[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 110th Congress] [110th Congress] [House Document 109-157] [Rules of the House of Representatives] [Pages 759-788] [From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov] Rule XVIII Resolving into the Committee of the Whole the committee of the whole house on the state of the union
970. Selection of Chairman of Committee of the Whole; and his power to preserve order. | 1. Whenever the House resolves into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, the Speaker shall leave the chair after appointing a Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner as Chairman to preside. In case of disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries or lobby, the Chairman may cause the same to be cleared. |
Sec. 971. Functions of the chairman of the Committee of the Whole. | The Sergeant-at-Arms attends the sittings of the Committee of the Whole and, under direction of the chairman, maintains order (I, 257). The chairman recognizes for debate (V, 5003). Like the Speaker, the chairman is forbidden to recognize for requests to suspend the rule of admission to the floor (V, 7285). |
Sec. 972. Speaker's declaration into Committee of the Whole pursuant to special order. | 2. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) and in clause 6 of rule XV, the House resolves into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union by motion. When such a motion is entertained, the Speaker shall put the question without debate: ``Shall the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of this matter?'', naming it. |
973. Subjects requiring consideration in Committee of the Whole. | 3. All public bills, resolutions, or Senate amendments (as provided in clause 3 of rule XXII) involving a tax or charge on the people, raising revenue, directly or indirectly making appropriations of money or property or requiring such appropriations to be made, authorizing payments out of appropriations already made, releasing any liability to the United States for money or property, or referring a claim to the Court of Claims, shall be first considered in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. A bill, resolution, or Senate amendment that fails to comply with this clause is subject to a point of order against its consideration. |
977. Order of business in Committee of the Whole. | 4. (a) Subject to subparagraph (b) business on the calendar of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union may be taken up in regular order, or in such order as the Committee may determine, unless the measure to be considered was determined by the House at the time of resolving into the Committee of the Whole. |
978. General debate and amendment under the fiveminute rule in Committee of the Whole. | 5. (a) Before general debate commences on a measure in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, it shall be read in full. When general debate is concluded or closed by order of the House, the measure under consideration shall be read for amendment. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who offers an amendment shall be allowed five minutes to explain it, after which the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who shall first obtain the floor shall be allowed five minutes to speak in opposition to it. There shall be no further debate thereon, but the same privilege of debate shall be allowed in favor of and against any amendment that may be offered to an amendment. An amendment, or an amendment to an amendment, may be withdrawn by its proponent only by the unanimous consent of the Committee of the Whole. |
Sec. 979. Motion to close general debate in Committee of the Whole. | The motion to close general debate in Committee of the Whole, successor in practice to the motion to discharge provided by the rule of 1841, is made in the House pending the motion that the House resolve itself into Committee, and not after the House has voted to go into Committee (V, 5208). Though the motion is not debatable, the previous question is sometimes ordered on it to prevent amendment (V, 5203). Where the previous question is ordered, the 40 minutes of debate under clause 1(a) of rule XIX (formerly clause 2 of rule XXVII) is not allowed (VIII, 2555, 2690). General debate must have already begun in Committee of the Whole before the motion to limit debate it is in order in the House (V, 5204-5206). The motion may not apply to a series of bills (V, 5209) and must be offered to apply to the whole and not to a part of a bill (V, 5207). A proposition for a division of time may not be made as a part of it (V, 5210, 5211). The motion may not be made in Committee of the Whole (V, 5217; VIII, 2548); but, in the absence of an order by the House, the Committee of the Whole may by unanimous consent determine general debate (V, 5232; VIII, 2553). Where the House has fixed the time, the Committee may not, even by unanimous consent, extend it (V, 5212-5216; VIII, 2321, 2550; Mar. 27, 1984, p. 6599; June 17, 1999, pp. 13437, 13442).- |
