The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction

Publication Date: October 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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With very few exceptions, the House determines and enforces its own procedures for considering legislation on the floor. Its standing rules include several alternative sets of procedures for acting on individual bills and resolutions. The choices made among these procedures usually depend on how important and controversial each measure is. In general, though, all these procedures permit a majority of Members to work their will without excessive delays.

The House passes many bills by motions to suspend the rules, with limited debate and no floor amendments, but only with the support of at least two-thirds of the Members voting. The Corrections Calendar also enables the House to act expeditiously on bills that enjoy widespread support. Most major bills first are considered in Committee of the Whole before being passed by a simple majority vote of the House. The Committee of the Whole is governed by more flexible procedures than the basic rules of the House, under which a majority can vote to pass a bill after only one hour of debate and with no floor amendments. The Rules Committee is instrumental in recommending procedures for considering major bills, and may propose restrictions on the floor amendments that Members can offer.

The daily order of business on the House floor is governed by standing rules that make certain matters and actions privileged for consideration, and by House decisions to grant other individual bills privileged access to the floor, usually upon recommendation of the Rules Committee. Although a quorum is supposed to be present on the floor when the House is conducting business, the House assumes a quorum is present unless a quorum call or electronically recorded vote demonstrates that it is not. However, the standing rules preclude quorum calls at most times other than when the House is voting. Questions are first decided by voice vote, though any Member then may demand a division vote. Before the final result of a voice or division vote is announced, Members can secure an electronically recorded vote instead, if enough Members desire it or if a quorum is not present in the House.