Availability of Legislative Proposals in the House of Representatives (The "Three-Day Rule")

Publication Date: January 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Research Area: Government

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Abstract:

House rules govern the length of time legislative proposals must be available to Members prior to being considered on the floor. For measures reported from committee, the committee report must have been available for three calendar days. Conference reports must also have been available for three calendar days, and special rules for considering measures for one legislative day. The House, however, also has several means by which it can choose to waive these availability requirements and call up, debate, and vote on a measure in a single calendar day, even if the text of the measure was not made available prior to consideration. These include (1) special rules that waive the three-day requirement; (2) special rules that waive the one-day requirement for other special rules; and (3) convening a second legislative day on the same calendar day. Waiving availability requirements allows the House to act quickly when necessary, such as near the end of a session. Sometimes Members oppose waiving availability requirements, and some Members refer to special rules that serve this purpose as "martial law" rules. This report will be updated if pertinent rules change.