Services

One Minutes / Morning Hour

A period is set aside each day following the Pledge of Allegiance for Members to make short speeches, limited to 60 seconds or 300 words. One-minute speeches are at the discretion of the Speaker and may be limited or cancelled if the business of the House is pressing.

During one-minute speeches at the beginning of the day, if a request is made to extend the speech beyond the 300 words or to add something at the end of the speech, that speech and the added material will be moved and inserted in the Congressional Record right before Special Orders begin

How to Make a One Minute Speech

One-minute speeches are not reserved. Members sit in the front row of seats on the Republican side of the isle. The Speaker will recognize Members starting with the majority Member sitting closest to the center isle then alternating between majority and minority Members.

When recognized the Member must address the Chair and say: “ Madame/Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks.” The Chair will respond by saying: “Without objection, so ordered.” The Member should proceed to the podium on the Republican side of the Well and give their speech. The Chair will inform the Member when time has expired.

Morning Hour Debates

On Mondays and Tuesdays, an extended period is set aside at the beginning of the day for Members to address the House. Members will be recognized for up to five minutes for these speeches, alternating between majority and minority Members on a rotating basis (majority first one day, minority first the next).

The time set aside for Morning Hour is limited to 60 minutes and may not continue beyond ten minutes before the time the House is scheduled to convene for legislative business.

How to Reserve Time for Morning Hour

Members wishing to speak during Morning Hour should call the Cloakroom no more than a week ahead of time to reserve time. Members will be recognized by the Speaker in the order in which reservations are made.

Bills / Cosponsors

Introducing Bills

To introduce a bill, please staple or clip all pages of the bill together and have the sponsoring Member sign the bill in the upper right-hand corner. If a Member wishes to submit a cosponsor sheet with the bill, please clip it to the front of the bill. Bills without the Member’s signature will not be accepted.

Adding Cosponsors to a Bill/Cosponsor sheets

Members may add a cosponsor to a bill by downloading a cosponsor sheet from the Web site of the House Republican Cloakroom or the Office of the Clerk. The cosponsor form allows Members to add up to 40 cosponsors to a bill. If more space is needed, please download another form and staple the two together. Please provide the date, session of Congress and bill number in the appropriate spaces. If Members cannot provide the bill number, please provide the title of the bill. Cosponsors on the sheet will appear on the bill in the numerical order in which they are written. If a Member obtains signatures that are hand-written from other Members and are difficult to read, please print the name of the Member beside the signature. Members should sign the cosponsor sheet on the signature line or in the upper right-hand corner. Cosponsor sheets without the Member’s signature will not be accepted.

How to Submit

Cosponsor sheets and bills can be dropped in the Hopper when we are in session by either the sponsoring Member or can be submitted to the House Republican Cloakroom via page or staff.

Call the Republican Page Service at extension 5-6377 to arrange for delivery of cosponsor sheets and bills to the House Republican Cloakroom for dropping in the Hopper. Staff may also bring cosponsor forms and bills to the Floor while the House is in session and give it to the Chamber Security personnel at the doors to the Chamber. They will ensure the material is given to the Cloakroom.

Extensions / General Leave

Extension of Remarks

Members may insert statements in the Extension of Remarks section of the Congressional Record. These statements may be on any subject and typically range from tributes to a local High School sports team to outlining a Members position on an upcoming piece of legislation.

Extensions of remarks are limited to two printed pages of the Congressional record which is roughly equivalent to five single-spaced or ten double-spaced typed pages.

General Leave

During consideration of legislation, debate time is limited. In order to accommodate Members who are unable to obtain time or, for other reasons, unable to be present on the Floor to make their remarks in person, the Majority manager of a bill will request unanimous consent (referred to as General Leave) for all Members to have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks in the Congressional Record.

There is no limit to a Member’s original words but extraneous material (anything other than a Member’s original words such as a letter from a constituent, newspaper or magazine articles, or reports) are limited to two printed pages of the Congressional Record which is roughly five single-spaced pages or ten double-spaced pages. Footnotes, pictures, charts, table, and graphs will not be printed.

How to Submit

Material for the Congressional Record must bear the original signature of the submitting Member.  For that reason the Cloakroom cannot accept faxed or electronic copies of Extensions or General Leave Statements.

Call the Republican Page Service at extension 5-6377 to arrange for delivery of material for the Congressional Record. Staff may also bring Record material to the Cloakroom while the House is in session.

In addition to the hard copy, an electronic copy may be sent to the Reporters of Debates to help ensure that the Member’s statement is printed properly.   Click here for instructions on how to submit electronic copies.

In order to insert something into the Congressional Record which is longer than the two-page limit, a cost estimate from GPO must be obtained and a separate unanimous consent request made. For further information, please call the Office of Official Reporters at 202 225-5621.

