Encyclopedia of Congress - Committee of the Whole
1
O'Brien, David M. Constitutional Law and Politics: Strug- gles for Power and Governmental Accountability. 2d ed . 1994. , U. S. Advi sory Commission on Intergovernmental Rela- tions. Federal Statutory Pr eemption of State and Local Authority: History, Inventory, and Issues. 1992. DAVID M. O'BRIEN COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. Known as the Committee of the Whole, the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union is the House of Representatives meeting as if it were a committee on which each member of the House serves. ( The procedural device is employed fre- quently in the House but has been abandoned by the Senate.) This alternative debate forum is uti- lized to take advantage of more expeditious rules of procedure. The Committee of the Whole continues to meet in the same chamber, but other changes signal the shift. When the House transforms itself into the Com- mittee, the mace is moved to a lower position on the rostrum. The Speaker leaves the chair and a majority party member is instead designated to preside over the Committee. Members seeking recognition from the chair change the form of ad- dress from (or Madam) Speaker" to (or Madam) .The most significant changes are procedural. First, the quorum requirement in the Committee is only 100 members, whereas 218 are needed to con- stitute a quorum in the House. Second, obtaining a recorded vote in the Committee requires a suffi- cient second of 25 members. In the House, one-fifth of those present must approve taking a vote for the record. If a quorum is present, the sufficient second is 44, rising even higher when more than 218 mem- bers are on the floor. Third, consideration of a measure is more flexible in the Committee of the Whole. The one-hour rule of debate governs in the House, permitting up to one hour per question. In the Committee, however, general debate is provided for by the unanimous consent of the House or pursuant to a special rule from the House Rules Committee. It can range from one hour to several hours in length. Overall, the Committee spends most of its time in the amending process, where the five-minute rule pre- vails: five minutes for the proponents, five for the opponents. On controversial questions, the period for debate and amending is frequently extended by unanimous consent or by offering of pro forma COMMITTEES: An Overview 409 amendments, which are amendments in form only, that is, their only purpose is to obtain debate time. The use of the Committee of the Whole has been accepted House practice since 1789. The purpose behind its use has changed considerably over time, however. Its antecedents were fo und in the English parliamentary practice of concealing proceedings from the Speaker, who was viewed with suspicion as a conduit to the Crown. Man y colonial legisla- tures as well as the Continental Congress utilized a committee of the whole to provide members with a temporary forum in which debate could be exer- cised in a freer manner. Until the early 1800s, the House of Representatives used the Committee of the Whole to work out the broad outlines of a leg- islative proposal, which would then be sent to a se- lect committee for further refinement. After the se- lect committee completed its work, the Committee of the Whole would again meet to debate and amend the measure before the House would vote on it. In modem House practice, use of the Com- mittee is limited to this final stage of consideration: debate and amending up to the point of final pas- sage. In the Senate, the use of Committee of the Whole for the consideration of legislative measures was abolished in 1930, and its use for the consider- ation of treaties ended in 1986. [See also Amending; Five-Minute Rule.] BffiLIOGRAPHY Alexander, De Alva Stanwood . History and Procedure of the Ho us e of Representatives. 1916. Pp. 256- 272. Nickels, Tiona B. Committee of the Whole: An Introduc- tion. Congressional Resear ch Service, Library of Con- gress. CRS Rept. 85-943. 1985. U.S. House of Representatives. Desc hl er 's Pr ecede nt s of the United States House of Representatives, by Lewis Deschler. 94th Cong., 2d sess., 1977. H. Do c. 94-661. Vol. 5,chap. 19,pp.39-286. ILONA B. NICKELS COMMITTEES. [This entry includes nine sepa- rate articles on the role, formation, operation, and types of congressional committees: An Overview Assignment of Members Committee Hearings Committee Jurisdictions Markups Committee Reports Standing Committees Select and Special Committees Joint Committees
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COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. Known asthe Committee of the Whole, the Committee of theWhole House on the State of the Union is theHouse of Representatives meeting as if it were acommittee on which each member of the Houseserves. (The procedural device is employed frequentlyin the House but has been abandoned bythe Senate.) This alternative debate forum is utilizedto take advantage of more expeditious rules ofprocedure. The Committee of the Whole continuesto meet in the same chamber, but other changessignal the shift.When the House transforms itself into the Committee,the mace is moved to a lower position onthe rostrum. The Speaker leaves the chair and amajority party member is instead designated topreside over the Committee. Members seekingrecognition from the chair change the form of addressfrom ~~Mister (or Madam) Speaker" to ~~Mister(or Madam) Chairman .~~.The most significant changes are procedural.First, the quorum requirement in the Committee isonly 100 members, whereas 218 are needed to constitutea quorum in the House. Second, obtaining arecorded vote in the Committee requires a sufficientsecond of 25 members. In the House, one-fifthof those present must approve taking a vote for therecord. If a quorum is present, the sufficient secondis 44, rising even higher when more than 218 membersare on the floor.Third, consideration o
Transcript of Encyclopedia of Congress - Committee of the Whole
-
O'Brien, David M. Constitutional Law and Politics: Strug-gles for Power and Governmental Accountability. 2d ed. 1994. ,
U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Rela-tions. Federal Statutory Preemption of State and Local Authority: History, Inventory, and Issues. 1992.
