{ "id": "R42395", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R42395", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 586780, "date": "2017-06-28", "retrieved": "2019-04-18T15:44:32.528082", "title": "A Retrospective of House Rules Changes Since the 110th Congress", "summary": "One of the majority party\u2019s prerogatives is writing House rules and using its numbers to effect the chamber\u2019s rules on the day a new House convenes. Because all Members of the House stand for election every two years, the Members-elect constitute a new House that must adopt rules at the convening of each Congress. Although a new House largely adopts the chamber rules that existed in the previous Congress, it also adopts changes to those rules. Institutional and political developments during the preceding Congress inform rules changes that a party continuing in the majority might make. Those same developments, perhaps over the whole time that a party was in the minority, inform rules changes when the minority party wins enough seats to become the majority party and organize the House.\nThis report analyzes rules changes made on only the opening day of the 110th, 111th, 112th, 113th, 114th, and 115th Congresses (the Congresses convening in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, respectively), with references in footnotes to other selected legislation and actions during these Congresses that also affected House rules. Freestanding legislation such as the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act or a budget resolution can change House rules in consequential ways. \nChanges made by Democrats after they took majority control in the 110th Congress and by Republicans after they took majority control in the 112th Congress reflected critiques of the other party\u2019s management of the House. Democrats emphasized changes to ethics rules and laws in their new majority beginning in the 110th Congress, and Republicans emphasized changes to legislative procedures in their new majority beginning in the 112th Congress. Both parties also addressed budget policymaking, in both rules changes and separate orders.\nMost standing rules, however, did not change, at all or substantially, under either party because the rules reflect decades of experience with majority control of the House. Most of the changes that were made in each of the six Congresses covered in this report were incremental and, largely, grounded in experience. Changes, nonetheless, have touched the committee system and its procedures, the floor of the House, budgetary legislation, the administration of the House, and ethical norms of conduct. Rules facilitate the majority\u2019s organization and operation of the House; they do not dictate to party leaders and others how to run the House\u2014their policy goals or procedural and political strategy\u2014or determine what outcomes can be achieved.\nThis report is the second in a series on House rules changes at the beginning of a Congress. For changes in the 104th through the 109th Congresses, see CRS Report RL33610, A Retrospective of House Rules Changes Since the 104th Congress through the 109th Congress, by Michael L. Koempel and Judy Schneider.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42395", "sha1": "776e4d1fe88f932c34add39288c8cde7a6cd30e5", "filename": "files/20170628_R42395_776e4d1fe88f932c34add39288c8cde7a6cd30e5.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/18.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/1.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/12.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/7.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/2.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/0.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/15.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_cc4937c087d036f934e624290238eecf9f2038ed.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/9.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/14.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/8.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/20.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_cc4937c087d036f934e624290238eecf9f2038ed.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/6.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/19.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/21.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_cc4937c087d036f934e624290238eecf9f2038ed.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/4.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/10.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/17.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/16.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/3.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/13.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/11.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42395_files&id=/5.png": "files/20170628_R42395_images_ec63b6d280121e158c718f6cfb74e27e72d085e0.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42395", "sha1": "2bef32b5b9fcf941d2a0dff70e31737fd27ab14c", "filename": "files/20170628_R42395_2bef32b5b9fcf941d2a0dff70e31737fd27ab14c.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4746, "name": "House Floor Procedure" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4777, "name": "Congressional Operations, Leadership, & Funding" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4808, "name": "Congressional Committee Procedure" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4900, "name": "Budget & Appropriations Procedure" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4924, "name": "Congressional Ethics & Lobbying" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 453408, "date": "2016-06-07", "retrieved": "2016-06-21T21:07:22.948819", "title": "A Retrospective of House Rules Changes Since the 110th Congress", "summary": "One of the majority party\u2019s prerogatives is writing House rules and using its numbers to effect the chamber\u2019s rules on the day a new House convenes. Because all Members of the House stand for election every two years, the Members-elect constitute a new House that must adopt rules at the convening of each Congress. Although a new House largely adopts the chamber rules that existed in the previous Congress, it also adopts changes to those rules. Institutional and political developments during the preceding Congress inform rules changes that a party continuing in the majority might make. Those same developments, perhaps over the whole time that a party was in the minority, inform rules changes when the minority party wins enough seats to become the majority party and organize the House.