, Calendars of the United States
House of Representatives and History of Legislation, 110^th Congress (editions
are distributed to House offices daily when the House is in session).
Print: Both the Congressional Record and the House Calendar are delivered
to Congressional offices daily when the House is in session.
Internet: The Congressional Record for the 110^th Congress is available
online in searchable form through:
LIS, the Legislative Information Service of the U.S. Congress:
[ http://www.congress.gov/ crtex t/110-advanced.html]
The House Calendar is available online in searchable form through:
GPO Access, a website of the Government Printing Office:
[ h ttp://www.gpoaccess.gov/calendars/house/index .html]

Memorandums of Understanding Regarding
Committee Jurisdiction
Standing committees often develop “memorandums of understanding”
(sometimes referred to as “letters of agreement”) that set forth an agreement between
committees about how jurisdiction over specific policy issues will be divided. These
memorandums, which are usually prepared at the beginning of a new Congress, are
addressed to the Speaker of the House in the form of a letter from the chairmen of the
committees involved. In effect, a memorandum of understanding advises the Speaker
on the referral of measures addressing specified policy issues when the jurisdictional
mandate of committees may be unclear or overlap.
House Rules empower the Speaker to refer legislation to committees, and the
Parliamentarian of the House acts as the agent of the Speaker in the performance of
this function. Referral decisions are based principally on the statements of
jurisdiction of each standing committee set forth in House Rule X and on relevant
precedents.³⁴ Additionally, however, the Speaker and the House Parliamentarian
will, in practice, honor memorandums of understanding in deciding the referral of
legislation. These memorandums of understanding are therefore an important
parliamentary reference source for questions about jurisdiction over specific policy
issues. Some memorandums of understanding are inserted in the Congressional
Record, especially at the start of a new Congress. Others, however, are not made
available publicly, and no compilation of them or digest of their effects is published.
It could be argued that memorandums of understanding have increased in^th
importance as a result of rules changes adopted by the House in the 104 Congress
(1995-1996). One of these eliminated joint referrals, and provided instead that the
Speaker designate “a committee of primary jurisdiction” when referring measures to
more than one committee.³⁵ This change made it important which committee is
designated the “primary” committee at the time of referral. Hence, memorandums
of understanding developed in the 104^th Congress and since have sometimes specified
which committees should have “primary jurisdiction” over particular issues.
Another rules change in the 104^th Congress abolished three standing committees
and transferred their jurisdiction to other standing committees. Some of the
committees that received new jurisdiction developed memorandums of understanding
about jurisdiction over the issues in question. Reprinted below is a memorandum of^th
understanding from the 104 Congress between the committees on National Security
and Transportation and Infrastructure, which exemplifies this form of agreement.³⁶

