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For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.
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416876

RESOLUTION OF THE HOUSE, FEBRUARY 24, 1931

House Resolution 374

Resolved, That the House Rules and Manual of the House of Representatives for the Seventy-second Congress be printed as a House document, and that 2,500 copies be printed and bound for the use of the House of Representatives.

PREFACE

The parliamentary practice of the House of Representatives emanates from four sources: First, the Constitution of the United States; second, from Jefferson's Manual; third, from the rules adopted by the House itself from the beginning of its existence; and, fourth, from the decisions of the Speakers of the House and from decisions of the Chairmen of the Committee of the Whole.

In the early history of the House the membership of that body frequently found it difficult to accomplish the purposes upon which they had determined. The Constitution directed the House to do certain things in a specified manner, and to do things not set forth specifically it gave the House carte blanche to make such rules as it thought necessary to carry out the purposes of a legislative body. The early Congresses, therefore, naturally borrowed from the English Parliament many of its practices. In the years following, these practices were adapted to meet the needs of our then youthful House. Special needs of the House have caused some of the motions adopted from the English system to lose their original form and purpose. They have evolved into a distinctly American system of procedure.

In the years from 1797 to 1801 Thomas Jefferson, then Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate, prepared the notable work which has come to be known as Jefferson's Manual. This work contributed greatly to the procedure of the House, although it was not until 1837 that the House finally adopted a rule, which is still in existence, permitting the provisions of the Manual "to govern the House in all cases to which they are applicable."

From the beginning of the First Congress the House has formulated rules for its procedure. Some of them have since gone out of existence. More of them have been amplified and broadened to meet the exigencies that have arisen from time to time. To-day they are perhaps the most finely adjusted, scientifically balanced, and highly technical rules of any parliamentary body of the world. Under them a majority may work its will at all times in the face of the most determined and vigorous opposition of a minority.

The rulings of the Speakers of the House and of the Chairmen of the Committee of the Whole are to the rules of the House what the decisions of the courts are to the statutes. It is rare, indeed, for a question to arise that has not been decided at some prior time. All of these decisions have been embodied in the monumental work of Mr. Asher C. Hinds and the supplement to Hinds' Precedents which is at present being compiled by the Hon. Clarence Cannon, formerly Parliamentarian of the House. These rulings, which aggregate more than 10,000, cover practically every situation that may arise.

I think that I am not making too broad a statement when I say that the parliamentary practice of the House is a system of procedure that ranks second to none. It has proven adequate to meet all the emergencies that have arisen in the past. It will meet the emergencies and problems of the future with the same degree of success.

In this edition of the House Rules and Manual are embodied the four sources from which the parliamentary system of the House is derived. The major changes to be found in this edition are the following: Rule XI, clause 48, a new paragraph providing for the meeting of committees; Rule XI, clause 49, also a new paragraph making the rules of the House applicable to committee procedure; Rule XXIV, clause 7, an amendment to this clause limiting the call of

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committees on Calendar Wednesday to one Wednesday instead of two, as formerly, and also adding a new proviso to the effect that the call of committees shall proceed seriatim throughout a Congress; Rule XI, clause 45, an amendment providing that adverse reports from the Committee on Rules may be called up as privileged on days when motions to discharge committees are in order; Rule XXVII, clause 4, changing the old motion "to instruct a committee to report" to a motion "to discharge a committee" from further consideration of a bill or joint resolution, and making 145 signatures the requisite number necessary to have the motion placed on the Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees in lieu of the 218 signatures required by the old rule; and, Rule XXVIII, clause 11⁄2 a. A new proviso affecting conferees in that a motion to discharge House conferees shall be privileged after the expiration of 20 calendar days. Rulings of the Speakers and of Chairmen of the Committee of the Whole which are of significance have been inserted under the rule which governed the decision of the Chair. References are to Hinds' Precedents, the Congressional Record, and the Supreme Court Reporter.

DECEMBER 8, 1931.

LEWIS DESCHLER.

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