User Clip: Hutchison Rule XVI Precedent (March 16, 1995)

In the 104th Congress, the Senate established a precedent that superseded Rule XVI of its Standing Rules in its disposition of an amendment offered by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Tex., to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions for the Department of Defense to Preserve and Enhance Military Readiness Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-6) Specifically, the Hutchison amendment changed federal law regarding endangered species. Harry Reid, D-NV., raised a point of order that the amendment violated Rule XVI, which the Chair subsequently sustained. Senator Hutchison then appealed this ruling to the full Senate, which overturned the ruling of the Chair by a vote of 57 to 42. The Hutchison amendment was subsequently adopted by voice vote. This action created a new precedent that permitted legislating on an appropriations bill in violation of Rule XVI. close