Ch. 29 § 71 DESCHLER-BROWN PRECEDENTS CONFERENCE REPORT (H. REPT. 94– rules. The minority has 30 minutes 120) and the majority has 30 minutes on The committee of conference on the conference report. the disagreeing votes of the two MR. BAUMAN: I am talking about the Houses on the amendment of the lack of protection contained in the re- Senate to the bill (H.R. 2166) to quest for the 1-hour special order that amend the Internal Revenue Code of was just made by the gentleman from 1954...having met, after full and Oregon. free conference, have agreed to rec- THE SPEAKER: Any Member of the ommend and do recommend to their House may make a request for a spe- respective Houses as follows: cial order. That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of MR. BAUMAN: I withdraw my res- the Senate and agree to the same ervation of objection. with an amendment as follows: In MR. [HERMAN T.] SCHNEEBELI [of lieu of the matter proposed to be in- Pennsylvania]: Mr. Speaker, further serted by the Senate amendment in- reserving the right to object, I also ask sert the following: for a 60-minute special order following that of the gentleman from Oregon SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF (Mr. Ullman). CONTENTS. THE SPEAKER: Is there objection to (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be the request of the gentleman from cited as the ‘‘Tax Reduction Act of Pennsylvania? 1975’’.... There was no objection. MR. ULLMAN: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that upon the adoption of the rule I be granted a 60- minute special order. § 72. Closing Debate; Sen- THE SPEAKER: (5) Is there objection to ate Cloture the request of the gentleman from Or- egon? In the House, secondary mo- MR. [ROBERT E.] BAUMAN [of Mary- tions—to lay on the table or for land]: Reserving the right to object, the previous question—can be Mr. Speaker, we have in the rules (6) of the House an adequate rule for used to cut off debate. Debate the consideration of conference reports can, of course, be limited or closed .... I have no way of knowing, nor by unanimous consent. When the does any Member in this Chamber House is operating ‘‘as in the know, who will control the time during Committee of the Whole,’’ both the a special order, except the gentleman motion for the previous question from Oregon, whether questions, once and the motion to limit debate can raised, will be answered, or whether or not debate will deteriorate into par- be utilized. tisan debate. In contrast to the House, where THE SPEAKER: The gentleman is very the hour rule limits debate, Mem- effectively but improperly stating the 6. See §§ 72.1 et seq., infra, for the pre- 5. Carl Albert (Okla.). vious question and its effect. 11010 CONSIDERATION AND DEBATE Ch. 29 § 72 bers of the Senate may retain the Closing and opening debate generally, floor for indefinite periods of time, see § 7, supra. unless the Senate limits debate ei- Motions which close debate, see Ch. 23, ther by unanimous consent or by supra (previous question, lay on the invoking cloture.(7) Thus, a Sen- table). ator may retain the floor for ex- Order of recognition determines who may tremely long periods of time, en- close debate, see §§ 12 et seq., supra. gaging in a ‘‘filibuster’’ to prevent Question of consideration to close debate, see § 5, supra. Senate action on a measure.(8) On Role of manager and management by re- June 12 and 13, 1935, Senator porting committee in closing debate, Huey Long, of Louisiana, in a re- see §§ 24, 26, supra. markable demonstration of phys- ical endurance, set a new record in the Senate when he spoke con- tinuously for 151⁄2 hours in favor Previous Question; Used Before of the Gore amendment to the Adoption of Rules proposed extension of the Na- tional Industrial Recovery Act. § 72.1 The Member controlling But the amendment was finally debate on a proposition in tabled. Again, in 1953, a pro- the House may move the pre- longed debate took place on the vious question and cut off so-called tidelands offshore oil bill. further debate. It began Apr. 1 and ended May 5. On Jan. 4, 1965,(10) at the con- The debate lasted for 35 days, one vening of the 89th Congress and of the longest on record. During before the adoption of the rules, this debate Senator Wayne Morse, of Oregon, established a new rec- Mr. Carl Albert, of Oklahoma, of- ord for the longest single speech. fered a resolution and after some On Apr. 24 and 25 he spoke for 22 debate moved the previous ques- hours and 26 minutes.