A member can make a motion to suspend the rules only if the Speaker of the House allows them to. Once a member moves to "suspend the rules" and take some action, debate is limited to 40 minutes, no amendments can be offered to the motion or the underlying matter, and a 2/3 majority of Members present and voting is required to agree to the motion.
A suspension motion sets aside all procedural and other rules that otherwise prohibit the House from considering the measure—but the motion never mentions the specific rules that are suspended. Typically, a suspension motion is phrased as a motion to "...suspend the rules and pass the bill" and, if the motion is agreed to, the bill is considered passed by the House. This means that, most of the time, a suspension motion is effectively a motion to pass a bill immediately notwithstanding any rule preventing such immediate passage. A member can also move to suspend the rules and take another action, such as to "suspend the rules and consider the bill," and the House shall take the proposed action if two-thirds of those voting are in favor of the motion.
Most often, bills "on suspension" are non-controversial legislation—such as naming Post Offices of the United States Postal Service or federal buildings—and nearly all bills that are considered under suspension rules have bipartisan support.
Suspension calendaredit
These votes, under the rules, may only take place on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Under special circumstances, suspension votes may take place on Thursdays or Fridays, or other days, but that happens rarely and requires a separate vote of the House as to whether that should occur.
The 2007 U.S. Farm Bill was considered using such a procedure. Due to a procedural glitch, the bill was improperly sent to the President and in an unusual attempt to solve the problem, the House passed it again as H.R. 6124. Hence the House Leadership used the suspension calendar to do so.
H.Con.Res. 300 – Recognizing the necessity for the United States to maintain its significant leadership role in improving the health and promoting the resiliency of coral reef ecosystems, and for other purposes (Rep. Bordallo – Natural Resources)
S.J.Res. 17 – A joint resolution directing the United States to initiate international discussions and take necessary steps with other Nations to negotiate an agreement for managing migratory and transboundary fish stocks in the Arctic Ocean (Sen. Stevens (AK) – Natural Resources)
H.Con.Res. 325 – Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission's Historical Preservation and Museum Program, which began on June 15, 1958 (Rep. Stupak – Natural Resources)
H.Res. 1074 – Honoring the 60th anniversary of the commencement of the carving of the Crazy Horse Memorial (Rep. Herseth Sandlin – Natural Resources)
H.R. 1464 – To assist in the conservation of rare felids and rare canids by supporting and providing financial resources for the conservation programs of nations within the range of rare felid and rare canid populations and projects of persons with demonstrated expertise in the conservation of rare felid and rare canid populations (Rep. Udall (NM) – Natural Resources)
U.S. Senateedit
In the United States Senate, Rule XVI prohibits amendments that propose general legislation to appropriations legislations. To prevent a point of order from killing the amendment, a Senator may offer a motion to suspend rule XVI, paragraph 4, essentially making the order germane. This motion requires a 2/3 majority to approve, meaning that it rarely passes. It should not be confused with a motion to waive the Budget Act, which requires a 3/5 vote to pass and applies to amendments that spend in amounts that exceed the levels set out in the annual budget resolution, as well as many other financial issues.
Sinclair, Barbara (1997). Unorthodox Lawmaking: New Legislative Processes in the U.S. Congress. CQ Press. ISBN1-56802-276-X
External linksedit
Congressional Research Service Guide To House Floor
January 01, 1970
suspension, rules, united, states, congress, specific, procedures, within, united, states, congress, that, allows, general, parliamentary, procedure, when, suspend, rules, contents, house, representatives, overview, suspension, calendar, senate, also, referenc. Suspension of the rules in the United States Congress is the specific set of procedures within the United States Congress that allows for the general parliamentary procedure of how and when to suspend the rules Contents 1 U S House of Representatives 1 1 Overview 1 2 Suspension calendar 2 U S Senate 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksU S House of Representatives editOverview edit Suspension of the rules is a procedure generally used to quickly pass non controversial bills in the United States House of Representatives A member can make a motion to suspend the rules only if the Speaker of the House allows them to Once a member moves to suspend the rules and take some action debate is limited to 40 minutes no amendments can be offered to the motion or the underlying matter and a 2 3 majority of Members present and voting is required to agree to the motion A suspension motion sets aside all procedural and other rules that otherwise prohibit the House from considering the measure but the motion never mentions the specific rules that are suspended Typically a suspension motion is phrased as a motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill and if the motion is agreed to the bill is considered passed by the House This means that most of the time a suspension motion is effectively a motion to pass a bill immediately notwithstanding any rule preventing such immediate passage A member can also move to suspend the rules and take another action such as to suspend the rules and consider the bill and the House shall take the proposed action if two thirds of those voting are in favor of the motion Most often bills on suspension are non controversial legislation such as naming Post Offices of the United States Postal Service or federal buildings and nearly all bills that are considered under suspension rules have bipartisan support Suspension calendar edit These votes under the rules may only take place on Mondays Tuesdays and Wednesdays Under special circumstances suspension votes may take place on Thursdays or Fridays or other days but that happens rarely and requires a separate vote of the House as to whether that should occur The 2007 U S Farm Bill was considered using such a procedure Due to a procedural glitch the bill was improperly sent to the President and in an unusual attempt to solve the problem the House passed it again as H R 6124 Hence the House Leadership used the suspension calendar to do so Other examples of suspension bills in the 110th United States Congress H Con Res 300 Recognizing the necessity for the United States to maintain its significant leadership role in improving the health and promoting the resiliency of coral reef ecosystems and for other purposes Rep Bordallo Natural Resources S J Res 17 A joint resolution directing the United States to initiate international discussions and take necessary steps with other Nations to negotiate an agreement for managing migratory and transboundary fish stocks in the Arctic Ocean Sen Stevens AK Natural Resources H Con Res 325 Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission s Historical Preservation and Museum Program which began on June 15 1958 Rep Stupak Natural Resources H Res 1074 Honoring the 60th anniversary of the commencement of the carving of the Crazy Horse Memorial Rep Herseth Sandlin Natural Resources H R 1464 To assist in the conservation of rare felids and rare canids by supporting and providing financial resources for the conservation programs of nations within the range of rare felid and rare canid populations and projects of persons with demonstrated expertise in the conservation of rare felid and rare canid populations Rep Udall NM Natural Resources U S Senate editIn the United States Senate Rule XVI prohibits amendments that propose general legislation to appropriations legislations To prevent a point of order from killing the amendment a Senator may offer a motion to suspend rule XVI paragraph 4 essentially making the order germane This motion requires a 2 3 majority to approve meaning that it rarely passes It should not be confused with a motion to waive the Budget Act which requires a 3 5 vote to pass and applies to amendments that spend in amounts that exceed the levels set out in the annual budget resolution as well as many other financial issues See also editUnited States House Committee on Rules Self executing ruleReferences editCRS Report for Congress Suspension of the Rules in the House Senate Rule XVI Example of a vote to suspend Rule XVI Sinclair Barbara 1997 Unorthodox Lawmaking New Legislative Processes in the U S Congress CQ Press ISBN 1 56802 276 XExternal links editRules of the House of Representatives Congressional Research Service Guide To House Floor Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Suspension of the rules in the United States Congress amp oldid 1219179551, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
