From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Mid-Term Elections / Casualty List

Puck Wants "A Strong Man at the Head of Government"—But Not This Kind. Puck, Feb. 4, 1880

Mid-term elections are the national elections held in November of the even-numbered years between presidential elections. Mid-term election years include 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, etc. Presidential elections are held very 4 years, including 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, etc.

Federal law (2 U.S.C. § 7) designates the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in even-numbered years, as election day for federal offices. Before election day, in each biennial cycle, the major political parties (and perhaps smaller parties) in each state will have held various kinds of conventions, and many states will have held major-party primaries and perhaps runoffs. Nearly all aspects of election administration are the responsibility of the individual states; Congress has not extensively exercised its constitutional authority to regulate federal election administration.

Members of Congress who are elected in the biennial federal elections begin their congressional service in the next Congress that starts the following January of the following odd-numbered year. For example, new members elected in November 2014, will begin their service in January 2015, in the First Session of the 114th Congress. See Terms and Sessions of Congress.

Members of the House serve two-year terms (Article. I. Section. 2.), while Senators are elected to six-year terms (Article. I. Section. 3.). See Senate Classes: Terms of Service.

The House press gallery maintains on its web site a “casualty list” of members of Congress who are retiring or running for other office in the next election.

Also see Congressional Election Information; Reapportionment / Redistricting; Senate Classes: Terms of Service; Terms and Sessions of Congress; Chapter Two, Pressures on Congress: Campaigns and Elections, § 5.10 Members of Congress: Service, Qualifications, Characteristics, and Filling Vacant Seats, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• Federal Election Commission (FEC)
• “Election Projections: First Amendment Issues,” CRS Report RS20762
• “Congressional Authority to Standardize National Election Procedures,” CRS Report RL30747
• “House Contested Election Cases: 1933 to 2009,” CRS Report 98-194
• “State Election Laws: Overview of Statutes Regarding Emergency Election Postponement Within the State,” CRS Report RS21942
• “Election of the President and Vice President by Congress: Contingent Election,” CRS Report RS20300
• “Postponement and Rescheduling of Elections to Federal Office,” CRS Report RL32623
• “Procedures for Contested Election Cases in the House of Representatives,” CRS Report RL33780
• “Election Reform and Electronic Voting Systems (DREs): Analysis of Security Issues,” CRS Report RL32139
• “Executive Branch Power to Postpone Elections,” CRS Report RL32471
• “Elections Reform: Overview and Issues,” CRS Report RS20898

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Capitol Hill Workshop – Congressional Operations Briefing and Seminar
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations
• Advanced Legislative Strategies

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Executive Communication / Executive Document

Old document, by storebukkebruse

Executive Communication: A message sent to the Senate by the president or other executive branch official. Presidential veto messages are an example of an “executive communication.”

Executive Document: A document, usually a treaty, sent to the Senate by the president for approval. Executive documents are referred to committee in the same manner as other measures. Unlike legislative documents, however, treaties don’t die at the end of a Congress but remain “live” proposals until acted on by the Senate or withdrawn by the president.

Prior to 1818, executive documents did not appear in printed form and prior to 1930 they were considered confidential with limited distribution. Even after 1930, they were not disseminated through the normal distribution channels.

Also see Executive Business; Executive Calendar; Executive Session; Treaties; § 6.180, Senate Calendars and Legislative
and Executive Business before the Senate, § 9.70 Laws and Their Codification, § 10.20 Floor Documents, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• United States Congressional Serial Set – Library of Congress
• U.S. Serial Set: Selected Documents and Reports – Library of Congress
• American State Papers, 1789-1838 – Library of Congress
• Schedule of Volumes to the U.S. Serial Set: 1970 to Current – Law Librarians Society of DC
• Senate Printing and Document Services
• “Executive and Independent Agency Publications: Where to Get Official Documents,” CRS Report RL30173

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Capitol Hill Workshop – Congressional Operations Briefing and Seminar
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations
• Advanced Legislative Strategies

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Nomination / Confirmation

Presidential appointments to office subject to Senate confirmation per the Constitution, Article II, Section 2. Although most nominations win quick Senate approval, some are controversial and become the topic of hearings and debate. Sometimes senators object to appointees for patronage reasons – for example, when a nomination to a local federal job is made without consulting the senators of the state concerned. In some situations a senator may object that the nominee is “personally obnoxious” to her. Usually other senators join in blocking such appointments out of courtesy to their colleagues.