³⁴ Rule XII, clause 2(b), in House Manual, sec. 816.
³⁵ Rule XII, clause 2(c), in ibid., sec. 816.
³⁶ Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 141, January 30, 1995, p. H849.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSEJanuary 30, 1995
^ME^MORA^{NDUM OF}^pr^e^dom^ina^t^e^ov^e^r^tr^aⁿ^s^por^ta^tio^{n a}^{nd othe}^r^T^h^{is le}^tte^{r m}^a^y^no^t^a^ddre^{ss a}^{ll m}^e^rc^ha^nt
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^{Mr. SH}^U^S^T^E^R.^Mr.^Spe^a^k^e^r^{, I s}^ubm^{it f}^o^r^A^d^mⁱ^nistra^{tion w}^{ould be}^{in the}^Com^m^itte^e^T^r^aⁿ^s^por^ta^{tion a}^{nd I}ⁿ^f^r^a^s^t^r^u^c^t^ur^e^or^of^the
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^{on Na}^tiona^{l Se}^c^u^rity^{, Mr.}^SP^ENCE,^M^a^ritim^e^C^o^m^mⁱ^s^sⁱ^oⁿ^w^o^u^l^d^b^eⁱⁿ^t^h^e^t^h^{e resp}^ectⁱ^v^e^Co^m^mⁱ^t^t^ees^{’ jurisdic}^{tion prior}
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^T^r^an^sp^o^r^t^a^tⁱ^oⁿ^,^cert^aⁱⁿ^asp^ect^s^{are so}^cl^o^s^el^y^surg^e^se^a^lif^{t re}^quire^m^e^{nts w}^{ill be}^w^{ithin the}
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^oⁿ^Natⁱ^oⁿ^a^l^S^ecu^ri^t^y^.^F^o^{r exam}^p^l^e,^t^h^e^m^a^rine^rs^to^se^rv^e^during^the^m^obiliz^a^tion^f^o^r
^m^a^inte^na^nc^e^a^{nd c}^ontr^o^{l of}^the^N^a^tiona^l^De^s^e^r^t^Stor^m^hig^h^lig^hte^d^the^ne^e^d^to
^Def^eⁿ^s^{e Reserve F}^l^eet^an^d^t^h^{e Read}^y^c^ons^ide^r^the^s^e^pr^oble^m^s^f^r^o^m^a^na^tiona^l
^R^e^s^e^r^v^e^Fle^e^t^w^{ould be}^wⁱ^t^hⁱⁿ^t^h^e^s^e^c^u^r^ity^s^t^a^ndpoint.
^jurisdic^tion^of^the^Com^m^itte^e^{on Na}^tiona^l^Jurisdic^{tion ov}^e^r^the^Coa^s^{t G}^u^a^r^{d is}
^S^ecu^ri^t^y^.^prov^ide^d^{to the}^Com^m^itte^e^{on T}^r^aⁿ^sp^o^r^t^a^tion
^Ho^w^e^ver,ⁱ^t^m^a^yⁿ^o^t^b^e^cl^{ear i}ⁿ^al^l^{cases t}^o^a^nd^Iⁿ^f^r^a^s^tr^uc^tur^e^by^R^u^le^{X, c}^l^a^u^s^e¹⁽^q)⁽¹⁾^.
^w^h^ic^h^of^the^tw^{o Com}^m^itte^e^s^a^pa^rtic^ula^r^bill^T^h^is^c^oⁿ^f^e^r^s^{upon the}^T^r^aⁿ^s^por^ta^{tion a}ⁿ^d
^s^{hould be}^r^e^f^e^r^r^e^{d. I}ⁿ^g^e^ne^r^a^{l, m}^a^tte^r^s^Inf^r^a^s^truc^ture^Com^m^itte^e^a^u^thority^ov^e^r^a^l^l
^re^la^ting^{to m}^e^rc^ha^{nt m}^a^rine^a^c^tiv^itie^{s w}^{ill be}^m^a^t^t^e^{rs h}^aⁿ^d^l^ed^b^y^t^h^{e Co}^ast^G^u^ard^t^h^at
^re^f^e^rre^d^{to the}^Na^tiona^{l Se}^c^u^rity^Com^m^itte^e^w^e^re^pre^v^iously^w^{ithin the}^jurisdic^{tion of}^the
^if^the^na^tiona^{l se}^c^u^rity^a^s^pe^c^t^{s o}^f^t^h^e^m^a^tte^r^Me^r^c^ha^{nt Ma}^rⁱ^ne^a^{nd Fis}^h^e^r^ie^s^C^o^m^m^itte^e^.

