HOUSE ACTION
Debate on a bill in the House is cut off by moving and ordering ‘‘the previous question’’. All debate is cut off on the bill if this motion is carried by a majority of the Members voting, a quorum being present, or by a special rule ordering the previous question upon the rising of the Committee of the Whole. The Speaker then puts the question: ‘‘Shall the bill be engrossed and read a third time?’’
If this question is decided in the affirmative, the bill is read a third time by title only and voted on for passage. If the previous question has been ordered by the terms of the rule on a bill reported by the Committee of the Whole, the House immediately votes on whatever amendments have been reported by the Committee in the order in which they appear in the bill unless voted on en bloc.
After completion of voting on the amendments, the House immediately votes on the passage of the bill with the amendments it has adopted. However, a motion to recommit, as described in the next section, may be offered and voted on prior to the vote on passage.
The Speaker may postpone a recorded vote on final passage of a bill or resolution or agreement to a conference report for up to two legislative days. Measures that do not have to be considered in the Committee of the Whole are considered in the House in accordance with the terms of the rule limiting debate on the measure or under the ‘‘hour rule’’.
The hour rule limits the amount of
time that a Member may occupy in debate on a pending question to 60 minutes.
Generally, the opportunity for debate may also be curtailed when the Speaker
makes the rare determination that a motion is dilatory. After passage or
rejection of the bill by the House, a pro forma motion to reconsider it is
automatically made and laid on the table. The motion to reconsider is tabled to
prohibit this motion from being made at a later date because the vote of the
House on a proposition is not final and conclusive until there has been an
opportunity to reconsider it.