From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms
Yield / Yielding / Yield for a Question?


When a member has been recognized to speak by the presiding officer, no other member may speak unless he obtains permission from the member recognized. This permission is called yielding and is requested in the form “Will the gentleman or gentlewoman yield to me?” or “Will the gentleman or gentlewoman yield for a question?” While this activity occasionally is seen in the Senate, the Senate has no rule or practice to parcel out time. When the member speaking yields, the questioner often makes a statement rather than asks a question. See this exchange in the Congressional Record (112th Congress, page S6736) for an example.
Also see Controlled Time; Recognize / Recognition; Yield the Floor.
More
- “Debate and Motions on the House Floor,” CRS Report 98-827 (6-page PDF
)
- “Speaking on the House Floor: Gaining Time and Parliamentary Phraseology,” CRS Report RS22991 (11-page PDF
)
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