[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 104th Congress]
[104th Congress]
[House Document 103-342]
[Rules of the House of Representatives]
[Pages 350-353]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
Rule VIII.
DUTIES OF THE MEMBERS.
[[Page 351]]
on each question put, unless he has a direct <> personal or pecuniary interest in the event of such
question.
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Sec. 656. Members required to be present and vote. |
1. Every
Member shall be present within the Hall of the House during its
sittings, unless excused or necessarily prevented; and shall vote
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This clause was adopted in 1789, with amendment in 1890 (V, 5941).
Leaves of absence are presented pending the motion to adjourn (IV,
3151), and are usually granted by general consent, but sometimes are
opposed or even refused (II, 1142-1145). Application for leave of
absence is properly presented by filing with the Clerk the printed form
to be secured at the desk rather than by oral request from the floor
(VI, 199). Whether or not they are privileged is a matter of doubt (II,
1146, 1147). Excuses for absence, as distinguished from leaves of
absence, may be granted by less than a quorum (IV, 3000-3002). The
statutes provide that deductions may be made from the salaries of
Members who are absent without sufficient excuse (II, 1149, 1150); and
while this law has been enforced (IV, 3011, footnote; VI, 30, 198), its
general application is not practical under modern conditions. Form of
resolution for the arrest of Members absent without leave (VI, 686).
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Sec. 658. Member's control of his own vote. |
It has been
found impracticable to enforce the provision requiring every Member to
vote (V, 5942-5948), and such question even if entertained, may not
interrupt a pending rollcall vote (V, 5947); and the weight of authority
also favors the idea that there is no authority in the House to deprive
a Member of the right to vote (V, 5937, 5952, 5959, 5966, 5967; VIII,
3072). In one or two early instances the Speaker has decided that
because of personal interest, a Member should not vote (V, 5955, 5958);
but on all other occasions and in the later practice the Speaker has
held that the Member himself and not the Chair should determine this
question (V, 5950, 5951; VIII, 3071; Speaker Albert, Dec. 2, 1975, p.
38135; Speaker O'Neill, Mar. 1, 1979, p. 3748), and the Speaker has
denied his own power to deprive a Member of the constitutional right to
vote (V, 5956; Speaker Albert, Dec. 2, 1975, p. 38135; Speaker O'Neill,
Mar. 1, 1979, p. 3748). Members may not vote in the House by proxy (VII,
1014). Instance where a Member submitted his resignation from a
committee on grounds of disqualifying personal interest (VIII, 3074).
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The House has frequently excused Members from voting in cases of
personal interest (III, 2294; V, 5962; Aug. 2, 1949, pp. 10591, 10592;
Oct. 20, 1951, p. 13746; July 21, 1954, p. 11262; July 28, 1955, p.
11930; July 12, 1956, p. 12566).
[[Page 352]]
of several Members to their seats, each refrained from voting in his
own case, but did vote on the identical cases of his associates (V,
5957, 5958). And while a Member should not vote on the direct questions
affecting himself, he has sometimes voted on incidental questions (V,
5960, 5961).
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Sec. 659. Nature of disqualifying personal interest. |
It is a
principle of ``immemorial observance'' that a Member should withdraw
when a question concerning himself arises (V, 5949); but it has been
held that the disqualifying interest must be such as affects the Member
directly (V, 5954, 5955, 5963), and not as one of a class (V, 5952;
VIII, 3071, 3072; Speaker Bankhead, May 31, 1939, pp. 6359-60; Speaker
Albert, Dec. 2, 1975, p. 38135). In a case where question affected the
titles
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Sec. 660a. Pairs. |
2. Pairs shall be announced by the Clerk
immediately before the announcement by the Chair of the result of the
vote, by the House or Committee of the Whole from a written list
furnished him, and signed by the Member making the statement to the
Clerk, which list shall be published in the Record as a part of the
proceedings, immediately following the names of those not voting.
However, pairs shall be announced but once during the same legislative
day.
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This clause was adopted in 1880, although the practice of pairing had
then existed in the House for many years (V, 5981). The language of the
clause was slightly altered by amendment in 1972 to reflect the
installation of electronic voting in the 93d Congress (H. Res. 1123,
Oct. 13, 1972, pp. 36005-12). This clause was amended in the 94th
Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20) to permit pairs to be
announced in the Committee of the Whole.
[[Page 353]]
Pairs may not be announced at a time other than that prescribed by the
rule (V, 6046), and the voting intentions of an absent Member may not
otherwise be announced by a colleague (VIII, 3151). Prior to the 94th
Congress pairs were not permitted in Committee of the Whole (V, 5984;
Speaker Albert, Jan. 15, 1973, p. 1054). The House does not consider
questions arising out of the breaking of a pair (V, 5982, 5983, 6095;
VIII, 3082, 3085, 3087-3089, 3093), or permit a Member to vote after the
call on the plea that he had refrained because of misunderstanding as to
a pair (V, 6080, 6081). Discussion of the origin of the practice of
pairing in the House and Senate (VIII, 3076). On questions requiring a
two-thirds majority Members are paired two in the affirmative against
one in the negative (VIII, 3088; Nov. 15, 1983, p. 32685). For Speaker
Clark's interpretation of the rule and practice of the House of
Representatives as to pairs, see VIII, 3089.
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Sec. 660b. Voting. |
3. (a) A Member may not authorize any
other individual to cast his vote or record his presence in the House or
Committee of the Whole.
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(b) No individual other than a Member may cast a vote or record a
Member's presence in the House or Committee of the Whole.
(c) A Member may not cast a vote for any other Member or record
another Member's presence in the House or Committee of the Whole.
Clause 3 was added in the 97th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1981, pp.
98-113). The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct recommended this
addition to the rules in its May 15, 1980, report (H. Rept. 96-991) on
voting anomalies which had occurred in the House. Even prior to the
addition of this clause, however, ``ghost voting'' was considered
unethical (VII, 1014; Dec. 18, 1987, p. 36274).