Measures reported from committee are assigned by the Speaker to one of four regularly used calendars, namely the Union Calendar, the House Calendar, the Private Calendar and the Corrections Calendar. These calendars list bills in the chronological order in which they are reported by the various committees.

1. The Union Calendar - Clause (a)(1) of Rule XIII: “A Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, to which shall be referred public bills and public resolutions raising revenue, involving a tax or charge on the people, directly or indirectly making appropriations of money or property or requiring such appropriations to be made, authorizing payments out of appropriations already made, releasing any liability to the United States for money or property, or referring a claim to the Court of Claims. general appropriations bills, and bills of a public character directly or indirectly appropriating money or property.” All legislation dealing with raising, authorizing or spending money is assigned to this calendar.

2. The House Calendar - Clause 1(a)(2) of Rule XIII: “A House calendar, to which shall be referred all public bills and public resolutions not requiring referral to the Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union.” Non-money measures and other measures dealing with internal House matters are put on this calendar.

3. The Private Calendar - Clause 1(a)(3) of Rule XIII: “A Private Calendar as provided in clause 5 of rule XV, to which shall be referred all private bills and private resolutions.” Bills dealing with the relief of a private nature, those not of general application and usually dealing with identifiable private persons, are assigned to this calendar. Bills on this calendar are considered on special calendar days.

4. The Corrections Calendar - Clause 6 of Rule XV: “After a bill has been favorably reported and placed on the Union or House Calendar, the Speaker, after consultation with the Minority Leader, may direct the Clerk also to place the bill on the ‘Corrections Calendar’.” Certain noncontroversial bills are assigned by the Speaker, after consultation with the bipartisan Corrections advisory panel, to this calendar. Measures so referred are also in order on special calendar days, namely the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Measures that are rejected (fail to receive the required 3/5th vote) are placed back on the Union or House Calendar without prejudice.

Calendars also includes the Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees.

Clause 2 of Rule XV: “A Member may present to the Clerk a motion in writing to discharge... a committee from consideration of a public bill or public resolution that has been referred to it thirty legislative days...When a majority of the total membership of the House shall have signed the motion, it shall be entered on the Journal, printed with the signatures thereto in the Record, and referred to the Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees.” This “Discharge Calendar” lists all motions to discharge committees through special procedures. This calendar is only very infrequently used.

In addition to the above calendars, this publication contains a variety of other information including the following items:

• A listing and history of each bill or resolution in order by bill number which has been reported or considered by the House or Senate.
• A listing of all public and private laws enacted during the 106th Congress and their corresponding number.
• A listing of the bills in conference with the names of its House and Senate conferees.
• A status sheet of all major legislative bills, including appropriations bills.
• The rules for morning hour debate and special order speeches.
• Other orders of the House including unanimous consent agreements, Calendar Wednesday business, and other special legislative orders.
• A list of those Members who have previously signed up for five-minute special orders.

While the Calendars is a handy reference source, it should be noted that not every measure listed is called up and considered by the House.

Key Parliamentary Terms

Adjournment Sine Die - Adjournment without definitely fixing a day for reconvening; literally “adjournment without a day.” Usually used to connote the final adjournment of a session of Congress. A session can continue until noon, January 3, of the following year, when, under the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, it automatically terminates.

Legislative Days - The periods from when the House or Senate respectively, convenes to conduct business until the next time it adjourns. The House usually adjourns at the end of each day’s proceedings and its legislative day therefore coincides with the calendar day. The Senate usually recesses instead of adjourning at the end of a day’s proceedings, and its legislative day often extends over more than one calendar day.

Unanimous Consent - A method used to expedite consideration of non-controversial measures on the House floor. Proceedings of the House or actions on legislation often take place by unanimous consent of the House (i.e., without objection), whether or not a rule of the House is being violated.