[Deschler's Precedents]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID:52093c05_txt-7]
[Page 315-318]
CHAPTER 5
The House Rules, Journal, and Record
A. HOUSE RULES AND MANUAL
Sec. 6. --Applicability; Construction
A rule(11) provides that the rules of proceeding in the
House shall be observed in Committees of the Whole House so far as they
may be applicable. Similarly, the rules of the House are the rules of
its committees and subcommittees so far as applicable.(12)
Thus, Members may appeal from decisions of the chairmen of their
respective committees in the same manner as Members have a right
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to appeal from a decision of the Speaker or presiding officer in the
House.(13)
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11. Rule XXIII, House Rules and Manual Sec. 877 (1973).
12. Rule XI, House Rules and Manual Sec. 735 (1973).
13. 95 Cong Rec. 1212, 81st Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 15, 1949 (remarks of
Speaker Sam Rayburn [Tex.]).
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It has been stated,(14) in response to objections raised
against certain rules changes, that it is not within the province of
the Chair in disposing of a point of order to consider the effect or
anticipated effect of the passage of any rule on legislation which may
be pending. A proposed rule having been reported by the Committee on
Rules, it is for the House to consider and act upon it, and such action
is controlling. It is the province of the Chair to look to the terms of
each existing rule and direct the House to proceed in accordance with
those terms.
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14. 79 Cong Rec. 11265, 74th Cong. 1st Sess., July 16, 1935 (remarks of
Speaker Joseph W. Byrns [Tenn.].
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Where two rules of the House are in conflict, the last one adopted
controls.(15) Similarly, where the rules of the House and a
subsequent legislative enactment are not consistent, the enactment must
prevail.(16) On the other hand, a rule subsequently adopted
may supersede the provisions of such an enactment.(17)
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15. See Sec. 6.1, infra.
16. See Sec. 6.2, infra.
17. In the 86th Congress, a provision in the mutual security
appropriation bill reappropriating unexpended balances was
conceded to be unauthorized, notwithstanding a section in the
Mutual Security Act of 1955 authorizing such reappropriations,
since the rules of the House adopted on Jan. 7, 1959 contained
a later, expression of Congress to the contrary. See 106 Cong
Rec. 13138, 86th Cong. 2d Sess., June 17,
1960. -------------------
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Conflicting Rules
Sec. 6.1 Where two rules of the House are in conflict, the last one
adopted controls.
In the 74th Congress, in the course of holding that the House may,
by rule, provide for the consolidation into an omnibus bill of private
bills once objected to, Speaker Joseph W. Byrns, of Tennessee,
stated:(18)
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18. 79 Cong Rec. 11264, 74th Cong. 1st Sess., July 16, 1935.
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The gentleman . . . in his argument today, has contended that
this rule conflicts with a number of rules to which he has
referred. Without passing upon the question of whether or not there
is a conflict, the Chair will state that if there is a conflict the
rule last adopted would control. The Chair assumes that if this
rule should be found to conflict with previous rules that the House
intended, at least by implication, to repeal that portion of the
previous rule with which it is in conflict.
Sec. 6.2 Where the rules of the House and a subsequent legislative
enactment are not
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consistent, the enactment must prevail, being a later expression of
the will of the House.
In the 87th Congress, it was held that a House rule prohibiting, on
general appropriation bills, provisions reappropriating unexpended
balances of appropriations, was not applicable to provisions in an
appropriation bill that were authorized by a legislative enactment
passed subsequently to the adoption of the rules.(19)
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19. 107 Cong Rec. 18133, 87th Cong. 1st Sess., Sept. 5, 1961 (Speaker
pro tempore John W. McCormack, Mass.).
Of course, a rule subsequently adopted may supersede the
provisions of such an enactment. See Sec. 6, supra.
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Factors Considered in Construing Rule
Sec. 6.3 In construing a rule, the Speaker may consider all the facts
and issues involved in a point of order arising under the terms of
the rule.
In the 75th Congress, a point of order was made against the
acceptance by the House of the report of an election committee, on the
grounds that the making of the report violated a rule specifying the
time within which election committees should make final reports to the
House in contested election cases. Speaker William B. Bankhead, of
Alabama, ruled that the provisions in question were directory and not
mandatory, and did not prevent an election committee from filing a
report after expiration of the specified time. In reaching such
decision, the Speaker indicated that he would look beyond the strict
terms of the rule to all the facts in the case in order to determine
the intention of the House in adopting the rule. Among the factors
considered by the Speaker in reaching his decision were the
constitutional power of the House to decide the qualifications of its
Members, and the fact that the time period between the election of
Members and the meeting of Congress was much shorter than it had been
at the time the rule in question was adopted.(20)
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20. See 81 Cong Rec. 8842-8846, 75th Cong. 1st Sess., Aug. 13, 1937.
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Proceedings Not Expressly Authorized by Rules
Sec. 6.4 On occasion, acts or proceedings not expressly authorized by
the rules may be deemed inconsistent with or in violation of the
rules.
Examples may be seen in the rulings of Speakers Sam Rayburn,
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of Texas, and John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, under the rules as
they existed at the time, in regard to televising committee
meetings.(21) The tenor of the rulings was that since there
was no authority in the rules of the House granting the privilege of
televising the proceedings of the House, there was no authorization for
televising committee meetings.
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21. See 98 Cong. Rec. 1334, 82d Cong. 2d Sess., Feb. 25, 1952; 101
Cong. Rec. 628, 84th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 24, 1955; 108 Cong.
Rec. 267-269, 87th Cong. 2d Sess., Jan. 16, 1962; 113 Cong.
Rec. 8419, 90th Cong. 1st Sess., Apr. 5, 1967.
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