{
  "id": "R45170",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R45170",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 584663,
      "date": "2018-04-20",
      "retrieved": "2018-09-10T13:22:55.124051",
      "title": "The Senate \u201cTwo-Hour Rule\u201d Governing Committee Meeting Times",
      "summary": "Paragraph 5(a) of Senate Rule XXVI, sometimes referred to as the \u201ctwo-hour rule,\u201d restricts the times that most Senate committees and subcommittees can meet when the full Senate is in session. The rule is intended to help balance the Senate\u2019s committee and floor work and to minimize the logistical conflicts that Senators face between participating in committee hearings and markups and attending to their duties on the chamber floor. \nUnder the terms of the rule, no Senate committee or subcommittee (except the Committees on Appropriations and Budget and their subcommittees) can meet after the Senate has been in session for two hours or past 2:00 p.m. unless one of the following things occur: (1) the Senate grants unanimous consent for them to meet; (2) both the majority and minority leaders (or their designees) agree to permit the meeting, and their agreement has been announced on the Senate floor; or (3) the Senate adopts a privileged motion to allow the meeting. Should a committee meet during a restricted time period without being granted permission, any action that it takes\u2014such as ordering a bill or nomination reported to the Senate\u2014is considered \u201cnull, void, and of no effect.\u201d\nSenate rules restricting committee meeting times have existed for over 70 years and have evolved over time. A rule limiting committees from sitting while the Senate is in session was first enacted in Section 134(c) of P.L. 79-753, the Legislative Reorganization Act (LRA) of 1946. Rules regulating the meeting times of Senate committees were amended in 1964 and again in 1970. The Senate adopted the present form of the two-hour rule on February 4, 1977, via Section 402 of S.Res. 4, a resolution implementing the recommendations of the Temporary Select Committee to Study the Senate Committee System.\nPermission for committees to sit during the hours restricted by the rule is routinely granted in the Senate. On occasion, however, the two-hour rule is invoked, most often as a form of protest or in order to delay committee action on a particular measure or matter. Invoking the rule for these reasons has increased in recent years. Permission to sit during times prohibited by the rule is now most often granted by joint leadership agreement instead of by unanimous consent, a change from prior practice.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": []
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  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Legislative Process",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}