General Principles and History - A fundamental rule of the House is that debate and amendments must pertain to the same subject as the matter under consideration. The House adopted its first germaneness rule in 1789, amended it in 1822, and has adopted the rule in every Congress since that date. The rule can now be found in clause 7 of House Rule XVI. The rule is based on the notion that the House should only consider one subject matter at a time. Its purpose is to provide an orderly procedure and to expedite the business of the House. If an amendment is not germane to the matter it seeks to amend, it is subject to a point of order. Questions of germaneness both in a committee and on the House floor are determined by the Chair and/or the Speaker subject to appeal to the House or committee. However, it should be noted that the germaneness rule is not self-enforcing. A Member must raise a timely point of order against a proposition. The rule can also be waived through the adoption by the House of a special rule from the Committee on Rules.

The rule of germaneness applies to an amendment and its relationship to a bill or a pending amendment. It does not apply to the relationship between two provisions within the bill. The burden of proof rests on the amendment's proponent. If a portion of an amendment is not germane, the entire amendment will be ruled out of order. An amendment to strike is usually germane unless it would change the scope of the bill. For example, if the House considers a bill giving tax credits to a segment of the population while excluding corporations, an amendment striking the exclusion of corporations would not be germane, because by including the corporations the amendment broadens the scope of the bill. Germaneness is a technical body of law -- it is not necessarily the same as "relevancy." An amendment may be politically related to a proposition in a bill, but may not be germane. The effect of the germaneness rule is to preclude unlimited amendments and give an advantage to the proponents of the bill as drafted. If an amendment is ruled not germane, it is often possible to redraft it to avoid germaneness issues. Members should consult the Parliamentarian and Legislative Counsel to redraft amendments accordingly.

A Germane Amendment - An amendment must be germane to the particular paragraph or section to which it is offered. Likewise, an amendment adding a new section to the bill must be germane to the portion of the bill to which it is offered. Thus, if offered to title II of the bill, it must be germane to title II (and not necessarily germane just to the preceding section). Germaneness is determined based on the portion of the bill that has been read at the time the amendment is offered; an amendment that may be germane at the end of the reading of the bill may not be germane earlier. Thus, if the bill is being read for amendment by title, a new section must be germane to that particular title; but if the bill is considered as read and open to amendment at any point, the amendment need only be germane to the bill as a whole and not to a particular title. In a multi-title bill, an amendment adding a new title must be germane to the bill as a whole. An amendment must also be germane to the bill in its current, pending form. In other words, it must be germane to the bill as modified by amendments previously adopted. A second degree amendment must be germane to the first degree amendment, not the underlying text. A substitute for a pending amendment must be germane to the amendment, not the underlying text. Finally, instructions in a motion to recommit must be germane to the subject matter of the bill as a whole, even though the instructions may not propose a direct amendment to the bill.

Tests of Germaneness - The rule and its precedents have resulted in six tests of germaneness. In determining which of the tests to apply, the Chair first determines the nature and scope of the proposition being amended and then the relationship of the amendment being offered to the text.

• Subject Matter: An amendment must relate to the subject matter under consideration.

• Fundamental Purpose: The fundamental purpose of the amendment must be germane to the fundamental purpose of the bill.

• Committee Jurisdiction: The amendment, when considered as a whole, should be within the jurisdiction of the committee.

• Individual Proposition: An individual proposition may not be amended by another individual proposition even if they are of the same class.

• Specific Subjects to General Propositions: A specific subject may not be amended by a provision general in nature. A general subject may be amended by specific propositions of the same class.

• Permanent Amendment to a Temporary Provision: To a bill proposing a temporary change in law, an amendment making permanent changes in that law is not germane.

None of these tests is always conclusive, nor is one of them necessarily more controlling than the others. Questions regarding specific germaneness determinations and specific measures should be addressed to the Office of the Parliamentarian. For further information on the topic of germaneness consult the House Rules Manual and visit the Rules Committee web site at: http://www.house.gov/rules/germane_over.htm

Key Parliamentary Term

Reading for Amendment - In the Committee of the Whole, after a clerk has read or designated a section or paragraph of a measure, it is the House practice to complete action on all amendments to that section or paragraph before moving on to the next section or paragraph. A full reading of a section's text is often waived by unanimous consent or by a special rule from the Rules Committee, in which case the clerk reads only the section's number or designates the paragraph. Sometimes, by unanimous consent or special rule, a measure is read or designated by title rather than by section or paragraph.