The Committee on Rules before 1911 Changes in 1911 Effect of these changes here that the power of the Committee on Rules is important and all-pervasive. As has been said, it may report at any time a special rule. This rule may determine the order of business; that is, it may interrupt the discussion of a measure and substitute another. It may do even more than that; it may limit the debate and fix the time for the final vote on the measure. It may decree that no amendments shall be offered and that the measure shall be voted on as reported, or it may designate certain sections which shall be open to certain amendments. Finally, it may substitute one measure for another, combine several measures, or prepare what is practically a new measure, on which the House must vote at a designated time. The committee, moreover, may conduct preliminary investigations preparatory to reporting a special rule to the House. It was before the Committee on Rules that the question of the "leak" of the president's message was investigated because of Mr. Lawson's sensational charges in 1916. As has been seen, it was the custom of the Republicans to vest this power in a small committee appointed by the Speaker, who was himself a member. This, with the Speaker's appointment of the other committees and his power of recognition, tended to make him all-powerful in the matter of legislation. In March, 1911, a combination of dissatisfied Republicans and Democrats altered this custom. The Committee on Rules is now elected by the House, and the Speaker is no longer a member. The number, moreover, is increased from five to ten, four from the minority and six from the majority; but the powers and functions of the committee are still the same, and thus it still has the power to direct the procedure and the form of legislation — in other words, it is still the steering committee of the House. Since, however, the members are no longer appointed by the Speaker, their election depends upon the action of the Com mittee on Committees, and the majority of the caucus. Thus the party as a whole is, formally at least, consulted. Moreover, since the development of the powers of the floor leader, powers dependent largely upon his personal ascendancy and influence over the House, the Committee on Rules cannot afford to antagonize him. The net result of the changes since 1911, therefore, has been to divide the power of the Speaker into three parts: one, and that the smallest, is retained by the Speaker; a second, and perhaps the largest and most constantly used, is given to the floor leader; while a third, and that of final authority, is wielded by the Committee on Rules. The Committee on Rules in the Senate has no such functions as has the House Committee. Special rules are unknown, and the rules committee of the Senate is charged with preparing amendments to the existing rules, which shall be of a permanent nature. The so-called steering committee of the Senate is an informal conference between influential leaders who agree among themselves what shall be done, but who have no such parliamentary status as the rules committee of the House. The Senate a continuous assembly The House of organized at the opening of each Congress CHAPTER XIII CONGRESS AT WORK (CONTINUED) THE ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS When Congress assembles either in extraordinary session or at the regularly appointed date, the Senate is a fully organized body, while the House is not. By the Constitution the terms of one third of the senators expire every two years, so that there is always a majority of the senators in office, a quorum, capable of doing business. The vice president, moreover, is the presiding officer, and holds his position independently of senatorial election; hence, except in very rare instances of disputed presidential elections, there is no question of organization before the Senate. It is quite otherwise with the House. At the end of each tives must be Congress the terms of all the members and officers expire. The present House cannot bind or prescribe the organization of the succeeding House. Only the Constitution or a statute can do that. As a result, on the assembling of Congress the House presents the curious spectacle of over four hundred members elect, having no legally recognized status and no organization. By precedent and rule, which has no legal force, the clerk of the preceding Congress prepares a temporary roll from the credentials of the members elect. In so doing he may leave off from the roll, because of contests or faulty credentials, a sufficient number to alter the party strength of the House. This was done in 1839 when the clerk, Hugh A. Garland, left off of the roll all the contestants from New Jersey, explaining that he had no authority to settle contests. By so doing he enabled his party to elect its candidate for Speaker and himself as clerk.1 1 De A. S. Alexander, History and Procedure of the House of Representatives, pp. 14-18. organization If the temporary roll call shows the presence of a quorum, Process of the clerk announces that the next business is the election of a Speaker. The election of a Speaker by a party is generally taken as evidence that the successful party controls the organization of the House. Usually the other officers, the clerk, sergeant at arms, and the doorkeeper, postmaster, and chaplain, are chosen by the adoption of a resolution declaring that the candidates named therein are elected to the respective offices. But in the 65th Congress, when the parties were almost evenly balanced, the floor leader of the Republicans demanded a special vote upon the election of each officer except the chaplain, claiming that the Democrats did not have an actual majority. elections After the Speaker is seated and has taken the oath, he ad- Contested ministers it to the members elect. Whenever objection is made to any member's taking the oath, the Speaker refuses to administer it to that member without further action of the House. In the case of a contested election the case is referred to one of the Committees on Contested Elections, or if some other objection is offered, to a special committee. THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES So far the House has been proceeding under the rather plastic code of what is known as general parliamentary procedure. The next and very important step is the adoption of the rules. Speaker Reed, however, in the 51st Congress, 1889, postponed the adoption of the rules until the contested election cases had been decided and his own party had a safe majority. Ordinarily, however, the rules of the preceding Congress are adopted, and the House proceeds to further organization. The next step is the appointment of committees. Previous to 1911 these were named by the Speaker within a few days or at once, but in 1909 (61st Congress) Speaker Cannon named only the most necessary committees and delayed further appointments until the passage of the tariff bill. In so doing he put the members of the majority upon their good behavior, to be rewarded by good committee assignments or punished by unimportant ones. Since 1911 the committees have been elected by the adoption of resolutions from each party caucus presented usually by the respective floor leaders. The rules are the opening of each adopted at Congress the results make the House a body to register the decisions The rules are The rules and precedents of the House of Representatives are complicated, the principles extremely complicated and technical and are understood fully by simple, and only a few expert parliamentarians. The principles and purposes underlying the rules, however, are exceedingly simple and direct. Briefly the rules make it possible that the majority shall have it of its leaders in its power to write its will in legislation without undue delay by the minority. At the same time certain constitutional rights are preserved to the minority and certain opportunities for criticism allowed. Nevertheless, the development of the party system, the steady increase of the size of the House, and the enormous growth of business have brought about two things more and more authority is exercised by the majority, and this authority is closely vested in a small body of leaders; and debate has been so limited and opposition so stifled that it has been said that the House has ceased to be a legislative body and has become a body for the registration of the decisions of the leaders. The development of the the rule of the majority Originally, when the membership of the House was small and rules insures mutual forbearance and courtesy prevailed between the members, procedure was simple and the rules were few. But this condition did not last long. The majority found it necessary to curb the undefined rights of the minority in order to make sure of the adoption of its policy. The whole history of the evolution. of the present system of rules and the effect of their chief revisions in 1860, 1880, and 1889 has been to make sure that the minority could always and at once be made subject to the majority, and that the majority could always bring its desired measure to vote. This was finally accomplished by the Reed rules in 1889, and since that time there has been no successful instance of long delay or obstruction by the minority. The majority rules by the rules. (1) Consideration To accomplish this, three principles have been adopted. The majority is given power (1) to decide what business shall be considered, (2) to determine in what order it shall be considered, and (3) to prevent obstruction and delay. The first protection which the majority has is the question of consideration. Rule XVI, Sect. 3, provides that "When any motion or proposition is made, the question, Will the House consider it? shall not be put unless demanded by a member." |