Glossary

Motion to recommit

A House motion to send a pending bill back to committee, long used by the minority to offer a final amendment before passage.

Also called: recommittal motion, minority motion to recommit

A motion to recommit is a procedural motion in the House of Representatives to return a bill to the committee that reported it. It is offered after the amendment stage and just before the final vote on passage.

For decades, the minority party had a guaranteed right to offer one motion to recommit with instructions, meaning the bill would go back with an amendment that, if adopted, would be reported back to the House immediately. It gave the minority a last chance to force the majority into a recorded vote on a politically sensitive proposal. The Democratic majority removed the instructions in 2009, Republicans restored them in 2011, and Democrats removed them again in 2019, leaving a version that merely sends the bill back, which is far less useful to the minority.

The minority considers the instruction version an important tool for visible votes; the majority sees it as a device for sinking bills with "gotcha" amendments. The change matters for how Rules Committee control and regular order work in the House. It does not apply in the Senate in the same form.

Last reviewed November 8, 2026

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Related terms

House Rules Committee The House committee that sets the terms of debate and amendment for most major bills before they reach the floor. Discharge petition A House procedure that lets a majority of members force a floor vote on a bill that committee or leadership has refused to schedule. Markup The committee meeting at which members debate, amend and vote on a bill before sending it to the full chamber. Suspension of the rules A House shortcut for passing noncontroversial bills quickly with limited debate and a two-thirds vote.