Standing Rules of the Senate
RULE XVII
REFERENCE TO COMMITTEES; MOTIONS TO DISCHARGE; REPORTS OF COMMITTEES; AND HEARINGS AVAILABLE
1. Except as provided in paragraph 3, in any case in which a
controversy arises as to the jurisdiction of any committee with respect to any
proposed legislation, the question of jurisdiction shall be decided by the presiding
officer, without debate, in favor of the committee which has jurisdiction over
the subject matter which predominates in such proposed legislation; but such
decision shall be subject to an appeal.
2. A motion simply to refer shall not be open to amendment, except
to add instructions.
3. (a) Upon motion by both the majority leader or his designee
and the minority leader or his designee, proposed legislation may be referred
to two or more committees jointly or sequentially. Notice of such motion and
the proposed legislation to which it relates shall be printed in the Congressional
Record. The motion shall be privileged, but it shall not be in order until the
Congressional Record in which the notice is printed has been available to Senators
for at least twenty-four hours. No amendment to any such motion shall be in
order except amendments to any instructions contained therein. Debate on any
such motion, and all amendments thereto and debatable motions and appeals in
connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than two hours, the time
to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the
minority leader or their designees.
(b) Proposed legislation which is referred to two or more committees
jointly may be reported only by such committees jointly and only one report
may accompany any proposed legislation so jointly reported.
(c) A motion to refer any proposed legislation to two or more
committees sequentially shall specify the order of referral.
(d) Any motion under this paragraph may specify the portion or
portions of proposed legislation to be considered by the committees, or any
of them, to which such proposed legislation is referred, and such committees
or committee shall be limited, in the consideration of such proposed legislation,
to the portion or portions so specified.
(e) Any motion under this subparagraph may contain instructions
with respect to the time allowed for consideration by the committees, or any
of them, to which proposed legislation is referred and the discharge of such
committees, or any of them, from further consideration of such proposed legislation.
4. (a) All reports of committees and motions to discharge a committee
from the consideration of a subject, and all subjects from which a committee
shall be discharged, shall lie over one day for consideration, unless by unanimous
consent the Senate shall otherwise direct.
(b) Whenever any committee (except the Committee on Appropriations)
has reported any measure, by action taken in conformity with the requirements
of paragraph 7 of rule XXVI, no point of order shall lie with respect to that
measure on the ground that hearings upon that measure by the committee were
not conducted in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 4 of rule XXVI.
5. Any measure or matter reported by any standing committee shall
not be considered in the Senate unless the report of that committee upon that
measure or matter has been available to Members for at least two calendar days
(excluding Sundays and legal holidays) prior to the consideration of that measure
or matter. If hearings have been held on any such measure or matter so reported,
the committee reporting the measure or matter shall make every reasonable effort
to have such hearings printed and available for distribution to the Members
of the Senate prior to the consideration of such measure or matter in the Senate.
This paragraph
(1) may be waived by joint agreement of the Majority Leader and
the Minority Leader of the Senate; and
(2) shall not apply to
(A) any measure for the declaration of war, or the declaration
of a national emergency, by the Congress, and
(B) any executive decision, determination, or action which would
become, or continue to be, effective unless disapproved or otherwise invalidated
by one or both Houses of Congress. |