Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to permit certain resolutions to be privileged only if they are based on conduct which was the subject of an investigation and report by the appropriate committee of jurisdiction or if they are offered by direction of a party caucus or conference.

This House resolution would change how certain sanctions against government officers and members can be treated as “privileged” under the House rules. Specifically, it would limit privileged status to only those resolutions that either (a) are based on conduct that has been investigated and reported on by the committee with jurisdiction, or (b) are offered by direction of a party caucus or conference. The targeted actions are those listed as impeaching a government officer, or censuring/reprimanding/expelling a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, or causing a vacancy in the Speaker’s office or in the chair or ranking minority chair of a committee. In short, most resolutions about sanctions would no longer automatically have privileged status unless they come with an affirmative committee investigation/report or are directed by a party caucus. The measure, introduced as H. Res. 78 by Ms. Williams of Georgia on January 28, 2025, would amend Rule IX of the House Rules. If enacted, it would place additional gatekeeping on when sanction-related resolutions can jump to expedited consideration, potentially slowing or redirecting how such actions are deployed and debated.