James V. Saturno
Specialist on the Congress
Government Division
Congressional Research Service
The Library of Congress 

Updated February 5, 1997 

Summary

This report presents a brief description of the methods used to bring proposed legislation to the House floor for consideration. These methods allow for consideration as a privileged matter, under the limited privilege of a special calendar or day, under suspension of the rules, under the terms of a special rule, or by unanimous consent. 

Introduction

There is no single method that the House must employ in calling up or considering proposed legislation. Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution allows each house of Congress to determine for itself the "Rules of its Proceedings," and the House has used this freedom to provide itself several alternative procedures for raising measures for consideration. These procedures allow the House to tailor its consideration depending on the circumstances and content of the measure. 

When a measure is reported by a House committee, it is placed on a calendar. Tax, authorization, and appropriation measures are placed on the Union Calendar (so-called because such measures must be considered in the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, known as the Committee of the Whole).(1) Other matters go on the House Calendar. These calendars are essentially lists of measures that committees have recommended for further consideration by the House. It would be virtually impossible for the House to consider all of the proposed legislation on these lists and it would be equally impractical for the House to attempt to consider each of these measures in the order in which they appear on these lists. Therefore, the House has evolved a system for establishing priorities. This system is based on a concept called "privilege." 

There are five methods by which a measure may be raised for consideration. A measure may be brought to the floor as a privileged matter, under the limited privilege of a special calendar or day, under suspension of the rules, under the terms of a special rule, or by unanimous consent. 

The method by which a measure is brought to the floor does not always dictate the method of consideration. The kind of privilege granted to a particular measure is not necessarily related to how it will be considered. For example, consideration in the Committee of the Whole can be a result of a measure being raised as a privileged measure, under a special rule, under the discharge procedure, under the Calendar Wednesday rule, or by unanimous consent.(2) 

Privileged Measures

House Rule XXIV, clause 1, specifies a daily order of business for the House to follow. In practice, that order is not usually observed because House rules also specify several types of measures that are privileged, and therefore may interrupt the order of business. These types of measures may be called up on the floor whenever another matter is not already pending. They are then considered only when the House agrees to do so by agreeing to a unanimous consent request, voting to resolve into Committee of the Whole (in the case of general appropriation bills), or raising and voting on the question of consideration. In this way the House gives precedence to important classes of business without losing its power to decide (by majority vote) to consider any measure it chooses. Privileged measures may be considered in either the House or Committee of the Whole, as appropriate. Currently, privileged measures include: 

• general appropriation bills (Rule XI, clause 4(a), and Rule XVI, clause 9); 
• conference reports after three days (Rule XXVIII, clause 1(a)); 
• motions to discharge or instruct conferees (Rule XXVIII, clause 1(b)); 
• resolutions from the Committee on Rules concerning the order of business, known as "special rules" (Rule XI, clauses 4 (a) and (b)); 
• questions of the privileges of the House or questions of personal privilege (Rule XVI, clause 2); 
• bills reported under the right of a committee to report at any time (Rule XI, clause 4(a)); in addition to general appropriation bills and special rules, this category currently includes: 
• continuing resolutions after September 15, 
• budget resolutions, 
• reconciliation bills, 
• resolutions from the Committee on Rules concerning the rules of the House or joint rules, 
• resolutions from the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct recommending action as a result of an investigation, and 
• measures reported from the Committee on House Oversight concerning enrolled bills, contested elections, printing for the use of the House, expenditures from the contingent fund (including committee funding resolutions), or noncurrent records of the House; 
• resolutions of inquiry (Rule XXII, clause 5); and 
• measures vetoed by the President (Article I, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution).(3) 

Other measures are accorded a more limited form of privilege. These measures may interrupt the order of business, but only in certain specified circumstances. This limited privilege can apply to special calendars (i.e., lists of legislation), such as the Corrections, Discharge, or Private Calendars. It can also apply to special types of legislation regardless of which calendar they appear on, such as the special days on which District of Columbia business is privileged, or even to committees, such as with Calendar Wednesday. These special procedures allow the House to set aside predictable periods of time to consider various categories of proposed legislation. 