Memorandums of Understanding
Memorandums of understanding are not compiled in any comprehensive, publicly
available form either in print or on the internet.
Rules of Internal Organizations of the House
The chief institutional elements that make up the internal structure of the House
of Representatives are the committees and the party conferences (known, in the case
of the Democratic party, as the caucus). The committees, especially the standing
committees established by House Rules, are chiefly responsible for developing the
substance of legislative proposals, and one of the chief functions of the party
conferences is to assign their respective members to leadership and committee roles.
Each committee and each conference has developed its own rules, which in the
modern practice are written and adopted by each individual group. Although these
rules of the individual groups are not per se binding on the House as a whole, their
provisions often have effects on the way proceedings in the House occur, and to that
extent, they must be considered as among the procedural authorities by which the
House is regulated.
Committee Rules of Procedure
Many provisions of House Rules, especially those of House Rule XI, regulate
proceedings in, and action by, the committees of the House. In addition, however,
clause 2 of Rule XI requires that each standing committee adopt its own written rules
of procedure, which it must publish in the Congressional Record within 30 days of
its membership being elected at the start of a new Congress. These rules of
procedure cover important aspects of committee proceedings, such as quorum and
voting requirements, markups, and preparation of committee reports.
The status of these committee rules is clarified by the parliamentarian’s
annotations accompanying Rule XI in the House Manual. Rule XI requires that the
rules adopted by committees must be consistent with the Rules of the House, and do
not supersede those established by House Rule XI. Committee rules can be enforced
in the committee that adopts them, but generally are not enforceable on the House
floor. In Procedure in the House, the House Parliamentarian explains that “[a] point
of order does not normally lie in the House against consideration of a bill by reason
of defective committee procedures occurring prior to the time the bill was ordered
reported to the House. Such point of order, if made in the House, may be overruled
on the ground that the rules of a particular committee are for that committee to
interpret unless they are in direct conflict with the rules of the House or unless the
House rules specifically permit the raising of such objections.”³⁷

³⁷ Procedure in the House, chapter 17, sec. 11.1., p. 205.

In each Congress, the House Committee on Rules usually issues a print that
compiles the rules of procedure adopted by all House standing committees. The
rules of each committee also appear in the Congressional Record on the date they
were submitted for publication. Many committees also publish their rules in
pamphlet form in a committee print, or in the committee’s interim or final
“Legislative Calendar.”
Reprinted on the preceding page is an excerpt from the rules of the House
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for the 105^th Congress, as it appeared
in the print of the Committee on Rules.³⁸
Rules Adopted by Committees of the House
U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Rules, Rules Adopted by the Committees
of the House of Representatives, 110^th Congress, 2007-2008, committee print,

110^th Cong., 1^st sess. (Washington: GPO, 2007).

Print: The 110^th Congress unnumbered committee print of Rules Adopted by
the Committees of the House of Representatives is available from the House
Rules Committee (H-312 Capitol Building, 5-9091), and copies can be
consulted at the House Legislative Resource Center/House Document Room
(B-106 Cannon HOB, 6-5200). Each House committee is required to have its
adopted rules printed in the Congressional Record within 30 days of its
members being named. Many committees also publish their rules in pamphlet
form as a committee document, which may be available from the respective
committees.
Internet: An electronic version of Rules Adopted by the Committees of the
House of Representatives is available through:
House Committee on Rules:
[ http://www.rules.house.gov/pubs_docs/rules_comm_pubs.html] .
GPO Access, a website of the Government Printing Office:
[ h ttp://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index .html] .
Committee websites:
Most House committees post their committee rules on their website. A list of
committee websites appears as an appendix to this report.

³⁸ U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Rules, Rules Adopted by the Committees of the
House of Representatives, 105^th Congress, 1997-1998, committee print, 105^th Cong., 1^st sess.
(Washington: GPO, 1997), p. 220.

