THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HOUSE

The Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union is a committee of all 435 House Members convened for the preliminary consideration of bills from the Union Calendar under more convenient and expedited procedures and a smaller quorum requirement (100 Members) than in the House (218 Members). Following general debate on a bill, the amount and allocation of time for which is usually specified in the special rule for the bill reported by the Rules Committee (e.g., one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the Chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means), the bill is read for amendment one section at a time by the Reading Clerk. In contrast, Appropriations bills are read by paragraphs for amendment when there are no section designations. [Note: Most appropriations bills only use section designations in their "General Provisions" titles.]