recess, to proceed to the consideration of executive business, to lay on the table, shall be decided without debate. [Jefferson's Manual, Sec. XXXIII. RULE XXIII. PREAMBLES. When a bill or resolution is accompanied by a preamble, the question shall first be put on the bill or resolution and then on the preamble, which may be withdrawn by a mover before an amendment of the same, or ordering of the yeas and nays; or it may be laid on the table without prejudice to the bill or resolution, and shall be a final disposition of such preamble. [Jefferson's Manual, Sec. XXVI. RULE XXIV. APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEES. 1. In the appointment of the standing committees, the Senate, unless otherwise ordered, shall proceed by ballot to appoint severally the chairman of each committee, and then, by one ballot, the other members necessary to complete the same. A majority of the whole number of votes given shall be necessary to the choice of a chairman of a standing committee, but a plurality of votes shall elect the other members thereof. All other committees shall be appointed by ballot, unless otherwise ordered, and a plurality of votes shall appoint. [Jefferson's Manual, Sec. XI. 2. When a chairman of a committee shall resign or cease to serve on a committee, and the Presiding Officer be authorized by the Senate to fill the vacancy in such committee, unless specially otherwise ordered, it shall be only to fill up the number on the committee. RULE XXV. STANDING COMMITTEES. 1. The following standing committees shall be appointed at the commencement of each Congress, with leave to report by bill or otherwise: A Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, to consist of nine Senators. A Committee on Appropriations, to consist of thirteen Sen ators. A Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate, to consist of three Senators, to which shall be referred all resolutions directing the payment of money out of the contingent fund of the Senate or creating a charge upon the same. A Committee on the Census, to consist of nine Senators. A Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment, to consist of nine Senators. A Committee on Claims, to consist of eleven Senators. A Committee on Coast Defenses, to consist of eleven Senators. A Committee on Commerce, to consist of fifteen Senators. A Committee on Corporations Organized in the District of Columbia, to consist of five Senators. A Committee on the District of Columbia, to consist of thirteen Senators. A Committee on Education and Labor, to consist of nine Senators. A Committee on Engrossed Bills, to consist of three Senators, which shall examine all bills, amendments, and joint resolutions before they go out of the possession of the Senate. A Committee on Enrolled Bills, to consist of three Senators, which shall have power to act jointly with the same committee of the House of Representatives, and which, or some one of which, shall examine all bills or joint resolutions which shall have passed both Houses, to see that the same are correctly enrolled, and, when signed by the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, shall forthwith present the same, when they shall have originated in the Senate, to the President of the United States in person, and report the fact and date of such presentation to the Senate. A Committee to Examine the Several Branches of the Civil Service, to consist of five Senators. A Committee on Finance, to consist of thirteen Senators. A Committee on Fisheries, to consist of nine Senators, to which shall be referred all matters relating to fish and fisheries. A Committee on Foreign Relations, to consist of eleven Senators. A Committee on Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game, to consist of seven Senators. A Committee on Immigration, to consist of eleven Senators. A Committee on the Improvement of the Mississippi River and its Tributaries, to consist of seven Senators. A Committee on Indian Affairs, to consist of twelve Senators. A Committee on Indian Depredations, to consist of eleven Senators. A Committee on Interstate Commerce, to consist of eleven Senators. A Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation of Arid Lands, to consist of nine Senators. A Committee on the Judiciary, to consist of thirteen Senators. A Committee on the Library, to consist of three Senators, which shall have power to act jointly with the same committee of the House of Representatives. A Committee on Manufactures, to consist of five Senators. A Committee on Military Affairs, to consist of eleven Senators. A Committee on Mines and Mining, to consist of nine Sena tors. A Committee on Naval Affairs, to consist of eleven Senators. A Committee on Organization, Conduct, and Expenditures of the Executive Departments, to consist of nine Senators. A Committee on Pacific Railroads, to consist of nine Senators. A Committee on Patents, to consist of seven Senators. A Committee on Pensions, to consist of thirteen Senators. A Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, to consist of ten Senators. A Committee on Printing, to consist of three Senators, which shall have power to act jointly with the same committee of the House of Representatives. A Committee on Private Land Claims, to consist of seven Senators. A Committee on Privileges and Elections, to consist of nine Senators. A Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, to consist of eleven Senators, which shall have power to act jointly with the same committee of the House of Representatives. A Committee on Public Health and National Quarantine, to consist of seven Senators. A Committee on Public Lands, to consist of eleven Senators. A Committee on Railroads, to consist of eleven Senators. A Committee on Relations with Canada, to consist of nine Senators. A Committee on the Revision of the Laws of the United States, to consist of five Senators. A Committee on Revolutionary Claims, to consist of five Senators. A Committee on Rules, to consist of seven Senators. A Committee on Territories, to consist of eleven Senators. A Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard, to consist of nine Senators. A Committee to establish the University of the United States, to consist of nine Senators. 2. The Committee to Audit and Control 'the Contingent Expenses of the Senate, on Printing, and on the Library shall continue and have power to act until their successors are appointed. [Jefferson's Manual, Sec. XI. To Investigate the Condition of the Potomac River Front at Washington, to consist of six Senators. On the Construction of the Nicaragua Canal, to consist of seven Sen ators. On Woman Suffrage, to consist of five Senators. On Additional Accommodations for the Library of Congress, to consist of five Senators. On Transportation and Sale of Meat Products, to consist of five Senators. On the Five Civilized Tribes of Indians, to consist of five Senators. On International Expositions, to consist of thirteen Senators. On the Geological Survey, to consist of five Senators. On National Banks, to consist of five Senators. To Investigate Trespassers upon Indian Lands, to consist of three Sen ators. |