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2 USC § 5571 - Office of General Counsel of House; administrative provisions

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t2/s5571"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "2 USC § 5571 - Office of General Counsel of House; administrative provisions"
title_number: 2
title_name: "THE CONGRESS"
section_number: "5571"
section_name: "Office of General Counsel of House; administrative provisions"
chapter_number: 55
chapter_name: "HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OFFICERS AND ADMINISTRATION"
subchapter_number: "V"
subchapter_name: "GENERAL COUNSEL"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 106–57, title I, § 101, Sept. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 414; Pub. L. 107–273, div. A, title II, § 202(b)(5), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1775; Pub. L. 108–7, div. H, title I, § 110(a), Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 355.)"
---

# § 5571. Office of General Counsel of House; administrative provisions

**(a)** **Compliance with admission requirements** The General Counsel of the House of Representatives and any other counsel in the Office of the General Counsel of the House of Representatives, including any counsel specially retained by the Office of General Counsel, shall be entitled, for the purpose of performing the counsel’s functions, to enter an appearance in any proceeding before any court of the United States or of any State or political subdivision thereof without compliance with any requirements for admission to practice before such court, except that the authorization conferred by this subsection shall not apply with respect to the admission of any such person to practice before the United States Supreme Court.

**(b)** **Notification by Attorney General** section 530D of title 28

The Attorney General shall notify the General Counsel of the House of Representatives as required by .

**(c)** **General Counsel definition** In this section, the term “General Counsel of the House of Representatives” means—

**(1)** the head of the Office of General Counsel established and operating under clause 8 of rule II of the Rules of the House of Representatives;

**(2)** the head of any successor office to the Office of General Counsel which is established after September 29, 1999; and

**(3)** any other person authorized and directed in accordance with the Rules of the House of Representatives to provide legal assistance and representation to the House in connection with the matters described in this section.

**(d)** **Effective date** September 29, 1999

The provisions of this section shall become effective beginning with .

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**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 106–57, title I, § 101, Sept. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 414; Pub. L. 107–273, div. A, title II, § 202(b)(5), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1775; Pub. L. 108–7, div. H, title I, § 110(a), Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 355.)

## Editorial Notes

### Codification

Section was formerly classified to  prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Section is from the Congressional Operations Appropriations Act, 2000, which is title I of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2000.

### Amendments

2003—Subsec. (b).  amended . See 2002 Amendment note below.

2002—, as amended by , substituted “as required by ” for “with respect to any proceeding in which the United States is a party of any determination by the Attorney General or Solicitor General not to appeal any court decision affecting the constitutionality of an Act or joint resolution of Congress within such time as will enable the House to direct the General Counsel to intervene as a party in such proceeding pursuant to applicable rules of the House of Representatives”.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 2003 Amendment

> “The amendments made by this section [amending this section and
> 
> ] shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act [
> 
> ].”

, , , provided that: