Prefixing address with Mr. President

[parkourninja]

Is it necessary when making a motion that can interrupt business such as a question of privilege or a point of information to say Mr. President, I rise to... or is it acceptable to simply say I rise to... without the prefix Mr. President?

[George Mervosh]

The form and examples in the book have the member saying "Mr. President" in both cases.  RONR, pp. 229 and 294.  Oh, and it's a Request for Information in the 11th Edition, not a Point of Information ( though that term is not improper), The example shows both..

Edited April 13, 2017 at 09:16 PM by George Mervosh

[parkourninja]

6 hours ago, George Mervosh said:

The form and examples in the book have the member saying "Mr. President" in both cases.  RONR, pp. 229 and 294.  Oh, and it's a Request for Information in the 11th Edition, not a Point of Information ( though that term is not improper), The example shows both..

I saw that wording in RONR which is why I asked the question. Does that mean it is improper not to say Mr. President before saying I rise to...? Correct me if I'm wrong but it doesn't say anywhere that the forms and examples given are binding so long as the conditions outlined in RONR for the motion are met.

[Alexis Hunt]

In general, no, the forms in RONR are not strictly required. In general, a member rising to seek the floor needs to get the chair's attention. It may be that just standing is enough, but it may not. It can also depend on the context: if you are interrupting a speaker with a point of order or a request for information, most often I've heard "Point of order, Mr. Chair", or "Mr. President, a Point of Order". Likewise, the title of the presiding officer may change (Speaker is quite common in student groups where I am from, for instance).

[George Mervosh]

I'm just an old fuddy duddy that's always addressed the presiding officer by their title when recognized, regardless of what motion or question I have.  I'm also a fan of using the forms and examples in the book as closely as I can remember them.  They're there for a reason.  

[parkourninja]

2 hours ago, George Mervosh said:

I'm just an old fuddy duddy that's always addressed the presiding officer by their title when recognized, regardless of what motion or question I have.  I'm also a fan of using the forms and examples in the book as closely as I can remember them.  They're there for a reason.  

I try to use forms as close to as given as well. But in this case, I could see how it might be more convenient to begin the statement with I rise, as the presiding officer immediately knows the type of motion that is being brought and therefore would not accidentally recognize another member who also said Mr. President, but was making a motion of lower precedence.

[Richard Brown]

Well, if we are going to get down to the nitty gritty, I doubt that it is necessary to say either "Mr. President" or "I rise to raise a point of order".  Just standing up and shouting "Point of Order!!" should also suffice.  Sometimes the situation demands that it be blurted out quickly.  In my experience, making a "Request for Information" or "Parliamentary Inquiry" is not usually of the same urgency as raising a point of order.  Niceties are always nice, but they aren't always essential.

[Josh Martin]

1 hour ago, Richard Brown said:

Well, if we are going to get down to the nitty gritty, I doubt that it is necessary to say either "Mr. President" or "I rise to raise a point of order".  Just standing up and shouting "Point of Order!!" should also suffice.  Sometimes the situation demands that it be blurted out quickly.  In my experience, making a "Request for Information" or "Parliamentary Inquiry" is not usually of the same urgency as raising a point of order.  Niceties are always nice, but they aren't always essential.

The book specifically recognizes "Point of Order!" as acceptable when necessary, presumably due to the strict time requirements for raising most points of order. Since, as you note, questions are generally not of as great urgency, there is generally no need to dispense with the words "Mr. President, I rise to..." in those cases.

2 hours ago, parkourninja said:

I try to use forms as close to as given as well. But in this case, I could see how it might be more convenient to begin the statement with I rise, as the presiding officer immediately knows the type of motion that is being brought and therefore would not accidentally recognize another member who also said Mr. President, but was making a motion of lower precedence.

As for issues of claiming preference in recognition, the member still begins "Mr. President," and the President asks the member for what purpose he rises. If this is not sufficient, due to a large number of members seeking recognition at once (as may be the case in large conventions), the assembly may adopt rules to handle the situation, such as using colored cards, or lining up at different microphones, or the like.