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1. When is the House in session?
2. How can you tell what is currently happening on the House Floor?
3. What are the customary proceedings when the House of Representatives meets?
4. What is the difference between a term of Congress and a session of Congress?
5. What is the difference between a joint session and a joint meeting?
6. How do Representatives obtain permission to speak?
7. How do Representatives introduce bills?
8. Are there time limitations on debate on the House floor?
9. How are record votes taken in the Congress?
10. What is a quorum?
11. When does a bill become "dead" or no longer open to consideration?
12. What courses are open to the President when a bill is presented to him?
13. What happens to a bill after it becomes a law?
14. What are the powers of Congress as provided in the Constitution?
15. Are there rules or precedents that govern the House?
16. Are the proceedings of the House published?
17. What organizations are included in the legislative branch?
18. What happens when a Senate vote is tied?
19. Are there any resources for students to learn about the legislative process?
1. When is the House in session?
A new Congress begins at noon January 3 of each odd-numbered
year following a general election, unless it designates a different
day by law. A Congress lasts for two years, with each year constituting
a separate session. The 108th Congress is scheduled to begin on
Friday, January 3, 2003. The Legislative Reorganization Act of
1970 requires Congress to adjourn sine die no later than July 31
of each year unless there is a declared war, or unless Congress
otherwise provides. In odd-numbered years, the Congress must take
an August recess if it fails to adjourn by July 31. Neither the
House nor the Senate may adjourn for more than three days (excluding
Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) without the concurrence of the
other Chamber. It has also become a common practice for the Congress
to adjourn after making provision for the House and Senate leaders
to summon the Congress back into session in emergency circumstances.
Similarly, the Constitution grants the President the authority to
summon the Congress for a special session if circumstances require.
View the list of House Sessions, 1789 to present
The House
and Senate Days-in-Session Calendars for the 94th through 107th
Congresses are available from the Library of Congress' Thomas Bill
and Summary service.
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2. How can you tell what is currently
happening on the House floor?
Activities on the House Floor are updated on-line
throughout the legislative day. View the current floor schedule.
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3. What are the customary proceedings
when the House of Representatives meets?
The Speaker calls the House to order, and the Sergeant
at Arms places the Mace on the pedestal at the right of the Speaker's
platform. After the Chaplain offers a prayer, the Speaker recognizes
a Member to lead the House in the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the
journal of the previous day's activities is approved, usually without
being read. Next, the Speaker may recognize a few Members to speak
briefly on matters of importance to them, for no longer than one-minute
each. The House then is ready to begin or resume consideration of
a bill, resolution, or conference report. The Committee on Rules
provides information on the general
parliamentary procedure.
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4. What is the difference between
a term of Congress and a session of Congress?
A term of Congress is two years in duration commencing
on January 3rd of each odd-numbered year. A session of Congress,
however, is the annual meeting with each term being divided into
two sessions. When Congress is actually meeting, it is said to be
"in session."
5. What is the difference between
a joint session and a joint meeting?
Congress holds joint sessions to receive addresses
from the President and to count electoral ballots for President
and Vice President. Congress also holds joint meetings to receive
addresses from such dignitaries as foreign heads of state, heads
of government, or from distinguished American citizens.
View the list of Joint
Sessions, Joint Meetings and Inaugurations, 1789 to present.
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6. How do Representatives obtain
permission to speak?
In the House, Members stand, address the presiding
officer and do not proceed until recognized to speak. The presiding
officer (the Speaker of the House, Speaker pro tempore or the chairman
in the Committee of the Whole) has the authority to ask Members
for what purpose they seek recognition. The presiding officer may
then recognize or not recognize the Member, depending upon the purpose
for which recognition was requested.
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7. How do Representatives introduce
bills?
A bill that is to be introduced is typed on a special
House form and signed by the Representative who will introduce it.
A Representative may introduce a bill any time the House is in session
by placing it in a special box known as the "hopper," which is located
on the Clerk's desk on the House floor. How
Our Laws Are Made at the Thomas Web site provides additional
information on the legislative process.
