H.Res. 8 · 117th Congress

Adopting the Rules of the House of Representatives for the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, and for other purposes.

Introduced on Jan 4, 2021 by Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD-5). Latest action (Jan 4, 2021): Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jan 4, 2021
Cosponsors
0
Policy area
Congress
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers

Subjects

  • Air quality
  • Assault and harassment offenses
  • Budget process
  • Cardiovascular and respiratory health
  • Civil actions and liability
  • Climate change and greenhouse gases
  • Congressional committees
  • Congressional officers and employees
  • Congressional operations and organization
  • Congressional oversight
  • Constitution and constitutional amendments
  • Disability and health-based discrimination
  • Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
  • Emergency medical services and trauma care
  • Employee hiring
  • Employment discrimination and employee rights
  • Evidence and witnesses
  • Government buildings, facilities, and property
  • Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
  • Government information and archives
  • Health programs administration and funding
  • Health promotion and preventive care
  • Higher education
  • House Committee on Ethics
  • House Committee on House Administration
  • House of Representatives
  • Human rights
  • Infectious and parasitic diseases
  • Internet and video services
  • Internet, web applications, social media
  • Legislative rules and procedure
  • Members of Congress
  • Photography and imaging
  • Public contracts and procurement
  • Public participation and lobbying
  • Racial and ethnic relations
  • Senate
  • Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
  • Sports and recreation facilities
  • State and local government operations
  • Student aid and college costs
  • War and emergency powers

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Jan 4, 2021). Public domain.

This resolution establishes the rules of the House of Representatives for the 117th Congress by adopting and modifying the House rules from the 116th Congress. Changes from the rules for the previous Congress include measures to facilitate the operation of Congress during the ongoing COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

The resolution makes the Office of Diversity and Inclusion permanent, revises language in the rules to be gender-inclusive, and continues requirements to protect congressional employees from harassment and discrimination. The resolution also implements measures to protect whistle-blowers and increase congressional transparency.

The resolution authorizes necessary amounts for the Committee on House Administration to resolve contested elections. Additionally, the Clerk of the House of Representative must establish a process for House Members to indicate their support for Senate-passed measures that have been received by the House, including maintaining a publicly available list of Members supporting each measure.

The chair of the Committee on the Budget may adjust an estimate concerning the fiscal impact of legislation to exempt the budgetary effects of measures to prevent, prepare for, or respond to economic or public health consequences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as measures to prevent, prepare for, or respond to economic, environmental, or public health consequences resulting from climate change.

Until the Committee on Oversight and Reform has adopted rules, the chair of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis may issue subpoenas related to its investigation into political interference in the response to the coronavirus pandemic at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The resolution also reauthorizes specified commissions, offices, and committees, and establishes a Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Steny H. HoyerD-MD-5Sponsor

No cosponsors.

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Table the Motion to Postpone to a Day Certain
    Jan 4, 2021· House· Procedural· Passed 214–204
  2. Table Motion to Refer
    Jan 4, 2021· House· Procedural· Passed 214–196
  3. On Ordering the Previous Question
    Jan 4, 2021· House· Procedural· Passed 217–204
  4. On Motion to Commit with Instructions
    Jan 4, 2021· House· Procedural· Failed 203–217
  5. On Agreeing to the Resolution
    Jan 4, 2021· House· Passage· Passed 217–206

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jan 4, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Jan 4, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseMr. Hoyer sent the privileged resolution H. Res. 8 to the desk and moved for its consideration. (CR H13)
  4. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseMr. Cole moved to postpone consideration to a day certain.
  5. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseMr. Hoyer moved to table the motion to postpone consideration to a day certain
  6. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseOn motion to table the motion to postpone consideration to a day certain Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 214 - 204 (Roll no. 4).House · Roll call 4
  7. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  8. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseMr. Davis, Rodney moved to refer to a select committee.
  9. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseMr. Hoyer moved to table the motion to refer
  10. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseOn motion to table the motion to refer Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 214 - 196 (Roll no. 5).House · Roll call 5
  11. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  12. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseConsidered as privileged matter. (consideration: CR H20-36)
  13. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H. Res. 8.
  14. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseOn ordering the previous question Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 217 - 204 (Roll no. 6).House · Roll call 6
  15. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseMr. Smith (MO) moved to commit with instructions to a select committee. (text: CR H35)
  16. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseOn motion to commit with instructions Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 203 - 217 (Roll no. 7).House · Roll call 7
  17. Jan 4, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 217 - 206 (Roll no. 8).(text: CR H13-18)House · Roll call 8
  18. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseOn agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 217 - 206 (Roll no. 8). (text: CR H13-18)House · Roll call 8
  19. Jan 4, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.