Rules of House to govern, except as to speaking. No motion for previous question entered on the Journal."-Rule 106. [And all members are reported as absentees who fail to answer when their names are called, for, upon the completion of the roll, the chairman immediately vacates the chair. Whenever, upon such roll-call, a quorum answer to their names, and that fact is reported to the House, the Speaker declines to receive any motion whatever, and the committee. resumes its session without further order. But if no quorum answer, a motion to adjourn, or for a call of the House, is in order; and if upon either of said motions a quorum shall vote, and the House refuse to adjourn or to order a call, the session of the committee is immediately resumed.-Journals, 2, 27, p. 592; 1, 29, p. 356; 2, 29, p. 343; 2, 32, p. 388.] "The rules of proceedings in the House shall be observed in a Committee of the Whole House, so far as they may be applicable, except the rule limiting the times of speaking; but no member shall speak twice to any question until every member choosing to speak shall have spoken."--Rule 113. "No previous question can be put in committee, nor or to adjourn, nor can this committee adjourn as others may-Manual, p. for yeas and nays, &c., &c., in. nor to lie on table, 72- —nor can the yeas and nays be taken-Cong. Globe, 1, 28, p. 618; 1, 26, p. 285-nor can a motion to lie on the table be entertained-Cong. Globe, 2, 31, p. 645-nor motions to reconsider."-Cong. Globe, 1, 27, p. 305. Debate in, on the state of the Union. Debate one hour. In Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, all debate on special orders shall be confined strictly to the measure under consideration.-Rule 114. [But it is otherwise where the measure has not been made a special order. Cong. Globe, 2, 30, p. 587; 1, 31, p. 1475; 2, 31, pp. 630, 631; 1, 32, p. 1856. "No member shall occupy more than one hour in debate on any question in the House or in committee, but a member reporting the measure under consideration from a committee may open and close the debate: Provided, That when debate is closed by order of the House, any member shall be allowed in committee five minutes to explain any amendment he may offer, after which any member who shall first obtain the floor shall be allowed debate. minutes Amendment not without unanimous consent. All debate may be closed. be closed. to speak five minutes in opposition to it; and there shall Five be no further debate on the amendment; but the same privilege of debate shall be allowed in favor of and against any amendment that may be offered to the amend ment; and neither the amendment nor an amendment to to be withdrawn the amendment shall be withdrawn by the mover thereof, unless by the unanimous consent of the committee: Provided further, That the House may, by the vote of a majority of the members present, at any time after the five minutes' debate has taken place upon proposed amendments to any section or paragraph of a bill, close all debate upon such section or paragraph, or at their election upon the pending amendments only."-Rule 60. "The House may at any time, by a vote of a majority Hour debate may of the members present, provide for the discharge of the Committee of the Whole House, and the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, from the further consideration of any bill referred to it, after acting without debate on all amendments pending and that may be offered."-Rule 104. [The closing of debate herein referred to has reference only to the hour debate; the five minutes' debate contemplated by the 1st proviso of the 60th Rule (recited in the foregoing paragraph) commences upon the adoption of the order under this rule. The following is the form of resolution (sanctioned by Form of resolulong practice) for closing the hour debate, viz: "Resolved, bate. That all debate in the Committee of the Whole House (or Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, as the case may be) on (here insert title of bill or subject upon which it is proposed to close debate) shall cease (here insert time at which it is proposed to close debate) if the committee shall not sooner come to a conclusion upon the same; and the committee shall then proceed to vote on such amendments as may be pending or offered to the same, and shall then report it to the House with such amendments as may have been adopted by the committee."] The proposition to close debate may be made at any time, taking precedence even of a motion to go into Committee of the Whole; but, to be in order at all, the subject upon which it is proposed to tion for closing de Subject ously considered. must have been previ Rule applies to massages as well as bills. ing measures still debate. close debate must have been previously taken up and considered by the committee.-Journal, 1, 32, p. 147. This rule is construed to apply as well to messages as bills; indeed, to all subjects committed.-Journal, 1, 32, p. 146. And debate may be closed upon any one of the subjects referred to in a message.-Journal, 1, 32, p. 147. Member report. The right of the member who reports the measure under has right to close consideration to close debate is held not to be affected by this rule; but he may make his closing speech after the arrival of the time at which the House has directed that debate shall cease.-Journal, 1, 31, p. 1056; and such has been the invariable practice ever since. Member offering Where general debate has been closed, a member is not speak against not at liberty to speak in opposition to his own amendment.-Cong. Globe, 1, 31, p. 1408. Nor can he debate the main proposition.—Ibid., 2, 32, p. 1723. amendment can it, or to main ques tion. Where debate closed, time can Debate having been closed at a particular hour by not be extended order of the House, it is not competent for the committee, even by unanimous consent, to extend the time.Cong. Globe, 2, 32, pp. 784, 785. by. other business through with a May take up It is in order for the committee to lay aside a bill after after getting having gone through with it, and, before rising, to probill on which de-ceed to other business on the calendar, notwithstanding the House may have adopted a resolution closing debate thereon.