Adopting the Rules of the House of Representatives for the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress, and for other purposes.

Bill Number: H.Res. 5
Origin Chamber: House
Congress: 119th Congress, Session 1
Policy Area: Congress
Status: Passed House
Latest Action: 2025-01-03: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Last Updated: 2026-06-11T04:26:25Z

AI-Generated Summary

Purpose of the Legislation

This House Resolution (H. Res. 5) adopts the rules of the House of Representatives from the previous (118th) Congress as the baseline for the 119th Congress, starting January 3, 2025. It makes targeted amendments to those rules and establishes temporary orders to guide House operations, procedures, budgeting, oversight, ethics, and committee structures. The goal is to streamline internal processes, enhance fiscal discipline, strengthen oversight of the executive branch, and prioritize certain policy areas while reflecting the majority party's priorities.

Key Provisions

Adoption and Amendments to House Rules (Sections 1-2):
Carries over all rules from the 118th Congress, with changes including:
Speaker Vacancy Resolutions: Limits "privileged" motions to remove the Speaker (under Rule IX) to those introduced by a majority party member with at least 8 majority party cosponsors. This protects the Speaker from easy challenges.
Electronic Voting: Allows committees to use electronic voting systems, regulated by the Committees on Rules and House Administration.
Administrative Roles: Clarifies that the Chief Administrative Officer helps the Clerk manage offices when positions like Speaker are vacant.
Committee Renames: Changes "Committee on Oversight and Accountability" to "Committee on Oversight and Government Reform" and simplifies "Committee on Education and the Workforce" to "Committee on Education and Workforce."
Elimination of Office: Removes the Office of Diversity and Inclusion from House structure and rules.
Codified Practices: Formalizes long-standing procedures, such as:
Public archiving of state memorials for constitutional amendments (Article V of the U.S. Constitution).
Reserving bill numbers H.R. 1-10 for the Speaker and H.R. 11-20 for the Minority Leader.
"District work periods" where the House can adjourn flexibly, skip certain procedural clocks (e.g., for War Powers Resolution or cloture), and approve journals automatically.
Ethics Language: Replaces gender-neutral family terms (e.g., "parent, child") with traditional terms (e.g., "father, mother") in conflict-of-interest rules.
Suspension of Rules: Restricts motions to suspend House rules to Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays only.
Technical Fixes: Minor updates to funding and timing rules.

Separate Orders for House Operations (Section 3):
Budget and Spending Controls:
Revives the "Holman Rule," allowing amendments to appropriations bills that cut spending by reducing federal salaries, officer numbers, or funds (applies after initial reading).
Mandates "spending reduction accounts" in appropriations bills to track savings against budget targets; enables bloc amendments to shift funds to these accounts.
Introduces a point of order against bills increasing long-term direct spending (mandatory programs like entitlements) by over $2.5 billion in any 10-year period beyond the next decade.
Excludes federal land transfers (sales, donations, exchanges) to states, locals, or tribes from budget scoring as new spending or revenue loss.
Requires Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analyses of inflation impacts and trust fund effects (e.g., Medicare, Social Security) for major legislation (over 0.25% of GDP).
Organizational Reforms:
Allows "Congressional Member Organizations" (CMOs, bipartisan groups like caucuses) to receive direct funding transfers from members' allowances for shared staff, with regulations on use (e.g., no travel or mailings); eligibility requires 30+ members and 3+ staff.
Requires Majority Leader to explain in the Congressional Record why consensus calendar bills (bipartisan measures) don't meet party protocols.
Funds Committee on House Administration for contested election resolutions through 2026.
Procedural and Oversight Tools:
Bars rules that waive germaneness requirements (relevance to bills) without a "question of consideration" vote.
Nullifies prior regulations on legislative branch accountability from the 117th Congress.
Permits remote witness appearances in committees (with counsel and oaths), excluding executive branch officials.
Authorizes committees to take depositions (including via subpoena), limited to members/staff; witnesses get two private attorneys.
Ensures motions to discharge War Powers Resolution bills can't be tabled (blocked).
Continues specific subpoenas and lawsuits against executive officials (e.g., on Biden interviews, Hunter Biden probe).
Technology and Transparency:
Promotes AI use in House operations (e.g., drafting, analysis) with ethical guidelines from House IT policy.
Expands machine-readable legislative documents for public access and staff tools (e.g., comparing bill versions).
Improves the Clerk's electronic repository for committee documents like votes and amendments.
Ethics and Workplace Rules:
Bars lobbyists or foreign agents (former members/officers) from House gym access.
Requires posting employee rights under the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA, which applies workplace laws to Congress) in offices.
Limits non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to allow free communication with ethics or rights offices without notice.
Mandates members personally reimburse Treasury for settlements of their own discrimination/harassment claims under CAA.
Requires all House offices to adopt anti-harassment/discrimination policies by April 2025.
Other Directives:
Each standing committee (except Ethics) must hold a "Member Day" hearing for legislative ideas in the first session.
Adds Oversight chair to requests for executive agency info under 5 U.S.C. § 2954.
Specific subpoenas for ongoing probes (e.g., DOJ on Biden matters).

Committees, Commissions, and Offices (Section 4):
Continues the Select Committee on U.S.-China Strategic Competition, focused on economic/tech/security threats; reports due by December 31, 2026.
Renews the House Democracy Partnership (promotes global democracy).
Enhances the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission with more staff resources and cross-committee collaboration.
Renames "Office of Congressional Ethics" to "Office of Congressional Conduct"; treats it as a standing committee, allows counsel for reviewed individuals, and resets board terms.

