[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 105th Congress] [105th Congress] [House Document 104-272] [Rules of the House of Representatives] [Pages 742-753] [From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov] Rule XXVII. change or suspension of rules. [[Page 743]] the rules except on Mondays and Tuesdays, and during the last six days of a session.
Sec. 902. Motions to suspend the rules. | 1. No rule shall be suspended except by a vote of two-thirds of the Members voting, a quorum being present; nor shall the Speaker entertain a motion to suspend |
Sec. 903. Nature of the motion to suspend the rules. | While originally the motion was used to suspend the rule on the order of business in order to consider a particular bill (V, 6852, 6853), in the later practice it is more usual to move ``to suspend the rules and pass'' the bill (V, 6846, 6847), and a division of the question may not be demanded, either as to the two branches of the motion or as to distinct substantive propositions in the subject of the motion (V, 6141- 6143). The motion may not be amended (V, 5322, 5405, 6858; Dec. 21, 1973, pp. 43251-63; June 4, 1985, pp. 13983, 13986, 13989), postponed (V, 5322), or laid on the table (V, 5405). The motion to reconsider may not be applied to a negative vote on the motion (V, 5645, 5646; VIII, 2781; Sept. 28, 1996, p. ----), although it may be applied to an affirmative vote (Sept. 28, 1996, p. ----). The motion to refer may not be applied to the bill which it is proposed to pass under suspension of the rules (V, 6860). The motion to suspend the rules applied to the parliamentary law of Jefferson's Manual as well as to the other rules of the House (V, 6796), and may even be used to deny the right to have read a paper on which the House is to |
Sec. 904. Precedence of the motion to suspend the rules. | In the early practice, when the motion to suspend the rules was used to enable a matter to be taken up for consideration out of order, it was not admitted when a subject was already before the House (V, 5278, 6836, 6837, 6852, 6853). A bill taken up under this early practice might be amended (V, 6842, 6856) by the House, or withdrawn by the mover, in which case another Member might not present it (V, 6854, 6855). In the later practice, where the motion includes both suspension of the rules and action on the subject it is admitted, although another matter be pending (V, 6834), although the yeas and nays may have been demanded on another highly privileged motion (V, 6835), or although the previous question may have been ordered or moved on another matter (V, 6827; see also Sept. 17, 1990, p. 24695; V, 6831-6833; VIII, 3418). Earlier rulings, however, did not, while a series of Senate amendments were pending, permit a motion to suspend the rules in order to permit a vote to be taken on the amendments in gross (V, 6828, 6830). But in the earlier practice, also, while a matter was pending a motion to suspend the rules in order to dispense with the reading otherwise required was admitted (V, 5278). The motion to suspend the rules has been ruled out of order when the House is considering a bill under a special order (V, 6838); and when a question of high privilege under rule IX is before the House a motion to suspend the rules and consider another matter is not in order (V, 6825, 6826; VI, 553, 565). But the motion to suspend the rules has been held of equal privilege with the motion to instruct conferees after 20 days of conference, which under clause 1(c) of rule XXVIII is ``of the highest privilege'' (Mar. 1, 1988, pp. 2749, 2751, 2754). A motion to suspend the rules and approve the Journal was held in order, although the Journal had not been read and the then highly privileged motion to fix the day to which the House should adjourn was pending (IV, 2758). While the motion is of high privilege, it may be superseded by a question of the privilege of the House (III, 2553; VI, 565). Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XVI the Speaker may entertain one motion to adjourn pending a motion to suspend the rules, but after that vote shall not entertain any other motion until the vote is taken on the motion to suspend the rules. Moreover, in the absence of a motion to suspend, the ordinary motions relating to business of the House may be made on suspension days as on other days (IV, 3080). The motion to suspend the rules may be made on days other than suspension days by unanimous consent (V, 6795) or by adoption of a resolution reported by the Rules Committee. On ``suspension days'' the motion to suspend the rules has been admitted at the discretion of the Speaker since 1881 (V, 6791-6794, 6845; VIII, 3402-3404), and no appeal may be taken from the Speaker's denial of recognition (II, 1425), and no advance notice to Members of bills to be called up under suspension of the rules is required (Mar. 20, 1978, pp. 7535-36), but the rules forbid the Speaker to entertain a motion to suspend the rules relating to the privilege of the floor (Sec. 919; V, 7283; VIII, 3634), the use of the Hall of the House (Sec. 918; V, 7270) |
Sec. 905. Individual and committee motions to suspend the rules. | Prior to the 93d Congress, the rule gave to individuals preference on the first Monday of the month for making motions to suspend the rules, and preference on the third Mondays for committees to make the motion (V, 6790). In rare instances the Speaker has called the committees in regular order for motions to suspend the rules, but this method is not required (V, 6810, 6811). In the earlier practice the committee motion must have been formally and specifically authorized by the committee (V, 6805-6807); but after the motion was seconded and debate had begun it was too late to raise a question as to the authorization (V, 6808). Under the later practice authorization by a committee is not required (VIII, 3410). The committee may not present a bill which has not been referred to it (V, 6813) and is not within its jurisdiction (V, 6848). A bill offered on a committee suspension day, in the early practice, could carry with it only such amendments as were authorized by a committee (V, 6812), but in the modern practice the formality of committee approval is not required (June 22, 1992, p. ---- ). If on a committee day an individual motion was made and seconded, it was then too late to make a point of order (V, 6809). |
Sec. 906. The second of the motion to suspend the rules. | Prior to the 102d Congress, certain motions to suspend the rules were required to be seconded, if demanded, by a majority by tellers, but this requirement was eliminated from the rule in the 102d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). This requirement for a second was adopted in 1874, was rescinded two years later, but was again adopted in 1880. The object of it was to prevent consumption of the time of the House by forcing consideration of undesirable propositions (V, 6797). The requirement (formerly clause 2) was amended in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16) so that a second was not required where printed copies of the proposed measure were available. Copies of reports on bills considered under suspension are not required to be available in advance. The Constitutional right of a Member to demand the yeas and nays, or the right of a Member under clause 5(a) of rule I to demand a recorded vote, did not exist on the question of ordering a second under the former clause 2, which only permited the ordering of a second by tellers if a quorum was present (V, 6032-6036; VIII, 3109; Dec. 16, 1981, p. 31851). The fact that a majority of the Members of the House did not pass between the tellers on the question of ordering a second did not conclusively show that a quorum was not present in the Chamber, and the Speaker could count the House to determine whether a quorum was actually present (Dec. 16, 1981, p. 31851). But where a quorum failed on the vote for a second, under clause 4 of rule XV the yeas and nays were ordered (IV, 3053-3055; Dec. |
Sec. 907. The forty minutes of debate on motion to suspend the rules. | 2. When a motion to suspend the rules has been submitted to the House, it shall be in order, before the final vote is taken thereon, to debate the proposition to be voted upon for forty minutes, one-half of such time to be given to debate in favor of, and one-half to debate in opposition to, such proposition; and the same right of debate shall be allowed whenever the previous question has been ordered on any proposition on which there has been no debate. |
Sec. 907a. The forty minutes of debate on other propositions. | The last provision of this clause allows 40 minutes of debate when the previous question is ordered on a proposition on which there has been no debate (V, 6821; Mar. 22, 1990, p. 4996). However, any previous debate on the merits of the main proposition precludes the 40 minutes (V, 5499-5502). The demand for 40 minutes of debate: must come before the vote is taken on the main question (V, 5496); is not available when the question on which the previous question is ordered is otherwise nondebatable, such as the motion to close debate (VIII, 2555, 2690); is not available on an undebated amendment where the motion for the previous question covers both the amendment and the original proposition, which has been debated (V, 5504); and is not available on incidental motions (V, 5497-5498), on propositions previously debated in Committee of the Whole (V, 5505), on conference reports accompanying measures that were debated before being sent to conference (V, 5506- 5507), or on ancillary measures, such as a concurrent resolution to correct an enrolled bill (V, 5508). Debate allowed under this provision is equally divided and controlled between the person demanding the time and a Member representing the opposition (Sept. 13, 1965, pp. 23602-06; May 8, 1985, p. 11073). Priority in recognition for time in opposition is accorded to a Member truly opposed (VIII, 2689). |
Sec. 908. Motion to discharge a committee. | 3. A Member may present to the Clerk a motion in writing to discharge a committee from the consideration of a public bill or resolution which has been referred to it thirty days prior thereto (but only one motion may be presented for each bill or resolution). Under this rule it shall also be in order for a Member to file a motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from further consideration of any resolution providing a special rule for the consideration of a public bill or resolution reported by a standing committee, or a special rule for the consideration of a public bill or resolution which has remained in a standing committee thirty or more days without action: Pro- |