Party Caucus or Conference Rules
The rules of the House Democratic Caucus and Republican Conference are
adopted by the House Members of the respective parties.³⁹ This action takes place
when the parties hold their early organizational meetings for the coming new
Congress after the November congressional election. Upon adoption, the rules are
printed and distributed to Members belonging to the respective conference.
Ordinarily, the printed versions present only the text of the rules, without annotations
or references. Typically, the printed copies generally are issued only to the members
of the respective party, and are not made available more publicly.
The rules of the conferences are created only by authority of the respective
parties in the House, not through an exercise of the constitutional power of the full
House to determine its rules. As a result, these rules are not directly enforceable on
the House floor, and the documents containing them are not official parliamentary
reference sources of the House. Nevertheless, conference rules are binding on
Members of the respective parties insofar as action in the respective organizations is
concerned. In some cases, in addition, these rules govern actions that may be taken
in the proceedings of the House by members and leaders of the respective party. For
this reason, an understanding of House proceedings can often be facilitated by
reference to these rules.
Important components of these rules are provisions governing the selection and
terms of party floor and committee leaders, the assignment of members to
committees, and meetings of the conference itself. Some of these rules also address
topics of procedure on the floor and in House-Senate conference committees, and,
accordingly, can affect how the chamber as a whole considers legislation. For
example, Rule 38 of Democratic Caucus rules for the 110^th Congress directs the party
leadership not to consent to the consideration of any measure by a suspension of the
rules if it: (1) has not been cleared by the party’s floor and committee leadership; (2)
will be amended other than by committee amendments; (3) is “major” legislation; (4)
was opposed by more than one third of the reporting committee; or (5) is shown by
any cost estimates to cost more than $100 million in any fiscal year. Rule 28 of the
Republican Conference imposes corresponding, although not identical, restrictions
on requests for consideration by suspension of the rules on the part of that party’s
leadership.

³⁹ Members of each party serving as Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, or as
Delegate from American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands,
may also join the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conference.

Caucus and Conference Rules
U.S. Congress, House, Democratic Caucus, Rules of the Democratic Caucus,
One Hundred Tenth Congress, adopted November 16, 2006.
U.S. Congress, House, Republican Conference, Rules of the House Republican
Conference for the 110^th Congress, December 5, 2006.
Print: Members can request copies of their party caucus or conference rules
from the respective organizations.
Internet: The two party organizations do not post their rules on their publicly
available websites.
Other Congressional Publications on Procedure
Several additional publications prepared by various committees and offices of
the House provide valuable information about House parliamentary procedure and
practices. While these publications are not official parliamentary reference sources,
they come from official congressional sources and often make references to official
sources such as the rules of the House and published precedents. This section
describes two publications of this kind that are issued under the auspices of House
committees.
Floor Procedures Manual
Floor Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives is designed to provide a
ready reference for practical guidance on undertaking a variety of parliamentary
actions, including reference to applicable House rules and, often, typical procedural
language. The work, also styled Floor Procedures Manual, consists of a series of
short sections, currently 18 in number, arranged in rough correspondence with the
daily order of business in the House, from the Speaker’s call to order through
adjournment. An “Abridged Parliamentary Dictionary” appears as an appendix.
New in the edition for the 110^th Congress is a section addressing the operation and
implications of the new House Rules regulating the “earmark” provisions that may
appear in appropriations and other legislation.
The introduction to the Floor Procedures Manual, by the former Chairman and
current ranking minority member of the House Committee on Rules, explains that the
manual is intended “to provide House Members and staff with a concise, yet
informative user guide to the basic legislative process in the House of
R epresent at i v es.”
The original version of this document was entitled Floor Operations Manual,
and was written by Robert E. Bauman, a former Member of the House from
Maryland, principally for the use of Republican Members. Subsequent editions were
revised and updated, sometimes under the title of “Republican Floor Operations

Manual,” by other leading Republican Members and former Members. After
Republicans gained the House majority in the 104^th Congress, versions of the
document were prepared, and distributed to House offices, under the auspices of the
House Committee on Rules. Recent editions have been prepared through the
Committee or, in the 110^th Congress, its Republican contingent. They have been
published by The Congressional Institute, Inc., a non-governmental organization, and
distributed to Member offices by the Committee on Rules or the committee’s
Republican members.
Floor Procedure in the House
Floor Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives, 110^th Congress
(Washington: The Congressional Institute, [2007]).
Print:
The Republican contingent on the House Committee on Rules distributed
copies of the 110^th Congress edition of the House Floor Procedures Manual to
each Member office. Copies may be requested from The Congressional
Institute.
Internet: An online version of this handbook is available through these
websites:
House Committee on Rules:
[ h ttp://www.rules.house.gov/house_rules_precedents.htm]
The Congressional Institute:
A similar version with links to the rules of the House and other reference
sources, is available through:
[ http://www.conginst.org/ ]
How Our Laws Are Made
How Our Laws Are Made was first published in 1953 by the House Judiciary
Committee. The work provides a summary of the legislative process focusing on
House procedures, from the drafting of legislation to final approval and presidential
action. Although the document is intended for nonspecialists, its summary
descriptions of House procedures serve as a useful reference source.
The 23^rd edition of How Our Laws Are Made⁴⁰ was published in 2003. Prepared
by the Office of the House Parliamentarian in consultation with the Office of the
Senate Parliamentarian, the 23^rd edition is available online. It reflects changes in^nd
congressional procedures since the 22 edition, which was revised and updated in

