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Legislative Activities - House Documents

Understanding the Legislative Process

How Our Laws Are Made
Explains how legislation is created and the different types of congressional action that result from it.

Enactment of a Law
Explains the legislative process, contrasting the procedures of the House and Senate.

Kids in the House
The Clerk's Kids in the House Web site teaches students about the American government, House members and committees, House history, and how laws are made.

Rules & Procedures


House Practice
A guide to the rules, precedents and procedures of the House.

Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, 111th Congress [PDF]
Current procedures of the U.S. House of Representatives and the legislative process. Includes brief descriptions for legislative terms and other types of terms.

Committee on Rules
Website for the House Committee on Rules.

Committee on Standards of Official Conduct
Website for the House Ethics Committee.
House Floor Procedures
An explanation of the official procedures for the House floor.

General Parliamentary Procedure
Links to information about House parliamentary procedure.

Parliamentary Terms and Definitions
Terms and definitions associated with the official procedures governing the operations of the House.

Deschler's Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives
Identifies precedents and practices of the House from 1936–1986. Compilation of volumes 1–9 of this series was initially undertaken by House Parliamentarian Lewis Deschler (b.1903–d.1976). Precedents and practices since 1986 have been published under the title Deschler-Brown Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives, which begins with volume 10. Currently, the series is compiled by the Office of Compilation of Precedents.

Hinds' and Cannon's Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives
Provides an historical overview and in-depth description of House precedents during the period 1789 through 1936. This multivolume series was compiled by two House Parliamentarians who later became Representatives (Clarence A. Cannon, D-MO, and Asher S. Hinds, R-ME). The Government Printing Office provides the full text of Deschler's Precedents.


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