Special Order Speeches and Other Forms of
Non-Legislative Debate in the House
Betsy Palmer
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
November 24, 2010
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RS21174
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress
Special Order Speeches and Other Forms of Non-Legislative Debate in the House
ules in the House of Representatives typically limit the time allowed for floor speeches
and require debate to be germane to pending business. A series of unanimous consent
R practices have evolved that permit Members to address the House for specified durations
and at specified times on subjects of their own choosing, outside the consideration of legislative
business. The principal forms of such non-legislative debate are special order speeches, one-
minute speeches, and morning hour debate.
Background
Nearly every aspect of House floor proceedings is governed by time limitations. The Hour Rule
for debate in the House, the five-minute rule for debate of amendments in the Committee of the
Whole, and time limits imposed by special rules or under suspension of the rules procedures are
essential tools for managing a crowded agenda in a large legislative body. In addition, Members
in debate must confine themselves to the question under consideration. Together, these constraints
severely limit the opportunities for Members to speak on subjects of concern to them when
legislation is being considered.
In response to this dilemma, several practices and procedures for “non-legislative debate” have
evolved, to afford Members the opportunity to make themselves heard from the House floor on
issues of interest. None of these practices is officially provided for in House rules. Rather, they
are customs that have evolved as unanimous consent practices.
Unfettered by normal House germaneness requirements, Members using these forms of non-
legislative debate can speak on a wide variety of subjects. Topics may include local, national, or
international issues; proposed bills; or internal House procedures, as well as tributes or eulogies.
In recent years, non-legislative debates have provided a convenient forum for Members,
particularly the minority party, to draw attention to their legislative agenda.
The policies governing these practices have been modified over time in response to contemporary
needs. Typically, on the opening day of a new Congress, unanimous consent agreements and the
Speaker’s announced policies governing the conduct of non-legislative debate during that
Congress are stated. The practices prescribed for the 111th Congress are set out below and are
referenced in the House rules for the 111th Congress.1
Special Order Speeches
Special order speeches occur routinely at the end of the day when all legislative business has been
completed. Members may be recognized to speak on any topic they wish for periods of from five
to 60 minutes. Recognition for special orders is the prerogative of the Speaker, and Members
reserve their time in advance through their party’s leadership. When recognizing a Member, the
Speaker would say:
Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from ______ is recognized.
1 The Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives, H..Doc. 110-162, 110th Cong., 2nd
sess., [compiled by] John V. Sullivan, Parliamentarian (Washington: GPO, 2009), secs. 950-951.
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Special Order Speeches and Other Forms of Non-Legislative Debate in the House
During the special order period, Members with five-minute or shorter special order speeches are
recognized first. Then Members wishing to speak longer than five minutes are recognized,
normally for speeches of 60 minutes in length. It is common for each party’s leadership to choose
a designee to deliver a so-called “leadership special order” during the first hour of longer special
orders.
Pursuant to the Speaker’s announced policy for the 111th Congress, following five-minute special
orders, four hours of longer special order speeches may be delivered, but in no case may it extend
beyond midnight. The Member serving as the presiding officer, following consultation with the
leadership and notification to the House, may extend the four-hour period for special orders on a
given day, again, not beyond midnight. The time allotted each day is divided equally between the
parties, and initial and subsequent recognition alternates between the majority and minority. For
more detailed information, see CRS Report RL30136, Special Order Speeches: Current House
Practices, by Judy Schneider.
One-Minute Speeches
One-minute speeches are normally given at the start of the legislative day, but occasionally may
occur at other times in the legislative program. Customarily, after the daily prayer, the Pledge of
Allegiance, and approval of the previous day’s Journal, Members ask for unanimous consent to
address the House for one minute on a topic of their choice. When seeking recognition, a Member
would say:
I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my
remarks.
Recognition for one-minute speeches is at the prerogative of the Speaker, who may limit daily
speeches to a certain number, or move them to a different place in the program, on any given day.
Members seeking recognition for this purpose sit in the first row on their party’s side of the
chamber. Recognition for one-minute speeches alternates between the majority and the minority,
with possible exceptions for Members of the leadership, and Members having business requests.
For more detailed information, see CRS Report RL30135, One-Minute Speeches: Current House
Practices, by Judy Schneider.
Morning Hour Debates
Since the 103rd Congress, the House, by unanimous consent, has set aside a period on Mondays
and Tuesdays for the purpose of conducting “morning hour debates.” The amount of time
reserved for these speeches varies. In the 111th Congress, the following schedule was agreed to.
Before May 18, 2009, the House could convene for special order speeches 90 minutes before the
regular House meeting times for Monday and Tuesday. After May 18, 2009, the House could
convene for morning hour speeches on Tuesday one hour before the regular meeting time. If the
House met at a time different than that set out in H.Res. 10, the resolution establishing regular
meeting times for the 111th Congress, morning hour debate on either Mondays or Tuesdays was
90 minutes before the regular meeting time.
If morning hour speeches begin 90 minutes before the House meeting time, 30 minutes of that
time is controlled by each party; if the House begins morning hour debate one hour before the
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Special Order Speeches and Other Forms of Non-Legislative Debate in the House
regular meeting time, 25 minutes are allocated to each party. Members must reserve time in
advance with their respective leadership, and speeches are limited to five minutes. More time may
be granted for speeches by the majority leader, the minority leader, and the minority whip. The
chair alternates initial and subsequent recognition between the majority and minority parties, in
accord with lists supplied by the leadership. When recognizing Members for this purpose, the
Speaker would say:
Pursuant to the order of the House of [date here] the Chair will now recognize Members
from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning-hour debate. The
Chair will alternate recognition between the parties, with each party limited to 30 minutes
and each Member, other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip,
limited to 5 minutes.
When a morning hour debate is concluded, the House recesses until the meeting time established
for that day’s session. For more detailed information, see CRS Report RS20131, Morning Hour
Debates: Current House Practices, by Judy Schneider.
Author Contact Information
Betsy Palmer
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
bpalmer@crs.loc.gov, 7-0381
Acknowledgments
This report was originally prepared by former CRS analyst Thomas P. Carr.
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