Sec. 980. Reading and amendment under the fiveminute rule. | The second reading was originally instituted by the rule of 1789 and has continued, although the rule was eliminated, undoubtedly by inadvertence, in the codification of 1880 (V, 5221). The recodification of the 106th Congress conformed paragraph (a) to reflect the modern practice of first and second readings (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47). |
Sec. 981. Pro forma amendments under the fiveminute rule. | The pro forma amendment to ``strike out the last word'' has long been used for purposes of debate or explanation where an actual amendment is not contemplated (V, 5778; VIII, 2591). Unless a special rule precludes any amendment except pro forma amendments for the purpose of debate, a pro forma amendment may be voted on unless withdrawn (VIII, 2874). A Member who has occupied five minutes on a pro forma amendment to debate a pending substantive amendment may not lengthen this time by making another pro forma amendment (V, 5222; VIII, 2560), may not offer another pro forma amendment after intervening debate on a pending amendment or proposition, even on a subsequent day (July 14, 1998, p. 15298; May 23, 2002, p. 8913 (see May 22, 2002, p. 8707)), and may not extend debate time by offering a substantive amendment while other Members are seeking recognition (July 28, 1965, p. 18631). A Member recognized to offer a pro forma amendment under the five-minute rule may not during that time offer a substantive amendment but must be separately recognized for that purpose (Nov. 19, 1987, p. 32880). A Member may speak in opposition to a pending amendment and subsequently offer a pro forma amendment and debate that (June 30, 1955, p. 9614); a Member may offer a second degree amendment and then offer a pro forma amendment to debate the underlying first degree amendment (June 28, 1995, p. 17633); a Member who has debated a substantive amendment may thereafter rise in opposition to a pro forma amendment thereto (July 20, 1951, p. 8566); and a Member may offer a pro forma amendment to both a pending amendment and a second degree amendment thereto (June 12, 2007, p. ----). A Member who has offered a substantive amendment and then debated it for five minutes may not extend his time by offering a pro forma amend |
982. Failure of a quorum in Committee of the Whole. | 6. (a) A quorum of a Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union is 100 Members. The first time that a Committee of the Whole finds itself without a quorum during a day, the Chairman shall invoke the procedure for a quorum call set forth in clause 2 of rule XX, unless he elects to invoke an alternate procedure set forth in clause 3 or clause 4(a) of rule XX. If a quorum appears, the Committee of the Whole shall continue its business. If a quorum does not appear, the Committee of the Whole shall rise, and the Chairman shall report the names of absentees to the House. |
Sec. 983. Rising and reports of Committee of the Whole. | Under clause 6(d), the presence of a quorum is not necessary for adoption of a motion that the Committee of the Whole rise (IV, 2975, 2976, 4914; Mar. 5, 1980, p. 4801; Oct. 3, 1985, p. 26096; May 21, 1992, p. 12394; July 21, 2004, p. ----). |
Sec. 985. De novo votes where Delegates decisive. | (h) Whenever a recorded vote on any question has been decided by a margin within which the votes cast by the Delegates and the Resident Commissioner have been decisive, the Committee of the Whole shall rise and the Speaker shall put such question de novo without intervening motion. Upon the announcement of the vote on that question, the Committee of the Whole shall resume its sitting without intervening motion. |
986. Motion to dispense with reading. | 7. It shall be in order in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to move that the Committee of the Whole dispense with the reading of an amendment that has been printed in the bill or resolution as reported by a committee, or an amendment that a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner has caused to be printed in the Congressional Record. Such a motion shall be decided without debate. |
987. Closing the fiveminute debate in Committee of the Whole. | 8. (a) Subject to paragraph (b) at any time after the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union has begun five-minute debate on amendments to any portion of a bill or resolution, it shall be in order to move that the Committee of the Whole close all debate on that portion of the bill or resolution or on the pending amendments only. Such a motion shall be decided without debate. The adoption of such a motion does not preclude further amendment, to be decided without debate. |
