Order Code RS20227
Updated February 7, 2003
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
House Conferees: Selection
Richard S. Beth
Specialist in the Legislative Process
Government and Finance Division
A conference committee is composed of a House and a Senate delegation appointed
to reconcile the differences between the versions of a measure passed by the two
chambers. Congress usually uses a conference committee to resolve such disagreements
on the more important, controversial, or complex measures. The members of each
chamber’s delegation are known as its conferees or, more formally, “managers.” This fact
sheet discusses how House conferees are selected.
Discretion of Speaker. House Rule I, clause 11, empowers the Speaker to
appoint the House delegation to each conference committee. He usually does so
immediately after the House has voted to disagree with the Senate version (or insist on
the House version) and request a conference (or agree to one requested by the Senate).
Although the rule lays down certain general guidelines for appointing conferees, the
Speaker’s exercise of discretion in doing so cannot be limited by motion or challenged
through a point of order.
Size of Delegation. The Speaker determines the size and party ratio of the House
delegation. There is no fixed or required size, for each chamber’s conferees vote as a unit
in conference, so that neither can outvote the other. In the 107th Congress (2001-2002),
House conference delegations varied from three to 65 Members, but most fell between
eight and 25 (for appropriation bills, usually 15). Names of conferees appear in the
Congressional Record issue for the date of their appointment and, on a continuing basis,
in the Calendars of the House and the on-line Legislative Information System.
Composition. Rule I, which permits the Speaker to appoint Delegates as well as
Members, directs him to name as conferees Members “primarily responsible for” the
measure in question. Normally, he names members of the reporting committee, based on
lists submitted by its chair and ranking minority member. These submissions may follow
consultations with the Speaker about the delegation’s size and party ratio. They generally
reflect committee seniority, but not always strictly, and they generally include the
Members who managed the measure on the floor. The Speaker does not always restrict
himself to these lists, however. The rule directs him as well to appoint a majority of
House conferees who support the chamber’s position on the measure, and permits him to
determine, for this purpose, what the “House position” is.
A provision of Rule I also has the effect of encouraging the Speaker to name
sponsors of major floor amendments as conferees, even if they are not members of the
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reporting committee. The Speaker may exercise this authority particularly when the
committee was hostile to the amendments in question. Also, the Speaker sometimes
appoints conferees from committees that were not responsible for a measure, especially
when the matters in conference include Senate provisions not germane to the House bill,
or other provisions that fall within those panels’ jurisdiction. Appointments of this kind
create no jurisdictional precedent for the future.
Limited-Purpose Conferees. For measures that were referred to more than one
committee, the Speaker frequently names a panel of conferees from each committee of
referral, so as to “represent the interest of” each (Wm. Holmes Brown, House Practice
(Washington: GPO, 1996), p. 314). Usually, the Speaker authorizes panels from
committees other than the one of primary jurisdiction to negotiate only on specified
matters, or on provisions falling within the jurisdiction of that committee. Conferees
whose authority is restricted in this way may be called “limited-purpose” conferees; those
authorized to negotiate on the entire bill, “general” conferees.
Kinds of Limited-Purpose Conferees. Some limited-purpose conferees may
be named as “additional” conferees, to negotiate along with the general conferees on the
specified matters. For example, a Member might be named an additional conferee only
for a floor amendment he or she had sponsored. Alternatively, a Member may be named
in lieu of one of the general conferees only for the negotiation of a specified matter.
Instead of “additional” conferees, a panel of limited-purpose conferees may be
named as the “sole” conferees on the matters specified. (In this case, the other conferees’
authority must also be limited, so that they may not negotiate on these matters.) This
situation may occur when the committee from which the panel is drawn exercises
jurisdiction over a limited portion of the bill, or over a nongermane Senate amendment.
On other occasions, separate panels of conferees from the same committee may be named
to negotiate on different portions of the bill. In any of these cases, different panels may
have overlapping memberships.
Changes in Conference Delegations. Under Rule XXII, clause 7(c), the
House may entertain a motion to discharge an entire delegation of conferees (or,
alternatively, to instruct them). The motion is in order only with one day’s notice, and
only after House conferees have been appointed for more than 20 calendar days, including
10 legislative days (normally, each day the House meets is one legislative day). During
the last 6 days of a session, they must have been appointed for more than 36 hours.
A conferee may resign only with the consent of the House (often given by unanimous
consent, pursuant to a written request to the Speaker or by request of another Member,
typically a leader of the conferees). The Speaker, however, may fill vacancies on a
conference delegation, and also possesses discretion to remove conferees or name
additional ones at any point. He may also at any time alter the grouping of limited-
purpose conferees, or further specify the subjects they are authorized to address. If a
second conference becomes necessary (because the first conference cannot agree or its
report is rejected), the Speaker usually reappoints the same conferees, but may at his
discretion alter the makeup of the delegation.

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