How Legislation Is Brought to the House
Floor: A Snapshot of Recent
Parliamentary Practice
Christopher M. Davis
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
December 2, 2010
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R40829
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress
How Legislation Is Brought to the House Floor: A Snapshot
Summary
The House of Representatives has several different parliamentary procedures through which it
can bring legislation to the chamber floor. Which of these will be used in a given situation
depends on many factors, including the type of measure being considered, its cost, the amount of
political or policy controversy surrounding it, and the degree to which members want to debate it
and propose amendments. This report provides a snapshot of the forms and origins of measures
which, according to the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS), received
action on the House floor in the 110th Congress (2007-2008) and the parliamentary procedures
used to bring them up.
In the 110th Congress, 2,185 pieces of legislation received floor action in the House of
Representatives. Of these, 1,123 were bills or joint resolutions and 1,062 were simple or
concurrent resolutions, a roughly even breakdown between lawmaking and non-lawmaking
legislative forms. Of these 2,185 measures, 2,022 originated in the House and 163 originated in
the Senate.
During this period, 71% of all measures receiving House floor action came before the chamber
under the Suspension of the Rules procedure; 15% came to the floor as business “privileged”
under House rules and precedents; 8% were raised by a special rule reported by the Committee on
Rules and adopted by the House; and 7% came up by the unanimous consent of members. A small
fraction of measures—less than 1%—received House floor action in the 110th Congress through
the call of the Private Calendar or the provisions of House Rule XXVIII, popularly known as the
“Gephardt Rule.”
When only lawmaking forms of legislation (bills and joint resolutions) are counted, 80% of such
measures receiving House floor action came before the chamber under the Suspension of the
Rules procedure; 0% came to the floor as business “privileged” under House rules and
precedents; 13% were raised by a special rule reported by the Committee on Rules and adopted
by the House; and 6% came up by the unanimous consent of members. Less than 1% of bills or
joint resolutions received House floor action in the 110th Congress through the call of the Private
Calendar or the provisions of House Rule XXVIII, popularly known as the “Gephardt Rule.”
This report will be updated periodically to reflect legislative action taken in a full Congress.
Congressional Research Service
How Legislation Is Brought to the House Floor: A Snapshot
Contents
Form of Measures ....................................................................................................................... 1
Origin of Measures ..................................................................................................................... 2
Floor Procedures Used in the 110th Congress ............................................................................... 2
Suspension of the Rules ........................................................................................................ 2
Privileged Business ............................................................................................................... 3
By Special Rule .................................................................................................................... 4
Unanimous Consent .............................................................................................................. 4
Call of the Private Calendar .................................................................................................. 5
Gephardt Rule....................................................................................................................... 5
Figures
Figure 1. Form of Legislation Receiving House Floor Action ...................................................... 1
Figure 2. Procedures Used to Bring Measures to the House Floor ................................................ 6
Tables
Table 1. Parliamentary Procedures Used to Bring Measures to the Floor of the U.S.
House of Representatives ......................................................................................................... 7
Contacts
Author Contact Information ........................................................................................................ 8
Congressional Research Service
How Legislation Is Brought to the House Floor: A Snapshot
he House of Representatives has several different parliamentary procedures through which
it can bring legislation to the chamber floor. Which will be used in a given situation
T depends on many factors, including the type of measure being considered, its cost, the
amount of political or policy controversy surrounding it, and the degree to which members want
to debate it and propose amendments.
According to the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS), in the 110th
Congress (2007-2008), 2,185 pieces of legislation received some kind of floor action in the House
of Representatives. This report provides a statistical snapshot of the forms and origins of these
measures, and of the parliamentary procedures used to bring them to the chamber floor during
their initial consideration.
Form of Measures
Legislation is introduced in the House or Senate in one of four forms: the bill (H.R. / S.); the joint
resolution (H.J.Res. / S.J.Res.); the concurrent resolution (H.Con.Res. / S.Con.Res.); and the
simple resolution (H.Res. / S.Res.). Generally speaking, bills and joint resolutions can become
law, but simple and concurrent resolutions cannot; they are used instead for internal
organizational or procedural matters, or to express the sentiment of one or both chambers.1
During the 110th Congress, 1,123 bills or joint resolutions and 1,062 simple or concurrent
resolutions received floor action by the House of Representatives. This represents a roughly even
workload breakdown in the House between lawmaking and non-lawmaking legislative forms.
