Suspension of the Rules (Cl. 1-3, Rule XXVII) A number of bills reported by committees, although not completely without opposition, are basically of a noncontroversial nature. In order to assure more rapid consideration of such measures, the House has devised a method of disposing of such legislation outside the regular course of business. This method is by a procedure called "Suspension of the Rules," sometimes referred to erroneously as the "Suspension Calendar." A bill to be considered under Suspension of the Rules thus bypasses consideration by the Rules Committee and, in effect, "suspends the Rules" for its consideration on the House Floor. In other words, a point of order raised against a bill on the House Floor (e.g., absence of a quorum to report a bill out of committee) would not be valid under the Suspension procedure. Once a bill has been reported by the full Committee, the Chairman, in consultation with the Subcommittee Chairman, and usually with the agreement of the ranking Minority Member, decides if Suspension of the Rules is the best route to take for Floor consideration of the legislation. $100 Million Ceiling Guideline Effective January 3, 1979, the Rules of the Democratic Caucus are amended to require that if any cost estimate of the bill, made by the committee or any other government agency, indicates that the bill or resolution will make or authorize appropriations in excess of $100 million, such estimate must be included in the letter to the Speaker requesting consideration under Suspension of the Rules. Theoretically, this $100 million figure has been set as a ceiling guideline for the Speaker and Committee Chairmen to follow in determining whether a bill should be considered by the Suspension procedure. In the event that a cost estimate over $100 million has been made on the bill and the Committee Chairman feels consideration by Suspension procedure is justified, then such request, including the cost estimate, should be submitted to the Speaker. The Speaker may then request the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee to review the request. The Steering and Policy Committee may, by vote of the full Committee, authorize the scheduling of such measure under Suspension of the Rules. Requesting Consideration Under Suspension Procedure To request consideration under Suspension of the the Chairman of the full Committee. The letter is usually prepared by the Legislative Clerk. In any event, it is routed through the Director's office for the Chairman's approval. The letter should contain the following information: 1. 2. 3. 4. Brief description of the bill Statement that Committee properly reported the bill Statement that there is little or no opposition to Cost estimate made by Committee or government agency, if in excess of $100 million for any fiscal year A copy of the bill and legislative report should accompany the letter. Copies of the letter should be sent to: 1. Rules Committee Chairman 2. 3. 4. Majority Leader Minority Leader Pertinent Staff (Director, General Counsel, Chief The Speaker has complete discretion in deciding what bills will be considered under Suspension of the Rules, unless a cost estimate in excess of $100 million has been made by the Committee or any other government agency on the bill; in such a case, final authorization for consideration under Suspension of the Rules is made by the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. (This phenomenon is described above.) Notification of Scheduling Notification of the scheduling of a bill under Suspension of the Rules will be made to the Director's office, who will notify the Subcommittee staff involved. Floor Procedure Under Suspension The Suspension procedure is reserved for Mondays and Tuesdays of each week, or during the last six days of the Suspension of the Rules cont'd. session. The motion is made on the House Floor to suspend the Rules and pass a bill. If the bill that is to be considered has not been available to Members for at least 1 legislative day, this motion must be seconded by a majority of the Members present on the House Floor. Forty minutes of debate take place on the bill, twenty minutes to those in favor of the bill, and twenty minutes to those opposed to the bill. The affirmative vote of 2/3 of the Members voting, a quorum (of the Whole House) being present, is necessary to pass the legislation. Amendments While it is often assumed that a bill being considered under Suspension may not be amended, this is not strictly accurate. To amend a bill the Member making the motion to suspend must include in his motion the amendment, which is read by the Clerk as part of the original bill to which the motion applies. The bill with the amendment must then be disposed of in its entirety. Voting The Speaker is authorized to postpone votes on suspensions until a later time during the day when all suspensions can be voted on consecutively in 5-minute intervals. Such announcement must be made by the Speaker prior to the commencement of the suspension procedure. Failure of Passage In the event that a bill fails to receive 2/3 affirmative vote of the Members voting (a quorum of the whole House being present), it is in order to request a Rule from the Rules Committee in order to obtain Floor consideration. Committee," page 66). (See "Rules UNDER SUSPENSION OF RULES . COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515 March 19, 1979 Honorable Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Speaker of the House U.S. House of Representatives Dear Mr. Speaker: The Committee on Science and Technology has ordered favorably reported the bill H.R. 2277, Federal Aviation Administration Research and Development Authorization of Appropriations for fiscal year 1980. The legislative report to accompany the above cited bill will be filed on Monday, March 19, 1979. H.R. 2277 will authorize $75.1 million to the Federal Aviation Administration for fiscal year 1980. Because the bill is non-controversial and is supported by the Administration, the committee feels that action by the House can be expedited by consideration under the Suspension of Rules. Therefore, I respectfully request that H.R. 2277 be scheduled under the Suspension of Rules at the earliest practicable date. I have also advised Chairman Bolling of the Rules Committee of our intention regarding this legislation. Your attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated. Preparation for Legislative Debate In anticipation of Floor consideration of legislation, your subcommittee will prepare materials to be used by the Members in legislative debate. These materials may include: The Whip Advisory is a brief summary of a bill that is to be considered on the Floor of the House. The Majority Whip's office will request the draft Whip Advisory from the committee after the bill has been tentatively scheduled for Floor action. The Subcommittee handling the legislation prepares the Whip Advisory, following the general format of the attached sample. The Advisory should be a concise summary of the legislation, highlighting the following information: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Committee action on the bill Rules Committee action Summary of the legislation Background of the legislation Cost of the legislation Anticipated amendments Floor Manager(s) (i.e., Majority Member (s) of The draft Whip Advisory should be cleared by the Chairman through the Director. The Whip's office picks up the draft advisory, makes their changes and returns the draft to the committee for final approval. The Whip Advisory is sent to all Members' and committee offices by the Whip's office. Committee distribution of Whip Advisory is as follows: Director, General Counsel, Chief Clerk, Minority Staff Director, Subcommittee, and Legislative Clerk Whip Advisories are also prepared for conference reports. |