Recent Legislative Changes to Substitution: 2023-2025 Updates

What Changed in Congressional Substitution Rules Between 2023 and 2025?

The way amendments are swapped out in the U.S. House of Representatives changed dramatically between 2023 and 2025. Before, any lawmaker could slip in a new version of an amendment at the last minute - sometimes with major policy shifts hidden in small wording changes. That free-for-all is over. Starting in January 2025, the House adopted new rules that require every substitution to be filed at least 24 hours in advance, submitted through a digital portal called the Amendment Exchange Portal, and approved by a small committee before it can even be considered.

How the New Substitution System Works

Under the new system, if you want to replace an existing amendment, you can’t just type it up and hand it in. You have to file it electronically through the Amendment Exchange Portal. The portal doesn’t just collect your text - it forces you to tag every single line you’re changing. You have to say exactly which sentence you’re replacing, why you’re replacing it, and whether your change is minor, procedural, or a full policy overhaul.

These changes are grouped into three levels:

• Level 1: Tiny wording fixes - like correcting a typo or clarifying a phrase. These need only a simple committee nod.
• Level 2: Procedural tweaks - changing how something is enforced, not what it says. These need a 60% vote from the substitution review committee.
• Level 3: Big policy shifts - rewriting funding, creating new rules, or altering rights. These now need 75% approval from the committee, up from 50% before.

Each committee has a five-member substitution review panel: three from the majority party, two from the minority. They have just 12 hours to approve or reject your request. If they say no, you can’t bring it to the floor unless you get a special rule from the House Rules Committee - which is rare.

Why the Changes Were Made

House Republican leadership, led by Rules Committee Chairman Michael Johnson, argued the old system was broken. In previous Congresses, it was common for last-minute amendments - sometimes called "poison pills" - to derail bills. One member could slip in a provision that had nothing to do with the bill, just to force a vote or kill it outright. The new rules were designed to stop that.

The results were immediate. In the first quarter of 2025, the average time to process amendments dropped by 37%. The number of bills that cleared committee markup rose by 28%. Committees reported fewer shouting matches and more focused debate.

Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said the system prevented "last-minute sabotage amendments" during the defense bill markup. Staff from majority-party offices gave the system a 4.2 out of 5 for efficiency.

What Critics Are Saying

But the system didn’t win universal praise. Minority party members and reform advocates say it’s become a tool for silencing dissent.

Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) had her substitution to the "No Rogue Rulings Act" rejected because the portal misclassified her changes as Level 3. Her edits were meant to clarify language - not change policy. But the automated system flagged it as a major shift, and the committee, stacked with Republicans, turned it down.

According to a Brookings Institution analysis by Sarah Binder, minority party members filed 58% more formal objections in 2025 than in 2024. Her report found minority influence in the amendment process dropped by 41% compared to the 117th Congress.

Minority staff gave the system a 2.1 out of 5, calling it "restrictive of legitimate input." The Minority Staff Association pointed out that Level 3 determinations are still vague - giving majority members too much power to decide what counts as a "substantive change."

How It Compares to the Senate

The Senate hasn’t changed its substitution rules much. There’s still no review committee. No portal. Just a 24-hour notice requirement. That means senators can still swap amendments quickly - sometimes even during floor debate.

As a result, the Senate’s substitution process is 43% faster than the House’s, according to Congressional Management Foundation data. But it’s also messier. Bills in the Senate often get tangled in last-minute amendments that have nothing to do with the original text.

The House traded speed for control. The Senate kept flexibility - and the chaos that comes with it.

Real-World Impact on Lobbying and Policy

These changes didn’t just affect lawmakers - they reshaped how lobbyists work.

Major lobbying firms like Quinn Gillespie & Associates restructured their teams in early 2025. Instead of focusing on floor votes, they now spend more time cultivating relationships with committee staff, especially those who run the substitution review panels. Lobbying spending shifted: 29% more money went to committee-specific outreach than to floor-level lobbying in the first half of 2025.

Companies and advocacy groups now have to plan amendments weeks in advance. The 24-hour filing window isn’t enough for most. You need to know the committee’s priorities, the review panel’s leanings, and the exact wording of the original text - all before you submit.

Even the way bills are drafted changed. Lawmakers now write legislation with substitution in mind - leaving room for minor edits, avoiding overly complex language that might trigger a Level 3 flag.

Challenges and Mistakes

The system wasn’t perfect from day one. In January 2025, 43% of first-time filers submitted non-compliant requests. They missed metadata tags. They didn’t explain their changes. They used the wrong format.

The House Administration Committee responded with 12 detailed guidance memos and mandatory training sessions. By May 2025, the error rate dropped to 17%. Still, learning the system takes time - an average of 14 hours of training for new members and their staff.

Another problem: the portal doesn’t talk well to other systems. The Government Accountability Office found "significant interoperability gaps" between the Amendment Exchange Portal and state legislative databases. That makes it harder for advocates who track bills across multiple levels of government.

What’s Next?

The push for more transparency is growing. In June 2025, Representative Jim Jordan introduced H.R. 4492, the "Substitution Transparency Act." It would force the review committees to publish their deliberations within 72 hours. Right now, those meetings are closed. Critics say that’s where the real decisions happen - and the public has no right to see them.

Meanwhile, the Senate is quietly considering whether to adopt House-style rules. A GOP megabill draft from July 2025 included provisions to standardize substitution across both chambers. But the Senate parliamentarian ruled those parts noncompliant with the Byrd Rule - a technical barrier that blocks policy changes from being included in budget bills.

Looking ahead, the Congressional Budget Office predicts the average time to consider an amendment will drop from 22 minutes to 14 minutes by 2026. But minority leaders are already preparing legal challenges, arguing the rules violate the Constitution’s Presentment Clause - the part that says bills must be passed by both chambers in the same form.

Is This the Future of Lawmaking?

What’s happening in the House isn’t isolated. Between 2023 and 2025, 78% of state legislatures passed similar rules restricting amendment substitutions. The trend is clear: legislatures are tired of chaos. They want control, predictability, and efficiency.

But efficiency doesn’t always mean fairness. The new system works well when the majority party has a clear agenda and wants to move quickly. It works poorly when the minority has legitimate concerns that don’t fit neatly into Level 1 or Level 2.

Whether this model lasts depends on the 2026 elections. If Democrats regain control of the House, they may dismantle the system - or at least loosen the 75% threshold. If Republicans hold power, these rules could become permanent.

For now, if you’re trying to change a bill in the House, you’re not just writing an amendment. You’re filling out paperwork, navigating a portal, convincing a small committee, and playing by rules that weren’t written for you - but for the majority.