Adopting rules for the One Hundred Ninth Congress.

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Adopts the Rules of the House of Representatives for the 108th Congress as the Rules for the 109th Congress, with certain amendments.

(Sec. 2) Amends Rule X (Organization of Committees) to establish the House Committee on Homeland Security (thus, abolishing the Select Committee on Homeland Security established by H.Res. 5 108th Congress).

Grants legislative jurisdiction to the Committee for: (1) overall homeland security policy; (2) organization and administration of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); and (3) DHS functions regarding border and port security (except immigration policy and non-border enforcement), customs (except customs revenue), integration, analysis, and dissemination of homeland security information, domestic preparedness for and collective response to terrorism, research and development, and transportation security.

Modifies the jurisdiction of the Committee on: (1) the Judiciary to include criminal law enforcement and non-border enforcement, change immigration (generally) to immigration policy, and exclude naturalization; (2) Transportation and Infrastructure to exclude the Transportation Security Administration and DHS transportation security functions; and (3) Ways and Means to change customs (generally) to customs revenue only.

Requires the Committee to review and study on a continuing basis all Federal activities relating to homeland security, including the interaction of all DHS departments and agencies.

Requires each committee (when adopting its oversight plan for a Congress) to have a view toward ensuring against duplication of Federal programs.

Modifies the composition of the Committee on the Budget to permit one Member to be designated by (currently, from) the elected leadership of the majority party and one Member to be designated by (currently, from) the elected leadership of the minority party.

Permits the chairman of the Committee on Rules to serve for more than three consecutive Congresses.

States that a motion to recess subject to the call of the Chair (within 24 hours) shall be privileged.

Amends Rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) to authorize a committee to adopt a rule providing that the chairman be directed to offer a privileged motion to go to conference whenever the chairman considers it appropriate.

Amends Rule XV (Business in Order on Special Days) to authorize the Speaker to entertain motions that the House suspend the rules on Wednesdays.

Abolishes the Corrections Calendar.

Amends Rule XVII (Decorum and Debate) to allow remarks in debate to include references to the Senate or its Members (confined to the question under debate, avoiding personality).

Amends Rule XX (Voting and Quorum Calls) to provide that if the House should be without a quorum due to catastrophic circumstances, then: (1) until there appears in the House a sufficient number of Representatives to constitute a quorum among the whole number of the House, a quorum shall be determined based upon its provisional number; and (2) such provisional number, as of the close of the call of the House, shall be the number of Representatives responding to that call.

Requires the provisional number to be adjusted accordingly if: (1) a Representative counted in determining the provisional number thereafter ceases to be a Representative; or (2) a Representative not counted in determining the provisional number thereafter appears in the House.

Considers the House to be without a quorum due to catastrophic circumstances if, after a quorum call motion under rule XX has been disposed of and without intervening adjournment, each of the following occurs in the stated sequence: (1) a call of the House (or a series of such calls) is closed after aggregating a period in excess of 72 hours (excluding time the House is in recess) without producing a quorum; (2) the Speaker with the Majority and Minority Leaders receives from the Sergeant-at-Arms (or his designee) a catastrophic quorum failure report, consults with such Leaders on the content of that report, and announces the content to the House; and (3) a further call of the House (or a series of such calls) is closed after aggregating a period in excess of 24 hours (excluding time the House is in recess) without producing a quorum.

Defines a catastrophic quorum failure report as one advising that the inability of the House to establish a quorum is attributable to catastrophic circumstances involving natural disaster, attack, contagion, or similar calamity rendering Representatives incapable of attending House proceedings.

Specifies: (1) the contents of such report; (2) the basis of its preparation; and (3) when it should be updated and made available to the House.

Declares that the provisional quorum call rule does not apply to a proposal to create a vacancy in the representation from any State in respect of a Representative not incapacitated but otherwise incapable of attending the House proceedings from the report.

Amends Rule XX (Voting and Quorum Calls) to allow the Speaker to postpone to a designated place in the legislative schedule within two additional legislative days any question of agreeing to: (1) a motion to reconsider or to lay such a motion on the table; and (2) any amendment reported from the Committee of the Whole.