\nThis report analyzes rules changes made on only the opening day of the 110th, 111th, 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses (the Congresses convening in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015, respectively), with references in footnotes to other selected legislation and actions during these Congresses that also affected House rules. Freestanding legislation such as the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act or a budget resolution can change House rules in consequential ways. \nChanges made by Democrats after they took majority control in the 110th Congress and by Republicans after they took majority control in the 112th Congress reflected critiques of the other party\u2019s management of the House. Democrats emphasized changes to ethics rules and laws in their new majority beginning in the 110th Congress, and Republicans emphasized changes to legislative procedures in their new majority beginning in the 112th Congress. Both parties also addressed budget policymaking, in both rules changes and special orders.\nMost standing rules, however, did not change, at all or substantially, under either party because the rules reflect decades of experience with majority control of the House. Most of the changes that were made in each of the five Congresses covered in this report were incremental and, largely, grounded in experience. Changes, nonetheless, have touched the committee system and its procedures, the floor of the House, budgetary legislation, the administration of the House, and ethical norms of conduct. Rules facilitate the majority\u2019s organization and operation of the House; they do not dictate to party leaders and others how to run the House\u2014their policy goals or procedural and political strategy\u2014or determine what outcomes can be achieved.\nThis report is the second in a series on House rules changes at the beginning of a Congress. It will be updated to reflect changes in the rules in future Congresses. For changes in the 104th through the 109th Congresses, see CRS Report RL33610, A Retrospective of House Rules Changes Since the 104th Congress through the 109th Congress, by Michael L. Koempel and Judy Schneider.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42395", "sha1": "38e1d634e6361472dc2cd8211d31f4aba7f23029", "filename": "files/20160607_R42395_38e1d634e6361472dc2cd8211d31f4aba7f23029.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42395", "sha1": "2e62bbc9185e718c9c8938e5af7e3ccdfa7dc68d", "filename": "files/20160607_R42395_2e62bbc9185e718c9c8938e5af7e3ccdfa7dc68d.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 433038, "date": "2014-06-04", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:22:05.007241", "title": "A Retrospective of House Rules Changes Since the 110th Congress", "summary": "One of the majority party\u2019s prerogatives is writing House rules and using its numbers to effect the chamber\u2019s rules on the day a new House convenes. Because all Members of the House stand for election every two years, the Members-elect constitute a new House that must adopt rules at the convening of each Congress. Although a new House largely adopts the chamber rules that existed in the previous Congress, it also adopts changes to those rules. Institutional and political developments during the preceding Congress inform rules changes that a party continuing in the majority might make. Those same developments, perhaps over the whole time that a party was in the minority, inform rules changes when the minority party wins enough seats to become the majority party and organize the House.\nThis report analyzes rules changes made on only the opening day of the 110th, 111th, 112th, and 113th Congresses, with references in footnotes to other selected legislation and actions that also affected House rules during these Congresses. Freestanding legislation such as the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act or the annual budget resolutions can change House rules in consequential ways. \nChanges made by Democrats after they took majority control in the 110th Congress and by Republicans after they took majority control in the 112th Congress reflected critiques of the other party\u2019s management of the House. Democrats emphasized changes to ethics rules and laws in their new majority beginning in the 110th Congress, and Republicans emphasized changes to legislative procedures in their new majority beginning in the 112th Congress. Both parties also addressed budget policymaking, in both rules changes and special orders.\nMost standing rules, however, did not change, at all or substantially, under either party because the rules reflected decades of experience with majority control of the House. Most of the changes that were made in each of the four Congresses covered in this report were incremental and, largely, grounded in experience. Changes, nonetheless, have touched the committee system and its procedures, the floor of the House, budgetary legislation, the administration of the House, and ethical norms of conduct. Rules facilitate the majority\u2019s organization and operation of the House; they do not dictate to party leaders and others how to run the House\u2014their policy goals or procedural and political strategy\u2014or determine what outcomes can be achieved.\nThis report is the second in a series on House rules changes at the beginning of a Congress. It will be updated to reflect changes in the rules in future Congresses so long as Republicans are in the majority; a third report in the series will be introduced whenever party control changes. For changes in the 104th through the 109th Congresses, see CRS Report RL33610, A Retrospective of House Rules Changes Since the 104th Congress through the 109th Congress, by Michael L. Koempel and Judy Schneider. See also a related report: CRS Report R41501, House Legislative Procedures and House Committee Organization: Options for Change in the 112th Congress, by Judy Schneider and Michael L. Koempel.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42395", "sha1": "afd869751e84a80405c582db4803d7601f54ef84", "filename": "files/20140604_R42395_afd869751e84a80405c582db4803d7601f54ef84.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42395", "sha1": "67f3286403a006050a8980e65c2244e98e3cbf82", "filename": "files/20140604_R42395_67f3286403a006050a8980e65c2244e98e3cbf82.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc818303/", "id": "R42395_2012Mar07", "date": "2012-03-07", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "A Retrospective of House Rules Changes Since the 110th Congress", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120307_R42395_00d7afded739e481f27c112a69736bc2eea6d805.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120307_R42395_00d7afded739e481f27c112a69736bc2eea6d805.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Foreign Affairs", "Intelligence and National Security", "Legislative Process" ] }