Committee on Rules

How Congress Works

Congressional Research Service Reports

*Congress: The House* The House Apportionment Formula in Theory and in Practice Salaries and Allowances: The Congress Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress Guide to Individuals Seated on the House Dais Congress' Early Organization Meetings House Administration Reorganization: 104th Congress The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the House Floor House Leadership Structure: Overview of Party Organization Party Leaders in Congress, 1789-2002: Vital Statistics The Use of Task Forces in the House House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison Parliamentary Reference Sources: House of Representatives Secret Sessions of Congress: A Brief Historical Overview Expulsion, Censure, Reprimand, and Fine: Legislative Discipline in the House of Representatives House Sergeant at Arms: Fact Sheet on Legislative and Administrative Duties House Leadership: Whip Organization Major Leadership Election Contests In the House of Representatives, 94th - 108th Congresses Party Leaders in the House: Election, Duties, and Responsibilities *Introduction & Origin of Legislative Measures* Bills, Resolutions, Nominations, and Treaties: Origins, Deadlines, Requirements, and Uses Bills and Resolutions: Examples of How Each Kind is Used Sources of Legislative Proposals: A Descriptive Introduction Introducing a House Bill or Resolution Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of House Bills Legislative Research in Congressional Offices: A Primer Tracking Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Resources "Sense-of" Resolutions and Procedure *House Committees* House Committee Organization and Process: A Brief Overview Committee Types and Roles Subcommittees in the House of Representatives House Committees: Assignment Process House Subcommittees: Assignment Process House Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments House Standing Committee Chairs: Rules Governing Selection Procedures House Committee Jurisdiction and Referral: Rules and Practice House Rules Affecting Committees House Committee Markup: Preparation House Committee Markup: Vehicle for Consideration and Amendment House Rules Governing Committee Markup Procedures The Committee Markup Process in the House of Representatives House Committee Markup: Amendment Procedure House Committee Markup: Reporting House Committee Reports: Required Contents Types of Committee Hearings House Committee Hearings: Preparation Hearings in the House of Representatives: A Guide For Preparation and Conduct House Committee Hearings: Scheduling and Notification House Committee Hearings: Arranging Witnesses *Congress: The Senate* The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the Senate Floor Major Leadership Election Contests In the Senate: A 27-Year Survey *Relations With The Senate* Going to Conference In the Senate Amendments Between the Houses Instructing House Conferees Conference Reports and Joint Explanatory Statements Floor Consideration of Conference Reports in the House Senate Committees: Categories and Rules For Committee Assignments Congressional Budget Resolutions: Motions to Instruct Conferees *Presidential Relations* Messages, Petitions, Communications, and Memorials to Congress Engrossment, Enrollment, and Presentation of Legislation Veto Override Procedure in the House and Senate Presidential Vetoes, 1789-present: A Summary Overview Congressional Overrides of Presidential Vetoes Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals Line Item Veto: A Constitutional Analysis of Recent Proposals Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals: History and Current Status Presidential Recission Authority: Efforts to Modify the 1974 Framework		*House Floor Proceedings* Floor Procedure in the House of Representatives: A Brief Overview The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction House Voting Procedures: Forms and Requirements How Measures Are Brought to the House Floor: A Brief Introduction The House's Corrections Calendar Procedural Distinctions Between the House and the Committee of the Whole Committee of the Whole: Stages of Action on Measures Considering Measures in the House Under the One-Hour Rule Suspension of the Rules in the House: Principal Features Suspension of Rules in the House: Measure Sponsorship by Party Privileged Business on the House Floor Points of Order, Rulings, and Appeals in the House of Representatives Questions of Privilege in the House Private Bills: Procedure in the House Amendments in the House: Types and Forms The House Amendment Tree The Amendment Process in the Committee of the Whole Amendments on the House Floor: Summary of Major Restrictions Motions to Recommit in the House Days Reserved for Special Business in the House The Discharge Rule in the House: Principal Features and Uses Discharge Rule in the House: Recent Use in Historical Context One-Minute Speeches: Current House Practices Special Order Speeches: Current House Practices Pairing in Congressional Voting Special Order Speeches and Other Forms of Non-Legislative Debate in the House Congressional Roll Call and Other Record Votes: First Congress Through 107th Congress (First Session), 1789 Through 2001 *Special Rules and the Rules Committee* House Rules Manual: Summary of Contents How Special Rules Regulate Calling Up Measures for Consideration Special Rules and Waivers of House Rules Special Rules and Options for Regulating the Amending Process House Rules Committee Hearings on Special Rules Provisions of Special Rules in the House: An Example of a Typical Open Rule "Self-Executing" Rules Reported by the House Committee on Rules *Budget Process* Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill: Fact Sheet on Structure, Content, and Process The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction Overview of the Authorization-Appropriation Process Overview of the Congressional Budget Process Basic Federal Budgeting Terminology The Federal Fiscal Year Functional Categories of the Federal Budget The Spending Pipeline: Stages of Federal Spending Allocations and Subdivisions in the Congressional Budget Process The Executive Budget Process Timetable Congressional Budget Resolutions: Revisions and Adjustments Appropriations Bills: What Is Report Language? Appropriations Bills: What Are "General Provisions"? Earmarks and Limitations in Appropriations Bills Government Performance and Results Act and the Appropriations Process Baselines and Scorekeeping in the Federal Budget Process Pay-As-You-Go Procedures for Budget Enforcement Budget Resolution Enforcement Discretionary Spending Limits The Sequestration Process Timetable for Sequestration Actions Budget Sequesters: A Brief Review Techniques For Preventing A Budget Sequester Budget Reconciliation Legislation: Development and Consideration Congressional Budget Act Points of Order The Congressional Budget Process Timetable Consideration of the Budget Resolution Formulation and Content of the Budget Resolution The Senate's Byrd Rule Against Extraneous Matter in Reconciliation Measures The President's Budget: Requirement for a Mid-Session Review Debt-Limit Legislation in the Congressional Budget Process Revenue Legislation in the Congressional Budget Process Tax-Cut Legislation: Applicable Budget Enforcement Procedure Points of Order in the Congressional Budget Process The Role of the President in Budget Development S.Res. 160: Rule XVI and Reversing the Hutchison and FedEx Precedents Continuing Appropriations Acts: Brief Overview of Recent Practices Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Effects, and Process Preventing Federal Government Shutdowns: Proposals for an Automatic Continuing Resolution Emergency Spending: Statutory and Congressional Rules Origination Clause of the U.S. Constitution: Interpretation & Enforcement Congressional Budget Resolutions: Motions to Instruct Conferees