Order Code RS22991
November 26, 2008
Speaking on the House Floor: Gaining Time
and Parliamentary Phraseology
Elizabeth Rybicki
Analyst on the Congress and Legislative Process
Government and Finance Division
Summary
House rules and precedents structure Members’ opportunities to speak on the floor
about pending legislation. Under some circumstances, Members arrange to speak on
legislation by communicating with the leaders of the committee that reported the bill.
Sometimes the arrangements can be made on the floor during the debate, and at other
times they are made prior to floor consideration. The committee leaders from both sides
of the aisle manage the consideration of a bill on the floor, under what is known as
controlled time, by allocating the debate time among several Members. In certain other
procedural circumstances, most often when the House is amending legislation under an
“open” special rule, legislators instead seek recognition to speak, usually for up to five
minutes, directly from the presiding officer. A Member who has been recognized can
yield to another during debate, but continues to hold the floor; and the time used by the
Member yielded to is taken from the time allocated to the Member holding the floor.
General Guidelines
Under House rules and precedents, opportunities to speak on the House floor about
pending legislation are restricted and highly structured. Every time a legislator is
recognized on the floor to speak, his or her time is limited. Furthermore, when debating
legislation, Members generally must confine their comments to the subject of the
measure.1 Members also must observe long-standing principles of decorum and courtesy
in debate, including avoiding personal remarks about fellow Members.2
1 For information on unanimous consent practices that allow Members to speak at specified times
on topics of their choice, see CRS Report RS21174, Special Order Speeches and Other Forms
of Non-Legislative Debate in the House, by Betsy Palmer.
2 House Rule XVII, clause 1. For more information on decorum in debate, see U.S. Congress,
Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives, H.Doc. 109-157,
(continued...)

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Members direct their comments to the presiding officer, therefore referring to each
other in the third person as “the gentleman/woman” from the state represented. They
address the presiding officer as “Mr/Madam Speaker” during procedures in the House
proper, and as“Mr/Madam Chairman” while in the “Committee of the Whole.”3 It is not
in order for a legislator directly to address the “television audience” or the galleries.
The manner in which time is obtained, restricted, and distributed in the House
depends on the procedures the House is using to consider a measure, as well as the terms
of any special order of the House governing the consideration of the measure. There are
two different methods by which time to speak on legislation is distributed on the House
floor. Time for debate is either “controlled,” or it is not. Under controlled time, a
Member is granted a block of time from a Member, called a “manager,” who determines
for each side which Members may speak, for how long, and in what order. If time is not
controlled, then a Member gains time to speak by seeking recognition from the chair, and
the length of time the Member can speak is usually limited to five minutes.
Controlled Time
Most of the time when Members are debating legislation, time is equally divided and
controlled by two managers. For example, the House passes bills that enjoy widespread
support through the suspension of the rules procedure, which allows for a total of 40
minutes of debate. Under that procedure, two managers, generally the chair and ranking
member of the committee or subcommittee of jurisdiction (or their designees) each
control 20 minutes of which they then yield portions to Members, usually on their side of
the aisle. Time for debate of special rules, which set the terms for consideration of most
major legislation, is also controlled time; the first (and usually only) hour for debate is
granted to the Rules Committee chair (or her designee) who in turn customarily yields half
of that time to the ranking member of the committee (or his designee) for purposes of
debate only. Each side then yields portions of the 30 minutes to other Members.4 In
addition, when the House resolves into the Committee of the Whole to consider a bill, the
first stage is usually a period for general debate, and this is also controlled time. The
chair(s) and ranking member(s) of the committee(s) of jurisdiction typically serve as
managers; if multiple committees have jurisdiction, then managers from each committee
control a portion of the time.
2 (...continued)
109th Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 2007), pp. 731-736.
3 The House resolves into the “Committee of the Whole,” a parliamentary device designed to
allow greater participation in debate, to consider most major measures. For more information,
see CRS Report RS20147, Committee of the Whole: An Introduction, by Judy Schneider.
4 In fact, many debatable motions that are made “in the House” are considered in this basic
fashion. House Rule XVII clause 2 limits the time Members can speak in the House to one hour,
and at the end of the controlling Member’s hour, a majority of the House often votes to “order
the previous question,” thereby ending consideration of the question. On some questions, House
rules require the division of the time. For more information, see CRS Report 98-427,
Considering Measures in the House Under the One-Hour Rule.

