The House Rules Committee, formally known as the Committee on Rules, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for establishing the rules under which bills will be presented to the House of Representatives, unlike other committees, which often deal with specific areas of policy. The committee is considered one of the most powerful committees as it influences the introduction and process of legislation through the House. It has two broad categories of jurisdiction: special orders for the consideration of legislation (known as “special rules” or “rules”) and original jurisdiction matters. The Committee also considers original jurisdiction measures, which commonly represent changes to the standing rules of the House, or measures that contain special rules, such as the expedited procedures in trade legislation. The Committee has the authority to do virtually anything during the course of consideration of a measure, including deeming it passed. The Committee operates with two subcommittees, one focusing on legislative and budget matters and one focusing on the internal.
The Rules Committee was formed on April 2, 1789, during the first Congress. However, it had nowhere near the powerful role it has today. Instead, it merely proposed general rules for the House to follow when debating bills (rather than passing a special rule for each bill), and was dissolved after proposing these general rules. These general rules still have a great impact on the tone of the House floor today. The Committee is commonly known as “The Speaker’s Committee” because it is the mechanism that the Speaker uses to maintain control of the House Floor, and was chaired by the Speaker until 1910. Because of the vast power wielded by the Rules Committee, its ratio has traditionally been weighted in favor of the majority party, and has been in its “2 to 1” (9 majority and 4 minority members) configuration since the late 1970s.
The Committee on Rules has a significant impact on the legislative process and is crucial in shaping the debate and consideration of legislation in the House of Representatives. It plays a pivotal role in determining the terms and conditions of debate on a measure or matter, and its decisions can have far-reaching implications for the legislative agenda and the functioning of the House.
