A B C D E F G H J K L M O P Q R S T U V

Absence of a Quorum: If less than 51 Senators answer a quorum call, the absence of a quorum is established. In the absence of a quorum, the Senate may not conduct legislative business and must either adjourn or continue to make motions to obtain a quorum.

Act: Legislation that has passed both chambers of Congress in identical form and been signed into law by the President, thus becoming law. Also, a bill that has been passed by one house and engrossed.

Amendment: A motion offered to change the text of a bill or of another amendment.

Appeal the Ruling of the Chair: To challenge the Chair's ruling on a point of order. On an appeal, the chamber must vote to either overturn or sustain the judgment of the Chair.

Appropriations Bill: A bill that provides the legal authority needed to spend or obligate government funds. There are 13 requisite appropriations bills for the federal government, which must all be enacted prior to the start of a new fiscal year on October 1.

Bill: The means by which lawmakers introduce their proposals.

Budget Act: The 1974 Congressional Budget Act, which created the current budget process and the Congressional Budget Office and the House and Senate Budget Committees.

Budget Resolution: The annual decision made by Congress to set spending and revenue levels.

Call Up a Bill: To raise a bill on the floor for immediate consideration.

Caucus: A caucus is an informal group of members sharing an interest in the same policy issues.

Chairman's Mark: Draft legislation presented by a committee chairman, usually not long before the panel is about to debate and vote on changes to the bill.

Christmas Tree Bill: Nickname for a bill on the Senate floor that attracts many unrelated floor amendments.

Clean Bill: After a Senate committee has amended legislation, the chairman is often authorized to assemble the changes and then reintroduce everything as a clean bill.

Clerk of the House: The Clerk creates and maintains legislative documents, voting tallies, and other records.

Closed Rule: A closed rule bans amendments to a bill on the House floor, with the exception of amendments approved in advance by a committee and offered by its chairman.

Cloture: The formal procedure used to end a Senate filibuster, requiring 60 votes.

Commit a Bill: To commit a bill is to send it to committee for consideration rather than debating it immediately.

Committee of the Whole: The Committee of the Whole is the entire House meeting in the form of a committee. This lets members follow the rules of a committee rather than of the House. All money bills must be considered in the Committee of the Whole.

Committee Report: A Committee Report is prepared by a committee to explain the content of a bill being reported. Committee Reports are optional in the Senate, but required in the House.

Companion Bill: Similar or identical legislation that is introduced in the Senate and House.

Concurrent Resolution: A legislative measure employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both chambers, such as a budget resolution, or to create a joint committee.

Conference: A formal meeting between House and Senate members to reconcile the differences between versions of a bill.

Conference Report: The final version of a bill proposed by House and Senate conferees. It also contains a section-by-section explanation of the agreement.

Congressional Budget Office: The CBO conducts non-partisan economic analysis and research, and also evaluates proposed bills and amendments to assess their potential cost.

Congressional Record: The daily account of House and Senate activity, now available on the Internet.

Congressional Research Service: A service of the Library of Congress answering general information and issue analysis requests for congressional offices.

Continuing Resolution: Such a resolution, known as a CR, continues funding for a program if the fiscal year ends without new appropriation approved.

Contract Authority: The authority granted a federal agency to obligate money prior to actually having the funds available.

Cosponsor: A member of the House or Senate who formally adds her/his name as a supporter to another member's bill.

Dear Colleague Letter: A mass-produced letter sent by one member of Congress to all fellow members, usually seeking cosponsors for a new bill, or seeking votes on a pending bill.

Demonstration Project: A project funded by the federal government to test new technology or policies.

Discharge Petition: A petition to force a bill out of committee, when the broad House floor opinion seems at odds with the view in committee. A majority of the House must sign the petition to discharge the bill from committee.

Discretionary Spending: Spending set by annual appropriation levels.

Earmarked Funds: Funds dedicated for a specific program or purpose.

Enacting Clause: The words giving the force of law to a proposed bill, specifically, "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled..."

Engrossed Bill: The official copy of a bill or joint resolution passed by the Senate and certified by the Secretary of the Senate.

Enrolled Bill: The final copy of a bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers in identical form. It is printed, signed by appropriate congressional officials, and submitted to the President for signature.

Entitlement Spending: Funding levels for programs that are automatically set by the number of eligible recipients, not at the discretion of Congress.

Filibuster: An extended Senate debate prolonged specifically to prevent a vote, which can only be ended by cloture.

GAO: The General Accounting Office audits federal agencies and programs at the request of Congress.

Hearing: A formal meeting of a committee or subcommittee to review legislation or explore a topic, or to investigate a matter of concern to Congress.

Hold: A private objection by a senator to scheduling a matter for debate. A hold signifies a senator's disapproval of the majority leader's planned agenda, but it is not binding.

Joint Committee: A permanent committee comprised of both House and Senate members. Only four currently exist: the Joint Committees on the Library, on Printing, on Taxation, and the Joint Economic Committee.

Joint Meeting: A joint assembly of both the House and Senate to hear a speech by a dignitary or by the President.

Joint Resolution: A legislative measure that requires the approval of both chambers and is submitted to the President for possible signature into law.

K Street: The downtown Washington street where many lobbyists and lawyers have offices; also a colloquial term for lobbying groups.

Lay on the Table: To dispose of a bill or proposal permanently.

Legislative Veto: The repeal by Congress of the actions of the President or a federal agency.

