Parliamentary Outreach Program
Vol. 106, No. 1
January 11, 1999
“[A]lthough he observed that `we are not advocates in our office . . . we don't view ourselves as proponents of this rules change or that revision,’ House Parliamentarian William Brown offered two suggestions for improving the operation of the House. First, `the House would work better if more Members understood the rules of the House well,’ he stated, while offering the Office of the Parliamentarian to assist with orientation and education for both Members and staff. Second, a recodification of House Rules, as first suggested a few Congresses ago, would help to make the rules more understandable. He explained that, `There are anachronisms and conflicting definitions in these rules. They could be codified. We think it is a good idea and we would be willing to go forward with that.’”
-Final Report of the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress, December 1993

A New Rules Structure for the 21st Century

The Recodification of the Rules of the House

On January 6, 1999, the House adopted its rules for the 106th Congress in a recodified format. This was the product of a Rules Committee bipartisan task force set up at the beginning of the 105th Congress to develop a more rational and orderly set of rules.

The House of Representatives had not undertaken a comprehensive recodification of its rules since the 1880s, although sporadic attempts have been made in recent years. Since that time, many of the rules (and the precedents by which these rules have been interpreted and applied) have evolved in an unorganized and haphazard way. As a consequence, the legislative process and the activities of the House frequently prove difficult to learn and understand for Members of Congress, staff and the general public.

The bipartisan task force worked closely with the Office of the Parliamentarian to develop the recodified rules package. Where appropriate, the rules have been cleansed of obsolete and archaic provisions and reorganized to bring related provisions together in an orderly fashion. Without altering the interpretation or content of any rule, certain rules have been rewritten and restructured to clarify their meaning and to minimize obscurities and ambiguities. Others have been modified to bring about conformity with accepted and established House practices. By combining several existing rules and parts of other rules, there are now only 28 instead of 51 rules. In order to retain consistency with precedent and practice volumes already published, the recodified rules also minimize the change of certain major rules citations (e.g. germaneness remains as clause 7 of rule XVI and general appropriations bill matters remain as clause 2 of rule XXI). This significant and bipartisan institutional reform will make the rules of the House more user friendly for both Congress and the public. For further information on the recodified rules see the Rules Committee web site at www.house.gov/rules/ .

Table of Contents of the New Recodified Rules of the House
I The Speaker
II Other Officers and Officials
III The Members, Delegates and Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
IV The Hall of the House
V Broadcasting the House
VI Official reporters and News Media galleries
VII Records of the House
VIII Response to subpoenas
IX Questions of privilege
X Organization of Committees
XI Procedures of committees and Unfinished Business
XII Receipt and Referral of Measures and Matters
XIII Calendars and Committee Reports
XIV Order and Priority of Business
XV Business in order on special days
XVI Motions and Amendments
XVII Decorum and Debate
XVIII The Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
XIX Motions following the amendment stage
XX Voting and Quorum Calls
XXI Restrictions on certain bills
XXII House and Senate Relations
XXIII Statutory limit on public debt
XXIV Code of Official Conduct
XXV Limitations on use of official funds
XXVI Limitations on outside earned income and Acceptance of Gifts
XXVII Financial disclosure
XXVIII General provisions

Key Parliamentary Terms

Office of the Parliamentarian - An office managed, supervised and administered by a non-partisan Parliamentarian appointed by the Speaker. This office is responsible for advising the presiding officer, members and staff on the rules and procedures of the House as well as for compiling and preparing the precedents of the House. All consultation with this office is confidential (if requested).

Rules (Types of) - There are two specific types of rules.

Standing Rules - These are the standing rules governing the normal order of business in the House or in a committee. These rules are adopted by the full House and by each committee at the beginning of each Congress. These rules generally govern such matters as the duties of officers, the code of conduct, the order of business, admission to the floor, parliamentary procedures on handling amendments and voting, and jurisdictions of committees.

Special Rules - (1) Special rules involve a departure from the standing rules of the House for the consideration of a specific bill. (2) They are usually resolutions reported by the Rules Committee which govern the handling of a particular bill on the House floor.