What is "committee of the whole"

Whole \Whole\, n.

1. The entire thing; the entire assemblage of parts; totality; all of a thing, without defect or exception; a thing complete in itself.

   ``This not the whole of life to live, Nor all of death to die.
   --J. Montgomery.

2. A regular combination of parts; a system.

   Parts answering parts shall slide into a whole.
   --Pope.

   Committee of the whole. See under Committee.

   Upon the whole, considering all things; taking everything into account; in view of all the circumstances or conditions.

   Syn: Totality; total; amount; aggregate; gross.

In the United States House of Representatives, the Committee of the Whole, short for Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, is a parliamentary device in which the House of Representatives is considered one large congressional committee. The presiding officer is chosen by the Speaker of the House and is normally a member of the majority party who does not hold the chair of a standing committee.

Procedurally, the Committee of the Whole differs from the House of Representatives even though they have identical membership. The Committee of the Whole only requires 100 members for a quorum, while only 25 members are required to force a recorded rather than voice vote. In the version of the Committee of the Whole that existed in the British House of Commons, the original use of this committee was to debate bills privately and prevent a recorded vote from being taken. It is normally invoked to give initial consideration of important legislation, including bills for raising revenue, and serves to expedite the process since debate over amendment occurs under a special five-minute rule. The House and the Committee of the Whole do not operate at the same time; rather, to consider bills, the House must resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole. To dissolve itself, the Committee of the Whole must "rise" (and, optionally, "report with a recommendation" for the particular bill it has had under consideration). Each time a new bill is considered in the Committee of the Whole the House resolves itself de novo into the Committee of the Whole for the sole purpose of consideration of that particular bill. The Committee of the Whole can recommend amendments to any bill. The House must then approve these amendments before the amendments are added to the final bill (which is normally done through Unanimous consent).

It allows bills and resolutions to be considered without adhering to all the formal rules of a House session, such as needing a quorum of 218. All measures on the Union Calendar must be considered first by the Committee of the Whole.

A committee of the whole is a device in which a legislative body or other deliberative assembly sits as a single committee with all assembly members being committee members. The procedural rules for committee meetings are different from those of other business conducted on the floor of the assembly; such meetings proceed as a collegiate discussion with questions and answers, rather than as a sequence of speeches each with minimal interruption from other members and strictly moderated by the speaker. The committee of the whole also differs from an assembly's other committees, such as standing committees and special committees, which usually have limited membership, meet outside the main debating chamber, and have less public access and recording than business conducted on the floor. The committee stage of important bills is typically conducted by the committee of the whole, whereas lesser bills may be disposed of by a smaller committee. Other main motions may also be considered by the committee of the whole.

"Committee of the Whole" is a short story by science fiction author Frank Herbert which first appeared in Galaxy magazine in 1965 and later in Herbert's 1985 short story collection The Worlds of Frank Herbert. It deals with the concept of restraint as a paramount virtue necessary for survival of a human race in times when both information and the means for production of weapons of mass destruction are available to every individual.