The Senate "Two-Hour Rule" Governing Committee Meeting Times (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
April 20, 2018 |
| Report Number |
R45170 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Christopher M. Davis; Michael Greene |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Paragraph 5(a) of Senate Rule XXVI, sometimes referred to as the “two-hour rule,” restricts the
times that most Senate committees and subcommittees can meet when the full Senate is in
session. The rule is intended to help balance the Senate’s committee and floor work and to
minimize the logistical conflicts that Senators face between participating in committee hearings
and markups and attending to their duties on the chamber floor.
Under the terms of the rule, no Senate committee or subcommittee (except the Committees on
Appropriations and Budget and their subcommittees) can meet after the Senate has been in
session for two hours or past 2:00 p.m. unless one of the following things occur: (1) the Senate
grants unanimous consent for them to meet; (2) both the majority and minority leaders (or their
designees) agree to permit the meeting, and their agreement has been announced on the Senate
floor; or (3) the Senate adopts a privileged motion to allow the meeting. Should a committee meet
during a restricted time period without being granted permission, any action that it takes—such as
ordering a bill or nomination reported to the Senate—is considered “null, void, and of no effect.”
Senate rules restricting committee meeting times have existed for over 70 years and have evolved
over time. A rule limiting committees from sitting while the Senate is in session was first enacted
in Section 134(c) of P.L. 79-753, the Legislative Reorganization Act (LRA) of 1946. Rules
regulating the meeting times of Senate committees were amended in 1964 and again in 1970. The
Senate adopted the present form of the two-hour rule on February 4, 1977, via Section 402 of
S.Res. 4, a resolution implementing the recommendations of the Temporary Select Committee to
Study the Senate Committee System.
Permission for committees to sit during the hours restricted by the rule is routinely granted in the
Senate. On occasion, however, the two-hour rule is invoked, most often as a form of protest or in
order to delay committee action on a particular measure or matter. Invoking the rule for these
reasons has increased in recent years. Permission to sit during times prohibited by the rule is now
most often granted by joint leadership agreement instead of by unanimous consent, a change from
prior practice.
