Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

act

Legislation (a bill or joint resolution, see below) which has passed both chambers of Congress in identical form, been signed into law by the President, or passed over his veto, thus becoming law. Technically, this term also refers to a bill that has been passed by one house and engrossed (prepared as an official copy).

adjourn

A motion to adjourn in the Senate (or a committee) ends that day's session. Under the Constitution, neither chamber may adjourn for more than three days without the approval of the other. Such approval is obtained in a concurrent resolution approved by both chambers. An “Adjournment Sine Die” is the end of a legislative session "without day." These adjournments are used to indicate the final adjournment of an annual or the two-year session of a Congress.

amendment

A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, the Senate must agree to it.

amendment in the nature of a substitute

 

An amendment that would strike out the entire text of a bill or other measure and insert a different full text.

appropriation

Provision of law that provides authority for Federal agencies to obligate funds and to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. Appropriations for the Federal government are provided both in annual appropriations acts and in permanent provisions of law.

bill

The principal vehicle employed by lawmakers for introducing their proposals (enacting or repealing laws, for example) in the Senate. Bills are designated S. 1, S. 2, and so on depending on the order in which they are introduced. They address either matters of general interest ("public bills") or narrow interest ("private bills"), such as immigration cases and individual claims against the Federal government.

budget resolution

Legislation in the form of a concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget. The budget resolution establishes various budget totals, divides spending totals into functional categories (e.g., transportation), and may include reconciliation instructions to designated House or Senate committees.

calendar of business

A Senate publication sent to each lawmaker's office (and other offices) every day the Senate is in session. It contains information on, for instance, measures reported from the various standing committees, bills in conference, and the status of appropriation bills.

chairman

The presiding officer of a committee or subcommittee. In the Senate, chairmanship is based on seniority of committee tenure, but a Senator may not chair more than one standing committee.

cloakroom

Democratic and Republican cloakrooms adjacent to the Senate chamber serve as gathering places for party members to discuss chamber business privately.

cloture

The only procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster. Under the cloture rule (Rule XXII), the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours, but only by vote of three-fifths of the full Senate, normally 60 votes.

committee

Subsidiary organization of the Senate established for the purpose of considering legislation, conducting hearings and investigations, or carrying out other assignments as instructed by the parent chamber.

concurrent resolution

A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President and thus do not have the force of law.

congressional record

The substantially verbatim account of daily proceedings on the Senate floor. It is printed for each day the Senate is in session. At the back of each daily issue is the "Daily Digest," which summarizes the day's floor and committee activities.

filibuster

Informal term for any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions.

floor

Action "on the floor" is that which occurs as part of a formal session of the full Senate. An action "from the floor" is one taken by a Senator during a session of the Senate. A Senator who has been recognized to speak by the Chair is said to "have the floor."

floor leaders

The Majority Leader and Minority Leader are elected by their respective party conferences to serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and to manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. By custom, the Presiding Officer gives the floor leaders priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate.

hearing

A meeting of a committee or subcommittee -- generally open to the public -- to take testimony in order to gather information and opinions on proposed legislation, to conduct an investigation, or review the operation or other aspects of a Federal agency or program.

germane

On the subject of the pending bill or other business; a strict standard of relevance.

joint committee

Committees including membership from both houses of Congress. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation. Chairmanship usually alternates between the House and Senate members from Congress to Congress.

joint resolution

A legislative measure, designated "S. J. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, which requires the approval of both chambers and, with one exception, is submitted (just as a bill) to the President for possible signature into law. The one exception is that joint resolutions (and not bills) are used to propose constitutional amendments. These resolutions require a two-thirds affirmative vote in each house but are not submitted to the President; they become effective when ratified by three-quarters of the States.

morning business

Routine business that is supposed to occur during the first two hours of a new legislative day. This business includes receiving messages from the President and from the House of Representatives, reports from executive branch officials, petitions from citizens, memorials from States, and committee reports, and the introduction of bills and submission of resolutions. In practice, the Senate often does this business instead by unanimous consent at other convenient points in the day.

motion to proceed to consider

A motion, usually offered by the Majority Leader to bring a bill or other measure up for consideration. The usual way of bringing a measure to the floor when unanimous consent to do so cannot be obtained. For legislative business, the motion is debatable under most circumstances, and therefore may be subject to filibuster.

pro forma session

A brief meeting (sometimes only several seconds) of the Senate in which no business is conducted. It is held usually to satisfy the constitutional obligation that neither chamber can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other.

public law

A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.

quorum call

A call of the roll to establish whether a quorum is present. If any Senator "suggests the absence of a quorum," the Presiding Officer must direct the roll to be called. Often, a quorum call is terminated by unanimous consent before completion, which permits the Senate to use the quorum call to obtain a brief delay to work out some difficulty or await a Senator's arrival.

recess

A temporary interruption of the Senate's (or a committee's) business. Generally, the Senate recesses (rather than adjourns) at the end of each calendar day.

roll call vote

A vote in which each Senator votes "yea" or "nay" as his or her name is called by the Clerk, so that the names of Senators voting on each side are recorded. Under the Constitution, a roll call vote must be held if demanded by one-fifth of a quorum of Senators present, a minimum of 11.

secretary of the senate

The chief legislative officer nominated by the majority party conference and elected by the Senate. The Secretary affirms the accuracy of bill text by signing all measures that pass the Senate. The Secretary supervises the preparation and printing of bills and reports, the publication of the Congressional Record and Senate journals, and other matters.

seniority

The status given Senators according to their length of service, which entitles a Senator with greater seniority to preferential treatment in matters such as committee assignments.

sergeant at arms

The chief security officer of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms and staff in the office help to preserve order in the Senate chamber, the Senate galleries, and the Senate side of the Capitol. The Sergeant at Arms is elected by the Senate upon the nomination of the majority party conference.

session

The period during which Congress assembles and carries on its regular business. Each Congress generally has two regular sessions (a first session and a second session), based on the constitutional mandate that Congress assemble at least once each year.

subcommittee

Subunit of a committee established for the purpose of dividing the committee's workload. Recommendations of a subcommittee must be approved by the full committee before being reported to the Senate.

unanimous consent

A Senator may request unanimous consent on the floor to set aside a specified rule of procedure so as to expedite proceedings. If no Senator objects, the Senate permits the action, but if any one Senator objects, the request is rejected. Unanimous consent requests with only immediate effects are routinely granted, but ones affecting the floor schedule, the conditions of considering a bill or other business, or the rights of other Senators, are normally not offered, or a floor leader will object to it, until all Senators concerned have had an opportunity to inform the leaders that they find it acceptable.

veto

The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. The veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.

vote

Unless rules specify otherwise, the Senate may agree to any question by a majority of Senators voting, if a quorum is present. The Chair puts each question by voice vote unless the "yeas and nays" are requested, in which case a roll call vote occurs.

yield time

When the Senate has reached a unanimous consent agreement limiting the time for debate and placing it under the control of floor managers, a Senator may be recognized to speak only if a manager yields the Senator a specified amount of time to speak. The Chair then recognizes the Senator receiving the time, not the manager who yields the time, to hold the floor.