	Introduction

House procedures are not based solely on the Rules that the chamber adopts at the outset of each new Congress. The foundations of House parliamentary procedure also include constitutional mandates, principles of parliamentary practice set forth in Jefferson ' s Manual , provisions of law that have the force and effect of rules, published precedents reflecting authoritative rulings and interpretations of the foregoing authorities, and informal practices. These authorities, which are presented in the House Manual with annotations by the parliamentarian, include
the Constitution; Jefferson ' s Manual ; the adopted Rules of the House; and provisions of law that have the force and effect of rules ("rule-making statutes"). Finally, parliamentary reference documents prepared by committees, offices, and other organs of the House include
Committee rules, adopted by the respective committees and compiled, in each Congress, by the House Committee on Rules in a print, Rules Adopted by Committees of the House of Representatives; "Memorandums of understanding" (often called "letters of agreement") between committees regarding committee jurisdiction; Floor Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives from the House Committee on Rules; How Our Laws Are Made from the Office of the House Parliamentarian; and the rules of the Democratic Caucus and of the Republican Conference, adopted by the respective bodies and prepared by each for its own Members. This report begins by reviewing some principles of House procedure that condition the way in which these parliamentary reference sources can be used. Although some of these illustrations do not reflect the most recent, current edition of the document from which they are taken, the format and other features they illustrate are retained in the current editions. Appendix A furnishes citations for each printed reference document covered in this report, and for related Congressional Research Service (CRS) products. These include
a single comprehensive index to all the authorities contained in the Manual ; the annotations by the Parliamentarian of the House to the provisions of each authority, summarizing pertinent precedents that bear on each provision; and a preface that presents a summary of changes to House Rules adopted since the last Congress. This section sets forth procedures for House floor consideration of the budget resolution. In addition, however, House precedents in general are compiled, digested, described, or referenced in five official publications of the House:
House Practice ; Deschler ' s Precedents ; Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents ; Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives and its supplement; and Cannon ' s Procedure . Hinds ' and Cannon ' s Precedents is very useful, however, when other reference sources cite a specific precedent in the 11-volume set. The precedents are grouped in unnumbered topical chapters. Additional Authorities

As noted at the outset, in the section "The House Adheres to Many Informal Practices," procedure in the House is governed not only by the Constitution, formally adopted rules, and precedents interpreting those authorities, but also by a variety of other practices that have become usual in the course of time. Upon adoption, the rules are printed and distributed to Members belonging to the respective conference. Senate. CRS Report 98-309, House Legislative Procedures: Published Sources of Information , by [author name scrubbed]. There are links to current versions of House and Senate rules and CRS reports on specific procedural topics.
House procedures are based not solely on the code of Rules the chamber adopts at the start of each Congress, but also on constitutional mandates, published precedents reflecting authoritative rulings and interpretations of the foregoing authorities, procedural principles set forth in the manual of practice prepared by Jefferson, "rule-making" statutes, and practices that have developed without being formally adopted.. Rules adopted by committees and by the party conferences also serve as sources of parliamentary practice in the House. This report describes the coverage, format, and availability of documents that set forth these procedural authorities, and notes principles of House procedural practice that bear on appropriate use of these sources. Summaries and appendices provide citations to print and electronic versions, and list related CRS products.
The main procedural authorities of the House are set forth in the House Manual ("House Rules and Manual" or, colloquially, "Jefferson's Manual"), published in each Congress and distributed to House offices. They include the Constitution, applicable portions of Jefferson's Manual, the adopted Rules of the House, and provisions of statute that have procedural effects, often governing proceedings on specified measures. In the House Manual, provisions of each authority are accompanied by the parliamentarian's annotations of precedents interpreting those provisions. Budget resolutions may also contain provisions with procedural effect.
The current practice of the House is summarized by topic, with references to pertinent rules and precedents, in House Practice, prepared by the Office of the Parliamentarian and provided to all House offices. Precedents from 1936 to 1976 or later are set forth in full, or topical chapters, in the 16 volumes (so far) of Deschler-Brown Precedents. Currently applicable precedents, including some later than 1976, are digested in Procedure in the House, a single volume with a similar chapter structure. Precedents before 1936 are set forth in the 11 volumes (with indexes) of Hinds' and Cannon's Precedents, with their own topical order. The older works among these are out of print, but copies are available for House offices.
Other authorities include policies announced by Speakers in implementing certain rules, and "memorandums of understanding" reached by committees about areas of potentially shared jurisdiction. Some of these policies and memorandums are published in the Congressional Record. Also, House Rules require each committee to adopt and publish rules, which the Committee on Rules compiles in a single document in each Congress. Rules adopted by each party conference are in general made available only to its members. Finally, this report also mentions two brief procedural guides published under the auspices of House committees.
This report assumes a basic familiarity with House procedure. It will be updated to reflect the appearance of new editions of the documents discussed and to address substantial changes in their content and availability. Information about Senate parliamentary reference sources is covered in CRS Report RL30788, Parliamentary Reference Sources: Senate, by Megan Suzanne Lynch and [author name scrubbed].