PROVIDING FOR FLOOR CONSIDERATION

Debate in the full House. Some special rules provide for debate in the full House to preclude or severely restrict amendments. Such rules generally provide at least one-hour of debate and order the previous question to prevent amendments, except those contained in a motion to recommit with instructions.

Resolving the House into Committee of the Whole. Clause 2(b) of Rule XVIII gives the Speaker the authority, after adoption of a special rule, to declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole, where the procedures allow more Members to participate in debate and offer amendments. This rule is generally repeated in special rules to underscore that it is not necessary to consider and adopt a motion that the House resolve into the Committee of the Whole. The Rules Committee will ordinarily provide for consideration of bills in the Committee of the Whole where the offering of amendments is contemplated.

Dispensing with the First Reading. Clause 8 of Rule XVI requires bills and joint resolutions to be read three times before being passed. The first reading is routinely waived by special rules to avoid the first reading of a bill in full before general debate begins.

Relevancy of debate. A special rule will require that general debate in the Committee of the Whole be confined to the bill, and sometimes to non-germane amendments protected by the rule. Otherwise, anything relevant to the "state of the union" would be relevant during general debate. However, the rule of relevancy applies when germane amendments are under consideration.