Words taken down
Encyclopedia
Words taken down is a procedure used in the United States House of Representatives
under which words spoken by a Representative may be stricken from the record. Under the House Rules
, the procedure may be used if a member uses inappropriate words in debate. According to C-SPAN's
congressional glossary
, "After the words are 'taken down' by the clerk
and read back, the chair rules on their suitability. If ruled inappropriate, the member may not speak again on the same day without House permission."
A study by Kathleen Hall Jamieson
in 1997 found that requests to take down words peaked in 1946 and 1995, years before or after control of the House changed hands. http://books.google.com/books?id=ITudab2zD_cC&pg=PA69&sig=FT7wBX5ULkbgiBgnTx4Q2_oYRTw#PPA109,M1
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
under which words spoken by a Representative may be stricken from the record. Under the House Rules
Procedures of the United States House of Representatives
The United States Constitution provides that each "House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings," therefore each Congress of the United States, upon convening, approves its own governing rules of procedure. This clause has been interpreted by the courts to mean that a new Congress is not bound...
, the procedure may be used if a member uses inappropriate words in debate. According to C-SPAN's
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
congressional glossary
Glossary
A glossary, also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms...
, "After the words are 'taken down' by the clerk
Clerk of the United States House of Representatives
The Clerk of the United States House of Representatives is an officer of the United States House of Representatives, whose primary duty is to act as the chief record-keeper for the House....
and read back, the chair rules on their suitability. If ruled inappropriate, the member may not speak again on the same day without House permission."
A study by Kathleen Hall Jamieson
Kathleen Hall Jamieson
Kathleen Hall Jamieson is an American Professor of Communication and the director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania...
in 1997 found that requests to take down words peaked in 1946 and 1995, years before or after control of the House changed hands. http://books.google.com/books?id=ITudab2zD_cC&pg=PA69&sig=FT7wBX5ULkbgiBgnTx4Q2_oYRTw#PPA109,M1