(9) tion: Cross References MR. ALBERT: Mr. Speaker, I offer a resolution (H. Res. 2) and ask for its Closing debate in the Committee of the immediate consideration. Whole, see §§ 76 (general debate) and The Clerk read as follows: 78 (five-minute debate), infra. H. RES. 2 7. See Riddick/Frumin, Senate Proce- dure, S. Doc. No. 101–28, 101st Resolved, That the Speaker is hereby authorized and directed to Cong. 2d Sess. (1992). administer the oath of office to the 8. See 8 Cannon’s Precedents § 2866. 9. See 103 CONG. REC. 173, 174, 85th 10. 111 CONG. REC. 20, 89th Cong. 1st Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 4, 1957. Sess. 11011 Ch. 29 § 72 DESCHLER-BROWN PRECEDENTS gentleman from New York, Mr. Rich- THE SPEAKER: Does the gentleman ard L. Ottinger. from Oklahoma yield to the gentleman from Mississippi for the purpose of MR. ALBERT: Mr. Speaker, again this is a resolution involving a Member submitting a parliamentary inquiry? whose certificate of election in due MR. ALBERT: Mr. Speaker, I move form is on file in the Office of the the previous question on the resolu- Clerk. I ask for the adoption of the res- tion. olution. THE SPEAKER: The question is on the motion. MR. [JAMES C.] CLEVELAND [of New Hampshire]: Mr. Speaker, will the gen- The previous question was ordered. ( ) tleman yield for a parliamentary in- The resolution was agreed to. 11 quiry? MR. ALBERT: I yield for a parliamen- Moving the Previous Question tary inquiry. MR. CLEVELAND: If this resolution is § 72.2 The motion for the pre- adopted, will it be impossible for me to vious question is not debat- offer my own resolution pertaining to able. the same subject matter, either as an (12) amendment or a substitute? On Jan. 3, 1949, at the con- THE SPEAKER: If the resolution is vening of the 81st Congress, the agreed to, it will not be in order for the House was considering House gentleman to offer a substitute resolu- Resolution 5, amending the rules tion or an amendment, particularly if of the House. Mr. Adolph J. the previous question is ordered. Sabath, of Illinois, who had of- MR. CLEVELAND: Is it now in order, Mr. Speaker? fered the resolution, moved the THE SPEAKER: Not unless the gen- previous question. Mr. John E. tleman from Oklahoma yields to the Rankin, of Mississippi, sought rec- gentleman for that purpose.... ognition to offer an amendment in MR. CLEVELAND: Will the gentleman the nature of a substitute and ob- from Oklahoma yield for that purpose? jected that he had a ‘‘right to be MR. ALBERT: Mr. Speaker, I yield for heard.’’ Speaker Sam Rayburn, of a question and a very brief statement. Texas, held that the previous I do not yield for a speech. question was not debatable. MR. CLEVELAND: May I inquire if the ( ) gentleman will yield so that I may ask On Sept. 13, 1965, 13 Mr. Carl for unanimous consent that certain Albert, of Oklahoma, moved that remarks of mine pertaining to this matter be incorporated in the Record? 11. 87 CONG. REC. 2177, 2178, 77th MR. ALBERT: No, Mr. Speaker, I Cong. 1st Sess. move the previous question. 12. 95 CONG. REC. 10, 81st Cong. 1st MR. [THOMAS G.] ABERNETHY [of Sess. Mississippi]: Mr. Speaker, a par- 13. 111 CONG. REC. 23601, 89th Cong. liamentary inquiry. 1st Sess. 11012 CONSIDERATION AND DEBATE Ch. 29 § 72 the Journal be approved as read Use of Previous Question and moved the previous question Where Debate Limited by on the motion. Mr. Durward G. Unanimous Consent Hall, of Missouri, stated a par- liamentary inquiry: § 72.3 Where the House by Is not debate in order on this motion unanimous consent fixed the inasmuch as under [the House rules] time and control of debate, it there has been no debate on ordering was held that the Members the previous question? in control were not required THE SPEAKER: (14) The Chair will state that the motion on the previous to consume or to yield all the question is not debatable. The question time provided for. is on ordering the previous question on ( ) the motion to approve the Journal.(15) On Mar. 11, 1941, 17 the House Parliamentarian’s Note: Mr. was considering House Resolution Hall’s reference was to clause 3 131 under the terms of a unani- (now clause 2) of Rule XXVII, pro- mous-consent agreement pro- viding 40 minutes’ debate after viding two hours of debate and di- the previous question has been or- viding control of debate between dered, if the proposition on which Mr. Sol Bloom, of New York, and the motion has been made is de- Mr. Hamilton Fish, Jr., of New batable but has not been de- York, and providing that the pre- (16) bated. vious question be considered as 14. John W. McCormack (Mass.).