Corrections Calendar(4)

First adopted in the 104th Congress, the Corrections Calendar is designed to expedite the House's ability to consider measures that would repeal or correct laws, rules, or regulations that are considered "obsolete, ludicrous, duplicative, burdensome, or costly."(5) Measures are placed on the Corrections Calendar by the Speaker in consultation with the Minority Leader. A Corrections Day Advisory Group, composed of seven Republicans and five Democrats advises the Speaker on which measures should be placed on the Corrections Calendar. The measures are chosen from among bills that have been favorably reported from committees and placed on either the House or Union Calendar. 

House Rule XIII, clause 4, provides that on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, the Speaker may direct the Clerk to call any bill that has been placed on the Corrections Calendar for at least three legislative days. 

Corrections Calendar measures are considered in the House under the one-hour rule and the previous question is automatically ordered, leading to a final vote on the bill at the end of the hour. A motion to recommit, with or without instructions, is in order, and a three-fifths vote is required for passage. 

Private Calendar

Private legislation concerns measures of a private, rather than a public, nature (i.e., those which apply only to specified individuals, corporations, institutions, etc.), and typically involve such things as claims against the government and immigration problems. Such measures are privileged for consideration on the first and third Tuesdays of each month (Rule XXIV, clause 6). Consideration on the first Tuesday is mandatory unless dispensed with by a two-thirds vote. However, consideration on the third Tuesday is within the discretion of the Speaker. 

On days when the Private Calendar is privileged the Speaker directs the Clerk to call each bill on the Private Calendar. The measures are then passed by unanimous consent with little or no debate if no Member objects. If one Member objects the measure is "passed over without prejudice" for later consideration. If two or more Members object, the measure is automatically recommitted to the committee that reported it. The rule also allows that on the third Tuesday omnibus measures, embodying those that have been previously rejected, may have preference (although this procedure is now rarely used). Each party appoints Members (currently three) as official objectors to act as watchdogs over private legislation. 

District Days

Because the Constitution gives Congress special responsibility over the District of Columbia, measures from either the House or Union Calendar dealing with District business are privileged for consideration on the second and fourth Mondays of each month (Rule XXIV, clause 8). A measure called up by this method is considered in the House or in the Committee of the Whole, as appropriate. 

Discharge Calendar(6)

Under House Rule XXVII, clause 3, a motion to discharge a committee from further consideration of a measure may be made on the second or fourth Monday of a month if 218 Members have signed a petition for that purpose and certain waiting periods are met. If the motion is agreed to, a further motion is in order to consider the measure discharged. If the measure coming up by discharge is a special rule for considering another measure, the special rule is automatically considered. A measure called up from the Discharge Calendar is considered in the House or in the Committee of the Whole, as appropriate. 

Calendar Wednesday

The Calendar Wednesday procedure is rarely used by the House today. Also known as the "Call of Committees," this rule allows a committee to overcome what it feels is inaction or indifference by the majority leadership or the Rules Committee, or both, if the House wishes to consider a measure (Rule XXIV, clause 7). The rule allows each committee in turn to call up non-privileged bills that have been reported, but have not reached the House floor through a more conventional route. The call of committees is typically dispensed with by unanimous consent. 

Suspension of the Rules(7)

The procedure for suspension of the rules is spelled out in House Rule XXVII, clauses 1 and 2. Under this rule, the Speaker may recognize a Member to move to suspend the rules and pass a particular measure on Mondays, Tuesdays, and the last six days of a session. There is no requirement limiting suspension motions to measures reported from committees. 

Suspension of the rules is the most commonly used method for raising a measure for consideration. Approximately 35-40% of measures passed in recent Congresses have been considered by this method. 

A suspension motion may be debated for 40 minutes (equally divided between a proponent and opponent); may not be amended from the floor (although the motion itself may include changes to the measure); and must pass by a two-thirds vote. The suspension procedure effectively waives all rules of the House that would prevent consideration of a measure, so that no points of order may be made against the measure on the House floor. 

