The House of Representatives included a return of the “Holman Rule” as part of the rules package governing the House in the 118th Congress. Named after former Rep. William Holman, the rule “empowers any member of Congress to propose amending an appropriations bill to single out a government employee or cut a specific program.” The amendment would need to be adopted by a majority vote of both the House and the Senate. The Holman Rule first emerged in 1876 and has been rarely used in those nearly 150 years.

It was last in place in 2017, and was used to target specific employees at the Congressional Budget Office, the Department of Defense, and the State Department. Those amendments were not adopted. Since there is a high bar to adopt an amendment via the Holman Rule, we expect its usage to be sparse and unsuccessful in the 118th Congress. However, an amendment adopted by the House could make negotiations for finalizing funding bills more difficult. FMA will keep a close eye on the usage of the Holman Rule.