Organizing Resolutions for the House of Representatives

Reference Information for the
Rules of the 106th Congress

The House of Representatives adopts its organizing resolution at the beginning of each Congress in the form of a simple House resolution. Information related to H. Res. 5 for the 106th Congress is included here. The Organizing Resolution for the 106th Congress was of major importance since it included the first major recodification of the House Rules since 1881. The preface to the House Manual for the 106th  gave explanation of the recodification and compared the newly designated provisions to those of the prior structure.

H. Res. 5 of the 106th Congress, as agreed to by the House

H. Res. 5 (106th Congress), from Congress.gov

House Recodification (BCR)

From the Congressional Research Service:

Rules Changes Affecting Budgetary Legislation

106^th Congress

In the absence of a concurrent resolution agreed to by Congress on the budget for FY1999, a separate order included in the rules package authorized the chair of the Budget Committee to publish budget allocations under Section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act in the Congressional Record, and stated that “those budget levels shall be effective in the House as though established by passage” of a budget resolution.¹⁴⁰

Two technical changes were also included in separate orders. First, service limits on the Budget Committee were waived for the 106^th Congress (see “Budget Committee” above, under “Assignments and Size“). Second, when a bill or joint resolution was considered pursuant to a special rule, a point of order under Section 303 of the Congressional Budget Act (generally, first requiring adoption of a concurrent resolution on the budget before consideration of legislation with budgetary impact) would lie against text made in order as original text for the purpose of amendment or against text on which the previous question was ordered directly to passage, not just against the text of the measure named in the special rule.

Several minor, technical changes conformed House rules to the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997.¹⁴¹ (Clauses 1, 2, and 4 of Rule X.)

140. H.Res. 5, agreed to in the House January 6, 1999. See Rep. John Kasich, “Communication from the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget Regarding Interim Budget Allocations and Aggregates for Fiscal Years 1999-2003,” Congressional Record, vol. 145, part 3 (February 25, 1999), pp. 3117-3118. See also CRS Report RL31443, The “Deeming Resolution”: A Budget Enforcement Tool, by Megan Suzanne Lynch.

141. P.L. 105-33, title X; 111 Stat. 251, 677 (1997)). See Rep. Richard Armey, “Rules of the House,” insert in the Congressional Record, vol. 145, part 1 (January 6, 1999), p. 78:

The areas of technical correction involve oversight requirements of the Budget Committee, the consideration of bills providing new entitlement authority, the submission of views and estimates on the President’s budget, and the application of certain points of order relating to the timing of consideration of legislation. These are very minor and technical changes that are necessary to remove current conflicts between the Budget Act and the rules of the House.

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Waiver of the Tenure Limitation on the Committee on the Budget

The prohibition of service on the Budget Committee for more than four Congresses in any six successive Congresses was waived during the 106^th Congress by a separate order in H.Res. 5. This allowed Members, and in particular Chairman John R. Kasich, to continue to serve on the Committee though the limitation on

(b) Tenure on Budget Committee.—Notwithstanding clause 5(a)(2)(B) of rule X, during the One Hundred Sixth Congress tenure on the Committee on the Budget shall not be limited.

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