Holman rule
The Holman Rule is a provision within the U.S. House of Representatives that permits lawmakers to propose amendments to appropriations bills aimed at reducing or eliminating the salaries of individual federal employees, cutting staff numbers, or abolishing entire agencies. Initially established in 1876, the rule has been in effect during various periods, including recent reinstatements in 2017 and 2023. It allows the Appropriations Committee to modify budget allocations without the usual requirement for separate policy considerations, thereby enabling direct legislative action on spending matters.
The rule was originally introduced by William S. Holman as a means to curb patronage appointments before the establishment of a merit-based federal workforce. Throughout its history, it has faced opposition from various lawmakers, who have expressed concerns about its potential to grant excessive power to the Appropriations Committee. While some view the Holman Rule as a tool for enhancing government accountability and reducing waste, others criticize it as a mechanism for targeting political adversaries and undermining federal employee integrity. The rule's application has resulted in significant debate about the balance of power in Congress and the implications for federal governance.
Holman rule
The Holman Rule is a provision in the US House of Representatives that allows lawmakers to offer amendments to appropriation bills that would reduce or eliminate the salaries of individual federal employees, reduce staff numbers, and even eliminate agencies. The rule was in effect from 1876–1895, 1911–1983, and 2017–2019. It was reinstated in 2023.
Congressional rules require that questions of policy be considered separately from questions of funding. The Holman Rule is an exception to these rules. The rule, stated as clause 2(b) of House Rule XXI, allows for “germane provisions that retrench expenditures by the reduction of amounts of money covered by the bill.” The rule essentially gives the Appropriations Committee the ability to include legislative provisions that reduce the number and salaries of federal employees.
Background
The Holman Rule is named after William S. Holman, its main proponent, a Democrat from Indiana. Holman, known as “watchdog of the Treasury,” argued that his proposal would allow the Appropriations Committee to not only increase spending but also retrench (reduce) expenditures. It modified House Rule 120, which disallowed appropriations “for any expenditure not previously authorized by law.” The initial intent of the rule was to eliminate patronage positions in the federal government in the days before the establishment of a merit-based system.
The proposed rule change was met with resistance from the Republican Party. Both James A. Garfield of Ohio and John A. Kasson of Iowa voiced their opposition. They feared the rule would give the Appropriations Committee too much power to steer policy through the disappropriation of funds, usurping the ability of other committees and government bodies to fulfill their duties.
The Holman Rule passed the US House of Representatives on January 17, 1876, by a vote of 156 to 102. The vote was along party lines.
Nineteeth and Twentieth Centuries
In 1880, the 46th Congress modified the wording of the allowable retrenchments, but the intent remained the same. The Holman Rule remained in place until 1885, when the 49th Congress dropped it. The rule was reinstated from 1891 to 1895, during the 52nd and 53rd Congresses but was again eliminated in 1985 by the 54th Congress. The rule was readopted in 1911 by the 62nd Congress and remained in effect until 1983. It was once again removed in 1983 due primarily to its opposition by then-Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill (Democrat, Massachusetts).
Although a part of the House Rules for much of the twentieth century, the Holman Rule was seldom used. The rule was invoked in 1932 and 1939 to eliminate twenty-nine and eight customs positions, respectively. It was used in 1938 to reduce the number of naval officers and in 1952 to require independent agencies to reduce their workforce by 10 percent before making any new hires. Application of the Holman Rule was tested before the US Supreme Court in 1946 in the case of United States v. Lovett. The act in question eliminated the salaries of thirty-nine federal employees suspected of being Communists. However, the Supreme Court ruled that such an act was prohibited under Article 1, Section 9, of the Constitution. This ruling has caused some scholars to question the constitutionality of the Holman Rule.
Twenty-First Century
The Holman Rule was reinstated by a Republican-controlled Congress in 2017. The rule was adopted for one year with Congress reupping in 2018. When Democrats took control of the House in 2019, the rule was once again dropped from the House Rules.
During the two-year period of its revival, Republicans argued that the Holman Rule cut considerable red tape from the process of defunding positions or agencies, Democrats worried that the rule would undermine the integrity of federal employees and allow representatives to target individuals considered political enemies.
Under regular process, to defund positions or an entire agency, Congress conducts a lengthy process to determine whether the agency is fulling its mission, considers staffing levels, and evaluates past performance. However, the Holman Rule allowed the House to circumnavigate that requirement and simply add legislative amendments or wording to an appropriations bill that reduces or eliminates spending. As such, the rule allows for the reduction of the federal workforce and the elimination of specific positions or agencies without review.
If the amendment is part of the must-pass portion of the appropriations bill, House members would be required to accept Holman Rule–based amendments or reject the entire bill. The president would be required to make the same decision when the bill reached the president’s desk: sign with the retrenchment amendment or veto the whole bill.
Republicans attempted to use the Holman Rule several times from 2017–2019. Morgan Griffith (Republican, Virginia) offered an amendment that would eliminate eighty-nine jobs from the Congressional Budget Office. The amendment was introduced after the office issued a negative assessment of the Republican-backed budget proposal. The amendment failed by a vote of 116–309 on July 26, 2017. Ron DeSantis, a Republican from Florida, also proposed two Holman-based amendments, but both failed.
The Holman Rule was dropped from the House Rules by Democrats in 2019, but when Republicans regained control of the chamber in 2023, they successfully brought the rule back to life. Once again, support and opposition were drawn along party lines.
Republicans argued that the rule allows Congress to stymie federal corruption and misspending. Representative Kat Cammack, a Republican from Florida, called federal officials “unelected bureaucrats, the true, real swamp creatures here in DC” and said that they had “run roughshod over the American people without consequence.” With Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the White House, Republicans saw the Holman Rule as a way to pass legislative policy that would otherwise be squashed.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats saw the reinstatement of the rule as a means for Republicans to target perceived political enemies and eliminate agencies without due process. The purpose of the original rule in 1876 was to reduce or eliminate patronage positions. However, the federal government workforce is now built on a merit-based system with a goal of separating policy from politics. In addition, the American Federation of Government Employees strongly opposed the rule, stating, “The whole point of it is to use it recklessly. There’s no way to use it responsibly.”
Bibliography
Friedman, Drew. “House Republicans Introduce Plans to Revive ‘Holman rule’ in Congress.” Federal News Network, 2 Jan. 2023, federalnewsnetwork.com/congress/2023/01/house-republicans-introduce-plans-to-revive-holman-rule-in-congress/. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.
“Historical Highlights: The Holman Rule.” U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art, and Archives, history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/15032443728?ret=True. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.
“The Holman Rule (House Rule XXI, 2 (b)).” Congressional Research Service, updated January 10, 2023. Report no. R44736. crsreports.congress.gov. 13 Apr. 2023.
Tiefer, Charles. “How the ‘Holman Rule’ Allows the House to Fast-Track Proposals to Gut Government Programs Without Debate or Much Thought at All.” The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2023, theconversation.com/how-the-holman-rule-allows-the-house-to-fast-track-proposals-to-gut-government-programs-without-debate-or-much-thought-at-all-198384. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.
Yoder, Eric. “GOP Revives Rule Allowing Lawmakers to Target Federal Agencies, Staffers.” Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/10/gop-holman-rule-unions-biden-congress/. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.