Initial Business Orders (Section 5):
Fast-tracks 12 specific bills for immediate floor consideration with waived objections, deemed "read," 1 hour of debate, and no amendments except recommitment. Topics include:
Title IX sports based on birth biology (H.R. 28).
Immigration enforcement (e.g., detaining thieves/sex offenders, deporting sanctuary benefits users; H.R. 29-32, 35).
Born-alive abortion survivor care (H.R. 21).
ICC sanctions (H.R. 23).
Taiwan tax rules (H.R. 33).
Voter citizenship proof (H.R. 22).
Fentanyl scheduling (H.R. 27).
Fracking moratorium ban (H.R. 26).

Significant Changes to Existing Law

House Rules Overhaul: Introduces majority protections for Speaker stability, eliminates the diversity office (previously created for equity initiatives), and shifts family language in ethics codes from inclusive to traditional terms, potentially narrowing covered relationships.
Budget Enforcement: New long-term spending caps and exclusions (e.g., land conveyances) tighten fiscal rules beyond current budget acts; revives/revises Holman Rule for deeper spending cuts.
Oversight Expansion: Adds deposition powers and remote hearings, continuing partisan subpoenas; includes Oversight in agency info requests, strengthening congressional probes.
Workplace Reforms: Mandates personal liability for members' harassment settlements (previously taxpayer-funded) and anti-harassment policies, building on CAA but adding reimbursement and posting requirements.
Transparency Tech: Formalizes AI/machine-readable mandates, updating prior IT policies for modern operations.
No direct changes to statutory law, but Section 5 bills propose amendments to acts like Immigration and Nationality Act, Title IX, and tax code.

Potential Impacts

Government Agencies: Heightened scrutiny via depositions, subpoenas, and info requests could strain executive resources (e.g., DOJ on Biden probes); budget rules may limit appropriations, affecting programs like entitlements or land management.
Citizens: Enhances workplace protections for House staff (e.g., NDA limits, rights postings) but restricts former members' perks; fast-tracked bills could tighten immigration/deportation, require voter ID proof, protect abortion survivors, ease Taiwan-U.S. taxes, and boost fentanyl penalties—impacting immigrants, voters, patients, and businesses.
International Relations: Strengthens U.S. stance against China (select committee) and ICC (sanctions); supports human rights/democracy abroad; land conveyance rules aid tribal/state transfers without budget hits.

Main Stakeholders Affected

House Members and Staff: Procedural limits (e.g., suspensions, Speaker rules) favor majority; CMO reforms aid bipartisan groups; ethics changes increase personal liability for misconduct; AI/tools improve efficiency.
Committees and Offices: Renames and empowers oversight bodies (e.g., depositions for Judiciary, Oversight); continues specialized panels like China select committee.
Executive Branch (e.g., DOJ, Agencies): Faces more subpoenas/depositions; budget points of order constrain funding requests.
Public and Interest Groups: Taxpayers benefit from spending cuts/settlement reimbursements; immigrants, voters, women's rights advocates, and environmentalists affected by Section 5 bills; tribes/locals gain from land rules; lobbyists lose gym access.
International Actors: China (oversight threats), ICC (sanctions), Taiwan (tax relief), human rights NGOs (commission support).

Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications

Legal: Bolsters House enforcement (depositions/subpoenas under Rule II/VIII) but limits NDAs to protect whistleblowers, aligning with CAA; continuing litigation risks court clashes with executive privilege. Fast-tracked bills could face lawsuits (e.g., Title IX on biology-based sports may challenge equal protection).
Constitutional: Speaker rule raises separation-of-powers questions if seen as entrenching leadership; Article V memorial archiving aids amendment process transparency; War Powers tweaks ensure debate on military actions (Article I). Remote oaths/depositions must respect due process.
Political: Embeds majority priorities (e.g., immigration focus, fiscal conservatism via Holman Rule) while promoting bipartisanship (CMOs, consensus calendar); renaming offices and family language signal cultural shifts, potentially polarizing debates. AI mandates could modernize but raise privacy/ethics concerns without strong guardrails.

This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.

Sponsor

Rep. Fischbach, Michelle [R-MN-7]

Recent Actions

2025-01-03: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
2025-01-03: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 215 - 209 (Roll no. 5). (text: CR H8-14) (Roll call 5)
2025-01-03: Passed/agreed to in House: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 215 - 209 (Roll no. 5). (text: CR H8-14) (Roll call 5)
2025-01-03: On motion to commit the resolution to a select committee with instructions Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 209 - 214 (Roll no. 4). (Roll call 4)
2025-01-03: The previous question on the motion to commit was ordered without objection.
2025-01-03: Ms. DeLauro moved to commit the resolution to a select committee composed of the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader with instructions to report the same back to the House forthwith with an amendment.
2025-01-03: On ordering the previous question Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 216 - 210 (Roll no. 3). (Roll call 3)
2025-01-03: DEBATE - The House resumed debate on H. Res. 5.
2025-01-03: ORDER OF PROCEDURE - Mr. Fishbach asked unanimous consent that the Chair may reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for electronic voting on any question relating to H. Res. 5 that follows a 15 minute vote. Agreed to without objection.
2025-01-03: DEBATE - The House resumed debate on H. Res. 5.
2025-01-03: DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H. Res. 5.
2025-01-03: Considered as privileged matter. (consideration: CR H8-23)
2025-01-03: Submitted in House
2025-01-03: Submitted in House

Bill Versions

Adopting the Rules of the House of Representatives for the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress, and for other purposes. — issued 2025-01-03 — PDF (34 pages)