Figure 1. Form of Legislation Receiving House Floor Action
110th Congress (2007-2008)
S.J.Res.
H.J.Res.
slation
S.Con.Res.
S.
Legi
H.Con.Res.
rm of
H.Res.
Fo
H.R.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Number of Measures Introduced
Source: CRS Analysis of data from the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS).
1 For more information on the forms and uses of legislation, see CRS Report 98-728, Bills, Resolutions, Nominations,
and Treaties: Characteristics, Requirements, and Uses, by Richard S. Beth. Also see CRS Report 98-825, “Sense of”
Resolutions and Provisions, by Christopher M. Davis.
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How Legislation Is Brought to the House Floor: A Snapshot
Origin of Measures
Of the 2,185 measures receiving House floor action in the 110th Congress according to LIS, 2,022
were House measures and 163 originated in the Senate.
Floor Procedures Used in the 110th Congress
The following section documents the parliamentary mechanisms that were actually used by the
House to bring legislation to the floor for consideration during the 110th Congress. In doing so, it
does not make distinctions about the privileged status such business technically enjoys under
House rules. Most appropriations measures, for example, are considered “privileged business”
under clause 5 of House Rule XIII (as detailed in the section on “Privileged Business” below). As
such, they do not need a special rule from the Rules Committee to be adopted for them to have
floor access. In actual practice, however, in the 110th Congress, the House universally provided
for the consideration of these measures by means of a special rule or unanimous consent
agreement, which, in general, could also provide for debate to be structured, amendments to be
regulated, and points of order against the bills to be waived. Thus, appropriations measures
considered in the 110th Congress are counted in this analysis as being raised by special rule and
unanimous consent, notwithstanding their status as “privileged business.”
Suspension of the Rules
In recent Congresses, most legislation has been brought up on the House floor by Suspension of
the Rules, a parliamentary device authorized by clause 1 of House Rule XV, which waives the
chamber’s standing rules to enable the House to act quickly on legislation that enjoys widespread,
even if not necessarily unanimous, support. The main features of the Suspension of the Rules
procedure include (1) a 40-minute limit on debate, (2) a prohibition against floor amendments and
points of order, and (3) a two-thirds vote of members present and voting for passage. The
suspension procedure is in order in the House on the calendar days of Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday, during the final six days of a Congressional session, and at other times by unanimous
consent or special order.2
In the 110th Congress, 1,544 measures, representing 71% of all legislation receiving House floor
action, were initially brought up using the Suspension of the Rules procedure. This includes 893
bills or joint resolutions and 651 simple or concurrent resolutions. When only lawmaking forms
of legislation are counted, 80% of bills and joint resolutions receiving floor action in the 110th
Congress came up by Suspension of the Rules. Ninety-two percent of measures brought up by
Suspension of the Rules originated in the House. The remaining 8% were measures originating in
the Senate.
2 For more information on Suspension of the Rules, see CRS Report 98-314, Suspension of the Rules in the House:
Principal Features, by Elizabeth Rybicki.
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How Legislation Is Brought to the House Floor: A Snapshot
Privileged Business
House rules and precedents place certain types of legislation in a special “privileged” category,
which gives measures of this kind the ability to be called up for consideration when the House is
not considering another matter. Bills and resolutions falling into the this category that saw floor
action in the 110th Congress, include the following:
• Order of Business Resolutions: Procedural resolutions reported by the House
Committee on Rules affecting the “rules, joint rules, and the order of business of
the House” are, themselves, privileged for consideration under clause 5 of House
Rule XIII. Order of business resolutions are commonly known as “special rules,”
and are discussed below in more detail.3
• Committee Assignment Resolutions: Under clause 5 of House Rule X and the
precedents of the House, a resolution assigning members to standing committees
is privileged if offered by direction of the party caucus or conference involved.4
• Committee Funding Resolutions: Resolutions providing funds for committee
salaries and expenses, if reported by the committee on House Administration, are
privileged under House Rule XIII, clause 5.5
• Correcting Enrollments: Under clause 5 of House Rule XIII, resolutions reported
by the Committee on House Administration correcting errors in the enrollment of
a bill are privileged.6
• Providing for Adjournment: Under Article I, section 5, clause 4, of the
Constitution, neither house can adjourn for more than three days without the
consent of the other. Concurrent resolutions providing for such an adjournment of
one or both chambers are called up as privileged.7
• Questions of the Privileges of the House: Under clause 2 of House Rule IX,
resolutions raising a question of the privileges of the House, affecting “the rights
of the House collectively, its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings,”
are privileged under specific parliamentary circumstances described in the rule.8
• Bereavement Resolutions: Under House precedents, resolutions expressing the
condolences of the House of Representatives over the death of a Representative
or of a President or former President, have been treated as privileged.
