	Introduction

Each year, Congress considers appropriations measures that provide funding for various federal government activities. Such measures are commonly referred to as "regular" appropriations bills. In recent years, the House has typically considered a regular appropriations bill only after first reaching agreement on the procedural terms of its consideration. Rarely have regular appropriations bills been considered under their status as privileged business. House Rule XIII allows a motion to be made to provide for consideration of a general appropriations bill. This report examines the terms under which the regular appropriations bills are typically brought up and initially considered on the House floor, as well as the practices of the House with regard to amendment opportunities and waivers, for FY1996 to FY2015 (104 th -114 th Congresses). Amending Regular Appropriations Bills in the House

When a regular appropriations bill is considered as a privileged measure, this procedure generally permits consideration of any amendments to the bill that comply with the rules of the House (called an "open" amending process). Providing for consideration by a special rule or UCA, however, allows this amending process to be altered. Such alterations can place preconditions on the offering of amendments, directly prescribe the specific amendments that will be in order, waive points of order against amendments, or place time limits on their consideration. For FY1996 to FY2015, the means used for consideration of most regular appropriations bills provided for some type of "open" amending process allowing an unrestricted number of amendments to be offered that comply with House rules. Such processes often waived points of order against certain amendments and, less frequently, required that amendments be preprinted in the Congressional Record in advance of consideration. On all but one occasion during this period, the means used for initiating consideration of Legislative Branch bills provided for a "structured" amendment process, which specified a list of amendments that could be offered and waived points of order against those amendments. Structured processes were used for other types of bills on 3 occasions through the 110 th Congress, 13 occasions during the 111 th Congress, and one occasion during each of the 113 th and 114 th Congresses. A closed process, which allowed no amendments, was used on only one occasion, for consideration of the FY2004 Legislative Branch appropriations bill. 5. Waiving House Rules Prior to Consideration of Regular Appropriations Bills

The standing rules of the House place certain restrictions on when a measure is eligible for consideration and what content may be considered. The House sometimes chooses to "waive" or set aside its standing rules or restrictions in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Titles I-IX of P.L. 601-688) during the consideration of certain measures though a special rule or UCA. During this period, the practice of providing broad waivers for "points of order against consideration" evolved—from providing no waivers or waivers only for specific rules to providing blanket waivers of all points of order against consideration or blanket waivers with exceptions. This change in procedural practice, however, does not necessarily reflect changes in the content of the bills. The practice of providing waivers for Rule XXI, clause 2, with exceptions for specified language in the bill increased during this period until the FY2008 regular appropriations bills. For the FY2008 to FY2011 bills, only waivers that covered the entire measure were used. Most recently, waivers with specified exceptions were provided on five occasions in the 112 th and 113 th Congresses for the consideration of FY2012, FY2013, and FY2014 measures.
Each year, Congress considers appropriations measures that provide funding for various federal government activities. Such measures are commonly referred to as "regular" appropriations bills. In recent years, the House has typically considered a regular appropriations bill after first reaching agreement on the procedural terms of its consideration, most frequently through the adoption of a special rule or occasionally through a unanimous consent agreement (UCA). Rarely have regular appropriations bills been considered as privileged business.
This report examines the terms under which the regular appropriations bills are typically brought up and initially considered on the House floor, as well as the practices of the House with regard to amendment opportunities and the waiver of points of order, for FY1996 to FY2015 (104th-114th Congresses).
House Rule XIII, clause 5(a), allows a motion to be made to provide for consideration of a general appropriations measure. When a regular appropriations bill is considered as a privileged measure by this method, this procedure generally permits any amendments thereto that comply with the rules of the House to be considered. Providing for consideration by a special rule or UCA, however, allows this amending process to be altered. Such alterations can place preconditions on the offering of amendments, directly prescribe the amendments that will be in order, waive points of order against amendments, or place time limits on consideration.
For FY1996 to FY2015, the means used for initiating consideration of most regular appropriations bills established an "open" amending process, allowing an unrestricted number of amendments to be offered that comply with House rules. Such processes also often waived points of order against certain amendments and, less frequently, required that amendments be preprinted in advance of consideration or placed a time cap on their consideration. The Legislative Branch Appropriations bill was the one most frequently considered under a "structured" amendment process. On all but one occasion, the means used for initiating consideration of such bills during this period specified a list of amendments that could be offered and waived points of order against those amendments. Structured processes were used for other types of bills on three occasions through the 110th Congress, 13 occasions during the 111th Congress, and one occasion during each of the 113th and 114th Congresses. A "closed" process allowing no amendments was used on only one occasion, for consideration of the FY2004 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill.
The standing rules of the House place certain restrictions on when a measure is eligible for consideration and what content may be considered. The House sometimes chooses to "waive" or set aside its standing rules during the consideration of certain measures or matters through a special rule or UCA. For FY1996 to FY2015, the practice of providing broad waivers for "points of order against consideration" evolved considerably—from providing no waivers or only waivers of specific rules to providing blanket waivers of all points of order against consideration or blanket waivers with exceptions. This change in procedural practice, however, does not necessarily reflect changes in the content of the bills. The practice of providing waivers for Rule XXI, clause 2, with exceptions for specified language in the bill, often referred to as the "Armey Protocol," steadily increased during this period until the FY2008 regular appropriations bills. For the FY2008 to FY2011 bills, only waivers that covered the entire measure were used. Most recently, waivers with specified exceptions were provided on five occasions in the 112th and 113th Congresses.