floor privileges

The rules of the House of Representatives and Senate limit who can go onto the floor of the chambers when Congress is in session. Those regularly admitted include members and their staff, committee staff, the staff who work at the front desks, and the pages. Floor privileges are also extended to the President and Vice President, members of the cabinet, governors, Supreme Court justices, senior military officers, the Architect of the Capitol, and the mayor of the District of Columbia. House and Senate doorkeepers direct all other visitors to the galleries. Former members of Congress also have floor privileges, which for a while gave them considerable advantage as lobbyists. But since 1945 the House has followed the Rayburn Rule, named after former Speaker Sam Rayburn, which bars former members from the floor during any debate or vote in which they have any personal or business interest. The Senate, similarly, discourages former members from using their floor privileges to lobby.

See also Doorkeepers; Lobbying; Rayburn, Sam