The House's legislative day begins with a prayer and a frequent motion to agree to the Journal (the official record of the previous legislative day's proceedings).
All Legislation reported out of committee is placed on a legislative calendar. Legislation reported out of House committees can be referred to one of four calendars.
A. Union Calendar
Revenue-raising (tax) and appropriations bills as well as many other bills are placed on the Union Calendar.
B. House Calendar
Any other public bill can be placed on the House Calendar.
C. Suspension Calendar
Legislation considered to be non-controversial is placed on the Suspension Calendar and can be called up on the first and third Mondays of each month (although this type of legislation is often considered more frequently by suspending the rules under the consent of the full House). Any bill on the Consent Calendar requires a two-thirds vote to pass. It cannot be amended on the floor. If the legislation does not garner a two-thirds vote it can still be brought up for floor action via the House or Union Calendars.
D. Private Calendar
A feature exclusive to the House of Representatives is the Private Calendar, which contains all private bills. The Private Calendar must be called on the first Tuesday of each month (but may also be called on the third Tuesday at the Speaker's discretion).
E. Discharge Calendar
In addition to these legislative calendars, there is also a Discharge Calendar containing all petitions to discharge a committee from consideration of legislation. Only those petitions which contain signatures of half the members of the House (i.e., 218) can be placed on this calendar. On the second and fourth Mondays of each month (except for the last six days of a legislative session), a Representative who has signed a petition on this calendar may move that the committee be discharged from consideration of the legislation. Floor debate on this motion is limited to 20 minutes, divided equally between proponents and opponents. If a majority of the members voting supports the motion, the House can proceed to immediate consideration of the legislation.
The House Rules Committee reports rules that govern how legislation will be considered on the House floor. These rules may establish time limits for debate, determine which amendments will be in order during the legislation's consideration, waive parliamentary points of order, etc.
The chairman of the committee which has reported out legislation makes a formal written request of the Rules Committee to issue a rule for that legislation. [Note, however, that no rule is required for bills reported out of the Appropriations or Budget committees, nor do conference reports, votes to override a presidential veto, or certain measures related to House procedural rules and internal administration require a rule because they are considered to be privileged measures.]
The Rules Committee may hold a hearing on the committee chairman's request at which only Members of Congress may appear in support of or opposition to the request. The Rules Committee then votes on the question of whether it will report a rule for the legislation and what the substance of the rule will be.
If it decides not to report a rule, the legislation is not likely to have a chance of coming to the House floor for debate. Thus, the Rules Committee offers opponents of legislation an opportunity to kill the legislation that has been reported out of committee before it reaches the floor.
The contents of the rule itself are often as important as the question of whether or not a rule is reported. This is because the rule not only provides for immediate floor consideration of the legislation; it also determines which amendments may be considered during floor debate.
A. Open Rule
An open rule permits any amendments to be considered.
B. Modified Closed Rule
A modified closed rule permits only specified amendments to be offered.
C. Closed Rule
A closed rule prohibits any amendments from being offered. Opponents of the legislation -- or those who feel it as reported needs to be changed -- often try to get a rule which permits them an opportunity to offer debilitating or modifying amendments.
The rule may also contain time limits for debating the legislation and any amendments. It may also designate the floor managers who control the debate for the supporters and opponents of the measure. Finally, procedural points of order which might, under House rules, be raised against consideration of the legislation may be waived by the rule.
Once the Rules Committee approves a rule, it must report the rule to the House within three legislative days. The House cannot vote on a rule until it "lies over" for another legislative day. This rule, which was created to allow for a day's worth of thoughtful deliberation on the rule, can be bypassed, providing for same-day rulemaking, as long as two-thirds of present members vote to override the legislation's "lay over." Debate on the rule is limited to one hour, with a majority of those present and voting required for passage.
Opponents of the rule are offered a final opportunity to make a motion to recommit prior to voting on final passage of the rule. This motion can be offered for the purpose of (1) recommitting the rule to the Rules Committee, or (2) recommitting the rule to the Rules Committee with instructions to report out a rule which contains specified changes from the original rule. Approval of a simple motion to recommit usually means that the bill is dead. A recommittal with instructions, on the other hand, usually means that a majority of the House wants to vote on an amendment the original rule had excluded or wants the Rules Committee to make substantive changes in the legislation's language before it brings the measure back to the floor. Thus, the motion to recommit offers a significant opportunity to kill or make major changes in legislation.
There are two procedures that can be used to get around the need for a rule. The one most commonly used is called a suspension of the rules. Used for less controversial bills, motions to suspend the rules are in order every Monday and Tuesday if a member who intends to make such a motion has informed the Speaker in advance. Debate on the motion to suspend is limited to 40 minutes, divided equally between opponents and proponents of the motion. No amendments are allowed unless they have been included in the motion to suspend the rules. A two-thirds vote of Representatives present and voting is required to pass legislation brought up under this procedure. If the legislation fails, it can be brought up at a later time under regular procedures.
The other procedure for circumventing the Rules Committee is Calendar Wednesday. Under this procedure, Wednesdays are set aside for the Speaker to call on each committee chairman in alphabetical order by committee. When called, the chairman may ask for immediate consideration of any bill on the House or Union calendar that has been reported out of his committee. Debate is limited to two hours and must be completed on the same legislative day it was begun. The Calendar Wednesday procedure has been rarely used and is routinely dispensed with by unanimous consent.
