Congressional Glossary - Table

Amendment

A provision added to a bill pending before the House of Representatives or Senate. House rules require that amendments be germane (related) to the bill, but Senate rules permit the proposal of unrelated amendments.

Appropriation bill

A bill that provides funding for a government program. Appropriation bills usually fund programs that have already been established by an authorization bill.

Authorization bill

A bill that directs the spending of government money for a specified purpose. Congress usually passes authorization bills before it allocates funds with an appropriation bill.

Bill

A proposed law. If the bill is approved by a majority vote of the chamber, it is sent to the other house of Congress for approval and then on to the president. The president may approve or veto the bill. A veto may be overridden by a two-thirds majority vote in both houses.

Bipartisan

Joint action by both the Democratic and Republican political parties.

Calendar

A schedule of legislative business.

Caucus

A private, informal group within Congress usually limited to members of a political party.

Call up

To bring a bill to the floor for immediate attention.

Chamber

The main room in which legislative business is conducted. The House and the Senate have separate chambers.

Censure

A punishment in which the House or Senate expresses its condemnation of a member's action. A vote to censure a member requires a majority vote.

Certification

The official process of accepting the election results of a member of Congress.

Christmas tree

A bill, likely to become law, that members of Congress amend with unrelated provisions that would otherwise be difficult to pass.

Closed-door hearing

A hearing that is closed to the public and the press.

Cloture

A Senate procedure that is usually used to end a filibuster. A successful vote to invoke cloture limits each senator to one hour of debating time on the matter before the chamber.

Committee

A panel in the House or Senate assigned to a specific area of the chamber's business. Most committees are standing committees, which conduct hearings, supervise research, and make legislative recommendations.

Committee of the whole

A group of 100 or more House members organized as a single committee to conduct House business under relaxed rules. The House usually forms such a committee to conduct floor debates over bills that have been reported out (referred) by regular committees.

Concurrent resolution

A resolution passed by both the House and Senate. Congress often passes concurrent resolutions to express its collective opinion about an issue, but the measures do not have the force of law.

Conference or conference committee

When the House and Senate have passed different versions of a bill, a conference committee made up of members of each chamber develops a compromise.

Consent calendar

A schedule of business in the House of Representatives that includes bills not likely to raise objections, such as individual exceptions to immigration laws.

Executive session

A meeting of a House or Senate committee, or sometimes the chamber as a whole, that is closed to the press and public.

Expulsion

A disciplinary action that strips a member of Congress from his or her position in the body. Expulsion is the most severe punishment a chamber can impose on a member, and requires a vote of two-thirds of the member's chamber.

Filibuster

A tactic used to block a Senate vote by prolonging debate. Senate rules allow virtually unlimited debate before a vote, so a minority of senators can usually postpone a vote as long they have the stamina to speak from the Senate floor.

Floor

The area in the House or Senate chambers where members sit and where debates are conducted.

Floor leader

The member of the Senate chosen to organize the members of his or her party. The floor leaders are often called the majority and minority leaders.

Floor manager

A member chosen to shepherd a bill through the chamber, organize support for the bill, and (in the case of House bills) allocate debating time. The floor manager is often the chairperson of the committee responsible for the bill.

Joint committee

A committee made up of members of both the House and Senate, usually an equal number from each chamber. Joint committees can conduct hearings but cannot make legislative reports.

Majority leader

The leader of the majority party in the Senate or House. The majority leader, who is sometimes called the floor leader, assumes primary responsibility for his or her party's legislative agenda.

Mark up

The process of revising a bill, usually conducted by committees.

Minority leader

The leader of the minority party in the House or Senate. Often called the minority floor leader, the minority leader directs his or her party's legislative strategy.

Override

The power of Congress to reject the president's veto of a bill. An override requires a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate.

Poison pill

A politically objectionable amendment to a bill. A member who opposes a bill may try to add a poison pill amendment to the bill to ensure that it will be rejected by Congress or vetoed by the president.

President pro tempore

The Senate's temporary presiding officer, who controls the chamber in the absence of the vice president of the United States.

Quorum

A minimum number of members who must be present to conduct congressional business. A House quorum is 218 of the chamber's 435 members. A Senate quorum requires 51 members of the 100 senators in the chamber.

Report

A committee's recommendation for action on a bill.

Reprimand

A punishment used primarily in the House, a reprimand expresses the chamber's disapproval of a member's conduct. Less severe than a censure, a vote to reprimand a member requires majority approval.

Rider

An amendment attached to a bill in the hope that the amendment will 'ride' the primary bill through the legislative process, common in the Senate, but usually forbidden in the House.

Select committee

An investigative committee in the House or Senate, usually lacking the power to make legislative reports.

Senatorial courtesy

A custom requiring the White House to consult with a state's senators before making important federal appointments from the state.

Seniority system

The practice of assigning members to powerful congressional committees based on the number of years they have served in Congress.

Speaker of the House

The top leader in the House, elected by the chamber's majority party. The Speaker exercises wide discretion over the House's legislative agenda and committee appointments, making the position the most powerful in Congress.

Special session

A session of Congress held after the chamber has already adjourned from its regular session.

Standing committee

Permanent congressional committees, responsible for considering legislation, holding hearings, supervising policy research, and overseeing executive branch agencies. Standing committees are the most powerful type of committee in Congress.

Strike from the record

A procedure used to remove offensive statements from the record of House proceedings. The procedure is usually used when a member makes remarks that another member regards as insulting.

Suspend the rules

A procedure used to expedite House business by temporarily following relaxed rules.

Table

To indefinitely postpone a pending matter, such as a bill, amendment, or procedural motion.

Unanimous consent

A procedure used in the House and Senate to approve an amendment, bill, or motion that is acceptable to all members in the chamber.

Veto

The president's rejection of a bill passed by Congress. Congress can override the veto by a vote of two-thirds of both chambers.

Whip

The chief assistant to a floor leader, responsible for organizing his or her party's members for votes.