STANDING RULES AND ORDERS

FOR CONDUCTING BUSINESS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OF THE UNITED STATES.

TOUCHING THE DUTY OF THE SPEAKER.

1. HE shall take the chair every day precisely at the hour to which the House shall have adjourned on the preceding day; shall immediately call the members to order; and, on the appearance of a quorum, shall cause the Journal of the preceding day to be read.

2. He shall preserve order and decorum; may speak to points of order in preference to other members, rising from his seat for that purpose; and shall decide questions of order, subject to an appeal to the House by any two members; on which appeal no member shall speak more than once, unless by leave of the House. 3. He shall rise to put a question, but may state it sitting.

4. Questions shall be distinctly put in this form, to wit: "As many as are of opinion that (as the question may be) say Ay ;" and, after the affirmative voice is expressed, "As many as are of the contrary opinion, say No." If the speaker doubts, or a division be called for, the House shall divide: those in the affirmative of

the question shall first rise from their seats, and after. ward those in the negative. If the Speaker still doubts, or a count be required, the Speaker shall name two members, one from each side, to tell the members in the affirmative; which being reported, he shall then name two others, one from each side, to tell those in the negative; which being also reported, he shall rise, and state the decision to the House. No division and count of the House by tellers shall be in order, but upon motion seconded by at least one-fifth of a quorum of the members.

5. When any motion or proposition is made, the question, "Will the House now consider it?" shall not be put, unless it is demanded by some member, or is deemed necessary by the Speaker..

6. The Speaker shall examine and correct the Journal before it is read. He shall have a general direction of the Hall. He shall have a right to name any member to perform the duties of the chair, but such substitution shall not extend beyond an adjournment.

7. All committees shall be appointed by the Speaker, unless otherwise specially directed by the House, in which case they shall be appointed by ballot; and if, upon such ballot, the number required shall not be elected by a majority of the votes given, the House shall proceed to a second ballot, in which a plurality of votes shall prevail: and, in case a greater number than is required to compose or complete a committee shall have an equal number of votes, the House shall proceed to a further ballot or ballots.

8. In all other cases of ballot than for committees, a majority of the votes given shall be necessary to an election; and where there shall not be such a majority on the first ballot, the ballot shall be repeated until a majority be obtained. And in all ballotings blanks shall be rejected, and not taken into the count in the enumeration of votes, or reported by the tellers.

9. In all cases of election by the House, the Speaker shall vote; in other cases he shall not vote, unless the House be equally divided, or unless his vote, if given to the minority, will make the division equal; and, in case of such equal division, the question shall be lost.

10. In all cases where other than members of the House may be eligible to an office by the election of the House, there shall be a previous nomination.

11. In all cases of election by the House of its officers, the vote shall be taken viva voce. ber 10, 1839.)

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12. All acts, addresses, and joint resolutions, shall be signed by the Speaker; and all writs, warrants, and subpoenas, issued by order of the House, shall be under his hand and seal, attested by the clerk.

13. In case of any disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries or lobby, the Speaker (or chair man of the committee of the whole House) shall have power to order the same to be cleared.

14. No person, except members of the Senate, their Secretary, Heads of Departments, Treasurer, Comptrollers, Register, Auditors, Postmaster-General, President's Secretary, Chaplains to Congress, Judges of the United States, Foreign Ministers and their Secretaries, Officers who, by name, have received, or shall hereafter receive, the thanks of Congress for their gallantry and good conduct displayed in the service of their country, the Commissioners of the Navy Board, Governor, for the time being, of any State or Territory in the Union, who may attend at the seat of the General Government during the session of Congress, and who may choose to avail himself of such privilege, such gentlemen as have been Heads of Departments, or members of either branch of the Legislature, and, at the discretion of the Speaker, persons who belong to such Legislatures of Foreign Govern

ments as are in amity with the United States, shall be admitted within the hall of the House of Representatives.

15. Stenographers, wishing to take down the debates, may be admitted by the Speaker, who shall assign such places to them on the floor, or elsewhere, to effect their object, as shall not interfere with the convenience of the House.

16. No person shall be allowed the privilege of the hall, under the character of stenographer, without a written permission from the Speaker, specifying the part of the hall assigned to him; and no reporter or stenographer shall be admitted under the rules of the House, unless such reporter or stenographer shall state, in writing, for what paper or papers he is employed to report.-(March 1, 1838.)

17. The Doorkeeper shall execute strictly the 14th and 15th rules, relative to the privilege of the hall.-—(March 1, 1838.)

18. The Clerk of the House shall take an oath for the true and faithful discharge of the duties of his of fice, to the best of his knowledge and abilities.-(Rule April 13, 1789, and act June 1st, 1789.) He shall be deemed to continue in office until another be appointed.—(March 1, 1791.*)

ORDER OF BUSINESS OF THE SESSION.

19. After six days from the commencement of a second or subsequent session of any Congress, all

* There is no law, resolution, rule, or order, directing the appointment of the Clerk of the House. On the 1st April, 1789, being the first day that a quorum of the House assembled under the new consti. tution, the House immediately elected a Clerk by ballot, without a previous order having been passed for that purpose; although in the case of the Speaker, who was chosen on the same day, an order was pre viously adopted. A Clerk has been regularly chosen at the commence ment of every Congress since.