Congressional Rules Quotes

Being Speaker of the House is a really tough spot.

Anything my staff does in my office is pursuant to congressional rules.

Now, for this book I had to learn the world of the Senate, which is really for all that's written about the Senate, an unknowing world and its mores, and the way things work with subcommittees and all. I loved learning about that.

We're not even supposed to have a break in August if we have not passed the appropriations bills. It's in the House rules.

The House of Representatives eliminated the filibuster way back in the 19th century, and somehow it managed to survive.

On Capitol Hill Congress runs by an internal clock: Legislative days are not counted the way calendar days are, and the seasons are marked not by the earth’s orbit but by whether Congress is in session or out.

I think, from the broad political spectrum, not just the Freedom Caucus, I think there is a need for internal reform that is how we bring bills up, getting back to regular order, how we offer amendments or don't offer amendments.

There's a learning curve to understanding how the Senate operates.

A majority of senators should be able to adopt rules at the beginning of each Congress.

So the next thing I assume I'll be hearing from Republicans, they want to change rules some way, as they do on the House when you get a problem with ethics, they just change the rules.

Unlike the United States Congress, which mostly forbids outside employment, state legislatures are generally composed of people with other careers.

The history of Congress shows that once parliamentary tools become big enough obstacles for the majority party, they are abolished or reformed.

The floor of the U.S. Senate isn't a place that usually sees a lot of drama.

Here is your government at work. A congressman from Colorado said he wants to draft a rule that would make it unethical to have a sexual relationship with an intern. Only Congress would need a rule to tell them cheating on their wives is not ethical. Don't we have that rule? I believe it's called the Sixth Commandment.

My position has always been that the House of Representatives does not take reservations. It's walk-in only.

I've served under six Speakers of the House and each of them has had difficulty in administering the House.

America, not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on.

I think the rules in Congress, and in particular the rules in the Senate, are unbelievably archaic and slow-moving and, in many cases, unfair. In many cases, you're forced to make deals that are not the deal you'd make. You'd make a much different kind of a deal. You're forced into situations that you hate to be forced into.

The process for producing public policy in Congress is flawed. The process itself kills policy ideas through the bypassing of the rules and procedural decisions that limit discussion.