Passed
212 Yea210 Nay8 Not voting1/2 required
HRES-1336-119
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Sponsored by Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
What it does
This resolution would waive the requirement under clause 6(a) of House Rule XIII, which normally mandates that resolutions reported from the Committee on Rules must wait a set period before being considered on the House floor. By waiving this waiting period, the resolution would allow one or more specific Rules Committee resolutions to be brought to the floor for a vote immediately or sooner than the standard timeline permits.
Who benefits
House majority party leadership, which gains flexibility to schedule floor votes on Rules Committee resolutions without the standard waiting period. Members who support the underlying legislation that the Rules Committee resolutions govern, as those bills could advance more quickly. The legislative agenda of the majority party more broadly.
Who is hurt
House minority party members, who lose the procedural time that the waiting period provides to review, organize opposition, and communicate with constituents about upcoming votes. Individual House members of both parties who rely on the waiting period to study the terms under which legislation will be debated. Constituents and advocacy groups who use the notice period to contact their representatives before a vote occurs.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that procedural waivers of this kind are a routine and necessary tool for managing the House floor schedule, particularly when legislative deadlines — such as expiring authorizations, budget deadlines, or time-sensitive policy windows — require expedited action. They contend that the Rules Committee has already reviewed and reported the relevant resolutions, meaning the substantive deliberation has occurred, and that the waiver simply removes a scheduling formality that would serve no practical purpose in time-sensitive circumstances.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the waiting period required by clause 6(a) of Rule XIII exists precisely to prevent the majority from rushing consequential procedural votes through the floor before members and the public have adequate time to review them. They contend that repeated use of such waivers erodes minority rights and transparency, and that characterizing the delay as a mere formality understates its function as a check on majority-party control of the legislative process.
Constitutional context
No clear constitutional issue is raised by this resolution. The Constitution grants each chamber of Congress the authority to determine its own rules of proceeding under Article I, Section 5, Clause 2. A resolution waiving an internal House rule is a standard exercise of that authority and does not implicate the Commerce Clause, Takings Clause, or any of the other provisions most relevant to Economy-category legislation.
Checks and balances
The House majority gains scheduling flexibility and the ability to accelerate floor consideration; the primary check is the requirement that a majority of the full House vote to adopt this waiver resolution itself.
Historical precedent
Waivers of clause 6(a) of Rule XIII are among the most common procedural resolutions passed by the House and are routinely adopted at the start of floor consideration of major legislation across Congresses of both parties.
Passed
Passed