Suspension of the rules — the 2/3 fast lane
House Rule XV's suspension procedure is a compressed, 2/3-threshold path used when leadership wants to move non-controversial legislation quickly. About 40% of House bills that become law travel this path. Two things to know: it requires 2/3 of those voting (not simple majority), and amendments are not allowed during the 40-minute debate.
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Step 1 — Speaker recognition
The Speaker recognizes a member to "move to suspend the rules and pass" a bill. Only the majority leadership controls which bills get suspension status.
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Step 2 — 40-minute debate
Debate is capped at 40 minutes total (20 each side). No amendments are allowed.
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Step 3 — Vote
Threshold: 2/3 of members voting (not chamber size). The high threshold is why suspension bills are usually consensus items.
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Why suspension matters analytically
Bills passing under suspension generally indicate broad bipartisan support OR a leadership maneuver to avoid amendment fights. Either way, a contested suspension vote is rare and worth attention.
Related civic-literacy warnings
When you see these chips on a vote-detail page, they point back to this explainer:
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