Amends Rules XXIV (Limitations on Use of Official Funds) and XXIII (Code of Official Conduct) to allow a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner to defray official expenses with funds of his principal campaign committee under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

Prohibits the use of such funds to defray official expenses for mail or other communications, compensation for services, office space, furniture, or equipment, and any associated information technology services (except handheld communications devices).

Amends Rule XXIV to extend from 60 to 90 days before an election in which the individual is a candidate for public office the cut-off date for frankable mass mailings by a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner.

Amends Rule XXV (Limitation on Outside Earned Income and Acceptance of Gifts) with respect to consideration as reimbursement to the House, not as a gift to the individual, of any reimbursement to a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House from a private source (other than a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal) for necessary transportation, lodging, and related expenses for travel to a meeting, speaking engagement, factfinding trip, or similar event in connection with duties as an officeholder. Expands the allowance for such a reimbursement on behalf of the spouse or child of a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, or House officer or employee to include any relative.

Amends Rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) to require the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (SOC Committee) to adopt rules requiring that: (1) before the chairman and ranking minority member issue a letter to a Member, officer, or employee of the House regarding the disposition of a properly filed complaint, the SOC Committee must notify the individual in writing of his or her right to review the contents of the letter; and (2) after which, the individual shall have seven calendar days in which either to accept the letter (in which case the SOC Committee may issue it), to contest it by submitting views in writing, or to contest it by requesting in writing that the SOC Committee establish an adjudicatory subcommittee as if the letter constituted an adopted statement of alleged violation. Requires the committee in the latter case to establish an adjudicatory subcommittee, but not issue the letter.

Requires an investigative subcommittee, whenever it does not adopt a statement of alleged violation, to transmit a report to that effect to the respondent, who shall have seven calendar days after its receipt to submit views in writing, which shall be appended to the report and made part of the record.

Grants the same due process rights to a Member other than one whom the complaint is made if the letter references the official conduct of such Member.

Repeals the mandate that the chairman and ranking minority member establish jointly an investigative subcommittee for consideration of a complaint if it is not disposed of within the applicable period set forth in the SOC Committee's rules. Allows establishment of an investigative subcommittee at any time during such applicable period if either the chairman or the ranking minority member has placed on the agenda the issue of whether to establish such a subcommittee. Requires an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the SOC Committee to establish such a subcommittee. Requires dismissal of any complaint at the end of the applicable period if no investigative subcommittee has been established.

Requires a respondent to be informed of the right to be represented by counsel of his or her choice (even if such counsel represents another respondent or a witness), provided at his or her own expense. Requires that a witness be afforded a reasonable period of time, as determined by the SOC Committee or subcommittee, to prepare for an appearance before an investigative subcommittee or for an adjudicatory hearing, and to obtain counsel of his or her choice (even if such counsel represents a respondent or another witness).

Amends Rule X to provide that the House may (currently, must) approve other exceptions (not specified in the House Rules) to the limitation on the number of committees or subcommittees that a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may serve simultaneously.

(Sec. 3) Continues specified budget enforcement mechanisms from the 108th Congress. Declares that references to resolutions in Sec. 306 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (prohibiting consideration of legislation within the Budget Committee's jurisdiction, unless reported by the Budget Committee) shall be construed as applying only to joint resolutions (not simple or concurrent resolutions).

Makes a Sec. 303 point of order (requiring adoption of a budget resolution before consideration of budget-related legislation) applicable to text made in order as original bill by a special rule.

Declares that a provision in a bill or joint resolution (or amendment or conference report) that establishes prospectively for a Federal office or position a specified or minimum level of compensation to be funded by annual discretionary appropriations shall not be considered as providing new entitlement authority.

States that the provisions of the conference report on S.Con.Res. 95 (budget "deeming" resolution) in the 108th Congress shall have effect in the 109th Congress until a concurrent budget resolution for FY 2005 is adopted.

Maintains at a maximum of six the number of subcommittees authorized for the Committees on Armed Services and on Transportation and Infrastructure. Increases from six to seven the maximum number of subcommittees authorized for the Committee on International Relations.

Reserves the first ten numbers for bills (H.R. 1 through H.R. 10) for assignment by the Speaker to such bills as he may designate when introduced during the 109th Congress.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov