Multiple Calendars for the House of Representatives (Inside Baseball)

Within the House of Representatives, sometimes words are used differently. For example, the House Calendar is a not a Monday to Friday list of events. Rather it is a calendar that schedules consideration of major bills which don’t involve money. The House Calendar can also be defined as a list of all bills reported from Committees and eligible for floor action, except those pertaining to taxation and spending. The list of days when Members of Congress are in session in Washington, DC, working in their Congressional districts, or on vacation is termed a “schedule” rather than a calendar.

The House also has another calendar…the Union Calendar. This is a separate calendar that schedules bills involving money issues. Why are there two calendars (one for money bills and one for all other legislation)? Maintaining the Union Calendar is required by the US Constitution that says that all revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives. To meet that Constitutional requirement, the House has instituted its own set of rules and Rule XIII, clause 1(a) states: ‘‘(1) A Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, to which shall be referred public bills and public resolutions raising revenue, involving a tax or charge on the people, directly or indirectly making appropriations of money or property or requiring such appropriations to be made, authorizing payments out of appropriations already made, releasing any liability to the United States for money or property, or referring a claim to the Court of Claims.’’

So, now you know…try this out at your next neighborhood gathering…who knows, someone may be impressed!