⁴⁰ U.S. Congress, House, How Our Laws Are Made, H.Doc. 108-93, 108^th Cong., 1^st sess.,
(Washington: GPO, 2003).

2000. Some earlier editions included sample documents from key stages of the
process.
How Our Laws Are Made
U.S. Congress, House, How Our Laws Are Made, H.Doc. 108-93, 108^th Cong.,

1^st sess., (Washington: GPO, 2003).

Print: At the time this report was issued, the latest print version of How Our
Laws Are Made was the 23^rd edition (H.Doc. 108-93). It was distributed to
House Member and committee offices upon publication, and is now available
from the Government Printing Office.
Internet: The text of the 23^rd edition of How Our Laws Are Made is available
through the following websites:
LIS, the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress:
a link appears on the House page at
[ h ttp://www.congress.gov/house.php]
Clerk of the House:
a link appears at
[ http://clerk.house.gov/]
THOMAS, the public access website of the Library of Congress:
[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html]
Enactment of a Law
The Senate has maintained a publication providing a concise summary of the
legislative process under the title Enactment of a Law: Procedural Steps in the
Legislative Process. This document, prepared by the Parliamentarian of the Senate
under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate, explains Senate floor procedures
and the functions of the various Senate officials, such as the Secretary of the Senate,
the Sergeant at Arms, and the Senate Parliamentarian. Some information about
House and conference procedures and presidential action also is provided. In
addition, the document contains illustrations of some of the chief kinds of document
used in the legislative process.
Enactment of a Law has not appeared in a new printed edition since 1981 and
appears no longer to be readily available in print. An updated version, however, was
prepared in February 1997 by Senate Parliamentarian Robert B. Dove, and is
available on-line. This online version reflects changes made to the congressional
budget process and Senate rules and procedures since the last printed edition.

Enactment of a Law
U.S. Senate, Enactment of a Law: Procedural Steps in the Legislative Process,
S.Doc. 97-20, 97^th Cong., 2^nd sess., revised under the direction of William F.
Hildenbrand, Secretary of the Senate, by Robert B. Dove, Parliamentarian of
the Senate (Washington: GPO, 1982).
Print: Enactment of a Law is available in print from the Senate Printing &
Document Services (4-7701).
Internet: An online version of Enactment of a Law is available through:
THOMAS, the public access website of the Library of Congress:
[http://thomas .loc.gov/home/ enactment/enactlawtoc.html].
CRS, the Congressional Research Services:
Guides to Congressional Processes:
This version also is the basis of the Senate Overview section at
[ http://www.crs.gov/products/guides/legp roc/parloverview/
SenateOverview.shtml].

Appendix A.
Bibliography of House Parliamentary
Reference Sources
Official Reference Sources
U.S. Congress. House. Cannon’s Procedure in the House of Representatives. 87^th
Congress, 2^nd session. H.Doc. No. 610. Washington: GPO, 1963.
——. Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual and the Rules of the House (published each
Congress as a House document). 109^th Congress, 2^nd session. H.Doc. No.109-

