AMENDMENTS AND THE GERMANENESS RULE
The rules of the House prohibit amendments of a subject matter different from the text under consideration. This rule, commonly known as the germaneness rule, is considered the single most important rule of the House of Representatives because of the obvious need to keep the focus of a body the size of the House on a predictable subject matter.
The germaneness rule applies to the proceedings in the House, the Committee of
the Whole, and the standing committees. There are hundreds of prior rulings or
‘‘precedents’’ on germaneness available to guide the Chair.