US Elections

One of the newer types is called a “self executing” rule; it embodies a “two-for-one” procedure. This means that when the House adopts a rule it also simultaneously agrees to dispose of a separate matter, which is specified in the rule itself. For instance, self-executing rules may stipulate that a discrete policy proposal is deemed to have passed the House and been incorporated in the bill to be taken up. The effect: neither in the House nor in the Committee of the Whole will lawmakers have an opportunity to amend or to vote separately on the “self-executed” provision. It was automatically agreed to when the House passed the rule. Rules of this sort contain customary, or “boilerplate,” language, such as: “The amendment printed in [section 2 of this resolution or in part 1 of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution] shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole.”

So, basically, the House, by passing similar but distinct legislation (which will also have to be adopted by the Senate) is agreeing not to get into the nitty-gritty of making amendments. These self-executing rules have been around for decades, and have been used by both Democratic and Republican Congresses to enact legislation. In 2007, they were decided to be permitted under the Constitution.

I must admit, I'm not a big fan of them. My preference would be for Democrats, as well as every single Republican who think it's important to insure 30 million extra Americans and, in doing so, reduce the deficit, to merely vote for the Senate bill, then enact the House Amendments improving upon some of the worst excesses of that Senate bill.

But my preference would also be for Senate Republicans to abandon their abuse of the bizarre parliamentary procedure known as the filibuster. Let's be clear: this widespread use of the filibuster is novel to these past few decades, and can only rightly be seen as an exercise in Republican brinksmanship. America's founders, together with its populace through most of its history, did not intend for the Senate to operate with a super-majority requirement. If Republicans genuinely do not want to see the House use the self-executing rule procedure, they should agree to allow a majority-vote of the health care legislation in the Senate.

But just as filibustering any-and-everything that comes before a member is legal, but not moral; so too is playing fast and loose with House rules. If an obstructionist conservative minority will play cute with procedure, they can hardly complain when their opposition does the same. For now, I'll leave you with a list the CRS maintains of deem-and-pass rules that have been used to enact "significant substantive and sometimes controversial propositions":

• On August 2, 1989, the House adopted a rule (H.Res. 221) that automatically incorporated into the text of the bill made in order for consideration a provision that prohibited smoking on domestic airline flights of two hours or less duration.
• On March 19, 1996, the House adopted a rule (H.Res. 384) that incorporated a voluntary employee verification program — addressing the employment of illegal immigrants — into a committee substitute made in order as original text. 
• H.Res. 239, agreed to on September 24, 1997, automatically incorporated into the base bill a provision to block the use of statistical sampling for the 2000 census until federal courts had an opportunity to rule on its constitutionality.
• A closed rule (H.Res. 303) on an IRS reform bill provided for automatic adoption of four amendments to the committee substitute made in order as original text. The rule was adopted on November 5, 1997, with bipartisan support.
• On May 7, 1998, an intelligence authorization bill was made in order by H.Res. 420. This self-executing rule dropped a section from the intelligence measure that would have permitted the CIA to offer their employees an early-out retirement program.
• On February 20, 2005, the House adopted H.Res. 75, which provided that a manager’s amendment dealing with immigration issues shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole and the bill (H.R. 418), as amended, shall be considered as the original bill for purposes of amendment.

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