Suspension of the rules
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In the United States House of Representatives, suspension of the rules is a procedure generally used to quickly pass non-controversial bills.
A motion to suspend the rules is in order on Mondays and Tuesdays and towards the end of a session of Congress and may only be made by the Speaker of the House or his designee, though it is customary for committee chairs to write the Speaker requesting a suspension. Under a suspension motion, debate is limited to 40 minutes and no amendments can be offered from the floor, while a 2/3 majority is required to pass the bill.
A suspension of the rules permits legislation to be brought immediately to the House floor even if it is last on the House calendar of scheduled legislation. Both political parties have internal rules against a suspension of the rules unless a bill has bipartisan support and costs less than $100 million.
In the United States Senate, Rule XVI prohibits amendments that propose general legislation to appropriations legislations. In order to prevent a point of order from killing the amendment, a Senator may offer a motion to suspend rule XVI, paragraph 4, essentially making the order germane. This motion requires a 2/3 majority to approve, meaning that it rarely passes. It should not be confused with a motion to waive the Budget Act, which requires a 3/5 vote to pass and applies to amendments that spend in amounts that exceed the levels set out in the annual budget resolution, as well as many other financial issues.
References
- CRS Report for Congress: Suspension of the Rules in the House
- Senate Rule XVI
- Example of a vote to suspend Rule XVI
- Sinclair, Barbara (1997). Unorthodox Lawmaking: New Legislative Processes in the U.S. Congress. CQ Press. ISBN 1-56802-276-X