[HOUSE PRACTICE, 104th Congress, 2d Session]
[A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID:hp_txt-30]
[Page 569-571]
[[Page 569]]
MESSAGES BETWEEN THE HOUSES
Sec. 1. In General; Uses
Sec. 2. Reception of Messages
Sec. 3. Messages Relating to Bills
Sec. 4. Errors; Lost Documents
Research References
5 Hinds Secs. 6590-6662
8 Cannon Secs. 3333-3353
Manual Secs. 330, 561-569, 882, 883
Sec. 1 . In General; Uses
The House of Representatives and the Senate communicate and
coordinate their activities by sending formal messages to each other.
These messages between the two Houses constitute the sole source of
official information regarding actions taken by the other House. 8
Cannon Secs. 3342, 3343. The Chair does not take public notice of the
proceedings of the Senate unless formally brought to the attention of
the House by message from the Senate. 91-1, July 10, 1969, p 19095.
Messages between the House and Senate are used for a variety of
legislative purposes:
<box> To indicate the final disposition by one House of a bill
originating in the other;
<box> To convey the official papers accompanying bills from one
House to the other;
<box> To transmit the action of one House on an amendment of the
other;
<box> To request the return of bills or amendments;
<box> To convey information relating to committees of conference and
reports relating thereto;
<box> To transmit information relating to the election of officers
and other organizational matters;
<box> To indicate House or Senate action on vetoed bills;
<box> To convey information or documents relating to an impeachment
proceeding; and
<box> To dispose of questions regarding a breach of privilege by one
House against the other.
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Such messages have also been used on rare occasions to transmit or
exchange confidential information between the two Houses. 5 Hinds
Sec. 5250.
The Clerk or one of his subordinates delivers the messages of the
House to the Senate. Senate messages are delivered to the House by the
Secretary of the Senate or one of his subordinates. 5 Hinds Sec. 6592.
Sec. 2 . Reception of Messages
The refusal of one House to receive a message from the other is a
breach of the practice of comity between the two Houses. See 91-2,
Oct. 14, 1970, p 36675. The reception of a message from the Senate is
a highly privileged matter and may interrupt the consideration of a
bill, even though the previous question has been ordered thereon. 87-
1, May 3, 1961, p 7172. Compare 5 Hinds Sec. 6602. Messages are
received during debate, the Member having the floor yielding at the
request of the Speaker. Manual Sec. 561. Such a message may be
received in the absence of a quorum (8 Cannon Sec. 3339) and pending a
motion for a call of the House. 90-2, Oct. 8, 1968, p 30091; 95-2,
Oct. 14, 1978, p 38711. The Speaker may receive the message even
before the approval of the Journal. 89-1, Sept. 13, 1965, p 23607.
Messages generally, see Manual Sec. 563.
A message from the Senate may not be received when the House is in
the Committee of the Whole (94-1, Oct. 9, 1975, p 32551), but the
Committee may rise formally (or informally) to permit the reception of
such messages. 87-1, Mar. 22, 1961, p 4563; 93-2, May 22, 1974, pp
16150, 16151; 94-1, Oct. 9, 1975, p 32551.
Whereas it was formerly the custom to transmit messages only when
both Houses were sitting, the present practice permits the reception
of messages regardless of whether the other House is in session. 8
Cannon Sec. 3338. A new rule of the House now permits the reception by
the Clerk of messages from the Senate notwithstanding the recess or
adjournment of the House. Rule III clause 5 (Manual Sec. 647b).
Sec. 3 . Messages Relating to Bills
Generally
Messages from the Senate concerning House bills with Senate
amendments or Senate bills which require action by the Committee of
the Whole go to the Speaker's table and may be referred to the
appropriate standing committees in the same manner as public bills
presented by the Members. Manual Sec. 882. Those which do not require
consideration in the Committee of the Whole may be laid before the
House for consideration pursuant to
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Rule XXIV clause 2. Manual Sec. 883. See Senate Bills; Amendments
Between the Houses.
Senate messages giving notice of bills passed or approved are
entered in the Journal and published in the Record. Manual Sec. 935.
Requests for the Return of a Bill
A message from the Senate requesting that the House return a bill
must be presented to the House for consideration. 86-1, Sept. 14,
1959, p 19715. A request of the Senate for the return of a bill is
treated as privileged in the House (86-1, Sept. 14, 1959, p 19715),
and may be disposed of by unanimous consent or by motion. 91-2, Sept.
9, 1970, p 30850; 93-1, July 10, 1973, p 23027; 93-2, Apr. 25, 1974, p
11881. A request of the Senate for the return of a bill being treated
as privileged, the Chair may immediately put the question on the
request without debate. 91-2, Dec. 29, 1970, p 43776. The House may by
unanimous consent agree to a request of the Senate for the return of a
Senate bill even where the bill has been referred to a House
committee. 86-2, Jan. 21, 1960, p 1022; 91-1, July 10, 1969, p 19095.
A request of the House for return of a bill messaged to the Senate is
not privileged where no error is involved, as it cannot be a
substitute for reconsideration. (Reconsideration of vote, see
Reconsideration).
Sec. 4 . Errors; Lost Documents
A proposition to correct an error in a message by one House to the
other presents a question of privilege. 3 Hinds Sec. 2613. One House
may correct an error in its message to the other, the receiving House
concurring in the correction. 5 Hinds Sec. 6607. If the Clerk or
Secretary commits an error in delivering a messaged document, he may
be directed to correct it. In one instance, where the Secretary of the
Senate had delivered only one of two Senate amendments to a House
bill, the mistake was not discovered until after the House had
disagreed to the Senate amendment. The Senate then directed the
Secretary to correct the mistake; the correction was received and the
House acted on the two amendments de novo. 5 Hinds Sec. 6590.
Where an official document intended for delivery to the Senate is
lost and cannot be retrieved, the preparation of official duplicates
thereof may be provided for pursuant to concurrent resolution. Such
resolutions are privileged for consideration. In such cases the Clerk
attests to the authenticity of an existing printed copy or duplicate
original. See 102-2, Oct. 5, 1992, p ____, and H. Con. Res. 376.