TO LAY ON THE TABLE, APPEAL FROM DECISION OF THE CHAIR, WHOSE RULING WAS THAT WHENEVER A COMMITTEE OF WHOLE HOUSE OR OF WHOLE HOUSE ON THE STATE OF THE UNION FINDS ITSELF WITH- OUT A QUORUM, WHICH CONSISTS OF 100 MEMBERS, THE CHAIRMAN SHALL CAUSE A ROLL CALL AND THEREUPON THE COMMITTEE SHALL RISE AND THE CHAIRMAN SHALL REPORT THE NAMES OF ABSENTEES TO THE HOUSE WHICH SHALL BE ENTERED UPON THE JOURNAL, BUT IF ON SUCH CALL A QUORUM SHALL APPEAR THE COMMITTEE SHALL THERE- UPON RESUME ITS SITTING, MADE DURING CONSIDERATION OF H. R. 15578, A BILL TO CODIFY, REVISE AND AMEND THE LAWS RELATING TO THE JUDICIARY. (P.8536-1, 8537-1)

Notes

Where is the Speaker’s vote?

According to current House rules, the Speaker of the House is not required to vote in “ordinary legislative proceedings, except when such vote would be decisive.” In practice, this means the Speaker of the House rarely votes and only does so when it is politically useful. When the Speaker declines to vote, he or she is simply omitted from the roll call by the House Clerk.

What’s the difference between aye and yea?

There is no meaningful difference between aye and yea (and nay and no), but the terms are used in different sorts of votes based on Congress’s long tradition of parliamentary procedure. The House and Senate follow the U.S. Constitution strictly when it says that bills should be decided on by the “yeas and nays” (Article I, Section 7). The House sometimes operates under a special set of rules called the “Committee of the Whole on the State of the Union” (or “Committee of the Whole” for short), which is a sort of pseudo-committee that is made up of every congressman. During this mode of operation, the House uses the terms “aye” and “no” instead. (See the Rules of the House, Rule XX, and House Practice in the section Voting.)