Under clause 1(b)1 of rule XVII, remarks in debate shall be confined to the question under debate, avoiding personality. This clause is further specified under clause 2(A) of rule XVII, stating that debate may not include characterizations of Senate action or inaction, references to individual Members of the Senate, or quotations from Senate proceedings.

Debate concerning the Senate, according to clause 2(B) of rule XVII, may include references to actions taken by the Senate or by committees thereof that are a matter of public record; references to the pendency or sponsorship in the Senate of bills, resolutions, and amendments; factual descriptions relating to Senate action or inaction concerning a measure then under debate in the House that are relevant to the making of legislative history establishing the meaning of that measure.

As stated in Cannon’s Precedents, on September 24, 1890, the House adopted a report in response to improper references in debate towards the Senate. That report read in part as follows:

“The coordinate branches of Congress are independent and at the same time interdependent- in separate action independent, in joint action interdependent. This mutual relation is such that unfriendly conditions between the two bodies must be obstructive of wise legislation and little short of a public calamity..... neither the wisdom or unwisdom of the Senate in this regard, nor the methods of its action, nor the motive of Senators, are proper subjects of remark or criticism by any Member of the House acting in his official capacity. Such criticism is so interwoven with the substance of the speech in question that its excision would seriously mutilate and practically destroy its integrity.” (Cannon’s Precedents, Vol. 5, Sec. 5129)

Under section 371 of the House Rules and Manual it is held that a Member can:

• oppose a sine die adjournment resolution on the grounds that Congress should stay in session to complete action on specified legislation then pending in the Senate;

• abstate whether or not the Senate has acted on House-passed legislation as long as criticism is neither stated nor implied;

• abdiscuss a question involving conference committee procedure, to state what actually occurred in a conference committee session, without referring to or criticizing a named Member of the Senate.

Under section 371 of the House Rules and Manual it is held that a Member may not:

• include a characterization of Senate action as a “further injustice”;

• debate to specifically urge that the Senate take certain action;

• make the accusation that the Senate majority leadership failed to schedule a bill;

• make the accusation that Senate minority held a bill “hostage”;

• urge Members of the House to “lobby” Senators on an issue;

• read or quote from the record of speeches or proceedings in the Senate, or insert such material in the Record;

• refer to any specific Senator, except to name the Senator as a cosponsor.

Words Taken Down (Clauses 4 and 5 of Rule XIV)

A Member should avoid impugning the motives of another Member, the Senate or the President, using offensive language, or uttering words that are otherwise deemed unparliamentary. These actions are strictly against House Rules and are subject to a demand that the words be taken down. A demand that the Member’s words be taken down results in the clerk reporting the words and the Chair ruling on the propriety of the words. If the demand is made in the Committee of the Whole, the Committee rises and reports them to the House where the Chair rules on their propriety.

The offending Member may obtain unanimous consent to withdraw the inappropriate words or the demand may be withdrawn. Following such a withdrawal, the Member proceeds in order. However, if the Member’s words are ruled out of order, they are stricken from the Congressional Record and the Member will not be allowed to speak again on that day except by motion or unanimous consent.

Relevancy of Debate (Clause 1 of Rule XIV)

A Member is required to confine himself to the question under debate and may not stray from the subject under discussion. If so, a member may be subject to a point of order that their remarks are not relevant to the debate.

Addressing the Chair (Clause 1 of Rule XIV)

A Member must stand while speaking. A Member must address the Chair in their remarks (Mister or Madam Speaker; Mister or Madam Chairman), and refrain from addressing other Members, the President, the gallery or the television viewing audience.

Under clause 4 of rule I, the Speaker decides “all questions of order, subject to an appeal by any Member.” Debate following a question of order, being for the Chair’s information, is in full discretion of the Chair. Members must address the Chair while debating a point of order, and at no time during debate engage in colloquies. Under clause 2 of rule I, it is the duty of the Speaker to preserve order and decorum, and in the case of a disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries or in the lobby, may cause the same to be cleared. The Speaker may name a Member who is disorderly, but does not have the authority to call for an offending Member’s words to be taken down or to raise a point of order. Preserving the authority and binding force of parliamentary law is as much the duty of each Member of the House as it is the duty of the Chair. The Speaker’s decisions are recorded in the Journal, but responses to parliamentary inquiries are not so recorded. (House Rules and Manual; Rule I, clause 5: p. 334)