Appointments subject to Senate confirmation include most senior government officials and federal judges. Most commissions and promotions of officers in the armed forces, Public Health Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Foreign Service are also subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

The president transmits nominations for such appointments to the Senate by message, it is read, and the Senate executive clerk assigns a consecutive number to each message as it is received. Nominations are then referred to the committee with jurisdiction over the agency in which the positions exist. In some cases, a nomination may be referred to more than one committee.

Committees adopt procedures for the consideration of nominations, consistent with Senate rules, and may include those procedures in committee rules. Committees often begin their consideration of a nomination by gathering information about a nominee. About half of civilian nominations, including senior-level executive branch officials and most federal judges, are also subject to a committee hearing.

During consideration of executive branch nominations, many committees exact a commitment from the nominee to testify before committees of Congress. This commitment is intended to strengthen congressional oversight capacity.

When the full Senate considers a nomination it does so in executive, rather than legislative, session. The Senate rarely votes to reject a nomination; unsuccessful nominations usually die from inaction.

Confirmation: Informal term for the Senate giving “Advice and Consent” to a presidential nomination for an executive or judicial position.

Also see Advice and Consent; Executive Calendar; Filibuster; Hold; Senatorial Courtesy; § 6.190 Holds, Clearance, and Unanimous Consent, § 8.80 Congress and the Executive: Appointments, § 8.81 Confirmation Procedure, § 8.121 Nominations to Federal Courts, § 8.160 Congress and Foreign Policy: Legislation, Appropriations, and Nominations, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• “Obama’s Judicial Restraint,” by Jonathan Adler, The Volokh Conspiracy, May 15, 2012
• Senate Rule XXXI – Executive Session-Proceedings on Nominations
• “Constitutionality of a Senate Filibuster of a Judicial Nomination,” CRS Report RL32102
• “Evolution of the Senate’s Role in the Nomination and Confirmation Process: A Brief History,” CRS Report RL31948
• “Nomination and Confirmation of the FBI Director: Process and Recent History,” CRS Report RS20963
• “Judicial Nomination Statistics: U.S. District and Circuit Courts, 1945-1976,” CRS Report RL32122
• “Judicial Nomination Statistics: U.S. District and Circuit Courts, 1977-2003,” CRS Report RL31635
• “Supreme Court Nominations, 1789 – 2010: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President,” CRS Report RL33225
• “The Chief Justice of the United States: Responsibilities of the Office and Process for Appointment,” CRS Report RL32821
• “Supreme Court Nominations: Senate Floor Procedure and Practice, 1789-2011,” CRS Report RL33247
• “Senate Confirmation Process: A Brief Overview,” CRS Report RS20986

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Congressional Briefing Conference – Capitol Hill Workshop
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations
• Advanced Legislative Strategies
• Research Workshops

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Treaties

Benjamin Franklin and Richard Oswald discussing the Treaty of Peace Paris, by Howard Pyle in Scribner Magazine, 1898. Library of Congress

Executive proposals – in the form of resolutions of ratification – that must be submitted to the Senate for approval by two-thirds of the senators present. Treaties today are normally sent to the Foreign Relations Committee for scrutiny before the Senate takes action. The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has jurisdiction over all treaties, regardless of the subject matter. Treaties are read three times and debated on the floor in much the same manner as legislative proposals. After approval by the Senate, the president formally ratifies treaties. Treaties not approved by the Senate at the end of a congressional session do not die. Instead, they can be considered by a future Congress unless withdrawn by the president.

A treaty is an executive document sent by the president to the Senate for its consideration and approval.

Also see Executive Business; Executive Calendar; § 8.30 Congress and the Executive: Ratification of Treaties and Foreign Policy, § 8.150 Congress and Foreign Policy: Treaties and International Agreements, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• Treaties in Force (TIF) – State Department
• Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
• List of United States treaties – Wikipedia
• “Senate Consideration of Treaties,” CRS Report 98-384
• “Bills, Resolutions, Nominations, and Treaties: Origins, Deadlines, Requirements, and Uses,” CRS Report 98-728
• “Why Certain Trade Agreements Are Approved as Congressional-Executive Agreements Rather Than as Treaties,” CRS Report 97-896

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Congressional Briefing Conference – Capitol Hill Workshop
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations
• Advanced Legislative Strategies
• Research Workshops

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Vote

Project 365 #85: 260311 The Best Laid Schemes..., by Pete

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. Article. I. Section. 7.

Vote, n. The instrument and symbol of a freeman’s power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.