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Controlling Time as a Manager. Those designated to control the time often
begin discussing the measure by yielding to themselves a set number of minutes or, more
often, by stating:
I yield myself such time as I may consume.
The manager is then recognized and holds the floor until all of his or her available time
expires or until the manager concludes by saying:
I reserve the balance of my time.
The presiding officer will then recognize the other floor manager, who also generally
begins by granting time to himself for an opening statement. Floor managers then yield
portions of the time they control to Members who let them know in advance they wish to
debate the measure. Each floor manager usually, but not necessarily, yields to Members
on his or her side of the aisle. Managers do not refer to other Members by name and
instead designate them by state. For example, the manager might say:
I yield two minutes to the gentleman from California.
If a manager yields a portion of time to another Member, the manager may not take the
time back. Once the time is yielded, it belongs to the Member who is speaking until he
or she finishes and “yields back” his or her time, or until the presiding officer announces
that the time has expired. At that point, the presiding officer will look again to the
manager, who could yield time to another Member, or reserve the balance of the time. By
reserving his or her time, a floor manager gives the other floor manager a chance to speak
or distribute time. Generally, the chair alternates recognition between managers from
each side.
Time is kept by the clerks sitting at the House dais, and managers often ask how
much time remains available. In response, the presiding officer will announce how much
time the majority and minority floor managers have left. It is not uncommon for the
managers to discuss with each other how the remaining time will be distributed. For
example, one manager might ask the other how many more Members on his side are
waiting to speak.
House precedents determine which manager has the right to speak last in debate, or
“to close.” In most cases, when time is controlled, the floor manager who is the
proponent of the question has the right to close. An exception to this general guideline
is controlled debate on an amendment, when the majority floor manager on the bill, not
the proponent of the amendment, has the right to close. Toward the conclusion of the
time for debate, the floor manager with the right to close will likely reserve the balance
of his time until all the time of the other manager has been consumed or until the other
manager yields back the balance of his time.
Debate ends when all time has expired or all time has been yielded back. If the
managers determine through discussion that no more Members wish to speak on either
side, then they might, in turn, yield back their remaining time by stating:
I yield back the balance of my time.

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Gaining Recognition to Speak Under Controlled Time. If a Member is not
the floor manager but wishes to speak, the Member informs the floor manager on his or
her side. Sometimes, particularly when many Members wish to address the House on
major legislation, Members or their staff contact the expected floor manager in advance
of the debate. In this way, Members can gain information about when they might be
recognized to speak, and for how long.
In response to a request for time, the floor manager might yield a portion of time to
the Member. The Presiding Officer will then formally recognize that Member, by stating:
The gentleman from ________ is recognized.
The Member who has been yielded time can then begin speaking, generally after thanking
the presiding officer (for the recognition) and the manager (for yielding the time).
When the block of time the Member has been yielded is completely used, the chair
will announce that the time yielded to the Member has expired. If the Member wishes to
continue speaking, he or she can look to the floor manager and request additional time.
The floor manager might choose to yield to the speaker an additional portion of time if
any of the manager's time remains uncommitted.
Yielding. There is a difference between a manager yielding a specified portion of
time, such as two minutes, to another Member, and a Member “yielding to” another
Member. When a manager yields time to a Member, the presiding officer recognizes that
Member for that amount of time. The manager can then be seated; he or she has
effectively given the floor to the Member who has been yielded time. Under the modern
practice of the House, only managers may yield portions of time to other Members.
In contrast, any Member who has been recognized in debate may “yield to” another
Member for a question or comment. When one Member yields to another, the yielding
Member retains the floor and should remain standing. Any time consumed by the
Member yielded to is charged against the portion of time yielded originally by the
manager to the Member who has been recognized.
For this reason, Members ask permission to use another Member's time. If a Member
wants to interrupt another Member to ask a question or respond to something that was
said, he or she can ask the presiding officer:
Will the gentleman (or gentlewoman) yield?
The Member speaking can decline to yield. Or, the Member can respond:
I yield to the gentleman (or gentlewoman).
The time being consumed belongs to the Member who yielded. Therefore, the Member
who was yielded to cannot yield to a third Member. If another Member wants to join the
discussion between the yielding Member and the Member who was yielded to, he or she
would have to seek permission to interrupt from the yielding Member. These practices of
yielding permit Members to engage in a colloquy, with one Member yielding to one or
more Members in turn so that they may exchange information or debate an issue.

