	The "Two-Hour Rule"

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, which has evolved over the years, 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. Pursuant to paragraph 5(a) of Senate Rule XXVI, no Senate committee or subcommittee (except for the Appropriations and Budget Committees and their subcommittees) can meet after the Senate has been in session for two hours or past 2:00 p.m. unless both the majority and minority leaders (or their designees) agree to permit the meeting and their agreement has been announced on the floor. A third but arguably impractical option is for the Senate to adopt a privileged motion to allow the meeting. Sometimes, however, the two-hour rule's restrictions on committee meeting are insisted upon, most commonly as a form of protest or to delay a committee's action on a specific measure or matter. Currently, permission for Senate committees to sit during times prohibited by the two-hour rule is being granted almost exclusively by joint leadership agreement instead of by unanimous consent, a change from prior practice. Any action taken by a committee during a meeting prohibited by the rule is "null, void, and of no effect." Origin and Evolution of the Senate Two-Hour Rule

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. The prohibition contained in the preceding sentence shall not apply to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. The present form of the two-hour rule, which combined the provisions of the 1964 standing rule and the 1970 statutory provision, was adopted by the Senate 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.
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.