[United States Senate Manual, 107th Congress]
[S. Doc. 107-1]
[Standing Rules of the Senate]
[Pages 16-18]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
17 RULE XVII
REFERENCE TO COMMITTEES; MOTIONS TO DISCHARGE; REPORTS OF
COMMITTEES; AND HEARINGS AVAILABLE
17.1 1. Except as provided in paragraph 3, in any case in
which a controversy arises as to the jurisdiction of any
committee with respect to any proposed legislation, the
question of jurisdiction shall be decided by the presiding
officer, without debate, in favor of the committee which has
jurisdiction over the subject matter which predominates in
such proposed legislation; but such decision shall be
subject to an appeal.
17.2 2. A motion simply to refer shall not be open to
amendment, except to add instructions.
17.3a 3. (a) Upon motion by both the majority leader or his
designee and the minority leader or his designee, proposed
legislation may be referred to two or more committees
jointly or sequentially. Notice of such motion and the
proposed legislation to which it relates shall be printed in
the Congressional Record. The motion shall be privileged,
but it shall not be in order until the Congressional Record
in which the notice is printed has been available to
Senators for at least twenty-four hours. No amendment to any
such motion shall be in order except amendments to any
instructions contained therein. Debate on any such motion,
and all amendments thereto and debatable motions and appeals
in connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than
two hours, the time to be equally divided between, and
controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader
or their designees.
17.3b (b) Proposed legislation which is referred to two or
more committees jointly may be reported only by such
committees jointly and only one report may accompany any
proposed legislation so jointly reported.
17.3c (c) A motion to refer any proposed legislation to two or
more committees sequentially shall specify the order of
referral.
17.3d (d) Any motion under this paragraph may specify the
portion or portions of proposed legislation to be considered
by the committees, or any of them, to which such proposed
legislation is referred, and such committees or committee
shall be limited, in the consideration of such proposed
legislation, to the portion or portions so specified.
17.3e (e) Any motion under this subparagraph may contain
instructions with respect to the time allowed for consider
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ation by the committees, or any of them, to which proposed
legislation is referred and the discharge of such
committees, or any of them, from further consideration of
such proposed legislation.
17.4a 4. (a) All reports of committees and motions to
discharge a committee from the consideration of a subject,
and all subjects from which a committee shall be discharged,
shall lie over one day for consideration, unless by
unanimous consent the Senate shall otherwise direct.
17.4b (b) Whenever any committee (except the Committee on
Appropriations) has reported any measure, by action taken in
conformity with the requirements of paragraph 7 of rule
XXVI, no point of order shall lie with respect to that
measure on the ground that hearings upon that measure by the
committee were not conducted in accordance with the
provisions of paragraph 4 of rule XXVI.
17.5 5.\3\ Any measure or matter reported by any standing
committee shall not be considered in the Senate unless the
report of that committee upon that measure or matter has
been available to Members for at least two calendar days
(excluding Sundays and legal holidays) prior to the
consideration of that measure or matter. If hearings have
been held on any such measure or matter so reported, the
committee reporting the measure or matter shall make every
reasonable effort to have such hearings printed and
available for distribution to the Members of the Senate
prior to the consideration of such measure or matter in the
Senate. This paragraph--
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\3\ As amended by S. Res. 28, 99-2, Feb. 27, 1986.
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(1) may be waived by joint agreement of the
majority leader and the minority leader of the
Senate; and
(2) shall not apply to--
(A) any measure for the declaration of
war, or the declaration of a national
emergency, by the Congress, and
(B) any executive decision,
determination, or action which would become,
or continue to be, effective unless
disapproved or otherwise invalidated by one
or both Houses of Congress.
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