Summary
The Rules Committee has two broad categories of jurisdiction: special orders for the consideration of legislation (known as “special rules” or “rules”) and original jurisdiction matters. A special rule provides the terms and conditions of debate on a measure or matter, consideration of which constitutes the bulk of the work of the Rules Committee. The Committee also considers original jurisdiction measures, which commonly represent changes to the standing rules of the House, or measures that contain special rules, such as the expedited procedures in trade legislation.
The Committee has the authority to do virtually anything during the course of consideration of a measure, including deeming it passed. The Committee can also include a self- executed amendment which could rewrite just parts of a bill, or the entire measure. In essence, so long as a majority of the House is willing to vote for a special rule, there is little that the Rules Committee cannot do.
Senate Counterpart: Rules Committee (Senate)
Subcommittees:
- Legislative and Budget Process
- Rules and the Organization of the House
Chair: Tom Cole, Oklahoma (R)
Ranking Member: Jim McGovern, Massachusetts (D)
Majority Staff Director: Kelly Dixon Chambers
Minority Staff Director: Donald Sisson
Meeting Location: H-312, The Capitol, Washington, D.C. 20515; Phone: (202) 225-9191
Featured Video: Rules Committee Meeting on H.R. 4373, H.R. 4346 and H.R. 4505 Part 2 – July 28, 2021
Web Links
OnAir Post: Rules Committee (House)
News
Press Releases and news can be found here at the committee website.
Jewish Insider, – September 15, 2021
The House Rules Committee will vote next week on which amendments will receive floor consideration
Among the more than 800 amendments to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act submitted for possible consideration on the House floor next week, more than a dozen address Middle East issues, including the U.S.-Israel relationship and Iran.
The proposed amendments must first be approved by the House Rules Committee, which will likely meet early next week, before receiving consideration on the House floor. The amendment submission period closed on Tuesday afternoon.
Two amendments propose new programs promoting U.S.-Israeli technology cooperation, including funding for joint cybersecurity partnerships and a joint artificial intelligence center. Both programs were introduced earlier this year as separate bipartisan bills in the House and Senate.
About
Special Rule Process
The process for reporting a special rule is a mixture of House rules, committee rules, and long-established practice.
- The committee of jurisdiction sends a letter requesting a hearing by the Rules Committee. The letter usually includes a request that a hearing be scheduled, a stipulation of the type of special rule desired, the amount of debate time needed, and any waivers of House rules necessary for consideration of the bill.
- Rules Committee holds a hearing where the witnesses are the Members of the House who sit on the committee of jurisdiction or want to offer amendments.
- Rules Committee marks up a special rule. The Rules Committee, in consultation with the majority leadership and the substantive committee chairmen, determines the type of rule to be granted, including the amount of general debate, the amendment process, and waivers to be granted, if any.
- The special rule is reported and filed. Special rules must be filed from the floor while the House is in session.
- The special rule is considered and debated in the House. After a one-day layover, special rules may be considered on the House floor at any time. A two-thirds vote is necessary to consider a special rule on the same day that it is reported. The rule is debated under the hour rule. Special rules reported by the Rules Committee are debated under a House rule that permits Members specifically recognized by the Chair to hold the floor for no more than one hour. The hour is managed by the majority party member of the Rules Committee calling up the rule, not the committee that reported the underlying bill. Out of custom, one-half the time is yielded to a minority member of the Rules Committee. At the end of debate, the previous question is put to a vote in order to cut off further debate, prevent the offering of additional amendments to the rule, and bring the special rule to an immediate vote.
Source: Committee website
Special Rule Types
Rules are traditionally referred to along a spectrum, where on one end they are open and the other they are closed. While there is wide variation in the middle, there are certain standard kinds of rules.
Open Rules—permit the offering of any amendment that otherwise complies with House rules, and allows debate under the 5-minute rule.
Modified-Open Rules—operate much like an open rule, but have some restriction on the “universe” of amendments, either through a pre-printing requirement or an overall time limit on consideration of amendments.
Structured Rules—specify that only certain amendments may be considered and specify the time for debate.
Closed Rules—effectively eliminate the opportunity to consider amendments, other than those reported by the committee reporting the bill.
Source: Committee website
Members
Republican Members (Majority)
Chair: Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK)
Michael Burgess (R-TX), Vice Chair
Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA)
Michelle Fischbach (R-MN)
Thomas Massie (R-KY)
Ralph Norman (R-SC)
Chip Roy (R-TX)
Erin Houchin (R-IN)
Nicholas A. Langworthy (R-NY)
Democratic Members (Minority)
Ranking Member: Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA)
Joe Neguse (D-CO)
Teresa Leger Fernández(D-NM)
Contact
Locations
Rules Committee (House)
H-312 The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-9091
Phone: (202) 225-9091
Fax: (202) 226-9191
Web Links
- Government Site
- Congress.Gov
- House Telephone Directory
- OnAir Post: Rules Committee (House)
- Senate Committee on Rules
- Chair, Tom Cole
- Ranking Member, im McGovern
- Wikipedia
Legislation
Bills
Source: Committee website
Subcommittees
Legislative and Budget Process
Source: Committee website
The subcommittee has general responsibility for measures or matters within the Rules Committee’s jurisdiction related to relations between the Congress and the Executive Branch – most notably, the budget process.
Republican Members (Majority)
Chair: Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), Chair
Tom Cole (R-OK)
Ralph Norman (R-SC), Vice Chair
Chip Roy (R-TX)
Nicholas A. Langworthy (R-NY)
Democratic Members (Minority)
Ranking Member: Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM)
Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO)
Rules and Organization of the House
Source: Committee website
The subcommittee has general responsibility for measures or matters within the Rules Committee’s jurisdiction related to process and procedures of the House, relations between the two Houses of Congress, relations between the Congress and the Judiciary, and internal operations of the House.
Republican Members (Majority)
Chair: Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-TX), Chair
Tom Cole (R-OK)
Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Vice Chair
Thomas Massie (R-KY)
Erin Houchin (R-IN)
Democratic Members (Minority)
Ranking Member: Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA)
James P. McGovern (D-MA)
More Information
Rules and Resources
Source: Committee website
Campaign Finance
Source: Open Secrets webpages
