United States House Committee on Rules

Committee information

• Date created: April 2, 1789 as a select committee; March 2, 1880 as a standing committee
• Members: Thirteen in the 119th Congress (2025-2027)
• Subcommittees: Legislative and Budget Process; Rules and Organization of the House

Role

The United States House Committee on Rules is a powerful committee in the House of Representatives responsible for determining the rules under which legislation can be brought to the House floor for a vote. The committee also has the authority to implement changes to the overall rules of the House. It is sometimes called the “speaker’s committee” because the Speaker of the House can use the committee to control debate on the House floor. The committee has the ability to limit the number of amendments to a bill and set the amount of time allowed to debate a bill. To utilize the inherent power of the committee, the majority party in the House has traditionally weighted committee membership in its favor.

The US Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to make laws for the federal government. Both the Senate and House of Representatives divide this responsibility among committees in each legislative body. Committees are typically granted jurisdiction over a specific issue or segment of the federal government. During the 119th Congress, which began its session in January 2025, the House had twenty permanent committees and the Senate had twenty-one. Permanent committees are also known as standing committees. These bodies have the authority to consider legislation and recommend it to the floor of the House or Senate for a vote. Select committees are temporary committees that can be created through a House or Senate resolution. Select committees usually function in an investigative capacity and must be renewed to continue after their mandate expires. On occasion, select committees have become standing committees through congressional legislation.

Most House and Senate committees are further divided into subcommittees; each is assigned a more specific task relating to its full committee’s jurisdiction. House rules limit the number of subcommittees on each committee to five; however, they allow some exceptions. Committees are allowed to add a subcommittee on oversight to review and monitor committee activities. Certain committees are also allowed to have more than five subcommittees because their jurisdiction is considered so large and complex that the extra subcommittees are needed. For example, the Committee on Appropriations, which oversees federal spending, has twelve subcommittees. Senate rules do not place restrictions on the number of subcommittees.

The House Committee on Rules is different than most of the other congressional committees in that it is not tasked with overseeing a specific political issue or legislative area. Instead, the committee’s primary focus is setting the conditions under which legislation will be debated by the full House. The committee does this by creating special rules, also called special orders, to control bills before the House. A special rule is a resolution that officially permits consideration of a bill and sets rules on any amendments that can be offered and time limits for its debate.

The process begins when a piece of legislation is drafted by a committee and recommended to the full House. The committee typically requests that the Rules Committee schedule a hearing on the matter and asks for a certain amount of time to debate the issue and for the bill to be considered under specific House rules. The Rules Committee will then hold a hearing during which the members of the committee where the bill originated can state their case. Other House members who wish to add amendments to the bill can also testify. After testimony is completed, the Rules Committee creates a special rule that determines the time of debate allowed, the amendment process that will be used, and any exemptions or waivers it deems appropriate. Special rules can include a wide range of options but generally follow one of four basic types:

• Open rule: This type of rule allows any House member to offer an amendment to a bill as long as that amendment is relevant and made in accordance with the overall rules of the House. Debate is allowed under the five-minute rule during which members can speak for five minutes before yielding the floor or requesting more time.
• Modified-open rule: This rule is similar to an open rule but places some restrictions on amendments. These restrictions can include an insistence that amendments be preprinted in the Congressional Record—the official record of Congressional proceedings—or place a limit on the time allowed to propose amendments.
• Structured rule: This rule, also called a modified-closed rule, limits amendments to certain sections of a bill as predetermined by the Rules Committee. It also sets a time limit on the overall debate of the bill.
• Closed rule: This rule permits debate on a bill only for a limited time and does not allow any amendments to be added on the House floor. Only those amendments already proposed by the committee that originated the bill are allowed.

Once a special rule has been decided on by the Rules Committee, the rule then goes before the full House for a vote. The Speaker of the House permits one hour of debate on the issue with the majority leader of the Rules Committee in charge of that hour. They decide who will be allowed to speak and controls the time allowed for debate. Traditionally, a minority member of the Rules Committee is given half the allotted hour to debate the rule. At the end of the hour, debate ends, and the special rule is voted on by the full House. Because the leader of the Rules Committee is a member of the majority party, the vote typically follows party lines and the special rule is usually passed.

On occasion, the Rules Committee can include what is known as a self-executing rule in a special rule. Once a special rule is agreed upon by the House, this measure allows further related legislation to pass automatically without a full vote of the House. A self-executing rule is usually used when most members of the House agree on an issue; however, it can be used to force legislation through the House.

