Central

Function of the Committee of the Whole

In the early years of the House, it was the practice to
begin discussion of all major legislative proposals in the
Committee of the Whole. After broad agreement had
been reached on the purposes of the measure, a select
committee was named to draft a bill.
After considering it, the panel reported the measure
back to the House together with any amendments that
may have been adopted. The legislation then was
considered by the Committee of the Whole for section-
by-section debate and approval or further amendment.
Its work completed, the committee rose, the Speaker
resumed the chair, and the House either accepted or
rejected the amendments agreed to in the Committee of
the Whole. This was followed by a third and final
reading of the engrossed, or completed, version and a
vote on final passage by the House.
Originally no time limits were set on the right of
members to speak. Even the small membership of the
First and Second Congresses found this procedure
cumbersome and inefficient. Rep. James Madison of
Virginia blamed the "delays and perplexities" of the
House on the want of precedents But Fisher Ames saw
the problem as un excessive concern with detail in the
"unwieldy" Committee of the Whole, for "A great,
clumsy machine is applied to the slightest and most
delicate operations the hoof of an elephant to the
strokes of mezzotinto.

CQ Quarterly Guide to Congress 2013