Once a rule is passed and legislation is ready to be considered, the House usually resolves itself into the Committee of the Whole on the State of the Union (known more simply as the Committee of the Whole). Composed of all the 435 Representatives, but not chaired by the Speaker, this procedure permits the House to conduct its business more efficiently. For example, the Committee of the Whole requires that only 100 members be present, rather than the usual 218. In addition, there are more stringent limitations on the time allotted for debate. All measures involving taxes or appropriations must first be considered by the Committee of the Whole. For all other bills, the rule determines whether this procedure will be required.
Once in the Committee of the Whole, general debate on the entire bill is conducted. The time allowed for debate is set forth in the rule. This time is equally divided between supporters and opponents of the measure, with the time being controlled by the majority and minority party floor managers.
When time for general debate on the legislation has expired, the Committee of the Whole considers amendments to the bill. The House Clerk begins to read the bill according to the order set by the rule (usually title-by-title, or section-by-section). Amendments to a title or section are debated when that title or section is read (usually a formality that is dispensed with by unanimous consent). Debate is limited by the five minute rule with supporters and opponents of an amendment having a total of five minutes each. (In practice, however, this time limit is often extended.) Should the committee reporting out the legislation want to amend it; its amendments will be considered first. These are called manager's amendments.
The rules of the House prohibit amendments whose subject is different from the text of the legislation under consideration. This is called the germaneness rule. It applies to proceedings in the House, the Committee of the Whole, and to committees. The House Parliamentarian will rule on whether an amendment is germane. His or her rulings are often based on precedent.
If action has taken place in the Committee of the Whole, it is completed when consideration of the bill and amendments is over and the Committee of the Whole "rises." The Speaker then assumes the chair and the full House acts on the bill and any amendments adopted in the Committee of the Whole. If action has taken place in the House without prior action by the Committee of the Whole, then debate is usually governed by the rule. In either instance, final passage of the bill requires a favorable vote by a majority of those present and voting.
During debate, a Member may object to continuing on the grounds that a quorum is not present. If it is determined that half the members of the House are not present, 15 Representatives are authorized to issue a quorum call to compel the attendance of absent Members. The absence of a quorum can lead to adjournment of the House for the day.
Votes are recorded by one of several methods once the debate on these votes ends.
A. Voice Vote
A voice vote occurs when the Chair asks for members to voice their "yeas and nays." The Chair then rules whether the "yeas" or the "nays" have prevailed. A Representative may then make a point of order that a quorum of 100 members is not present.
B. Recorded Vote
If this point of order prevails, an automatic recorded vote must occur. A recorded vote may also be requested by a member if he or she is supported by 25 Representatives. Recorded votes are taken by members inserting a special card into an electronic device which records how they have voted on an amendment.
C. Division Vote
If the Chair is in doubt about the outcome of a voice vote, he or she may call for a division vote or a Representative may demand such a vote. Under this procedure, members voting for the amendment are asked to rise and are counted, then those opposed.
D. Yeas and Nays
In the House (but not the Committee of the Whole), one-fifth of the members may demand that the Clerk call the roll and determine whether a Member is for or against a bill (or amendment). This is usually done by electronic device. There are several devices attached to chairs throughout the Chamber. Members have a vote card which is inserted in a slot that has four indicators: "Yea"; "Nay"; "Present"; and "Open". The latter simply indicates the system is ready to receive and record vote cards.
When voting on all amendments has been completed, the Committee on the Whole "rises" and reports back to the full House. The Speaker resumes the chair, and 218 members are required for a quorum. Once back in the chair, the Speaker usually terminates all debate on the measure by announcing that "under the rule, the previous question is ordered." This ends debate and requires a vote on the pending legislation.
Now, the House considers the actions taken in the Committee of the Whole. At the Speaker's request, members identify any amendments on which they want the House to take separate recorded votes. These votes are then taken, followed by the voice vote adoption, en bloc, of any remaining noncontroversial amendments.
Following votes on amendments, House rules permit one motion to recommit the legislation back to the committee that reported it. If this motion is offered and fails, or if it is not offered, the Speaker calls for a final vote on passage of the legislation as amended. The same methods of voting used for amendments can be used for this vote, as well.
[NOTE: On any recorded vote, Members can pair. A live pair occurs when a Member who is present withholds his vote and pairs himself with an absent Member who would have voted opposite had he be present. In this way, the absent member cancels the vote of the Member who is present. This procedure is used when the present Member wishes to have his position of the vote recorded, but not counted in the final vote tally (perhaps for political reasons). In the alternative, two absent Members may pair on opposite sides of the issue. This is simply a method of recording the positions of Members who are not present. However, it does not affect the vote tally. A Member who expects to be absent from the House for several days may also arrange a general pair with another absent Member. Neither of the Members in this pair announces how they would have voted on the issues that come before the House in their absence. They simply state that, had they been present, they would have been on opposite sides. In this way, they assure their colleagues and the public that their absence made no difference in the outcome of the votes they missed. Pairing is an old and informal custom used in the House and Senate that is regarded by some as arcane. However, it is a process still used by members in both chambers.]