– Ambrose Bierce, The Devils Dictionary

Also see Voice Vote; § 6.80, House Floor: Methods of Consideration, § 6.130, House Floor: Voting, § 6.250 Voting in the Senate, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• Senate Rule XII. Voting Procedure
• House Rule I. The Speaker
• “Voting and Quorum Procedures in the Senate,” CRS Report 96-452
• “House Voting Procedures: Forms and Requirements,” CRS Report 98-228
• “Voting in the Senate: Forms and Requirements,” CRS Report 98-227
• “Ordering a Rollcall Vote in the Senate,” CRS Report RS20199

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Capitol Hill Workshop – Congressional Operations Briefing and Seminar
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations
• Advanced Legislative Strategies

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Immunity

Faire 2007.6, by anoldent

(1) The constitutional privilege of members of Congress (Article. I. Section. 6.) to make verbal statements on the floor and in committee for which they cannot be sued or arrested for slander or libel. Also, freedom from arrest while traveling to or from sessions of Congress or on official business. Members in this status may be arrested only for treason, felonies or a breach of the peace, as defined by congressional manuals.

(2) In the case of a witness before a committee, a grant of protection from prosecution based on that person’s testimony to the committee.

Also see Congressional Ethics; Contempt of Congress; Oversight; § 8.70, Congress and the Executive: Oversight and Investigation, § 8.75, Committee Investigations and Witness Protections, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• “Federalism and the Constitution: Limits on Congressional Power,” CRS Report RL30315

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Capitol Hill Workshop – Congressional Operations Briefing and Seminar
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations
• Advanced Legislative Strategies

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Petition

petition, by League of Women Voters of California LWVC

A request or plea sent to one or both chambers from an organization or private citizens’ group asking support of, or opposition to, particular legislation or favorable consideration of a matter not yet receiving congressional attention. Petitions are referred to appropriate committees.

Petitions are normally addressed to individual representatives or senators. Members may present petitions from citizens or groups outside their constituencies.

Under House Rule XII, clause 3, members forward petitions they receive to the clerk of the House for referral to committees having jurisdiction over the petition’s subject. The text of the petition, the name of the first signer, the number of other signers and their general place of residence are printed in the Journal and published in the Congressional Record.

In the Senate, petitions are presented from the floor or delivered to the secretary of the Senate and are referred to the appropriate committee; Senate Rule VII, paragraph 4 provides a rarely used procedure in which the Senate may vote without debate on the question of receiving a particular petition or memorial.

See the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Also see Discharge Petition; Petition Box; § 2.27, Tips for Contacting Members of Congress, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• How to Contact Congress
• Right to petition in the United States – Wikipedia
• Strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) – Wikipedia
• The Anti-SLAPP Resource Center
• “Messages, Petitions, Communications, and Memorials to Congress,” CRS Report 98-839

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Capitol Hill Workshop – Congressional Operations Briefing and Seminar
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations
• Advanced Legislative Strategies

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net

From “Proper Etiquette for When You’re Under Arrest” by Adam Martin, The Atlantic Wire, April 6, 2012

Metropolitan Etiquette Authority (MEA) by artist Jay Shells

#1: Be polite, respectful, and professional with the cops, even if they’re being jerks to you.

#2: Don’t say anything to the cops that you don’t have to.

#3: Answer the questions they need to process you.

#4: Don’t claim you’re sick or need medical attention.

#5: Think about the people you might be getting arrested with.

#6: Don’t go along with a group that’s antagonizing police, if you don’t feel like antagonizing police.

#7: Try to make as many friends in the cells as possible.

#8: Don’t antagonize, confront, pick a fight, or cop attitude with anybody else also in custody.

#9: Talk to people [in your cell], but only if they want to.

#10: Don’t call in to work directly from the jail phone.

See the story for more tips.

For more, see the Bill of Rights Card, from Two Seas Media.

