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Adjourn |
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To suspend until a later stated time or place. |
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Apportion |
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To divide and allocate. |
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Appropriate |
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To devote money or assets for a specific purpose. |
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Censure |
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A process by which a formal reprimand is issued to an individual by an authoritative body. |
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Cloture |
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A motion or process aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. |
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Committee chairman |
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Most important influencers of the committee agenda. They play dominant roles in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house. |
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Concurrent resolution |
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A resolution passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate but is not presented to the President and does not have the force of law. |
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Conference committee |
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Formed when the Senate and the House pass a bill and it is their job to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill. |
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Consensus |
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A general agreement among the members of a given group or community. |
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Discharge petition |
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A discharge petition is a means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from a Committee and usually without cooperation of the leadership. |
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Filibuster |
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Unique strategy to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation try to talk it to death to try to prevent the Senate from ever voting on a bill. |
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Floor leader |
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The floor leaders have priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate. |
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Joint committee |
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Exist in a few policy areas, such as economy and taxation; with membership drawn from both the Senate and the House. |
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Joint resolution |
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A joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires approval by the Senate and the House and is presented to the President for his/her approval or disapproval, in exactly the same case as a bill. |
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Partisan |
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A partisan is a committed member of a political party. |
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Party caucus |
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A party that gathers to caucus. |
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Pocket veto |
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A Veto taking place when Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill to the president, who simply lets it die by neither signing nor vetoing it. |
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President of the Senate |
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The President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate, and is the speaker of other assemblies. |
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President pro tempore |
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The senator who presides over the U.S. Senate in the absence of the Vice President.
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Quorum |
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The minimal number of officers and members of a committee or organization, usually a majority, who must be present for valid transaction of business.
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Rider |
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Riders are usually created as a tactic to pass a controversial provision which would not pass as its own bill. |
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Select committee |
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Are appointed for a specific reason.Ex. The Senate select committee that investigated Watergate. |
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Seniority rule |
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If committee members had served on their committee longest and their party controlled the chamber, they got to be chairs. |
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Session |
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A meeting for the execution of a group's functions. |
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Speaker of the House |
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The Chief position in the House of Representatives. The only legislative office mandated by the Constitution. |
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Special session |
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A session that is held in addition to the regular sessions. |
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Standing committee |
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Handles bills in different policy areas in each house of Congress. |
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Subcommittee |
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Smaller units of a committee created out of the committee membership. |
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Term |
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The amount of time spent in office. |
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Veto |
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The constitutional power of the president to send a bill back to Congress with reasons for rejecting it. (A two-thirds vote in each house can override a veto.) |
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Whip |
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Carry the word to party troops, counting votes before they are cast and leaning on wavers whose votes are crucial to a bill. |
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