CRS Reports – House Legislative Procedures

This week, the Congressional Research Service updated four publications that deal with legislative processes in the House. They describe the process included in the rules of the House and they ways that the leadership can revise or avoid those processes. The reports include:

• Availability of Legislative Measures in the House of Representatives (The “72-Hour Rule”),

• Considering Legislation on the House Floor: Common Practices in Brief,

• Suspension of the Rules in the House: Principal Features, and

• Resolutions of Inquiry in the House  

Resolutions of Inquiry have not been really common until the last couple of weeks in the current session. In the last week alone, there have been fifteen resolutions of inquiry introduced in the House:

• H Res 1236 Of inquiry directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide certain documents in his possession to the House of Representatives relating to the Disinformation Governance Board. Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] ,

• H Res 1237 Of inquiry requesting the President to provide certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to online censorship of political speech. Rep. Bishop, Dan [R-NC-9],

• H Res 1238 Of inquiry requesting the President to provide certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the October 4, 2021 memorandum issued by the Attorney General entitled "Partnership Among Federal, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement to Address Threats Against School Administrators, Board Members, Teachers, and Staff". Rep. Fitzgerald, Scott [R-WI-5],

• H Res 1239 Of inquiry directing the Attorney General to provide certain documents in his possession to the House of Representatives relating to the October 4, 2021 memorandum issued by the Attorney General entitled "Partnership Among Federal, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement to Address Threats Against School Administrators, Board Members, Teachers, and Staff". Rep. Johnson, Mike [R-LA-4],

• H Res 1241 Of inquiry directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide certain documents in his possession to the House of Representatives relating to immigration enforcement and border security. Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-4],

• H Res 1243 Of inquiry requesting the President transmit certain documents in his possession to the House of Representatives relating to the Biden family's international business schemes and related information. Rep. Comer, James [R-KY-1] ,

• H Res 1244 Of inquiry requesting the President and directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to transmit, respectively, certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to any COVID-19 vaccine. Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-4],

• H Res 1246 Of inquiry directing the Secretary of the Treasury to provide certain documents in the Secretary's possession to the House of Representatives relating to recovery rebates under section 6428B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Rep. Smith, Jason [R-MO-8],

• H Res 1247 Of inquiry directing the Secretary of the Interior to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the 2023-2028 five-year program for offshore oil and gas leasing. Rep. Graves, Garret [R-LA-6],

• H Res 1248 Of inquiry directing the Secretary of the Interior to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the compliance with the obligations of the Mineral Leasing Act. Rep. Herrell, Yvette [R-NM-2],

• H Res 1249 Of inquiry directing the Secretary of the Interior to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the impact of illegal immigration on federal or tribal lands. Rep. Moore, Blake D. [R-UT-1],

• H Res 1250 Of inquiry directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the impact of illegal immigration on Federal or Tribal lands. Rep. Moore, Blake D. [R-UT-1],

• H Res 1251 Of inquiry directing the Secretary of Agriculture to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the mineral withdrawal within the Superior National Forest. Rep. Stauber, Pete [R-MN-8],

• H Res 1252 Of inquiry directing the Secretary of the Interior to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the mineral withdrawal within the Superior National Forest. Rep. Stauber, Pete [R-MN-8], and

• H Res 1253 Of inquiry directing the Secretary of the Interior to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the actions of the Department of the Interior's Departmental Ethics Office. Rep. Westerman, Bruce [R-AR-4]

A quick look at the subjects makes it obvious that these requests stem from basic disagreements between the more conservative wing of the Republican Party and the current Biden Administration. It is also clear that there is little to no chance that any of these resolutions would be expected to be adopted in Committee or passed on the floor of the House.

It would seem that this is another attempt to delay operations of the House in the lead up to the end of the fiscal year, both in Committee and potentially on the floor of the House. This is because resolutions of inquiry are privileged and require action in Committee within 14 days of introduction, or it may be called to the floor by person who introduced the resolution.