{
  "id": "R45241",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R45241",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 582362,
      "date": "2018-06-27",
      "retrieved": "2018-06-29T13:44:31.704467",
      "title": "The Rule XIX Call to Order for Disorderly Language in Senate Debate",
      "summary": "The Senate has, from the 1st Congress (1789-1790), valued the importance of decorum in debate and included a \u201ccall to order\u201d mechanism in its rules to sanction Senators who use \u201cdisorderly\u201d language. The rules adopted in 1789 contained such a call-to-order provision, and its language has been amended multiple times over the years. Table 1 of this report details the historical evolution of the rule. The present form of the Senate\u2019s call-to-order provision was adopted on June 14, 1962.\nSenate Rule XIX identifies specific language that is considered disorderly. This includes language directly or indirectly imputing to another Senator or Senators \u201cany conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator\u201d (paragraph 2) and referring \u201coffensively to any State of the Union\u201d (paragraph 3). Rule XIX prohibits imputing conduct or motive \u201cby any form of words\u201d to a sitting Senator, which includes not just original words spoken in debate but quotes, news articles, and other materials. The statements in paragraphs 2 and 3 are not considered to be a comprehensive recitation of language that may violate decorum in Senate debate. Although precedents on the subject are mixed, Senators have at times also been called to order for making disparaging references in debate to the House of Representatives or its Members. \nParagraphs 4 and 5 of Rule XIX establish a parliamentary mechanism whereby a Senator who engages in the type of disorderly language described in the rule can be \u201ccalled to order\u201d by the presiding officer or by another Senator. This call to order is rarely formally invoked in the modern Senate. Table 2 of this report lists instances in which the rule has been invoked since 1962. It is far more common for the presiding officer, acting on his or her own initiative, to issue a \u201cwarning\u201d to a Senator who has violated standards of decorum in debate or to read the provisions of Rule XIX aloud as a general reminder to the Senate in cases where debate has become heated.\nIf a formal call to order is made, however, any Senator may demand that the allegedly disorderly words be read aloud for the benefit of the Senate. Should the chair then rule that the speaking Senator\u2019s words have violated Rule XIX, the sanctioned Senator must take his or her seat. The chair\u2019s ruling in this regard is subject to an appeal to the full body. A Senator sanctioned under the rule in this manner is barred from participating in further debate on the pending matter unless the Senate, by unanimous consent or by nondebatable motion, permits him or her to proceed in order. Disorderly words used in Senate debate can be stricken from the Congressional Record by unanimous consent or by motion.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45241",
          "sha1": "80d212a187c4623ea2e4fc361b594610322a2d10",
          "filename": "files/20180627_R45241_80d212a187c4623ea2e4fc361b594610322a2d10.html",
          "images": {}
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45241",
          "sha1": "dc8ee6e1d8ba754843948577649da0bce75f454a",
          "filename": "files/20180627_R45241_dc8ee6e1d8ba754843948577649da0bce75f454a.pdf",
          "images": {}
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4747,
          "name": "Senate Floor Procedure"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Legislative Process"
  ]
}