History

Despite the fact that the fledgling United States had just fought a war of independence against Great Britain, the founding fathers still looked to the British Parliament for inspiration when it came time to create a new government. When the first Congress was called into session in 1789, House leaders drew upon the traditions of the British House of Commons and colonial assemblies to create a committee to set out the rules of the new body. The first House Rules Committee was convened on April 2, 1789. The committee established the duties and powers of the Speaker of the House, set standards for debate and proper behavior among members, and enacted general rules for the process of considering bills and the operation of the full House. This committee was a select committee and disbanded soon after it submitted its proposed rules. Among the first eleven members of the first Rules Committee was James Madison who would go on to serve as president of the United States from 1809 to 1817.

For most of the next century, the Rules Committee remained a select committee and met at the start of each Congress to review the existing rules. After recommending any changes to the full House, the committee would again be dissolved within a few weeks. A notable exception occurred between 1849 and 1853, when the Rules Committee was temporarily made into a standing committee. In 1859, the sitting Speaker of the House was named chair of the Rules Committee and established a precedent that would last until the early twentieth century.

By the 1870s, the United States and its government were growing larger as the nation’s boundaries had been extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. Waves of immigrants had swelled the US population, boosting Congressional representation in the House to 293 members in 1879. House leaders realized that they needed to reform the chamber’s committee structures to adjust to a new reality. By then, the number of House rules had ballooned to more than 160. Many of the older rules were imposed when Congress had fewer than 100 members and were considered outdated. As part of the restructuring process, the House Committee on Rules was made into a permanent standing committee on March 2, 1880. The number of House rules was reduced to forty-four, and the committee took on a role closer to its modern duties.

Because the Speaker of the House led the Rules Committee, the committee became a powerful tool of the majority party in enacting legislation. In 1889, Maine congressman Thomas Brackett Reed became Speaker of the House and used his position on the Rules Committee to stifle minority dissent and push legislation that he favored through the House. Reed and his successors continued to wield this power until 1910, when unrest on the House floor led to a resolution banning the Speaker of the House from chairing the Rules Committee.

With the speaker’s power lessened, the leader of the Rules Committee retained authority over setting the legislative schedule for the House. At times during the twentieth century, the leader used the position to help push an agenda through Congress; at other times, the leader blocked certain legislation from reaching the House floor. In the 1960s, the number of committee members was increased from twelve to fifteen. This added two majority members and one minority member, giving the majority two extra votes on the panel. By the 1970s, further reforms assured that control of the Rules Committee was always in the hands of the majority party in the House.

Subcommittees

In the 119th Congress, the House Committee on Rules consisted of thirteen members. While the party makeup of most other House committees reflects the overall ratio of the House, the Rules Committee is heavily weighted in favor of the majority party. Typically, that ratio is just over two-to-one, with nine members from the majority party and four from the minority. In addition to its duties controlling legislation on the House floor, the Rules Committee is also responsible for reviewing and approving changes to the standing rules of the House. This function of the committee is known as original jurisdiction. Matters of original jurisdiction are often referred to the committee’s two subcommittees. These subcommittees hold hearings on proposed rule changes and report its findings to the full committee. Special rules are never referred to a subcommittee.

United States House Rules Subcommittee on the Legislative and Budget Process

This subcommittee is responsible for issues concerning the relationship between Congress and the executive branch of the federal government. The executive branch is responsible for enforcing the laws and includes the president, the vice president, the cabinet, and numerous agencies under its control. During the 119th Congress, this subcommittee had seven members.

United States House Rules Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House

This subcommittee oversees the relationship between the House and the Senate and Congress and the judicial branch of government. It is also responsible for the internal operations of the House. One of its primary tasks is reviewing rules concerning the structure and jurisdiction of the other House committees. It also considers measures that allow legislation to be “fast tracked”—moved quickly through the House—and modernizing the rules of the House. This subcommittee consisted of seven members in the 119th Congress.

Bibliography

“About the Committee on Rules—History and Processes.” House Committee on Rules, rules.house.gov/about. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

“Committees.” United States House of Representatives, www.house.gov/committees. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

Heitshusen, Valerie. “Committee Types and Roles.” Congressional Research Service, 2 May 2017, crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=98-241. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

“House Committee on Rules.” GovTrack, www.govtrack.us/congress/committees/HSRU. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

“House Rules Committee.” Congress.gov, 2019, www.congress.gov/committee/house-rules/hsru00. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

Koempel, Michael L., and Judy Schneider. “House Standing Committees’ Rules on Legislative Activities: Analysis of Rules in Effect in the 114th Congress.” Congressional Research Service, 11 Oct. 2016, fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41605.pdf. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

"Rules Committee Members." House Committee on Rules, rules.house.gov/about/rules-committee-members. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

Spieler, Matthew. The U.S. House of Representatives: Fundamentals of American Government. Thomas Dunne Books, 2015.