[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 313-335] [From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov] [[Page 313]] ======================================================================== RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES with ======================================================================== [[Page 315]] NOTES AND ANNOTATIONS RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WITH NOTES AND ANNOTATIONS __________ Rule I. DUTIES OF THE SPEAKER.
Sec. 621. Journal; Speaker's approval. | 1. The Speaker shall take the Chair on every legislative day precisely at the hour to which the House shall have adjourned at the last sitting and immediately call the Members to order. The Speaker, having examined the Journal of the proceedings of the last day's sitting and approved the same, shall announce to the House his approval of the Journal, and the Speaker's approval of the Journal shall be deemed to be agreed to subject to a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval on the demand of any Member, which vote, if decided in the affirmative, shall not be subject to a motion to reconsider. It shall be in order to offer one motion that the Journal be read only if the Speaker's approval of the Journal is not agreed to, and such motion shall be determined without debate and shall not be subject to a motion to reconsider. |
Sec. 623. Speaker's control of the Hall, corridors, and rooms. | 3. He shall have general control, except as provided by rule or law, of the Hall of the House, and of the corridors and passages and the disposal of the unappropriated rooms in that part of the Capitol assigned to the use of the House, until further order. |
Sec. 624. Speaker's signature to acts, warrants, subpoenas, etc.; and decision of questions of order subject to appeal. | 4. He shall sign all acts, addresses, joint resolutions, writs, warrants, and subpoenas of, or issued by order of, the House, and decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal by any Member, on which appeal no Member shall speak more than once, unless by permission of the House. The Speaker is authorized |
Sec. 625. Signing of enrolled bills. | Enrolled bills are signed first by the Speaker (IV, 3429). He has declined to sign in the absence of a quorum (IV, 3458), or pending a motion to reconsider (V, 5705); and the report of a committee as to the accuracy of the enrollment is first submitted, unless, as in rare instances only, the House by consent waives the requirement (IV, 3452). In cases of error the House has permitted the Speaker's signature to be vacated (IV, 3453, 3455-3457; VII, 1077-1080). Under the modern practice, the Committee of the Whole may rise informally without motion to enable the Speaker to assume the Chair and to sign an enrolled bill and lay it before the House (Jan. 28, 1980, p. 888; Apr. 30, 1980, p. 9505). |
Sec. 626. Signing of warrants, subpoenas, etc. | Warrants, subpoenas, etc., during recesses of Congress are signed only by authority specially given (III, 1753, 1763, 1806). The issuing of warrants must be specially authorized by the House (I, 287) or pursuant to a standing rule (clause 4 of rule XV; Sec. 774a, infra). Instance wherein the House authorized the Speaker to warrant for the arrest of absentees (VI, 638). The Speaker also signs the articles, replications, etc., in impeachments (III, 2370, 2455); and certifies cases of contumacious witnesses for action by the courts (III, 1691, 1769; VI, 385; 2 U.S.C. 194). A subpoena validly issued by a committee authorized by the House under clause 2(m) of rule XI to issue subpoenas need only be signed by the chairman of that committee, whereas when the House issues an order or warrant, the Speaker must issue the summons under his hand and seal, and it must be attested by the Clerk (III, 1668; see H. Rept. 96-1078, p. 22). |
Sec. 627. Practice governing the Speaker in deciding points of order. | The Speaker may require that a question of order be presented in writing (V, 6865). He is not required to decide a question not directly presented by the proceedings (II, 1314), and it is not his duty to decide a hypothetical question (VI, 249, 253; Nov. 20, 1989, p. ----), as the germaneness of an amendment not yet offered (Dec. 12, 1985, p. 36167) or previously offered and entertained without a point of order (June 6, 1990, p. 13194), or concerning the propriety under applicable Budget Act allocations of an amendment not yet offered, particularly where the Chair's response may have depended upon the disposition of a prior amendment on which proceedings had been postponed (June 27, 1994, p. ----). When enough of a proposition has been read to show that it is out of order, |
Sec. 628. Practice, governing appeals. | The right of appeal insures the House against the arbitrary control of the Speaker and can not be taken away from the House (V, 6002); but appeals may not be entertained from responses to parliamentary inquiries (V, 6955; VIII, 3457); when dilatory (V, 5715-5722; VIII, 2822); from decisions on recognition (II, 1425-1428; VI, 292; VIII, 2429, 2646, 2762; July 23, 1993, p. ----; Apr. 4, 1995, p. ----); from decisions on dilatoriness of motions (V, 5731); while another is pending (V, 6939-6941); on a question on which an appeal has just been decided (IV, 3036; V, 6877); between the motion to adjourn and vote thereon (V, 5361); during a call of the yeas and nays (V, 6051); from the count by the Chair of the number rising to demand tellers (VIII, 3105) or a recorded vote (June 24, 1976, p. 20390) or the yeas and nays (Sept. 12, 1978, p. 28950) or rising to object to a request under clause 2(i) of rule XI that a committee have permission to sit under the five-minute rule (Sept. 12, 1978, p. 28984); from the Chair's count of a quorum (July 24, 1974, p. 25012); from the Chair's call of a voice vote (July 13, 1994, p. ----; Aug. 10, 1994, p. ----); from decision refusing recapitulation of a vote (VIII, 3128); and from the Speaker's refusal under clause 6(e) of rule XV to entertain a point of order of no quorum when a pending question has not been put to a vote (Sept. 16, 1977, p. 29594). The Speaker may vote to sustain his own decision (IV, 4569; V, 5686, 6956, 6957). |
