Floor Consideration

Once a bill has been reported out of the committee or committees to which it was assigned, it must be considered by all of the members of the body in which it was introduced — either the House or the Senate.

While the majority and minority party leaders work together in the Senate to determine when bills will come to the floor and under what conditions they will be debated, the House is much more restrictive in establishing its legislative calendar. In many ways, legislative procedure in the House is much more regimented than in the Senate, partly because of the need to have more control over the larger membership in the House and partly because of tradition.

In the House, a Committee on Rules establishes the time and duration of debate on each bill that comes to the floor. In fact, each bill considered by the House comes with a “rule” attached to it, which is created by the Rules Committee. In addition to the timing and extent of the bill’s floor consideration, the rule also specifies what, if any, amendments may be made to the bill on the floor. The Rules Committee can attach a closed, open, or modified-closed rule to each bill that comes before it. As the names suggest, a closed rule does not allow for any amendments while an open rule allows any number of amendments. Modified-closed rules, which are used most frequently, allow for only a specific number or, more often, a specific pre-approved list of amendments. There is no Rules Committee and, hence, no rules attached to legislation in the Senate.

In both the House and the Senate, the allotted time for debate on each piece of legislation is divided equally between the two parties. Generally, the sponsor of the bill or the chair of the committee that reported the bill will be the “floor manager” for the legislation, allowing other members to speak in favor of the bill. A member who opposes the bill, usually from the opposing party, will manage the time for those who wish to speak against the bill.

After all allowable amendments have been offered and voted on and the time set aside for debate has expired, the full membership of the House or Senate votes on the legislation. A bill must win the support of a majority of those present to “pass.”