[Deschler's Precedents]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID:52093c03_txt-6]
[Page 161-164]
CHAPTER 3
Party Organization
B. PARTY CAUCUS OR CONFERENCE
Sec. 5. Time and Place of Meetings
A caucus rule, quoted above,<SUP>(1)</SUP> contains detailed
provisions as to when caucus meetings may or must be held.
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1. Rule 3, Democratic Caucus Rules (July 20, 1971), quoted in Sec. 3,
supra.
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The Hall of the House may be used for caucus meetings. A rule
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of the House<SUP>(2)</SUP> provides that, with certain exceptions,
``The Hall of the House shall be used only for the legislative business
of the House and for the caucus meetings of its Members. . . .''
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2. Rule XXXI. See Sec. 5.3, infra, for an announcement of a meeting to
be held in the Hall of the House.
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Notice of caucus or conference meetings may be by letter from the
caucus or conference chairman.<SUP>(3)</SUP> Notice of the meeting at
which the caucus or conference organizes for a new Congress is given by
the chairman of the caucus or conference of the preceding
Congress.<SUP>(4)</SUP>
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3. See Cannon's Procedure, H. Doc. No. 122, 86th Cong. 1st Sess.
(1959), p. 187.
4. Id.
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Although the caucus or conference chairman is the officer generally
responsible for calling and announcing caucus or conference meetings,
other party leaders have on occasion taken the initiative in this
regard. Thus, announcements respecting such meetings have been made in
the House by the party floor leaders<SUP>(5)</SUP> and even by the
Speaker of the House.<SUP>(6)</SUP>
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5. See Sec. Sec. 5.3 (Majority Leader), 5.4 and 5.5 (Minority Leader),
infra. For an occasion on which the Minority Leader, without
calling a conference meeting, asked on the floor of the House
for an informal indication of Republican sentiment on
particular legislation, see Sec. 19.2, infra.
For discussion of the more recent procedures used in
calling organizational meetings of the caucus prior to the
convening of a new Congress, see supplements to this edition as
they appear.
6. See Sec. 5.2, infra.
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The demands of business in the House may prevent the scheduling of
meetings at the times desired by the party leaders. On one occasion,
the Minority Leader asked that the House take a recess so that a
meeting of the Republican Conference could take place; the Speaker
declined to entertain the request.<SUP>(7)</SUP>
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7. See Sec. 5.5. infra. -------------------
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Announcement by Caucus Chairman
Sec. 5.1 On occasion, the caucus chairman has made an announcement in
the House respecting a caucus meeting to be held.
On Jan. 12, 1937,<SUP>(8)</SUP> the Democratic Caucus Chairman,
Robert L. Doughton, of North Carolina, announced:
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8. 81 Cong. Rec. 190, 75th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Mr. Doughton: Mr. Speaker, I have asked for this time to inform
the ma
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jority Members of the House that there will be a Democratic Caucus
at 10:30 o'clock tomorrow morning to hear a report of the majority
Committee on Committees.
Announcement by Speaker
Sec. 5.2 The Speaker announced to the House the calling of a Democratic
Caucus to fill a vacancy on the Committee on Ways and Means.
On July 23, 1968,<SUP>(9)</SUP> a Member's letter of resignation
from the Committee on Ways and Means having been laid before the
House,<SUP>(10)</SUP> Speaker John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts,
announced from the floor:
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9. 114 Cong. Rec. 22800, 90th Cong. 2d Sess.
10. See 114 Cong. Rec. 22795, 90th Cong. 2d Sess., July 23, 1968.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to announce publicly that there will be a
Democratic Caucus on Friday morning at 10 o'clock for the purpose
of filling a vacancy that exists on the Ways and Means Committee by
reason of the resignation of the gentleman from Florida [Mr.
Herlong], whose resignation has been accepted today. I want to make
this announcement for the benefit of my Democratic colleagues, so
we can have as democratic a caucus as possible.
Announcement by Floor Leader
Sec. 5.3 In the 90th Congress, the Majority Leader announced in the
House that the Democratic Caucus would meet to elect Members to the
Committee on Ways and Means.
[Note: For discussion of procedures recently adopted with respect
to announcement of organizational meetings of the caucus prior to the
convening of a new Congress, see supplements to this edition as they
appear.]
On July 30, 1968,<SUP>(11)</SUP> the following proceedings took
place:
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11. 114 Cong. Rec. 24269, 90th Cong. 2d Sess.
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Mr. [Carl] Albert [of Oklahoma]: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous
consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and
extend my remarks.
The Speaker: Is there objection to the request of the gentleman
from Oklahoma?
There was no objection.
Mr. Albert: Mr. Speaker, I take this time to advise the
Democratic Members that a caucus of the Democratic Members of the
House is called to meet in the Hall of the House of Representatives
on Thursday, August 1, 1968, at 10 a.m., for the purpose of
electing Members to the Ways and Means Committee.
Sec. 5.4 The Minority Leader made an announcement in the House
concerning a meeting of the Republican Conference.
On Jan. 13, 1937,<SUP>(12)</SUP> the Minority Leader, Bertrand H.
Snell, of New York, announced as follows:
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12. 81 Cong. Rec. 201, 75th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Mr. Snell: Mr. Speaker, there will be a meeting of the . . .
Committee on Committees . . . and there will be a Republican
Conference in this Hall at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.
Sec. 5.5 The Speaker having declined to entertain a request of the
Minority Leader that the House take a two-hour recess for a
Republican Conference, the Minority Leader subsequently announced a
meeting of the Republican Members to take place following
adjournment.
On Apr. 11, 1951,<SUP>(13)</SUP> the following proceedings took
place:
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13. 97 Cong. Rec. 3673, 82d Cong. 1st Sess., considering the 1951
amendments to the Universal Military Training and Service Act.
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Mr. [Joseph W.] Martin [Jr.] of Massachusetts: I inquire if the
Speaker would agree that the House would take a recess of two
hours. I make this request because of the tragic situation that
prevails in the world. I should like, if I could, to have a
Republican conference. .
The Speaker [Sam Rayburn, of Texas]: The Chair will say that
that is a very unusual request. . . .
. . . [T]here is an amendment coming up to the bill that the
Chair thinks will take some hours, in all probability.
Mr. Martin: The Chair understands that in accordance with his
policies and the policies I have previously agreed with, too, we
desire all our membership to be on the floor when these various
bills are being read for amendment. Because of the tremendous
importance of the situation in the world today, I should like to
submit [the] request. . . .
The Speaker: The gentleman from Massachusetts poses a very hard
question for the Chair. For the moment the Chair thinks he will not
entertain the request.
Subsequently,<SUP>(14)</SUP> Mr. Martin made the following remarks:
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14. 97 Cong. Rec. 3676, 82d Cong. 1st Sess., Apr. 11, 1951.
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. . . I should like to make one more statement: The Members
will recall that I was hopeful we might have a recess for two hours
in order that we could have a Republican Conference in which we
could discuss these latest developments. That request was not
granted. May I say, however, that I think the Speaker acted wholely
within his province when he did not entertain that request, I know
it was neither personal or partisan because I can understand how it
might lead to abuses. I am not finding any fault, but I am giving
notice that following the adjournment of the House today there will
be a meeting of the Republican Members of the House in this
Chamber.<SUP>(15)</SUP>
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15. For an occasion on which the Minority Leader, without calling a
conference meeting, asked on the floor of the House for an
informal indication of Republican sentiment on particular
legislation, see Sec. 19.2, infra.
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