157. Washington: GPO, 2007.

——. Deschler’s Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (in 16 volumes to
date; volumes 10-16 are formally titled Deschler-Brown Precedents of the U.S.
House of Representatives). 94^th Congress, 2^nd session. H.Doc. No. 94-661.
Washington: GPO, 1977- .
——. Hinds’ and Cannon’s Precedents of the House of Representatives (in 11
volumes). Washington: GPO, 1907-1908, 1935-1941.
——. House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the
House. 108^th Congress, 1^st session. Washington: GPO, 2003.
——. Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives, A Summary of the Modern
Precedents and Practices of the House, 86^th Cong. - 97^th Cong. Washington:
GPO, 1982.
——. Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1985 Supplement.
Washington: GPO, 1986.
——. Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1987 Supplement.
Washington: GPO, 1987.
U.S. Congress. House. House Committee on Rules. Rules Adopted by the
Committees of the House of Representatives, 110^th Congress, 2007-2008.
Committee print. 110^th Congress, 1^st session. Washington: GPO, 2007.
U.S. Congress. House. Rules of the House of Representatives, an unnumbered print
usually issued each session of Congress by the Clerk of the House.
U.S. Congress. Senate. A Manual of Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the
Senate of the United States (more commonly known as Jefferson’s Manual).

103^rd Congress, 1^st session. S.Doc. 103-8. Washington: GPO, 1993.

Publications of Committees and Offices of the House
Floor Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives was issued in January 1999
by the House Rules Committee and published by the Congressional Institute. An
earlier version entitled Floor Operations Manual: U.S. House of
Representatives was issued in April 1997. A version under the title House
Republican Floor Manual was issued by the Office of the House Majority
Leader in January 1997.
How Our Laws Are Made (23^rd edition), prepared by the Office of the House
Parliamentarian, 108^th Cong., 1^st session. H.Doc. No. 108-93. Washington:
GPO, 2003.
CRS Products
Most titles, including multimedia and the general distribution memorandum, are
available from the CRS Home Page at [http://www.crs.gov].
CRS Report 98-995. The Amending Process in the House of Representatives, by
Christopher M. Davis.
CRS Report RL30244. The Committee Markup Process in the House of
Representatives, by Judy Schneider.
CRS Report RS20147. Committee of the Whole: An Introduction, by Judy Schneider.
CRS Report 95-187. Committee System: Rules Changes in the House, 104^th
Congress, by Judy Schneider.
CRS Report 97-138. Committee System: Rules Changes in the House, 105^th
Congress, by Judy Schneider.
CRS Report RS20017. Committee System: Rules Changes in the House, 106^th
Congress, by Judy Schneider.
CRS Report RS20769. Committee System: Rules Changes in the House, 107^th
Congress, by Judy Schneider.
CRS Report RS21382. Committee System: Rules Changes in the House, 108^th
Congress, by Judy Schneider.
CRS Report RS22018. Committee System Rules Changes in the House, 109^th
Congress, by Judy Schneider.
CRS Report RL32207. Commonly Used Motions and Requests in the House of
Representatives, by Betsy Palmer.
CRS Report 96-708. Conference Committee and Related Procedures: An
Introduction, by Elizabeth Rybicki.

CRS Report RS21339. Congress’ Early Organization Meetings, by Judy Schneider.
CRS Report RL32200. Debate, Motions, and Other Actions in the Committee of the
Whole, by Bill Heniff Jr. and Elizabeth Rybicki.
CRS Report 98-572. Decorum in House Debate, by Mary E. Mulvihill.
CRS Report 97-856. Discharge Rule in the House: Recent Use in Historical Context,
by Richard S. Beth.
CRS Report 97-552. The Discharge Rule in the House of Representatives: Principal
Features and Uses, by Richard S. Beth.
CRS Report RL31382. Expulsion, Censure, Reprimand, and Fine: Legislative
Discipline of Members of the House of Representatives, by Jack H. Maskell.
CRS Report 98-888. “Fast-Track” or Expedited Procedures: Their Purposes,
Elements, and Implications, by Christopher M. Davis.
CRS Report RL30725. The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings
on the House Floor, by Mildred Lehmann Amer.
CRS Report RL30945. House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison, by
Judy Schneider.
CRS Report 98-169. House Committee Reports: Required Contents, by Judy
Schneider.
CRS Report 98-309. House Legislative Procedures: Published Sources of
Information, by Betsy Palmer.
CRS Report 97-357. House Rules Affecting Committees, by Christopher M. Davis.
CRS Report 97-1045. House Rules and Precedents Affecting Committee Markup
Procedures, by Christopher M. Davis.
CRS Report 98-262. House Rules Manual: Summary of Contents, by Judy Schneider.
CRS Report 98-228. House Voting Procedures: Forms and Requirements, by Walter
J. Oleszek.
CRS Report RS20067. How Measures Are Brought to the House Floor: A Brief
Introduction, by James V. Saturno.
CRS Multimedia MM70001. Legislative Procedures of the U.S. Congress, by
Walter J. Oleszek.
CRS Report 95-563. The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction,
by Christopher Davis.