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Furthermore, the Member who has yielded to another Member can take the time
back. Generally, this is done by interrupting the Member who had been yielded to by
saying:
Reclaiming my time....
The following example illustrates the difference between yielding a portion of time
and yielding to another Member. During general debate, Representative A, as floor
manager, might yield five minutes to Representative B, another majority-party member
of the committee. Representative B then may begin speaking. If at some point during the
five minutes another Member, Representative C, rises while Representative B is speaking
and asks “will the gentleman (or gentlewoman) yield?,” then Representative B can either
yield or decline to yield. If Representative B yields, then any time used by Representative
C is charged against the five minutes originally granted to Representative B.
Representative C cannot yield to yet another Member, Representative D, because
Representative B holds the floor. Representative D would have to ask Representative B
to yield. Although Representative B cannot limit the time of Representative C by yielding
only a set period of time, at any point Representative B can reclaim his time.
Debate When Time is Not Controlled
In some procedural circumstances, debate time is not controlled by floor managers.
Instead, Members gain time to speak by seeking recognition directly from the presiding
officer. Most prominently, time for debating amendments can take place in the
Committee of the Whole under what is known as the “five minute rule.” Certain types
of special rules, especially those referred to as open rules or modified open rules, normally
allow for amendments under the five-minute rule.5 Time is also not controlled during the
five minutes of debate permitted to each side on a motion to recommit a bill or joint
resolution with instructions (under Rule XIX, clause 2),6 and in a few other less common
circumstances.
Gaining Recognition Under the Five-Minute Rule. Clause 5(a) of House
Rule XVIII states:
A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who offers an amendment shall be
allowed five minutes to explain it, after which the Member, Delegate, or Resident
Commissioner who shall first obtain the floor shall be allowed five minutes to speak
in opposition to it.
Accordingly, if a Member offers an amendment, the presiding officer will recognize him
or her for five minutes. Another Member (sometimes the floor manager defending the
version of the bill reported by the committee of jurisdiction) can then be recognized for
five minutes to speak against the amendment by standing and stating:
5 In addition, if the House simply agreed by motion or by unanimous consent to consider a bill
in the Committee of the Whole, the bill would be amended under the five-minute rule.
6 For more information on the motion to recommit with instructions, see CRS Report 98-383,
Motions to Recommit in the House, by Betsy Palmer.

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I rise in opposition to the amendment.
Because time under the five-minute rule is not controlled, there is no Member acting
as a manager and allocating portions of time. Instead, any Member may seek recognition
from the chair of the Committee of the Whole to speak for five minutes. The presiding
officer recognizes Members from the committee with jurisdiction over the bill first, in
order of seniority, alternating recognition from side to side.
A Member need not consume the full five minutes, but time cannot be reserved.
When a Member's five minutes on an amendment expires, the Member sometimes asks
unanimous consent to extend his or her time by a specified number of additional minutes,
up to five minutes. A Member may be recognized only once under the five minute rule
on a given amendment.
Pro Forma Amendments. Although the five-minute rule technically permits
only ten minutes of debate for each amendment, five in favor and five against the
amendment, Members secure additional time through the use of “pro forma” amendments.
Pro forma amendments are amendments to strike one or more words of the text under
consideration, and they are offered solely for the purpose of gaining recognition to speak
for five minutes. In other words, no change to the text under consideration is substantively
proposed; the proponent is not actually suggesting a word or words be stricken.
After the proponent and the opponent of an amendment have spoken for their allotted
five minutes, another Member who wishes to speak may rise and state:
I move to strike the last word.
The chair then recognizes that Member for five minutes, technically to speak on the pro
forma amendment, but in fact to continue debate on the pending substantive amendment.
Any number of pro forma amendments can be offered, but because of a general
prohibition against offering the same amendment twice, Members sometimes choose to
say instead:
I move to strike the requisite number of words.
Pro forma amendments can also be made when no amendment is pending if
Members wish to discuss the measure itself. Pro forma amendments, however, are not
always in order. If a measure is being considered under a special rule from the Committee
on Rules that prohibits most or all amendments, or that permits only specified
amendments, then pro forma amendments are not in order unless the special rule
explicitly states otherwise. In addition, unanimous consent agreements may restrict the
offering of pro forma amendments.
Yielding. When time is not controlled, Members cannot yield portions of their
time to other Members. They can, however, remain standing and yield to other Members
for questions or comments, and the time consumed by the other Members is deducted
from the time of the yielding Member. A Member recognized under the five-minute rule
also cannot yield to another Member for the purposes of offering an amendment. The
Member who wishes to offer an amendment would need to seek recognition for that
purpose later from the presiding officer.

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