988. The motion to strike out the enacting words of a bill. | 9. A motion that the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rise and report a bill or resolution to the House with the recommendation that the enacting or resolving clause be stricken shall have precedence of a motion to amend, and, if carried in the House, shall constitute a rejection of the bill or resolution. Whenever a bill or resolution is reported from the Committee of the Whole with such adverse recommendation and the recommendation is rejected by the House, the bill or resolution shall stand recommitted to the Committee of the Whole without further action by the House. Before the question of concurrence is submitted, it shall be in order to move that the House refer the bill or resolution to a committee, with or without instructions. If a bill or resolution is so referred, then when it is again reported to the House it shall be referred to the Committee of the Whole without debate. |
Sec. 989. Practice as to use of the motion to strike the enacting clause. | The motion may not be made until the first section of the bill has been read (V, 5327; VIII, 2619), and may be offered while an amendment is pending (V, 5328-5331; VIII, 2622, 2624, 2627). The motion takes precedence over the motion to amend and therefore over the motion to rise and report at the end of the reading of a general appropriation bill for amendment under clause 2(d) of rule XXI (July 24, 1986, p. 17641). The motion also takes precedence over a motion to limit debate on pending amendments (June 28, 1995, p. 17647; July 13, 1995, p. 18874). Where a special order provides that a bill shall be open to amendment in Committee of the Whole, a motion to strike out the enacting words is in order (VII, 787); contra (IV, 3215), but after the stage of amendment has been passed the motion to strike out the enacting words is not in order (IV, 4782; VIII, 2368). Where a bill is being considered under a special order that permits only committee amendments and no amendments thereto, a motion that the Committee rise and report with the recommendation that the enacting clause be stricken is not in order where no committee amendments are in fact offered (Apr. 16, 1970, p. 12092). |
990. Reading concurrent resolution on budget for amendment. | 10. (a) At the conclusion of general debate in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union on a concurrent resolution on the budget under section 305(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the concurrent resolution shall be considered as read for amendment. |
991. Unfunded mandates. | 11. (a) In the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, an amendment proposing only to strike an unfunded mandate from the portion of the bill then open to amendment, if otherwise in order, may be precluded from consideration only by specific terms of a special order of the House. |
992. Application of Rules of House to the Committee of the Whole. | 12. The Rules of the House are the rules of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union so far as applicable. |
Sec. 993. Modification of special orders. | The Chair may not entertain a unanimous-consent request in the Committee of the Whole if its effect is to materially modify procedures required by a special rule or order adopted by the House. For example, the following unanimous-consent requests may not be entertained in the Committee of the Whole: (1) to permit a perfecting amendment to be offered to the underlying bill where a special rule permitted its consideration only as a perfecting amendment to a committee amendment (Aug. 2, 1977, p. 26161); (2) to permit a substitute to be read by section for amendment where the special rule did not so provide (Dec. 12, 1973, p. 41153); (3) to extend the time limitation for consideration of amendments beyond that set by a special order requiring the Chair to put the question on the pending amendments at the expiration of certain hours of consideration (Apr. 10, 1986, p. 7079; Oct. 30, 1991, p. 29213; Aug. 3, 1999, p. 19218; Oct. 21, 1999, p. 26492); (4) to restrict ``en blocking'' authority granted in a special order (Sept. 11, 1986, p. 22871; June 21, 1989, p. 12744); (5) to change the scheme for control (Oct. 9, 1986, p. 29984) or duration (Aug. 1, 1989, p. 17143; Mar. 12, 1991, p. 5799; Mar. 17, 1993, p. 5385; June 17, 1999, pp. 13437, 13442; Feb. 9, 2005, p. ---- (Chair corrected himself)) of general debate specified by the House, including a ``wrap up'' debate following the amendment process (Mar. 25, 2004, p. ----); (6) to preempt the Chair's discretion (granted by a special order) to postpone and cluster votes or to schedule further consideration of a pending measure to a subsequent day (June 4, 1992, p. 13625; July 13, 1995, p. 18872); (7) to postpone a vote on an appeal of a ruling of the Chair (June 8, 2000, p. 9954); (8) to permit an amendment offered by another Member to an amendment rendered unamendable by a special order or to permit a subsequent amendment changing such unamendable amendment already adopted (Nov. 18, 1987, p. 32643; July 26, 1989, p. 16411; July 24, 1996, p. 18907); (9) to permit consideration |