Elizabeth Rybicki
Specialist on the Congress and the Legislative Process
The two houses must agree on the same final version of a bill before it can be presented to the President. The House and Senate often reach final agreement on major legislation through negotiations among conferees that the two houses appoint. Because a conference committee is a negotiating forum, the two houses impose few rules governing its work, leaving it to the conferees themselves to decide how they can conduct their negotiations most productively. Also, the House and Senate give their conferees considerable latitude regarding the content of the agreements they can reach. Nonetheless, there are circumstances, described in this report, under which the House can vote to give instructions to its conferees.
The House may vote to instruct its conferees under three circumstances: first, before its conferees are appointed; second, after they have been appointed for a time specified in the rules but have not yet filed a report; and third, when a conference committee report is recommitted to conference. In each case, the House might instruct its conferees to insist on a certain House position in conference, or to accept a certain Senate position, or to attempt to negotiate a compromise position with the Senate that satisfies certain conditions or requirements. The House is only instructing its own conferees, and not the conferees appointed by the Senate. Under clause 7(c) of Rule XXII, motions to instruct House conferees “may not include argument,” meaning that the motions cannot include language presenting reasons to support the instructions.
Whenever the instructions are given and whatever form they may take, there are two points to bear in mind about instructions to conferees. First, it is not in order to instruct House conferees to reach some agreement that is not within their authority as conferees. The House requires that its conferees limit themselves to the matters on which the two houses have disagreed and that they resolve each such matter within the scope of the differences between the House and Senate positions on it.1 Second, instructions to conferees are never binding; no point of order can ever be sustained against a conference report on the grounds that it is not consistent with instructions that the House gave its conferees.
Date of Report: December 1, 2010
Number of Pages: 4
Order Number: 98-381
Price: $19.95
Follow us on TWITTER at http://www.twitter.com/alertsPHP or #CRSreports
Document available via e-mail as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail Penny Hill Press or call us at 301-253-0881. Provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.
Specialist on the Congress and the Legislative Process
The two houses must agree on the same final version of a bill before it can be presented to the President. The House and Senate often reach final agreement on major legislation through negotiations among conferees that the two houses appoint. Because a conference committee is a negotiating forum, the two houses impose few rules governing its work, leaving it to the conferees themselves to decide how they can conduct their negotiations most productively. Also, the House and Senate give their conferees considerable latitude regarding the content of the agreements they can reach. Nonetheless, there are circumstances, described in this report, under which the House can vote to give instructions to its conferees.
The House may vote to instruct its conferees under three circumstances: first, before its conferees are appointed; second, after they have been appointed for a time specified in the rules but have not yet filed a report; and third, when a conference committee report is recommitted to conference. In each case, the House might instruct its conferees to insist on a certain House position in conference, or to accept a certain Senate position, or to attempt to negotiate a compromise position with the Senate that satisfies certain conditions or requirements. The House is only instructing its own conferees, and not the conferees appointed by the Senate. Under clause 7(c) of Rule XXII, motions to instruct House conferees “may not include argument,” meaning that the motions cannot include language presenting reasons to support the instructions.
Whenever the instructions are given and whatever form they may take, there are two points to bear in mind about instructions to conferees. First, it is not in order to instruct House conferees to reach some agreement that is not within their authority as conferees. The House requires that its conferees limit themselves to the matters on which the two houses have disagreed and that they resolve each such matter within the scope of the differences between the House and Senate positions on it.1 Second, instructions to conferees are never binding; no point of order can ever be sustained against a conference report on the grounds that it is not consistent with instructions that the House gave its conferees.
Date of Report: December 1, 2010
Number of Pages: 4
Order Number: 98-381
Price: $19.95
Follow us on TWITTER at http://www.twitter.com/alertsPHP or #CRSreports
Document available via e-mail as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail Penny Hill Press or call us at 301-253-0881. Provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.
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