Leave of Absence

If a Member is absent and misses votes for a substantial period of time, the Member or his staff may request a Leave of Absence from the House. Upon request, the Cloakroom staff will complete a Leave of Absence form which states the dates of the Member’s absence and the reason for his/her absence. The form is signed by the Republican Leader and laid before the House at the conclusion of legislative business for the day.

Decades ago, an absent Member was fined by the House. That is no longer the case. But a Leave of Absence is printed in the Congressional Record and announces the reason for one’s absence. Members may choose reasons that are general, such as “official business” or “illness,” or something more specific such as “having my appendix removed” or “inspecting damage in the district from Hurricane Katrina.” Members may not use political reasons for an absence. Members may choose not to request a Leave of Absence if he/she believes it would draw unnecessary attention to his/her absence.

Whether or not one chooses to request a Leave of Absence, a Member may wish to prepare a statement on how he/she would have voted on the votes that were missed. These statements, like any statement for the Congressional Record, must bear an original signature of the Member. If a statement is submitted to the Cloakroom within a few hours of the missed vote, it will be printed in the Record immediately following that vote. A typical statement would be:

Mr. Speaker, on Roll Call #____ on the ______ amendment on HR 12234, I am not recorded (because I was absent due to illness.) Had I been present, I would have voted (Aye/nay.)

In addition to the above, Members should notify the Republican Whip of their absence.

Legislative Procedures and Rules

The Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress has many excellent resources describing legislative procedures; a few of the basics are linked here. Please consult the Congressional Research Service’s Web site for additional information.

How Measures Are Brought to the House Floor: A Brief IntroductionAcrobat Icon (RS20067)

The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An IntroductionAcrobat Icon (95-563 GOV)

Suspension of the Rules in the House: Principal FeaturesAcrobat Icon (98-314 GOV)

Committee of the Whole: An IntroductionAcrobat Icon (RS20147)

Floor Consideration of Conference Reports in the HouseAcrobat Icon (98-736 GOV)

Parliamentary Reference Sources: House of RepresentativesAcrobat Icon (RL30787)

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Vote Pagers/Blackberries

Vote Pagers

Most Members carry pagers to notify them when votes start in the House Chamber. Although the Cloakroom makes the vote announcements, the House Office Services Center under the CAO is the office that coordinates repairs and replacement purchases. They are located in B-227 of the Longworth Building and can be reached by dialing extension 5-3994

Blackberries

The Republican Leader’s office sends out periodic updates on the legislative activity of the day to Member’s blackberries. These updates include information on current floor activity and when votes are expected. To be included in these updates please contact Adam Wolf in the Republican Leader’s Office at extension 5-4000, or you may sign up online by clicking here.

Special Orders

At the conclusion of legislative business, Members may speak on any subject under Special Orders. There are two categories of Special Orders – those with a maximum of five minutes and those with a maximum of one hour. All Members with five-minute Special Orders are recognized before those for one hour. All five-minute Special Orders will be completed before one-hour Special Orders begin. If the one-hour Special Orders begins before a Member can reach the floor, it is possible to reclaim a five-minute Special Order by unanimous consent. The Member should consult with the Parliamentarians.

Republicans and Democrats are recognized on alternate days for the first Special Order.

Special Orders are subject to the following limits:

  1. They may not extend beyond midnight on any day.
  2. On days other than Tuesdays each side, Republican and Democrat, may have two one hour Special Orders, the first hour on each side designated by the Leadership.
  3. On Tuesdays there is no other limit to Special Orders.
  4. There are no limits to the total number of five-minute Special Orders which may be given.

Members wishing to take five minute Special Orders or the second one hour Special Order should call the Cloakroom to be placed on a list. In order to be fair to all Members seeking a Special Order, all requests to the Cloakroom must be made by telephone, not by email or any other way. No requests are taken more than one week ahead of the day a Member wishes to speak. Often several Members request the second hour Special Order when only one can be accommodated. During the last votes of the day, the Floor staff will contact Members on the list in turn to see who will take the second hour. A Member may not assign his place on the list to another Member. Members will be recognized to address the House in the order in which they appear on the list. Members wishing to be designated by the Leadership for the first hour Special Order should contact the Republican Conference at 55107.

If the subject of a Special Order, five-minute or one-hour, is such that others may want to submit remarks for the Record on the subject of the Special Order, a general leave request is required. It is preferred that the Member make the request at the beginning of the Special Order and then move on to the topic. The request may also be made at the end. A Member may get a sheet with the appropriate wording from the Cloakroom or the Clerks of Debate. It is helpful if a Member notifies the Clerks of Debates or the Cloakroom if it is anticipated that others may wish to insert remarks. This is to ensure that such remarks, when received, can be put in the appropriate place in the Congressional Record.