Parliamentary Bootcamp

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Monday, June 04, 2012

The Rules Committee routinely establishes the terms and conditions of legislatie debates on the floor, including the length of that debate and the amendments—if any—made in order.  The mechanism used to perform this function is a special order of business, commonly referred to as a "rule".  In order to determine the terms of each rule, three documents need to be consulted: (1) the simple resolution providing for consideration of the bill, (2) the report to acco


Monday, May 07, 2012

Appropriations bills are generally considered under an “open” amendment process, meaning that the basic rules of the House apply. This process allows for extensive debate and the ability to offer any amendment so long as it complies with the Rules of the House and the Budget Act. There are also some forms of amendment unique to the appropriations process, specifically designed to address discretionary spending, as well as specific limitations on amendments to appropriations measur


Monday, April 02, 2012

Described in the introduction to the Committee on the Budget's Compilation of Laws and Rules Relating to the Congressional Budget Process, the "congressional budget process is a framework of laws and rules that govern the consideration, adoption, and enforcement of spending, revenue, and debt limit legislation each year." Fundamentally, the annual budget establishes limits on spending and debt and makes assumptions about revenue and deficits. The provisions of the Congres


Monday, March 05, 2012

The motion to amend is among the most basic in the House and in committee.  Its purpose is to allow a member to make changes in a measure under consideration.  In committee and under "open" rules, members often have wide latitude in the kinds of amendments which they can offer; during consideration of measures under a "structured" process on the floor, the amendment process is more limited and predictable.  In either case, there are a number of issues to be


Monday, February 06, 2012

Clause 7 of rule XVI, called the “germaneness rule,” stands for the simple proposition that an amendment must address the same subject as the matter being amended. The germaneness rule was adopted by the House in 1789 and has remained the same since it was last changed in 1822. The purpose of the rule is to provide for the orderly consideration of amendments to bills and resolutions by requiring a relationship between the amendment and the matter being amended. The existence of th


Monday, November 14, 2011

After legislation passes both Houses of Congress in the same form, the Constitution provides that it be “presented” to the President for his signature. The process of preparing the bill, known as “enrollment,” ensures that the version given to the President for signing is the true and correct representation of the legislation passed by Congress. Upon presentment, the President may either sign the bill, enacting it into law, or refuse to sign it, vetoing the legislation


Monday, October 03, 2011

In order for a bill or measure to be transmitted out of the legislative branch to the executive branch, it is necessary for both the House and the Senate to pass identical versions of that bill. Every aspect of the versions passed through each chamber must match—from the bill number to every word, period, and comma. If the bill versions passed in either body differ in any respect, the two houses are in what is called ‘‘disagreement’’ and further amendments are ne


Monday, September 12, 2011

Intended by the Founders as a "check" on the popularly elected House of Representatives, process and procedure in the Senate has a far different emphasis from in the House.  While the House's institutional bias is toward efficiency, the Senate's is toward deliberation and debate.  It can be said that the fundamental rule in the House is "whoever has 218 votes wins," while the rules in the Senate is different: "There's nothing you can do without 60 votes.&quo;


Monday, July 11, 2011
When describing an amendment process for a bill, particularly one provided by a “rule” reported by the Committee on Rules, it is often articulated in terms of being “open” or “closed.” The more open the amendment process, the closer it is to the default rules of the House: any Member may offer any germane amendment, amendments are debated under the “five-minute rule,” and are otherwise subject to the basic rules of the House and the Committee of the Whole. The most common kinds of bills debated

Monday, June 06, 2011
The Committee on Rules is among the oldest standing committees in the House, having been formally constituted on April 2, 1789. The Committee is commonly known as “The Speaker’s Committee” because it is the mechanism that the Speaker uses to maintain control of the House Floor; and was in fact chaired by the Speaker until 1910.


Monday, May 02, 2011

While most Members, committees, and staffers refer to "markups" of legislation—the vernacular used to reference a committee meeting—the House Rules only recognize two broad kinds of official committee events: hearings and meetings. A meeting is any collegial gathering of the committee to conduct business other than receiving testimony or evidence. Thus meetings may call for the consideration of legislation referred to the committee, organizational matters, or considera


Monday, April 04, 2011

Under the House rules, committees gather for two purposes: hearings, where they take testimony from witnesses and gather facts, and meetings, where committees conduct business like marking up legislation or reports, issuing subpoenas, or taking other “collegial” action. Hearings are one of the primary mechanisms for the Congress to conduct oversight of the executive branch, allowing committees to conduct in-depth examinations of issues within their jurisdictions.


Monday, March 07, 2011

In its simplest form, the War Powers Resolution provides that the President must notify Congress within 48 hours of committing troops to military action and prohibits them from remaining in place for more than 60 days (with an additional 30-day withdrawal period) without congressional authorization.


Monday, February 07, 2011

For any Member, new or veteran, the operation of the House floor can seem confusing. The House’s presiding officer is attended to by a host of staff who support the day-to-day legislative functions of the House and facilitate the introduction of bills, the processing of committee reports, the recording of remarks on the House floor, and a variety of other functions. What follows is a basic description of each role’s function, along with a basic outline of the legislative day.


Monday, January 10, 2011

On January 5, 2011, the House adopted H.Res. 5, the rules package for the 112th Congress. This package executed changes in the standing rules of the House, and put in place numerous standing orders for this Congress. The package addressed issues of transparency, budget enforcement, House operations, and other matters. When taken together with changes to the Republican Conference rules, the Speaker’s announced policies and other changes to legislative operations announced by the Majority


Sunday, December 19, 2010

Tracking legislation in the House has become much easier since the advent of computerized databases such as the Legislative Information System and Thomas. However, the printed documents which contain much of the in-formation in those databases are still printed and circulated every day. The House Calendar provides the current status of legislation in the House; the House Journal is a history of legislative activity and a requirement of the Constitution; and the Congressional Record is a trans