Rule XIII of the Standing Rules of the United States Senate

Standing Rules of the United States Senate

The Standing Rules of the Senate are the rules of order adopted by the United States Senate that govern its procedure. The Senate's power to establish rules derives from Article One, Section 5 of the United States Constitution: "Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings..."There are...

, established by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, with administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, including responsibility for dealing with contested elections.The committee...

, governs reconsideration

Reconsider

In parliamentary law, reconsideration of a motion takes places upon a motion to bring back for further consideration a matter previously decided...

 of a vote within the Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

.

Reconsideration of a vote

Paragraph 1 states that when a question has been decided by the Senate, any Senator voting with the prevailing side or who has not voted may move a reconsideration. This may occur on the same day or on either of the next two days of actual session. If the Senate refuses to reconsider such a motion, if a motion is withdrawn by leave of the Senate, or if upon reconsideration the Senate shall affirm its first decision, no further motion to reconsider shall be in order unless by unanimous consent

Unanimous consent

In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house, is a situation in which no one present objects to a proposal. The chair may state, for instance: "If there is no objection, the motion...

. Every motion

Motion (democracy)

A motion is a formal step to introduce a matter for consideration by a group. It is a common concept in the procedure of trade unions, students' unions, corporations, and other deliberative assemblies...

 to reconsider shall be decided by a majority vote, and may be laid on the table without affecting the question in reference to which the same is made, which shall be a final disposition of the motion.

Return of a bill to the Senate

Paragraph 2 states when a vote has been taken on a bill

Bill (proposed law)

A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....

, resolution

Resolution (law)

A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...

, report, amendment

Constitutional amendment

A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...

, order, or message and that item has left the possession of the Senate and been communicated to the United States House of Representatives

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...

, the motion to reconsider shall be accompanied by a motion to request the House of Representatives to return the same; which last motion shall be acted upon immediately without debate. If determined in the negative, it shall be a final disposition of the motion to reconsider.