• Measures Related to House Organization: Certain organizational business of the
House, such as resolutions traditionally adopted at the beginning of a session
notifying the President that the House has assembled, as well as concurrent
resolutions providing for a joint session of Congress, have been treated as
privileged business.
3 U.S. Congress, House, Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives, H.Doc. 109-157,
109th Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 2007), §853. (Hereafter cited as “House Manual.”)
4 House Manual, §757.
5 House Manual, §757.
6 Ibid.
7 House Manual, §84.
8 House Manual, §699.
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How Legislation Is Brought to the House Floor: A Snapshot
In the 110th Congress, 325 measures, representing 15% of the measures receiving floor action,
came before the House on their initial consideration by virtue of their status as “privileged
business.” All of these 325 measures were non-lawmaking forms of legislation, that is, simple or
concurrent resolutions. The most common type of measure brought up in the House as
“privileged business” during the 110th Congress was special orders of business (special rules)
reported by the Rules Committee, followed by resolutions assigning Representatives to
committee. All but three of these privileged measures originated in the House. The three Senate
measures of this class were concurrent resolutions providing for a congressional adjournment of
more than three days.9
By Special Rule
A special rule is a simple resolution that regulates the House’s consideration of legislation
identified in the resolution. Such resolutions, as noted above, are sometimes called “order of
business resolutions” or “special orders.” Special rules enable the House to consider a specified
measure and establish the terms for its consideration. For example, how long the legislation will
be debated, what, if any amendments may be offered to it, and whether points of order against the
measure or any amendments are waived. Under clause 1(m) of House Rule X, the Committee on
Rules has jurisdiction over the “order of business” of the House, and it reports such procedural
resolutions to the chamber for consideration. In modern practice, although a relatively small
percentage of legislation comes before the House via special rule, most measures that might be
characterized as significant, complicated, or controversial, are brought up in this way.
In the 110th Congress, 164 measures, or 8% of all legislation receiving House floor action, were
initially brought before the chamber under the terms of a special rule reported by the Rules
Committee and agreed to by the House. Of these, 151 (92%) were bills or joint resolutions and 13
(8%) were simple or concurrent resolutions. When only lawmaking forms of legislation are
counted, 13% of bills and joint resolutions receiving floor action in the 110th Congress came up
by Special Rule. Ninety-eight percent of the measures considered under a special rule during the
110th Congress originated in the House, just 2% being Senate legislation.
Unanimous Consent
In modern practice, legislation is often brought before the House of Representatives for
consideration by the unanimous consent of its members. Long-standing policies announced by the
Speaker regulate unanimous consent requests for this purpose. Among other things, the Speaker
will recognize a member to propound a unanimous consent request to call up an unreported bill or
resolution only if that request has been cleared in advance with both party floor leaders and with
the bipartisan leadership of the committee of jurisdiction.10
In the 110th Congress, 145 measures, or 7% of all legislation identified by LIS as receiving House
floor action, were initially considered by unanimous consent. Of these, 72 (50%) were bills or
joint resolutions and 73 (50%) were simple or concurrent resolutions. When only lawmaking
forms of legislation are counted, 6% of bills and joint resolutions receiving floor action in the
9 For more information, see CRS Report 98-315, Privileged Business on the House Floor, by James V. Saturno.
10 William Holmes Brown and Charles W. Johnson, House Practice, A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures
of the House (Washington: GPO, 2003), ch. 54, §2, pp. 882-883.
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How Legislation Is Brought to the House Floor: A Snapshot
110th Congress came up by Unanimous Consent. Of the measures initially considered by
unanimous consent during the 110th Congress, 76% originated in the House.
