Bill To Adjust Postal RatesAmendment Relating to Postal Deficit

§ 29.6 To a bill to adjust postal rates, an amendment providing that "the postal deficit shall not be covered by taxes on incomes, imports, corporations, fur coats, railroad tickets," and the like, was held not germane.

The above ruling was made on Feb. 8, 1950, by Chairman Chet Holifield, of California, in response to a point of order raised by Mr. Thomas J. Murray, of Tennessee. The point of order had been conceded by the proponent of the amendment, Mr. Gordon Canfield, of New Jersey.(14)

Agencies Exempted From Govern

ment Reorganization

§ 29.7 To an amendment providing that no government reorganization plan shall affect any provision of the Railroad Retirement Acts, the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, the Railway Labor Act, or specified portions of the Internal Revenue Code, or any agencies functioning pursuant to any of such acts, a substitute amendment

14. See the proceedings at 96 CONG. REC. 1690, 1691, 81st Cong. 2d Sess., Feb. 8, 1950. Under consideration was H.R. 2945 (Committee on Post Office and Civil Service).

providing that no reorganization plan shall affect the Civil Service Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Power Commission, the Railroad Retirement Board, and other boards and commissions, was held germane.

In the 79th Congress, during consideration of a bill(15) to reorganize agencies of the government, Mr. Robert Crosser, of Ohio, offered an amendment to which Mr. Charles A. Halleck, of Indiana, offered a substitute amendment, as described above. Mr. William M. Whittington, of Mississippi, raised the point of order that the substitute amendment was not germane to the Crosser amendment. The Chairman,(16) without elaboration, overruled the point of order.(17)

Amount of Gross Receipts Tax Paid Added to Ceiling Price

§ 29.8 To a bill extending and amending an act which authorized the President to establish ceiling prices and which contained conditions and excep

15. H.R. 4129 (Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments). 16. Jere Cooper (Tenn.).

17. See the proceedings at 91 CONG. REC. 9427, 79th Cong. 1st Sess., Oct. 4, 1945.

tions, an amendment permitting a seller who is liable for a gross receipts tax to receive the amount of such tax in addition to the ceiling price was held to be germane.

In the 82d Congress, during consideration of the Defense Production Act Amendments of 1951,0 the following amendment was offered:(19)

Amendment offered by Mr. [Charles A.] Halleck [of Indiana]: On page 18, line 4, insert the following new subsection:

(f) Section 402 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

(j) Where the sale or delivery of a material or service makes the person selling or delivering it liable for a State or local gross receipts tax or gross income tax, he may receive for the material or service involved, in addition to the ceiling price;

"(1) an amount equal to the amount of all such State and local taxes for which the transaction makes him liable; or

"(2) one cent, whichever is greater.

A point of order was raised against the amendment, as follows:

MR. [BRENT] SPENCE [of Kentucky]: Mr. Chairman, I make the point of order against the amendment that it is

18. H.R. 3871 (Committee on Banking and Currency).

19. 97 CONG. REC. 8387, 82d Cong. 1st Sess., July 18, 1951.

not germane to the bill or to the section to which it refers. It has reference to a gross sales tax which is in lieu of an income tax, as I understand it.

In defense of the amendment, the proponent stated:

Mr. Chairman, it very definitely has to do with the pricing features of this bill. The whole purport of the measure before us is an attempt to fix ceiling prices and to control prices. There are many provisions in the bill that have to do with exceptions that may be granted, or other conditions that may be made, and they are in this title in respect to the determination of what is a fair price.

The Chairman, (20) in ruling on the point of order, stated:

It is the opinion of the Chair that the amendment is germane to the subject matter of the bill, for the amendment proposes certain standards with respect to the fixing of ceiling prices, which is the subject matter of the bill. Therefore, the Chair overrules the point of order.

Limitation on Appropriations in Bill To Make Certain Payments § 29.9 To a paragraph of an appropriation bill, an amendment providing that no part of any appropriation contained in the act shall be paid as compensation to certain named individuals was held to be germane.

20. Wilbur D. Mills (Ark.).

In the 78th Congress, a bill(1) was under consideration comprising Treasury and Post Office appropriations for 1944, and providing in part:(2)

Expenses of loans: The indefinite appropriation "Expenses of loans, act of September 24, 1917, as amended and extended" (31 U.S.C. 760, 761), shall not be used during the fiscal year 1944 to supplement the appropriations otherwise provided for the current work of the Bureau of the Public Debt, and the amount obligated under such indefinite appropriation during such fiscal year shall not exceed $57,000,000 to be expended as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct. . . .

An amendment was offered:

MR. [JOSEPH E.] HENDRICKS [of Florida]: Mr. Chairman, I offer the following amendment, which I send to the desk.

The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment offered by Mr. Hendricks: Page 12, line 22, after the word "Treasury", strike out the period and insert a colon and the following: "Provided further, That no part of any appropriation contained in this act shall be used to pay the compensation of William Pickens, Frederick L. Schuman, Goodwin B. Watson, William E. Dodd, Jr., George Slaff, A. C. Shire, and Edward Scheunemann."

