A Retrospective of House Rules Changes Since the 110th Congress

One of the majority party’s prerogatives is writing House rules and using its numbers to effect the chamber’s rules on the day a new House convenes. Because all Members of the House stand for election every two years, the Members-elect constitute a new House that must adopt rules at the convening of each Congress. Although a new House largely adopts the chamber rules that existed in the previous Congress, it also adopts changes to those rules. Institutional and political developments during the preceding Congress inform rules changes that a party continuing in the majority might make. Those same developments, perhaps over the whole time that a party was in the minority, inform rules changes when the minority party wins enough seats to become the majority party and organize the House. This report analyzes rules changes made on only the opening day of the 110th, 111th, 112th, and 113th Congresses, with references in footnotes to other selected legislation and actions that also affected House rules during these Congresses. Freestanding legislation such as the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act or the annual budget resolutions can change House rules in consequential ways. Changes made by Democrats after they took majority control in the 110th Congress and b