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8. Are there time limitations on
debate on the House floor?
In the House, a matter may undergo one hour of debate,
usually equally divided between the majority and the minority without
unanimous consent. Moreover, the majority can call for the "previous
question," and bring the pending matter to an immediate vote. Non-legislative
debate is limited to one-minute per Member at the beginning of the
day and up to one hour per Member at the end of the day. In the
Committee of the Whole, the period of time spent in general debate
is determined and apportioned in advance. Amendments are subject
to the five-minute per side rule, but can extend beyond 10 minutes
of debate per amendment. A non-debatable motion to close debate
is in order to end debate on any specific amendment and bring it
to a vote.
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9. How are record votes taken in
the Congress?
Most votes are taken by a simple voice method, in
which the yeas and nays are called out, respectively. It is the
judgment of the chair as to which are greater in number determines
the vote. If a recorded vote is desired, a sufficient second must
support it. The Constitution simply provides that "the yeas and
nays of the Members of either House on any question shall at the
desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the Journal."
One-fifth of a quorum is deemed to be 44 in the House (one-fifth
of 218). Since 1973, the House has used an electronic
voting system to reduced the time consumed in voting, and permits
a minimum of 15 minutes to complete a vote.
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10. What is a quorum?
A quorum in the House of Representatives is when a
majority of the Members are present. When there are no vacancies
in the membership, a quorum is 218. When one or more seats are vacant,
because of deaths or resignations, the quorum is reduced accordingly.
Because of Members' other duties, a quorum often is not present
on the House floor. But any Member may insist that a quorum must
participate in any vote that takes place in the House. If a member
makes a point of order that a quorum is not present, and the Speaker
agrees, a series of bells ring on the House side of the Capitol
and in the House office buildings to alert Members to come to the
Chamber and record their presence.
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11. When does a bill become "dead"
or no longer open to consideration?
A bill may be introduced at any point during a two-year
Congress. It will remain eligible for consideration throughout the
duration of that Congress until the Congress ends or adjourns sine
die.
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12. What courses are open to the President
when a bill is presented to him?
The President has three choices:
To sign it promptly, whereupon it becomes a law.
The President may veto the bill, returning it
to Congress with his stated objections and without a signature
of approval. In this case, Congress may override the veto with
a two-thirds vote in each House. The bill would then become a
law despite the President's veto.
The President may hold it without taking action.
In this case, it becomes law after the expiration of 10 days (excluding
Sundays) without the President's signature if Congress is in session;
or it does not become law if Congress has adjourned (this is called
a "pocket veto").
View the list of Presidential
Vetoes, 1789-present.
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13. What happens to a bill after it
becomes a law?
The provisions of the law take effect immediately
unless the law itself provides for another date. The law will also
specify which executive departments or agencies are empowered to
carry it out or enforce it. The actual written document is sent
to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), an independent
government agency, where it is given a number and published in individual
form as a "slip law." At the end of each session of Congress, these
are consolidated in a bound volume called U.S. Statutes at Large.
In addition, all permanent, general laws currently in force are
included in the Code of Laws of the United States of America, commonly
called the U.S. Code. The Office of Law Revision Counsel, part of
the institutional structure of the House, is responsible for preparing
and issuing annual supplements to keep the Code up to date. The
Office
of Law Revision Council provides information on the U.S. Code.
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14. What are the powers of Congress
as provided in the Constitution?
The Constitution (Article I, Section 8) empowers the
Congress to levy taxes, collect revenue, pay debts and provide for
the general welfare; borrow money; regulate interstate and foreign
commerce; establish uniform rules of naturalization and bankruptcy;
coin money and regulate its value; punish counterfeits; establish
a postal system; enact patent and copyright laws; establish Federal
courts inferior to the Supreme Court; declare war; provide for Armed
Forces; impeach and try Federal officers (Section 2 and 3); and
to have exclusive legislative power over the District of Columbia.
