Bypassing Senate Committees: Rule XIV and Unanimous Consent (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Feb. 8, 2017 |
| Report Number |
RS22299 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Michael L. Koempel, Senior Specialist in American National Government; Christina Wu, Research Associate |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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Summary:
Most bills and joint resolutions introduced in the Senate, and many House-numbered bills and joint resolutions received by the Senate after House passage, are referred to committee. Some bills and joint resolutions, however, are not referred to committee. This report examines the alternative procedures and actions that the Senate uses to bypass committee consideration of bills and joint resolutions. It also provides examples of how the Senate uses these alternative procedures and actions to facilitate consideration and passage of some bills and joint resolutions.
Provisions of Senate Rule XIV and unanimous consent allow the Senate to bypass a measure's referral to committee. Rule XIV requires measures to be read twice before referral to committee. By objecting after the second reading on a measure to any further proceeding on it, a Senator, normally the majority leader, acting on his own initiative or at the request of any Senator, prevents a bill or joint resolution's referral to committee. The measure is placed directly on the Senate Calendar of Business. Alternately, unanimous consent is also used to bypass referral and place measures directly on the calendar.
Although placing a measure directly on the calendar may facilitate calling it up later for consideration on the Senate floor, placement on the calendar does not guarantee floor consideration.
A bill or joint resolution, in addition, might be neither referred to committee nor placed on the calendar: a measure might be held at the desk (of the presiding officer). Another use of unanimous consent is to truncate a committee's consideration of a measure referred to it: a measure might be referred to a committee but then the committee by unanimous consent of the Senate is discharged from further consideration of the measure.
One purpose of using any of the means of bypassing committee referral or truncating committee consideration of a measure is to facilitate a measure's Senate consideration. The Senate leadership might use one of two informal processes, called clearance and hotlining, to determine if any Senator would object to a specific bill or joint resolution being considered and possibly passed by unanimous consent.
The Senate regularly uses unanimous consent to consider and pass noncontroversial legislation that was placed directly on the calendar, that is at the desk (neither placed on the calendar nor referred to committee), that has been discharged from committee, or that has been reported from committee.
On major legislation, the majority leader typically attempts to obtain unanimous consent to proceed to the consideration of a measure, whether it was referred to or reported by a committee. In some limited circumstances, unanimous consent might also be used to pass such legislation.
This report does not examine procedures applicable to concurrent and simple resolutions, treaties, and nominations. Nor does it examine the use of a germane, relevant, or nongermane amendment instead of a bill or joint resolution. This report will not be updated again in the 114th Congress unless Senate procedures change.