DAVID M. O'BRIEN
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. Known as the Committee of the Whole, the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union is the House of Representatives meeting as if it were a committee on which each member of the House serves. (The procedural device is employed fre-quently in the House but has been abandoned by the Senate.) This alternative debate forum is uti-lized to take advantage of more expeditious rules of procedure. The Committee of the Whole continues to meet in the same chamber, but other changes signal the shift.
When the House transforms itself into the Com-mittee, the mace is moved to a lower position on the rostrum. The Speaker leaves the chair and a majority party member is instead designated to preside over the Committee. Members seeking recognition from the chair change the form of ad-dress from ~~Mister (or Madam) Speaker" to ~~Mister (or Madam) Chairman.~~
.The most significant changes are procedural. First, the quorum requirement in the Committee is only 100 members, whereas 218 are needed to con-stitute a quorum in the House. Second, obtaining a recorded vote in the Committee requires a suffi-cient second of 25 members. In the House, one-fifth of those present must approve taking a vote for the record. If a quorum is present, the sufficient second is 44, rising even higher when more than 218 mem-bers are on the floor.
Third, consideration of a measure is more flexible in the Committee of the Whole. The one-hour rule of debate governs in the House, permitting up to one hour per question. In the Committee, however, general debate is provided for by the unanimous consent of the House or pursuant to a special rule from the House Rules Committee. It can range from one hour to several hours in length. Overall, the Committee spends most of its time in the amending process, where the five-minute rule pre-vails: five minutes for the proponents, five for the opponents. On controversial questions, the period for debate and amending is frequently extended by unanimous consent or by offering of pro forma
COMMITTEES: An Overview 409
amendments, which are amendments in form only, that is, their only purpose is to obtain debate time.
The use of the Committee of the Whole has been accepted House practice since 1789. The purpose behind its use has changed considerably over time, however. Its antecedents were found in the English parliamentary practice of concealing proceedings from the Speaker, who was viewed with suspicion as a conduit to the Crown. Many colonial legisla-tures as well as the Continental Congress utilized a committee of the whole to provide members with a temporary forum in which debate could be exer-cised in a freer manner. Until the early 1800s, the House of Representatives used the Committee of the Whole to work out the broad outlines of a leg-islative proposal, which would then be sent to a se-lect committee for further refinement. After the se-lect committee completed its work, the Committee of the Whole would again meet to debate and amend the measure before the House would vote on it. In modem House practice, use of the Com-mittee is limited to this final stage of consideration: debate and amending up to the point of final pas-sage. In the Senate, the use of Committee of the Whole for the consideration of legislative measures was abolished in 1930, and its use for the consider-ation of treaties ended in 1986.
[See also Amending; Five-Minute Rule.]
BffiLIOGRAPHY Alexander, De Alva Stanwood. History and Procedure of
the House of Representatives. 1916. Pp. 256- 272. Nickels, Tiona B. Committee of the Whole: An Introduc-
tion. Congressional Research Service, Library of Con-gress. CRS Rept. 85-943. 1985.
U.S. House of Representatives. Deschler's Precedents of the United States House of Representatives, by Lewis Deschler. 94th Cong., 2d sess., 1977. H. Doc. 94-661. Vol. 5,chap. 19,pp.39-286.
ILONA B. NICKELS
COMMITTEES. [This entry includes nine sepa-rate articles on the role, formation, operation, and types of congressional committees:
An Overview Assignment of Members Committee Hearings Committee Jurisdictions Markups Committee Reports Standing Committees Select and Special Committees Joint Committees