Call of the Private Calendar
Clause 5 of House Rule XV establishes special parliamentary procedures to be used for the
consideration of private legislation. Unlike public legislation, which applies to public matters and
deals with individuals only by classes, the provisions of private bills apply to “one or several
specified persons, corporations, [or] institutions.”11 When reported from House committee,
private bills are placed on a special Private Calendar established by House Rule XIII. The
consideration of Private Calendar measures is in order on the first and (if the Speaker of the
House so chooses) third Tuesday of a month. On those days, the Private Calendar is “called” and
each measure on it is automatically brought before the House in order. Private bills are considered
under a set of procedures known as the “House as in Committee of the Whole,” which is a hybrid
of the procedures used in the full House and those used in the Committee of the Whole. Under
these, private bills may be debated and amended under the five-minute rule, although in practice,
they are almost always passed without debate or record vote.12
In the 110th Congress, five measures were initially brought to the floor via the call of the Private
Calendar. All were House bills. When only lawmaking forms of legislation are counted, less than
1% (.004%) of bills and joint resolutions receiving floor action in the 110th Congress came up by
the Call of the Private Calendar.
Gephardt Rule
House Rule XXVIII provides that, upon the final adoption of a congressional budget resolution
necessitating a change in the statutory limit on the public debt, a House joint resolution altering
that limit will be deemed to have passed the chamber, and be engrossed and transmitted to the
Senate for consideration without separate House action. The rule is commonly referred to as the
“Gephardt Rule,” after its original sponsor, Representative Richard A. Gephardt (D-MO).13
During the 110th Congress, two House joint resolutions were engrossed and deemed to have been
passed by virtue of the automatic procedures established by the so-called Gephardt Rule. When
only lawmaking forms of legislation are counted, less than 1% (.002%) of bills and joint
resolutions receiving floor action in the 110th Congress came up under the Gephardt Rule.
11 Asher C. Hinds, Hinds’ Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States (Washington: GPO, 1917),
vol. 4, §3285.
12 For more information, see CRS Report 98-628, Private Bills: Procedure in the House, by Richard S. Beth.
13 For more information, see CRS Report RL31913, Developing Debt-Limit Legislation: The House’s “Gephardt
Rule”, by Bill Heniff Jr.
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How Legislation Is Brought to the House Floor: A Snapshot
Figure 2. Procedures Used to Bring Measures to the House Floor
110th Congress (2007-2008)
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Suspension
Priv. Business
Special Rule
U.C.
Other
Source: Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS).
Notes: Chart reflects initial House consideration of all legislation, regardless of legislative form. “Other”
category is made up of measures raised by the cal of the Private Calendar and under the “automatic”
procedures of House Rule XXVIII.
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How Legislation Is Brought to the House Floor: A Snapshot
Table 1. Parliamentary Procedures Used to Bring Measures to the Floor of the U.S. House of Representatives
110th Congress (2007-2009)
Parliamentary Procedure /
Percentage of Measures Considered
H.R.
S.
H.J.Res.
S.J.Res.
H.Res.
H.Con.Res.
S.Con.Res. TOTAL
Suspension of the Rules / 71%
772
108
6
7
499
146
6
1544
Privileged Business (325 Total) / 15%
Special orders (including those tabled)
0
0
0
0
223
0
0
223
Committee assignment resolution
0
0
0
0
39
0
0
39
Providing for adjournment / recess
0
0
0
0
0
14
3
17
Question of the privileges of the House
0
0
0
0
16
0
0
16
Chamber organizational related
0
0
0
0
14
1
0
15
Bereavement
resolution
0 0 0 0 9 0 0
9
Committee
funding
resolution 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
2
Providing for a joint session
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
Granting
deposition
authority
0 0 0 0 1 0 0
1
Correcting
engrossment
/
enrollment
0 0 0 0 0 1 0
1
By Special Rule / 8%
145
2
4
0
8
3
2
164
Unanimous consent / 7%
40
30
1
1
47
22
4
145
Cal of the Private Calendar / .002%
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
Gephardt Rule / .001%
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
Total 962
140
13
8
858
189
15
2185
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis of data from the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS).
Notes: Table reflects initial House consideration of measures receiving floor action between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009. Percentages may not add up to 100%
due to rounding.
CRS-7
How Legislation Is Brought to the House Floor: A Snapshot
Author Contact Information
Christopher M. Davis
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
cmdavis@crs.loc.gov, 7-0656
Congressional Research Service
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