Sec. 629. Putting of the question by the Speaker. | 5. (a) He shall rise to put a question, but may state it sitting; and shall put questions in this form, to wit: ``As many as are in favor (as the question may be), say `Aye'.''; and after the affirmative voice is expressed, ``As many as are opposed, say `No'.''; if he doubts, or a division is called for, the House shall divide; those in the affirmative of the ques |
Sec. 630b. Ordering of tellers and taking of the vote. | In Committee of the Whole, a request for a recorded vote on an amendment once denied may not be renewed even where the absence of a quorum is disclosed immediately following the refusal to order a recorded vote (June 6, 1979, p. 13648; Oct. 25, 1983, p. 29227). It is the duty of the Member to serve as teller when appointed by the Chair (V, 5987); but when Members of one side have declined, the second teller has been ap |
Sec. 631. Postponing rollcall votes on passage. | (b)(1) On any legislative day whenever a recorded vote is ordered or the yeas and nays are ordered, or a vote is objected to under clause 4 of rule XV on any of the following questions, the Speaker may, in his discretion, postpone further proceedings on each such question to a designated time or place in the legislative schedule on that legislative day in the case of the question of agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal, or within two legislative days, in the case of the other questions listed herein: |
Sec. 632. The Speaker's vote. Tie vote. | 6. He shall not be required to vote in ordinary legislative proceedings, except where his vote would be decisive, or where the House is engaged in voting by ballot; and in cases of a tie vote the question shall be lost. |
Sec. 633. Speaker pro tempore. | 7. (a) He shall have the right to name any Member to perform the duties of the Chair, but such substitution shall not extend beyond three legislative days, except that with the permission of the House he may name a Member to act as Speaker pro tempore only to sign enrolled bills and joint resolutions for a period of time specified in the designation, notwithstanding any other provision of this clause: Provided, however, That in case of his illness, he may make such appointment for a period not exceeding ten days, with the approval of the House at the time the same is made; and in his absence and omission to make such appointment, the House shall proceed to elect a Speaker pro tempore to act during his absence.- |
Sec. 633a. Fourterm limit. | (b) No person may serve as Speaker for more than four consecutive Congresses, beginning with the One Hundred Fourth Congress (disregarding for this purpose any service for less than a full session in any Congress). |
Sec. 634a. Election, oath, and designation of Speaker pro tempore. | The right of the House to elect a Speaker pro tempore in the absence of the Speaker was exercised before the rule was adopted (II, 1405), although the House sometimes preferred to adjourn (I, 179). An elected Speaker pro tempore in the earlier practice was not sworn (I, 229; II, 1386); but the Senate and sometimes the President were notified of his election (II, 1386-1389, 1405-1412; VI, 275). On August 31, 1961, p. 17765, the House adopted House Resolution 445, electing Hon. John W. McCormack as Speaker pro tempore in the absence and terminal illness of Speaker Rayburn. The resolution provided that the Clerk notify the President and the Senate. The Chairman of the Democratic Caucus then administered the oath. Elected Speakers pro tempore have signed enrolled bills, appointed committees, etc., functions not exercised by a Speaker pro tempore by designation (II, 1399, 1400, 1404; VI, 274, 277, Sept. 21, 1961, p. 20572; June 21, 1984, p. 17708), but the clause was amended in the 99th Congress (H. Res. 7, Jan. 3, 1985, p. 393) to authorize the Speaker, with House approval, to designate a Speaker pro tempore to sign enrolled bills. |
Sec. 634b. Travel authority. | 8. He shall have the authority to designate any Member, officer or employee of the House of Representatives to travel on the business of the House of Representatives, as determined by him, within or without the United States, whether the House is meeting, has recessed or has adjourned, and all expenses for such travel may be paid for from the contingent fund of the House on vouchers solely approved and signed by the Speaker. |
Sec. 634c. Broadcasting of House proceedings. | 9. (a) He shall devise and implement a system subject to his direction and control for closed circuit viewing of floor proceedings of the House of Representatives in the offices of all Members and committees and in such other places in the Capitol and the House Office Buildings as he deems appropriate. Such system may include other telecommunications functions as he deems appropriate. Any such telecommunications function shall be subject to rules and regulations issued by the Speaker. |
Sec. 634d. Office of the Historian. | 10. There is established in the House of Representatives an office to be known as the Office of the Historian of the House of Representatives. |
Sec. 634e. Office of General Counsel. | 11. There is established in the House of Representatives an office to be known as the Office of General Counsel for the purpose of providing legal assistance and representation to the House. Legal assistance and representation shall be provided without regard to political affiliation. The Office of General Counsel shall function pursuant to the direction of the Speaker, who shall consult with a Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, which shall include the majority and minority leaderships. The Speaker shall appoint and set the annual rate of pay for employees of the Office of General Counsel. |
Sec. 634f. Authority to declare recesses. | 12. To suspend the business of the House for a short time when no question is pending before the House, the Speaker may declare a recess subject to the call of the Chair. |