CRS Report RS20131. Morning Hour Debates: Current House Practices, by Judy
Schneider.
CRS Report RL33860. The Motion to Recommit in the House: The Minority’s
Motion, by Betsy Palmer.
CRS Report RL30135. One-Minute Speeches: Current House Practices, by Judy
Schneider.
CRS Report 97-865. Points of Order in the Congressional Budget Process, by James
V. Saturno.
CRS Report 98-696. Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference
Committees and Amendments Between the Houses, by Elizabeth Rybicki.
CRS Report 98-710. “Self-executing” Rules Reported by the House Committee on
Rules, by Walter J. Oleszek.
CRS Report 97-780. The Speaker of the House: House Officer, Party Leader and
Representative, by James V. Saturno.
CRS Report RL30136. Special Order Speeches: Current House Practices, by Judy
Schneider.
CRS Report 96-938. Special Rules in the House of Representatives, by James V.
Saturno, Christopher M. Davis and Stanley Bach.
CRS Report 98-314. Suspension of the Rules in the House: Principal Features, by
Elizabeth Rybicki.
CRS Report 98-988. Voting and Quorum Procedures in the House of
Representatives, by Stanley Bach.

Appendix B.
House Parliamentary Reference Information
Available Through the Internet
Throughout this report, Internet locations and websites at which electronic
versions of various House parliamentary reference sources are available have been
cited. This appendix lists these online resources in a single compendium for the
convenience of the reader.
The vast majority of the referenced links can be accessed through one of three
“gateway” websites maintained by legislative branch organizations: the Legislative
Information System (LIS), GPO Access, and the House Committee on Rules website.
Each of these sites (detailed below) provides a good entry point for research into
House parliamentary procedure. Documents relating to House parliamentary
procedure can also be found at other Library of Congress and House of
Representatives websites at the locations indicated.
Internet addresses are provided for documents cited. The list is current as of this
report’s publication date. Given that information on the Internet is constantly
changing, this list should not be considered exhaustive.
Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS)
[http://www.congress.gov] (Available to Congress Only)
The Legislative Information System was released at the start of the 105^th
Congress. The information in the system is organized into six Web pages: Home,
Senate, House, Government, News, and A-Z Index. Each page is accessible by
clicking on one of the navigation tabs near the top of the page. The Senate and
House pages include multiple links under the category “Rules, and Procedures.” The
“Government” page includes a link to GPO Access (Legislative), where many
documents related to parliamentary procedure are located.
CRS Guides to Congressional Processes
[ http://www.crs.gov/products/guides/guidehome.shtml]
The latest version of this CRS electronic guide provides a wealth of information
relating to House and Senate procedures. There are links to current versions of House
and Senate rules and CRS reports on specific procedural topics. Electronic versions
of How Our Laws Are Made and Enactment of a Law provide an overview of
procedures in each chamber. Links within the fact sheets and procedural overviews
take the user directly to pertinent House or Senate rules and to definitions in
Congressional Quarterly’s American Congressional Dictionary.