In Article II, Section 2, the Senate is given the power to consent
to ratification of treaties and confirm the nomination of public
officials. Congress is also given the power to enact such laws as
may be "necessary and proper" to implement its mandate in Article
I, and in certain amendments to the Constitution.
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15. Are there rules or precedents
that govern the House?
The Constitution (Article I, Section 5) provides that
each House "determine the Rules of its Proceedings." These resulting
rules and procedures are spelled out in detailed procedural manuals
for each Chamber.
During the first session of each Congress, the House
Committee on Rules publishes the House
Rules and Manual,
formally entitled Constitution, Jefferson's Manual,
and Rules of the House of Representatives. This document
contains each clause of the rules, a summary of recent changes in
the House's rules, annotated texts of the Constitution, excerpts
from Thomas Jefferson's Manual of Parliamentary Practice,
and provisions of law that establish procedures for the House to
act on congressional disapproval resolutions.
In addition to the House Rules, the Representatives
are governed by the ways in which these rules have been interpreted
over the years and applied to various kinds of activities. These
precedents
include an exhaustive compilation of procedural rulings and interpretations,
accompanied by summaries of the events producing them and often
including relevant excerpts from the Congressional Record.
Deschler's
Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives identify
precedents and practices of the House from 1936-1986. Compilation
of volumes 1-9 of this series was initially undertaken by the late
House parliamentarian Lewis Deschler. Precedents and practices since
1986 have been published under the title Deschler-Brown Precedents
of the U.S. House of Representatives, which begins with volume
10. Currently, the series is compiled by parliamentarian emeritus
William Holmes Brown.
Hinds'
and Cannon's Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives
provides an historical overview and in-depth description of
House precedents during the period 1789 through 1936. This multivolume
series was compiled by two House parliamentarians who later became
Congressmen (Clarence A. Cannon, D-MO, and Asher S. Hinds, R-ME).
The Government Printing Office provides full text
of Deschler's, Hinds' and Cannon's Precedents.
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16. Are the proceedings of the
House published?
By Constitutional requirement, the House keeps a journal
of its proceedings. The House Journal does not report debates,
it only reports the bare parliamentary proceedings of the Chamber.
In addition, the House Journal contains minimal information
about actions taken by the House when meeting as a Committee of
the Whole, because any action taken there is not official unless
and until it is ratified by the full House.
The Congressional Record contains a record,
taken stenographically, of everything said on the floor of both
the House and the Senate, including roll call votes on all questions.
Members are permitted to edit and revise the transcripts of their
spoken remarks. An appendix contains material not spoken on the
floor but inserted by permission - referred to as the "extension
of remarks." It also carries a brief resume of the congressional
activities of the previous day, as well as a future legislative
program and a list of scheduled committee hearings.
The House
Journal and the Congressional
Record are available online via GPO Access.
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17. What organizations are included in the legislative branch?
In addition
to the U.S. Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate,
the legislative branch includes the Architect
of the Capitol, the Government
Printing Office (GPO), the Library
of Congress, and the legislative support agencies. The Architect's principal
duties involve the construction, maintenance, and renovation of the Capitol
Building as well as the congressional office buildings and other structures
in the Capitol complex. The GPO publishes the Congressional Record, congressional
committee hearings and reports, and other congressional documents, as well
as a substantial portion of executive branch publications. The Library of
Congress, in addition to providing library services, research and analysis
to the Congress, is also viewed as a national library but is not officially
the national library. The three support agencies include the Congressional
Budget Office (CBO), Congressional
Research Service (CRS) at the Library of Congress, and the General
Accounting Office (GAO). On occasion, temporary advisory commissions
are established and funded by the legislative branch.
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18. What happens when a Senate vote is tied?
The Vice President of the United States votes to break ties in the Senate.
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19. Are there any resources for students to learn about the legislative process?
Check out the Learning Center at the Clerk's Kids in the House Web
site. Here, students are able to learn about the American government,
House members and committees, House history, and how laws are made.
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