Unlike other special days, the suspension procedure is not designed to grant limited privilege to a specific class of legislation or empower the House to circumvent a recalcitrant committee or leadership. The Speaker's authority with regard to suspension motions is not limited by the rules of the House. Party rules, however, establish boundaries that the Speaker is expected to observe. The rules of the Republican Conference (and previously of the Democratic Caucus) direct the Speaker not to recognize Members to move to suspend the rules for measures which would involve more than $100 million. Currently, Republican Conference rules further provide that the Speaker should not schedule any bill for consideration under the suspension procedure which does not include a cost estimate, has not been cleared by the minority, or is opposed by more than one-third of a reporting committee's members, unless the rule is waived by a majority of the party's elected leadership. 

Special Rules(8)

The House Committee on Rules is authorized to report resolutions on the order of business. These resolutions, called special rules, are privileged under Rule XI, clause 4(a), and generally provide for the House to make a measure in order for floor consideration. In effect, special rules allow the House to take a measure from the House or Union Calendar (or even one not reported by a committee), and consider it. Special rules are considered in the House under the one hour rule, but the measure covered by the special rule is typically considered in the Committee of the Whole (although consideration in the House can be specified if it is appropriate). 

Special rules set the terms and conditions for consideration of the specified measure. Special rules typically state a period for general debate on the measure as a whole, and expedite final action after the Committee of the Whole is finished with consideration. Special rules may include provisions to structure the amending process for a measure and may also waive points of order against consideration of a bill, against specified provisions, or against amendments. 

Unanimous Consent

For some non-controversial matters, the Speaker will recognize a Member to ask for unanimous consent that a measure be passed. If any member objects to the request, the measure will fail to pass. 

In this circumstance, no formal debate can take place, but Members may sometimes reserve the right to object in order to clarify the content or purposes of a measure. Unanimous consent requests can also be made to provide for consideration of a measure, although this is rare. The request may designate a procedure under which debate may take place and amendments may be offered. Typically, the Speaker will not recognize a Member to make a unanimous consent request unless it has been cleared by both the majority and minority. 

Footnotes

1. For more on Committee of the Whole, see: U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. Committee of the Whole: An Introduction. CRS Report 96-678 GOV, by Judy Schneider. Washington, 1996. 
2. For more on methods of consideration see: U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction. CRS Report 95-563 S, by Stanley Bach. Washington, 1996. 
3. The constitutional mandate that the House "shall proceed to reconsider" a vetoed bill has been interpreted as complied with by laying the bill on the table, referring it to a committee, postponing consideration to a day certain, or immediately voting on reconsideration (Cannon, Clarence. Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States, including references to provisions of the Constitution, the laws, and decisions of the United States Senate, v. VII, section 1105. Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1935). However, it is the usual, but not invariable rule, that a bill returned with the objections of the President shall be read and considered at once (Hinds, Asher C. Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States, including references to the Constitution, the laws, and decisions of the United States Senate, v. IV, sections 3534-3536. Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1907.) 
4. For more detail see: U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. A New "Corrections Calendar" for the House. CRS Report 95-722 S, by Walter J. Oleszek. Washington, 1996. 
5. Statement of Representative Gerald Solomon. Congressional Record (daily edition), v. 112, June 20, 1995. p. H6104. 
6. For more detail see: U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. The Discharge Rule in the House: Principal Features and Uses. CRS Report 96-673 GOV, by Richard S. Beth. Washington, 1996, and U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. The Discharge Rule in the House of Representatives: Procedure, History, and Statistics. CRS Report 90-84 GOV, by Richard S. Beth. Washington, 1990. 
7. For more detail see: U.S. Library of Congress. Suspension of the Rules in the House of Representatives. CRS Report 92-185 S, by Stanley Bach. Washington, 1992. 

For more detail see: U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. Special Rules in the House of Representatives. CRS Report 96-938 GOV, by Stanley Bach. Washington, 1996.