The following point of order was raised:

1. H.R. 1648 (Committee on Appropriations).

2. See 89 CONG. REC. 645, 78th Cong. 1st Sess., Feb. 5, 1943.

MR. [VITO] MARCANTONIO [of New York]: Mr. Chairman, I make the point of order that the amendment provides for the refusal of payment of salaries to individuals whose salaries are not provided for in this appropriation bill and, therefore, that the amendment is not germane. Further, I make the point of order that it is legislation on an appropriation bill.

The Chairman, (3) overruling the point of order, stated:(4)

With respect to the point of order made by the gentleman from New York [Mr. Marcantonio], amendments of this character have been inserted in appropriation bills heretofore. The amendment simply limits the appropriation. . . .

to daylight saving time in the District of Columbia. A point of order against the amendment described above was raised by Mr. Oren Harris, of Arkansas, who stated:(6)

...

. As I understood the amendment, it would amend the general statute with reference to standard time throughout the United States. This bill applies only to the District of Columbia.

Mr. Paul C. Jones, of Missouri, stated:(7)

Mr. Speaker, I do not think the gentleman from Arkansas understood the amendment. We are not trying to affect the general statute at all. This amendment only seeks to prevent time within the District of Columbia interfering with the operation of the Government's business in the District of Columbia. . . .

The following exchange ensued:

THE SPEAKER:(8) . . . Does the gentleman from Missouri intend for his amendment to apply only to Federal offices in the District of Columbia?

MR. JONES of Missouri: . . . The amendment reads, "except it . . . shall have no effect upon the operation of any offices or agencies of the Federal Government which shall continue to operate on standard time."

THE SPEAKER: Does that mean in the District of Columbia?

MR. JONES of Missouri: In the District of Columbia, yes.

6. 98 CONG. REC. 2064, 82d Cong. 2d Sess., Mar. 10, 1952.

7. Id. at p. 2065.

8. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).

THE SPEAKER: The Chair is going to hold the gentleman's amendment germane and in order.

Denial of Education Benefits—Exceptions

§ 29.11 To a proposition denying benefits to recipients failing to meet a certain qualification, a substitute denying the same benefits to some recipients but excepting others is germane; accordingly, where an amendment denied eligibility for certain higher education assistance benefits to persons refusing to register for military service, a substitute denying benefits under the same provisions of law except to persons refusing to register for religious or moral reasons was held ger

mane.

On July 28, 1982,(9) during consideration in the Committee of the Whole of H.R. 6030 (military procurement authorization for fiscal 1983), it was demonstrated that the test of germaneness is the relationship between a substitute and the amendment for which offered, and not between the substitute and the original bill. The proceedings were as follows:

9. 128 CONG. REC. 18355-58, 18361, 97th Cong. 2d Sess.

MR. [GERALD B.] SOLOMON [of New York]: Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment which is printed in the Record.

The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment offered by Mr. Solomon: Page 26, after line 22, add the following new section:

ENFORCEMENT OF MILITARY SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT

Sec. 1010. (a) Section 12 of the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. 462) is amended by adding after subsection (e) the following new subsection:

"(f(1) The Director of the Selective Service System shall submit to the Secretary of Education, with respect to each individual receiving, or applying for, any grant, assisted loan, benefit, or other assistance, under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.Č. 1070 et seq.), or participating in any program established, or assisted, under such title, verification of whether such individual has violated section 3 by not presenting and submitting to registration pursuant to section 3.

"(3) If the Secretary of Education preliminarily determines that any individual described in paragraph (1) has violated section 3, the Secretary of Education shall notify such individual of the preliminary determination.

"(4) Any individual notified pursuant to paragraph (3) may submit to the Secretary of Education within a period of time of not less than 30 days after receiving such notification any information with respect to the compliance or violation of section 3 by such individual.

"(5) After the period of time specified in paragraph (4) and taking into consideration any information submitted by the individual, the Secretary of Education shall make a final determination on whether each individual notified pursuant to para

graph (3) has complied with or violated section 3.

"(6)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any individual finally determined by the Secretary of Education pursuant to paragraph (5) to have violated section 3 is not eligible for, and may not receive, any grant, assisted loan, benefit, or other assistance, under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), and may not participate in any program established, or assisted, under such title..

MR. [PAUL] SIMON [of Illinois]: Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment as a substitute for the amendment.

The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment offered by Mr. Simon as a substitute for the amendment offered by Mr. Solomon: At the end of the bill add the following new section:

Sec. 1010. (a) Section 12 of the Military Selective Service Act (50) U.S.C. App. 462) is amended by adding after subsection (e) the following new subsection:

"(f)(1) In order to receive any grant, loan, or work assistance under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), a person who is required under section 3 to present himself for and submit to registration under such section shall

"(A) submit to the institution of higher education which the person intends to attend, or is attending, proof that such person has submitted to such registration;

"(B) complete and submit the necessary forms for such registration at the time of filing application for such grant, loan, or work assistance;

or

"(C) submit a statement that such person refuses to submit to such registration for religious or moral rea

sons.