Standing Rules of the United States Senate, Rule VIII

Rule VIII of the Standing Rules of the United States Senate, established by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, governs the order of business in the Senate.

Order of proceedings

Paragraph 1 states that at the conclusion of the morning business and at the beginning of a new legislative day, the Senate shall proceed to the consideration of the Calendar of Bills and Resolutions and continue such consideration until two hours after the Senate convenes on such day (the end of the morning hour). Bills and resolutions that are not objected to shall be taken up in their order unless upon motion the Senate.

Each Senator shall be entitled to speak once and not to exceed five minutes on any question and that an objection may be presented at any stage of the proceedings. Upon motion, the Senate may continue such consideration and this order shall begin immediately after the call for other resolutions or after disposition of resolutions coming "over under the rule". The motion shall take precedence of the unfinished business and other special orders. If the Senate proceeds on motion with the consideration of any matter despite an objection, the foregoing provisions touching debate shall not apply.

Paragraph 2 states that all motions made during the first two hours of a new legislative day are to proceed to the consideration of any matter. That matter shall be determined without debate. The exception for debate will be motions to proceed to the consideration of any motion, resolution, or proposal to change any of the Standing Rules of the Senate. Motions made after the first two hours of a new legislative day to proceed to the consideration of bills and resolutions are debatable.

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