House Committee on Rules
[ http://www.house.gov/rules/]
In addition to the House Rules and Manual, the text of House rules, and House
Practice, this location includes links to explanatory material about House rules and
procedure developed by the committee itself and by several other sources. There are
links here to numerous sub-pages covering all of the following topics:
Rules and Precedents of the House, Parliamentary Terms and Definitions, General
Parliamentary Procedure, the Budget Process, House Committee Procedures, House
Floor Procedures, Resolving Differences with the Senate, Senate Process and
Procedure, Parliamentary Outreach Program, Special Rules Reported, and the
Opening Day Rules Package.
House Rules Committee Web page on “Rules and Precedents of the House,”
provides links to several procedural publications and documents.
[ h ttp://www.rules.house.gov/house_rules_precedents.htm]
House Rules Committee Web page for the Rules of the 110^th Congress, provides
a link to a copy of the entire document.
[ http://www.house.gov/rules/house_rules.htm]
Provides a link, identified as “A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures
of the House,” to the text of House Practice at the GPO Access Internet location.
[ h ttp://www.house.gov/rules/house_rules_precedents.htm]
Rules Committee link to the 1999 version of Floor Procedure in the U.S. House
of Representatives.
[ h ttp://www.rules.house.gov/house_rules_precedents.htm]
GPO Access
GPO Access Home Page
[ h ttp://www.gpoaccess.gov/index .html]
Searchable version of the House Manual.
[ http://www.gpoaccess.gov/hrm/index .html]
A searchable version of the 1992 edition of The Constitution of the United States of
America: Analysis and Interpretation), and the 1996, 1998, and 2000 supplements
is available through [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/search.html].
A pdf version of a more recent edition of the main volume (S.Doc. 108-17) can be
accessed through [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/index.html].
These documents are prepared by the Congressional Research Service, which also
maintains an online version at [http://www.crs.gov/products/conan/index.shtml].

Searchable version of House Practice.
[ h ttp://www.gpoaccess.gov/hpractice/index .html]
Provides links to rules of most House committees.
[ h ttp://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index .html]
Other Library of Congress Sites
Constitution
[ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ const/const.html]
Bill of Rights
[ http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/billofrights.html]
How Our Laws Are Made, version dated June 20, 2003.
[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html]
Other House of Representatives Sites
House Home Page
[ http://www.house.gov]
Clerk’s print of House Rules for the 110^th Congress, dated September 14, 2007.
[ h ttp://clerk.house.gov/legi slative/rules110/110th.pdf]
Links to How Our Laws Are Made, House Practice, and other parliamentary sources
[ h ttp://clerk.house.gov/legi slative/legp rocess.html]
House Committees Web Page
[http://www.house.gov/CommitteeWWW.html]
Most committee websites include a link to “committee rules.” Links to these
rules are listed below:
Agriculture [ http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/publications.html]
Appropriations [ http://appropriations.house.gov/comm_rules.shtml]
Armed Services[http://www.house.gov/hasc/rules.shtml]
Budget[No apparent link on committee webpage]
Education and [No apparent link on committee webpage]
the Workforce
Energy and[http://energycommerce.house.gov/Publications_110/110th
Commerce %20Rules.pdf]
Financial Services[http://financialservices.house.gov/pdf/110thFSCRules.pdf]
Foreign Affairs[http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/110/rules110.
PDF}
Government [ http://oversight.house.gov/rules/]
Reform
Homeland Security[No apparent link on committee webpage]

House[No apparent link on committee webpage]
Administration
Judiciary[No apparent link on committee webpage]
Natural Resources[http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=co
m_frontpage&Itemid=51]
Rules [ http://www.rules.house.gov/POP/110committee_rules.htm]
Science [http://science.house.gov/docs/110th_rules.pdf]
Small Business [http://www.house.gov/smbiz/Reports/sbc-rules.pdf]
Standards of[http://www.house.gov/ethics/Rules_110th.html]
Official Conduct
Transportation and[http://transportation.house.gov/about/Rules%20for%20the
In frastructure %20110th.PDF]
Veterans’ Affairs[http://veterans.house.gov/about/rules110.shtml]
Ways and Means[http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/110/110RulesFi
nal.pdf]