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      "title": "Special Order Speeches: Current House Practices",
      "summary": "Special order speeches (commonly called \u201cspecial orders\u201d) usually take place at the end of the day after the House has completed all legislative business. During the special order period, individual Representatives deliver speeches on topics of their choice for up to 60 minutes. Special orders provide one of the few opportunities for non-legislative debate in the House. They also give Members a chance to speak outside the time restrictions that govern legislative debate in the House and the Committee of the Whole.\nThe rules of the House do not provide for special order speeches. Instead, special orders have evolved as a unanimous consent practice of the House. Recognition for special orders is the prerogative of the Speaker. During the special order period, Members must abide by the rules of the House, the chamber\u2019s precedents, and the \u201cSpeaker\u2019s announced policies,\u201d in that order. The term Speaker\u2019s announced policies refers to the Speaker\u2019s policies on certain aspects of House procedure.\nIn practice, the Speaker\u2019s current policies on special orders (announced on January 6, 2009) govern recognition for special order speeches as well as the reservation and television broadcast of these speeches. Under these announced policies, there are generally three stages to each day\u2019s special order period:\nfive-minute special orders by individual Members;\nspecial orders longer than five minutes (normally 60 minutes in length) by the party\u2019s leadership or a designee; and\nspecial orders longer than five minutes (length varies from 6 to 60 minutes) by individual Members.\nMembers usually reserve special orders in advance through their party\u2019s leadership. Instead of delivering a special order speech on the House floor, Members may choose to insert their speech in either the House pages of the Congressional Record or the section known as the \u201cExtensions of Remarks.\u201d\nReform proposals were advanced in recent Congresses to address both concerns about breaches in decorum during special order speeches and the costs of conducting these speeches.\nThis report will be updated if rules and procedures change.",
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      "title": "Special Order Speeches: Current House Practices",
      "summary": "Special order speeches (commonly called \u201cspecial orders\u201d) usually take place at the end of the day after the House has completed all legislative business. During the special order period, individual Representatives deliver speeches on topics of their choice for up to 60 minutes. Special orders provide one of the few opportunities for non-legislative debate in the House. They also give Members a chance to speak outside the time restrictions that govern legislative debate in the House and the Committee of the Whole.\nThe rules of the House do not provide for special order speeches. Instead, special orders have evolved as a unanimous consent practice of the House. Recognition for special orders is the prerogative of the Speaker. During the special order period, Members must abide by the rules of the House, the chamber\u2019s precedents, and the \u201cSpeaker\u2019s announced policies,\u201d in that order. The term \u201cSpeaker\u2019s announced policies\u201d refers to the Speaker\u2019s policies on certain aspects of House procedure.\nIn practice, the Speaker\u2019s current policies on special orders (announced on January 6, 2009) govern recognition for special order speeches as well as the reservation and television broadcast of these speeches. Under these announced policies, there are generally three stages to each day\u2019s special order period:\nfive-minute special orders by individual Members;\nspecial orders longer than five minutes (normally 60 minutes in length) by the party\u2019s leadership or a designee; and\nspecial orders longer than five minutes (length varies from 6 to 60 minutes) by individual Members.\nMembers usually reserve special orders in advance through their party\u2019s leadership. Instead of delivering a special order speech on the House floor, Members may choose to insert their speech in either the House pages of the Congressional Record or the section known as the \u201cExtensions of Remarks.\u201d\nReform proposals were advanced in recent Congresses to address both concerns about breaches in decorum during special order speeches and the costs of conducting these speeches.\nThis report will be updated if rules and procedures change.",
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      "id": "RL30136_2008Apr01",
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