-Cong. Globe, 1, 33, pp. 1130, 1131. bate closed. an original motion. Amendments to "All amendments made to an original motion in committee shall be incorporated with the motion and so reported."-Rule 108. [Bills and resolutions are sometimes originally moved in Committee of the Whole, tions originating having for their bases messages or reports previously the Whole. referred, and then up for consideration.] Bills and resolu in Committees of Amendments to a report. A n amended ly stricken out. "All amendments made to a report committed to a Committee of the Whole House shall be noted and reported as in the case of bills."-Rule 109. If the committee shall amend a clause, and subseclausesubsequent- quently strike out the clause as amended, the first amendment thereby falls, and cannot be reported to the House Bill amended and voted on.-Journal, 2, 31, p. 346. [So, too, if the and substitute af- committee shall amend a bill ever so much, and subsequently adopt a substitute therefor, the bill is to be re terward adopted. ported to the House with but a single amendment, viz, the substitute; and the House has only to choose between the original bill and the substitute.] Motion to rise In Committee of the Whole a motion to rise, like the motion to adjourn in the House, may be made at any time; and when at the rising a member is entitled to the floor, he is entitled to occupy it in preference to any other member at the next sitting of the committee.— Cong. Globe, 1, 31, pp. 358, 388. And a member occupy ing the floor may yield it to another member to move that the committee rise, without losing his right to re-oc- that purpose. cupy it at the next sitting.-Ibid., 2, 31, p. 645. The motion to rise may be withdrawn at any time before the before vote anvote thereon is announced.-Ibid., 1, 31, p. 318. Member does not lose his right to floor by rising of, and may yield for Motion to rise may be withdrawn nounced. or charge upon "No motion or proposition for a tax or charge upon Motion for tax the people shall be discussed the day on which it is made people. or offered, and every such proposition shall receive its first discussion in a Committee of the Whole House."Rule 110. And "no sum or quantum of tax or duty Increase of tax voted by a Committee of the Whole House shall be increased in the House, until the motion or proposition for such increase shall be first discussed and voted in a Committee of the Whole House, and so in respect to the time of its continuance."-Rule 111. or duty. of money or prop cussed in. "All proceedings touching appropriations of money, Appropriation s and all bills making appropriations of money or property to be first diserty, or requiring such appropriations to be made, or authorizing payments out of appropriations already made, shall be first discussed in Committee of the Whole House.”—Rule 112. (See APPROPRIATION BILLS.) [The foregoing rule was adopted January 13, 1874. Prior to that time bills directing the disbursement of money already appropriated, or requiring future appropriations to be made, or making appropriations of land, were not necessarily first considered in Committee of the Whole.] a bill Where a bill may incidentally involve expense, but Where may incidentally does not directly require an appropriation, it does not involve expense necessarily go to the Committee of the Whole.-Journal, ferred to. 1, 44, p. 1333. When the rules have been suspended for the purpose not necessarily re Amendments to appropriation bills. Cannot rule out of order any part mitted. of enabling the report of a measure to be made, and also for its consideration, a point of order that it contains an appropriation cannot be well taken.—Journal, 1, 34, pp. 1172, 1173. "No appropriation shall be reported in the general appropriation bills, or be in order as an amendment thereto, for any expenditure not previously authorized by law, unless in continuation of appropriations for such public works and objects as are already in progress, nor shall any provision in any such bill or amendment thereto, changing existing law, be in order except such as, being germane to the subject-matter of the bill, shall retrench expenditures.-Rule 120. An amendment in the nature of a private claim on the Government is not in order to a general appropriation bill.-Cong. Globe, 1, 31, pp. 1617, 1651; 2, 32, p. 736; 1, 33, pp. 385, 1483. [In the case of an appropriation reported by the Comof the bill committee on Appropriations in conflict with the 120th Rule, and committed with the bill, it is not competent for the Committee of the Whole to rule it out of order, because the House, having committed the bill, (of course it is otherwise where the point was reserved before commitment,) are presumed to have received, as in order, the report in its entirety. So far as proposed amendments Practice in re- are concerned, the current of decisions in Committees of the Whole has been to exclude not only all appropriations not previously authorized by law, (with the exceptions contained in the rule,) but also all independent legislation; tolerating, however, limitations and provisos as to appropriations which are themselves in order.] gard to amendments in. How bills are to be considered in. Preamble. How amend "Upon bills committed to a Committee of the Whole House, the bill shall be first read throughout by the Clerk, and then again read and debated by clauses, leaving the preamble to be last considered; the body of the bill shall ments are to be not be defaced or interlined; but all amendments, noting the page and line, shall be duly entered by the Clerk on a separate paper, as the same shall be agreed to by After bill is re- the committee, and so reported to the House. After re port, the bill shall again be subject to be debated and noted in. ported from. |