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Executive Calendar

Executive 007, by Paul Keller

This is a non-legislative calendar in the Senate on which executive business, presidential documents such as treaties and nominations are listed. The Senate’s Executive Calendar (PDF) is updated each day the Senate is in session. The executive calendar identifies executive resolutions, treaties, and nominations reported out by Senate committees and awaiting Senate floor action. The Executive Calendar is composed of eight sections:

• Cover/Unanimous Consent Agreements: This section identifies the title and date of the latest Executive Calendar. It also displays the text of any unanimous consent agreements that shall govern Senate action on specific items of Executive business.
• Resolutions: This section identifies Senate resolutions pertaining to Executive business, placed on the Executive Calendar with a sequentially assigned calendar number and ready for Senate floor consideration.
• Treaties: This section identifies Treaties submitted by the President to the Senate for ratification, placed on the Executive Calendar with a sequentially assigned calendar number and ready for Senate floor consideration.
• Nominations: This section identifies Presidential Nominations submitted to the Senate for confirmation, placed on the Executive Calendar with a sequentially assigned calendar number and ready for Senate floor consideration.
• Nominations Placed on Secretary’s Desk: This section identifies routine nomination lists, previously printed in the Congressional Record, placed on the Secretary’s desk for the information of Senators while awaiting floor action.
• Privileged Nominations: This section lists routine nominations which are entitled to expedited procedures.
• Notices of intent to object: This section identifies objections to unanimous consents to proceed to nominations or treaties.
• Motions for reconsideration: This section contains motions for reconsideration, not yet acted on.

Also see § 6.180, Senate Calendars and Legislative and Executive Business before the Senate, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• “The Senate’s Executive Calendar,” CRS Report 98-438
• “Senate Executive Business and the Executive Calendar,” CRS Report 98-709
• “Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure,” CRS Report RL31980

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Congressional Briefing Conference – Capitol Hill Workshop
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations
• Advanced Legislative Strategies
• Research Workshops

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net

From “7 Rules for Recording Police: Courts are expanding rights but cops are cracking down. Find out how to keep your footage, and yourself, out of trouble.” by Steve Silverman, Hit and Run, April 5, 2012

MacCon covers-up for Calgary police misconduct, by Robert Thivierge

Rule #1: Know the Law (Wherever You Are)

Rule #2 Don’t Secretly Record Police

Rule #3: Respond to “Shit Cops Say”

Rule #4: Don’t Share Your Video with Police

Rule #5: Prepare to be Arrested

Rule #6: Master Your Technology (and Always Passcode Protect Your Smartphone)

Rule #7: Don’t Point Your Camera Like a Gun

For more, see the Bill of Rights Card, from Two Seas Media.

“Joaquin Guzman Loera: Net Worth $1 Billion As of March 2012,” Forbes

“The World’s Billionaires: #701 Joaquin Guzman Loera,” Forbes, March 11, 2009

HT Kids Prefer Cheese

Why Legalize Drugs?

We believe that drug prohibition is the true cause of much of the social and personal damage that has historically been attributed to drug use. It is prohibition that makes these drugs so valuable – while giving criminals a monopoly over their supply. Driven by the huge profits from this monopoly, criminal gangs bribe and kill each other, law enforcers, and children. Their trade is unregulated and they are, therefore, beyond our control.

History has shown that drug prohibition reduces neither use nor abuse. After a rapist is arrested, there are fewer rapes. After a drug dealer is arrested, however, neither the supply nor the demand for drugs is seriously changed. The arrest merely creates a job opening for an endless stream of drug entrepreneurs who will take huge risks for the sake of the enormous profits created by prohibition. Prohibition costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars every year, yet 40 years and some 40 million arrests later, drugs are cheaper, more potent and far more widely used than at the beginning of this futile crusade.

We believe that by eliminating prohibition of all drugs for adults and establishing appropriate regulation and standards for distribution and use, law enforcement could focus more on crimes of violence, such as rape, aggravated assault, child abuse and murder, making our communities much safer. We believe that sending parents to prison for non-violent personal drug use destroys families. We believe that in a regulated and controlled environment, drugs will be safer for adult use and less accessible to our children. And we believe that by placing drug abuse in the hands of medical professionals instead of the criminal justice system, we will reduce rates of addiction and overdose deaths.

“Why Legalize Drugs?” from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)

More. Much More.

• Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)
• “Federal Domestic Illegal Drug Enforcement Efforts: Are They Working?” CRS Report R40732
• “International Drug Trade and Its Impact on the United States,” CRS Report 96-671
• “International Drug Control Policy,” CRS Report RL34543
• “Prescription Drug Importation and Internet Sales,” CRS Report RL32191
• “Student Aid Eligibility,” CRS Report RS21824
• “The Controlled Substances Act,” CRS Report RL34635
• “Drug Certification/Designation Procedures for Illicit Narcotics Producing and Transit Countries,” CRS Report RL32038
• “Drug Offenses,” CRS Report RL30721
• “Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI) and Related Funding Programs,” CRS Report RL33370
• “Federal Cocaine Sentencing Disparity: Sentencing Guidelines, Jurisprudence, and Legislation,” CRS Report RL33318
• “U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Decision on Retroactivity of the Crack Cocaine Amendment,” CRS Report RS22800
• “Federal Cocaine Sentencing,” CRS Report 97-743
• “U.S.-Mexican Security Cooperation: the Mérida Initiative and Beyond,” CRS Report R41349
• “Drug Crop Eradication and Alternative Development in the Andes,” CRS Report RL33163
• “Ecstasy: Legislative Proposals in the 107th Congress to Control MDMA,” CRS Report RS21108
• “Drug Crop Eradication and Alternative Development in the Andes,” CRS Report RL33163
• “Mexico’s Drug-Related Violence,” CRS Report R40582
• “Drug Trafficking and North Korea: Issues for U.S. Policy,” CRS Report RL32167
• “North Korean Drug Trafficking,” CRS Report RS20051
• “Latin America and the Caribbean: Illicit Drug Trafficking and U.S. Counterdrug Programs,” CRS Report R41215
• “Mexico’s Drug Trafficking Organizations: Source and Scope of the Rising Violence,” CRS Report R41576
• “Afghanistan: Narcotics and U.S. Policy,” CRS Report RL32686
• “Merida Initiative: Proposed U.S. Anticrime and Counterdrug Assistance for Mexico and Central America,” CRS Report RS22837
• “Narcotics Certification of Drug Producing Trafficking Nations: Questions and Answers,” CRS Report 98-159
• “Medical Marijuana: Review and Analysis of Federal and State Policies,” CRS Report RL33211
• “Marijuana for Medical Purposes,” CRS Report RS20998
• “Mexico’s Counter-Narcotics Efforts Under Zedillo and Fox, December 1994 to March 2001,” CRS Report RL30886
• “Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity,” CRS Report RL32725
• “Drug Control: International Policy and Approaches,” CRS Report IB88093
• “International Drug Trade and U.S. Foreign Policy,” CRS Report RL33582
• “Medical Marijuana: Review and Analysis of Federal and State Policies,” CRS Report RL33211
• “War On Drugs: Legislation in the 108th Congress and Related Developments,” CRS Report IB10113
• “War on Drugs,” CRS Report RL32352
• “Ratification of Amendments to the U.S. Constitution,” CRS Report 97-922
• “Mexico’s drug war” – One of the predictable results of prohibition

18th Amendment: Liquor Abolished

21st Amendment: Amendment 18 Repealed

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Journal

photo credit: grongar

The official record of the proceedings of the House and Senate. The Journal records the actions taken in each chamber, such as motions agreed to and votes taken, but unlike the Congressional Record, it does not include the substantially verbatim report of speeches, debates, statements and the like. The Constitution requires each house to maintain a journal (Article I, Section 5); the House has one and the Senate has four. Senate rules stipulate that different Journals be kept for legislative and executive (treaties and nominations) proceedings, as well as for confidential legislative proceedings and proceedings when the Senate sits as a court for impeachment of high Federal officials.

Senate Rule IV, Commencement of Daily Sessions provides in part:

(c) The proceedings of the Senate shall be briefly and accurately stated on the Journal. Messages of the President in full; titles of bills and resolutions, and such parts as shall be affected by proposed amendments; every vote, and a brief statement of the contents of each petition, memorial, or paper presented to the Senate, shall be entered.

(d) The legislative, the executive, the confidential legislative proceedings, and the proceedings when sitting as a Court of Impeachment, shall each be recorded in a separate book.

Also see Executive Session; Chapter 9. Congressional Documents: Overview, Legislation, and Laws, and Chapter 10. Congressional Documents: Committee, Chamber, Party, and Administrative Publications, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• Journal of the House of Representatives – FDsys
• House Journal: First Forty-three Sessions of Congress – Library of Congress
• Senate Journal: First Forty-three Sessions of Congress – Library of Congress
• Senate Executive Journal: First Forty-three Sessions of Congress – Library of Congress
• “Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure,” CRS Report RL31980
• “Impeachment: An Overview of Constitutional Provisions, Procedure, and Practice,” CRS Report 98-186
• “The Role of the Senate in Judicial Impeachment Proceedings: Procedure, Practice, and Data,” CRS Report R41172
• “Impeachment Grounds: A Collection of Selected Materials,” CRS Report 98-882

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Capitol Hill Workshop
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

House / House of Representatives

House Chamber, courtesy of the Clerk of the House

The House of Representatives, as distinct from the Senate, although each body is a “house” or “chamber” of Congress. Established by the Constitution, Article I, Section 2. See “A Note About Usage: ‘Congress’.”

