Words taken down
Words taken down is a procedure used in the United States House of Representatives under the House Rules when a member suggests that another member used inappropriate words in debate.
The Congressional Research Service summarized the process in the following way:
Martin L. Levine, law professor at the University of Southern California, notes that "Taking down words, like 'taking down names,' is the start and not the end of a process. A separate step is required to rule the words out of order."
A 1999 study by Kathleen Hall Jamieson found that requests to take down words peaked in 1946 and 1995, years before or after control of the House changed hands.
