United States House Committee on Rules

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The Committee on Rules (German committee for rules ) or Rules Committee is a committee of the House of Representatives of the United States of America . The committee largely determines the rules of procedure of the House of Representatives and is thus one of the most influential committees. It is involved in all areas of politics and, above all, determines the "rule" under which bills are discussed in the House of Representatives.

tasks

After a draft law has been discussed in the technical committee, it goes to the rules of procedure committee. In contrast to the Senate, there is no unlimited discussion in the House of Representatives. Discussions and votes on a draft law in plenary are strictly limited and the Committee on Rules determines the limits . The House Rules Committee is thus also much more influential and significant than its sister committee in the Senate, the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration .

The committee determines what is possible during the debate. For example, it can limit the number of amendments, limit amendments to certain sections of the law, or prohibit them entirely. It also stipulates the speaking time that may be spent on the law as a whole. So, for example, when it comes to passing a controversial law as quickly and tacitly as possible, it can also stipulate that no speaking time is allowed for this bill at all. In contrast, if it wants to get as much public reaction to a law as possible, it can initiate extensive debates.

Due to the great influence it has, it is usually strictly controlled by the Speaker of the House and the majority party and only staffed with known reliable members.

history

The committee was formed during the first congress on April 2, 1789. It was created then to lay down general rules for all debates and not specific rules for each individual as it is today. For the first 50 years of his existence, he did little except affirm the general rules for each legislative period. His first controversial decision came on June 16, 1841, when he reduced the previous two-thirds majority to an absolute majority, which was able to end the debates.

As part of a reorganization of the committees in 1880, the Rules Committee began to be formed in its current form. The first chairman afterwards, the then Speaker of the House , the Democrat Samuel J. Randall from Pennsylvania, ensured that the committee could change the rules of procedure at any time - including for each individual law. When the Republicans won a majority in the House of Representatives in the elections that same year, they quickly realized the power that this change gave them. One, Thomas Brackett Reed of Maine, used the committee chair to become Speaker of the House and began to build such influence that he became known as "Czar Reed".

His successor, Illinois Republican Joseph Gurney Cannon , continued this course. In between, with the help of the Rules Committee, they were able to fill the members of all committees. Rebels within the House of Representatives reduced the speaker's power in 1910, but the Rules Committee was able to maintain its influential position. Now it served less as an extended arm of the speaker, but rather a coalition of conservative Democrats and Republicans ruled it until the 1960s.

It was not until 1961 that Speaker Sam Rayburn (D-TX), at the request of President John F. Kennedy , had the membership expanded from 12 to 15 members in the hope of breaking the power of Conservative Chairman Howard W. Smith . The bill that changed the size went through, but changed little in substance, the committee continued to use the ample power it had to prevent legislation in favor of the civil rights movement and educational reform.

Only since the 1970s and various institutional reforms has the committee been back under the spokesman who has succeeded in reinstating it as his extended arm over the past 30 years.

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