Logrolling: An informal agreement between House or Senate members to vote for each other's proposals.

Mandatory Spending: Spending not controlled by annual decision of Congress, automatically obligated by previously enacted laws.

Mark-up: A meeting of a committee to review the text of a bill before reporting it. Committee members offer and vote on proposed changes to the bill through amendments, and usually send the new version of the bill to the floor for final approval.

Motion to Adjourn: A motion to adjourn seeks to end a day's session in the House and is offered at day's end. Such a motion is also sometimes used during the day as a form of protest. The Senate also utilizes the motion to adjourn, but more often will simply stand in recess until the next day.

Motion to Instruct Conferees: A resolution asking members of a conference to take a certain position in bill negotiation with the other house. Conferees are free to follow or ignore the advice of their chamber.

Motion to Proceed: A motion seeking to bring a bill to the Senate floor for debate. A motion to proceed requires a majority vote for adoption, or, if filibustered, 60 votes.

Motion to Recommit: A motion to return a bill to committee, killing it.

Motion to Table: A motion that, if passed, kills the pending matter and ends any further debate on the subject.

"Must Pass" Bill: An important measure that Congress must enact, such as annual bills to fund operations of the government.

Objection: An objection from any member prevents a unanimous consent request from taking effect, and may lead to a recorded vote.

Off-budget: Programs not counted toward budget limits such as Social Security.

Omnibus Bill: A bill packaging several measures into one large bill.

Open Rule: An open rule permits all relevant amendments to be offered to a bill, without any restrictions.

Oversight: The review of federal agencies, programs and performance.

Parliamentary Inquiry: An inquiry by a member on the floor to the chair asking for procedural clarification.

Pocket Veto: A veto effected by the failure of the President to sign a bill within the 10 days allowed by the Constitution. A pocket veto only takes effect when the Congress is in adjournment. If Congress is in session and the president fails to sign the bill, it becomes law without his signature.

Point of Order: An assertion made during floor proceedings to insist that the rules of procedure are being violated. Proceedings are halted while the presiding officer rules on whether or not it is valid. In the Senate, the chair's ruling may be appealed by any senator, leading to a vote. The House technically allows appeals as well, but they are rarely made and usually fail.

Point of Personal Privilege: An assertion by a member to defend her/his rights or reputation.

Presiding Officer: A majority party senator who presides over the Senate, for a shift lasting about one hour. Freshmen senators serve in the chair most often.

Pro Forma Amendment: An amendment "in form only" offered not to actually amend a bill but to qualify for five minutes of debate time.

Pro Forma Session: A daily meeting of the House or Senate during which no votes are held and no business is conducted. The session is held to abide by the three-day rule in the Constitution, requiring each house to gain the permission of the other for recesses longer than three days.

Put the Question: To place the question of final passage before the House or Senate for a vote.

Question of Final Passage: The chair's decision to put final passage of a matter to a vote.

Quorum: A majority of members of the House or Senate, whose presence is required to hold a vote.

Quorum Call: The official order to request the presence of enough members to establish a quorum.

Ranking Member: The second highest rank on a committee on the majority side, after the chairman.

Ranking Minority Member: The highest rank on a committee on the minority side.

Reconciliation Bill: A bill making the changes in law required to meet pre-set spending and revenue levels.

Reserve the Balance of Time: To save the remainder of the time allotted for later in the debate.

Reserving the Right to Object: The brief refusal of consent to a unanimous consent request, used to briefly discuss the subject of the request.

Revenue Bill: A bill dealing with methods for raising money, such as taxes and fees.

Revise and Extend: Asking to revise and extend allows a member to add to or edit his/her floor remarks in the Congressional Record. It is used so that members may insert lengthy speeches without having to actually deliver them and use limited debate time.

Rider: An amendment attached to a bill likely to pass, most often unrelated to the subject of the bill. Its sponsor tries to use the strength of the bill to "ride" to passage.

Select Committee: A special committee created for a specific purpose and usually for a limited period of time. Most have no legislative power and instead exist chiefly to conduct investigations and studies.

Simple Resolution: A simple resolution is used to take action on behalf of either the House or Senate, but not both. It does not make law, but rather is used to change internal rules or to express an opinion of the body, such as a censure or commendation.

Sine Die Adjournment: The end of a congressional session or of an entire Congress.

Special Session: A convened meeting of Congress after it has adjourned sine die. There have been 28 special sessions; before the 1998 special session to debate the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, there had not been one since 1948.

Sponsor: The member who introduces a bill and acts as its chief advocate.

Standing Committee: A permanent congressional committee.

Substitute Amendment: An amendment offering a complete alternative to the existing text.

Supplemental Appropriations Bill: A bill providing funds in addition to the regular appropriations level, used in unforeseen circumstances and emergencies.

Time Agreement: A voluntary pact among senators to limit debate time on a matter, negotiated by party leaders.

Unanimous Consent: The agreement of all members on the floor to a pending request. It is required when a member wishes to act contrary to or outside regular procedures.

Unfunded Mandate: A requirement imposed by Congress on state or local governments without providing funding to pay for it.

U.S. Code: The compilation of all current federal laws, arranged under 50 subject titles. It is revised every six years.

Veto-proof: Votes with a margin sufficient to override a veto should it occur; that is, passing with more than 2/3 of the Congress' support. Currently, a veto-proof majority is 290 in the House and 67 in the Senate.