[20080519]98-777_众议院修正案树.pdf

Order Code 98-777Updated May 19, 2008The House Amendment TreeWalter J. OleszekGovernment and Finance DivisionThe House amendment “tree” is a chart that depicts the maximum number and typesof amendments that may be offered to a measure before any amendment is voted upon.This diagram is outlined in various sources, including the 2003 summary compilation ofHouse precedents, titled House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents, andProcedures of the House. The amendment tree generally indicates, for instance, therelationship of one amendment to another and the sequence of voting on amendments.For further detail about amendments, such as first degree or second degree, and theamending process in general, see CRS Report 98-613, Amendments in the House: Typesand Forms, by Christopher M. Davis and CRS Report 98-439, Amendment Process in theCommittee of the Whole, by Judy Schneider.The amendment tree and its accompanying “limbs” grow from variousparliamentary principles and precedents. House Rule XVI, clause 6, identifies the fouramendments (or motions) that characterize the basic amendment tree; it is portrayed inthe chart on the next page. Under Rule XVI, four amendments may be pendingsi