STANDING RULES AND ORDERS

FOR CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OF THE

UNITED STATES.

TOUCHING THE DUTY OF THE SPEAKER.

1. He shall take the chair every day precisely at the hour to which the House shall have adjourned on the preceding day; shall immediately call the members to order; and, on the appearance of a quorum, shall cause the journal of the preceding day to be read.-April 7, 1789.

2. He shall preserve order1 and decorum;' may speak to points of order in preference to other members, rising from his seat for that purpose; and shall decide questions of order, subject to an appeal to the House by any two members-April 7, 1789; on which appeal no member shall speak more than once, unless by leave of the House.3-December 23, 1811.

1 By rule 22 it is made the duty of the Sergeant-at-arms to aid in the enforcement of order, under the direction of the Speaker.

to motions or propositions, the applicability or relevancy, or their admissibility on the score of time, or in the order of business, &c. The "call to

2 See rules 57, 58, 61, 62, and 65, on order," mentioned in rule 61, on which, the subject of "decorum."

3 Difficulties have often arisen as to a supposed discrepancy between the appeal contemplated in this rule and that referred to in rulé 61. There is no discrepancy. The question of order mentioned in the second rule relates

in case of an appeal, there can be no debate, has reference only to "transgressions of the rules in speaking," or to indecorum of any kind. See also rule 133, in which debate on an appeal, pending a call for the previous question, is prohibited.

3. He shall rise to put a question, but may state it sitting.April 7, 1789.

4. Questions shall be distinctly put in this form, to wit: "As many as are of opinion that (as the question may be) say Ay;" and after the affirmative voice is expressed, "As many as are of the contrary opinion, say No." If the Speaker doubt, or a division be called for, the House shall divide; those in the affirmative of the question shall first rise from their seats, and afterwards those in the negative. If the Speaker still doubt, or a count be required, by at least one-fifth of a quorum of the members, the Speaker shall name two members, one from each side, to tell the members in the affirmative and negative; which being reported, he shall rise and state the decision to the House.— March 16, 1860.

5. The Speaker shall examine and correct the journal before it is read. He shall have a general direction of the Hall, and the unappropriated rooms in that part of the Capitol assigned to the House shall be subject to his order and disposal until the further order of the House. He shall have a right to name any member to perform the duties of the Chair, but such substitution shall not extend beyond an adjournment.—December 23, 1811, and May 26, 1824.

6. No person shall be permitted to perform divine service in the chamber occupied by the House of Representatives, unless with the consent of the Speaker.-May 19, 1804.

2

7. In all cases of ballot by the House, the Speaker shall

1 The manner of dividing the House, as originally established by the rule of April 17, 1789, was, that the members who voted in the affirmative went to the right of the Chair, those in the negative to the left. This was, doubtless, taken from the old practice of the House of Commons of England. The passing of the members to and fro across the House was found so inconvenient, and took up so much time, that the mode of dividing the

House was, on the 9th of June, 1789, changed to the present form: the members of each side of the question rising in their seats and being there counted.

2 The word here used in the original formation of the rule was election. On the 14th of January, 1840, it was changed to the word ballot. According to the practice, however, this rule is held to apply to all cases of election.

vote; in other cases he shall not be required to vote, unless the House be equally divided, or unless his vote, if given to the minority, will make the division equal; and in case of such equal division, the question shall be lost.-April 7, 1789.2

8. All acts, addresses, and joint resolutions, shall be signed. by the Speaker; and all writs, warrants, and subpoenas, issued by order of the House, shall be under his hand and seal, attested by the Clerk.-November 13, 1794.

9. In case of any disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries or lobby, the Speaker (or chairman of the Committee of the Whole House) shall have power to order the same to be cleared.-March 14, 1794.

OF THE CLERK AND OTHER OFFICERS.

10. There shall be elected at the commencement of each Congress, to continue in office until their successors are appointed, a Clerk, Sergeant-at-arms, Doorkeeper, and Postmaster, each of whom shall take an oath for the true and faithful discharge of the duties of his office, to the best of his knowledge and abilities, and to keep the secrets of the House; and the appointees of the Doorkeeper and Postmaster shall be subject to the approval of the Speaker; and, in all cases of election by the House of its officers, the vote shall be taken vivâ voce.—, -March 16, 1860.3

1 On a very important question, taken December 9, 1803, on an amendment to the Constitution, so as to change the form of voting for President and Vice-President, which required a vote of two-thirds, there appeared eighty-three in the affirmative, and forty-two in the negative; it wanted one vote in the affirmative to make the constitutional majority. The Speaker (Macon), notwithstanding a prohibition in the rule as it

then existed, claimed and obtained his right to vote, and voted in the affirmative; and it was by that vote that the amendment to the Constitution was carried. The right of the Speaker, as a member of the House, to vote on all questions is secured by the Constitution. No act of the House can take it from him when he chooses to exercise it.

2

Cong. Globe I. 38. 625.

3 Until the adoption of this rule

11. In all cases where other than members of the House may be eligible to an office by the election of the House, there shall be a previous nomination.-April 7, 1789.

12. In all other cases of ballot than for committees, a majority of the votes given shall be necessary to an election; and where there shall not be such a majority on the first ballot, the ballots shall be repeated until a majority be obtained.—April 7, 1789. And in all ballotings blanks shall be rejected, and not taken into the count in enumeration of votes, or reported by the tellers.— September 15, 1837.

13. It shall be the duty of the Clerk to make, and cause to be printed, and delivered to each member, at the commencement of every session of Congress, a list of the reports which it is the duty of any officer or department of the government to make to Congress; referring to the act or resolution, and page of the volume of the laws or journal in which it may be contained; and placing under the name of each officer the list of reports required of him to be made, and the time when the report may be expected.-March 13, 1822.

14. It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the House, at the end of each session, to send a printed copy of the journals

there was no law, resolution, rule, or order directing the appointment of the Clerk of the House. On the 1st of April, 1789, being the first day that a quorum of the House assembled under the new Constitution, the House immediately elected a Clerk by ballot, without a previous order having been passed for that purpose; although in the case of a Speaker who was chosen on the same day, an order was previously adopted. A Clerk has been regularly chosen at the commencement of every Congress since. By the rules adopted in 1789, provision was made for the appointment of a Sergeant-at-arms and Doorkeeper. Immediately after the organization of the government under the present

Constitution, a room was set apart in the Capitol for the reception and distribution of letters and packets to and from members of the House, without an order for that purpose, and was called the post-office; it was superintended by the Doorkeeper and his assistants. On the 9th of April, 1814, a special allowance was made to the Doorkeeper to meet the expenses of this office, and he was authorized to appoint a Postmaster. The office continued on this footing till April 4, 1838, when an order was passed for the appointment of a Postmaster by the House itself. The provision for the election of all the officers of the House by a viva voce vote was adopted December 10, 1839.