The Constitution, House rules and practices, and certain statutes define which proceedings are to be recorded, while the House itself controls how and to what extent the Journal 's contents are presented. In current practice, the House automatically agrees to approval unless a Member calls for a vote. Unlike the Congressional Record , it is not a transcript of debate. Rather, it is a listing of legislative actions. At the start of the next legislative day, the Speaker announces his or her approval of the previous day's Journal (the daily Journal ). House Rule XX provides specific requirements for the recording of votes and quorum calls. House Practice , and the three published collections of House precedents, identify the main purpose of the Journal is "to ensure that the proceedings of the House be a matter of public record." Use as Official Record

The Journal is the official record of House proceedings. If the question is decided in the affirmative by voice or record vote, the Clerk reads the previous day's Journal , omitting the names of Members responding to votes or the texts of messages unless a Member demands a full reading. Procedures That Occur If a Journal Vote Fails

Journal approval votes rarely fail. Reasons to Demand a Vote on or Vote Against Approval of the Journal

According to the U.S. House of Representatives Roll Call Votes database, the House held 472 Journal -approval record votes from 1991 to 2016 (102 nd -114 th Congresses, Table 1 ). None of these votes failed. To Amend the Journal

When a Member demands a vote to agree to the Speaker's approval of the Journal , it may be seen as an attempt to amend the Journal 's contents. Thus, a Member may initiate a Journal -approval vote in order to ascertain the presence of a quorum. To Assemble Members Prior to a Major Vote or Announcement

The act of assessing a quorum is related to another use of Journal -approval votes: to assemble Members prior to a major vote or leadership announcement. For instance, in 1999, a majority-party Member initiated an immediate record vote on the Journal . Under this still-common procedure, the Speaker responds with either an immediate record vote to confirm the presence of a quorum or instead postpones the question until later in the legislative day, at which point the question is considered de novo (as if new), and a record vote may or may not be requested following a voice vote.
The Journal of the House of Representatives is the official record of the chamber's legislative actions. The Journal's contents include the titles of introduced legislation, the results of votes, presidential veto messages, and any other matters the House deems to be official proceedings. Unlike the Congressional Record, it is not a transcript of debate. Rather, the Journal is a listing of House actions without the debate accompanying those actions.
The Constitution mandates that each House keep a journal of its proceedings (Art. 1, §5). The Constitution, House rules and practices, and, to a lesser extent, statutes direct which proceedings must be recorded. The Journal is public, enabling citizens to follow House actions, excepting those that require secrecy, such as matters of national security.
Under House rules, the Speaker announces his or her approval of the Journal at the start of each legislative day. In current practice, approval is automatic unless a Member demands a vote. If that occurs, the Speaker then holds or postpones a voice or record vote to agree to the approval of the Journal.
Members may call for a vote, or vote against the Journal's approval, in order to pursue changes to the Journal or for strategic reasons unrelated to the Journal's contents. For instance, Members may use votes to ascertain the presence of Members, delay proceedings, protest an action, assemble Members prior to a vote or announcement, or establish independence from leadership.
If the vote to approve the Journal fails, the Journal may be subject to amendment. In the period examined (1990-2016), no record vote on approval of the Journal has failed. However, in 1990, a voice vote failed, allowing a Member to offer an amendment, which was approved.
This report considers the origin and purpose of the Journal as well as the procedures related to its approval. It discusses why a Member might call for a vote and why a Member might vote against the Journal's approval. The report also examines record approval votes from 1991 to 2016 (102nd-114th Congresses), addressing trends in the frequency of these votes, the percentage of votes initiated by majority party Members, and the procedures used to call for or postpone record votes.