When members of the House and House staff speak of “the other body,” they are speaking of the Senate.

Also see Chamber; Clerk of the House; Committee of the Whole; Floor / Aisle / Candy Desk / Gallery; Presiding Officer; Speaker; Well; the Congressional Deskbook.

More

• U.S. House of Representatives
• Congressional Leadership and Committees
• Congress by the Numbers
• Congress Seating Charts
• Congressional Schedule
• Congress Profile: The Backgrounds and Groups Among Members of Congress
• “Procedural Distinctions between the House and the Committee of the Whole,” CRS Report 98-143

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Capitol Hill Workshop
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Speaker

Frederick Muhlenberg, 1st Speaker of the House of Representatives

The presiding officer of the House of Representatives, selected by the caucus of the party to which she belongs and formally elected by the whole House.

Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states: “The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers.” And when Congress first convened in 1789, the House chose Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg as its Speaker. The Speaker acts as leader of the House and combines several roles: the institutional role of presiding officer and administrative head of the House, the partisan role of leader of the majority party in the House, and the representative role of an elected Member of the House. The Speaker of the House is second in line to succeed the President, after the Vice President, and preceding the President Pro Tempore (3 U.S.C. § 19).

The position of Speaker is established by the Constitution. The Speaker is the most senior officer of the House and third most senior official in the federal government. Institutionally, the Speaker presides over the House, refers measures to committee, makes rulings on points of order, has priority right of recognition on the floor, and sets the agenda. The Speaker appoints members to task forces, commissions, conference committees, some legislative committees, and select and special committees. The Speaker oversees the management of support functions. By tradition, the Speaker only occasionally participates in floor debate and seldom votes.

The Speaker is elected by majority vote of the House. Candidates are nominated by their respective party caucus or conference. On rare occasions, such as at the beginning of the 109th Congress, other candidates, in addition to those nominated by the party caucus or conference, have had their names put in nomination. The Speaker does not have to be a member of Congress, but all Speakers have been representatives.

From § 5.60, House Leadership, in Congressional Deskbook.

Also see Presiding Officer; Clerk of the House; A Note About Usage: ‘Congress’; Congressional Leadership and Committees.

More

• Speaker of the House
• Speakers of the House (official list)
• “The Speaker of the House: House Officer, Party Leader, and Representative,” CRS Report 97-780
• “Former Speakers of the House,” CRS Report RS20099
• “Rules and Practices Governing the Selection of House Officers,” CRS Report RS22593
• “The Role of the House Majority Leader,” CRS Report RL30665
• “Party Leaders in the House: Election, Duties, and Responsibilities,” CRS Report RS20881
• “Speakers of the House,” CRS Report RL30857
• “Special Order Speeches,” CRS Report RL30136
• “Major Leadership Election Contests in the House of Representatives, 94th-111th Congresses,” CRS Report RL30607
• “The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the House Floor,” CRS Report RL30725
• Speaker of the United States House of Representatives – Wikipedia

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Capitol Hill Workshop
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Constitutional Authority Statement

photo credit: _BuBBy_

On January 5, 2011, the House of Representatives adopted an amendment to House Rule XII adding a requirement to all measures introduced in the House of Representatives that are intended to become law. Specifically, Rule XII, clause 7(c) requires that, to be accepted for introduction by the House Clerk, all bills (H.R.) and joint resolutions (H.J.Res.) must provide a document stating “as specifically as practicable the power or powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the bill or joint resolution.” The requirement is mandatory, and the House Clerk appears to have the authority to reject introduction of any bill and joint resolution that is not accompanied by such a statement. It should be noted, however, that the rule does not appear to vest the House Clerk with the responsibility or authority to evaluate the substantiality of the required statement. Further, based on the plain language of the rule, such a statement is not required for House Resolutions (H.Res.), proposed amendments to already introduced bills, or other types of measures that may be considered by the House.

The House rule change of January 2011, requiring each bill or joint resolution in the House to be accompanied by a statement of Constitutional authority, is required by a new paragraph of clause 7 of House Rule XII:

(c)(1) A bill or joint resolution may not be introduced unless the sponsor submits for printing in the Congressional Record a statement citing as specifically as practicable the power or powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the bill or joint resolution. The statement shall appear in a portion of the Record designated for that purpose and be made publicly available in electronic form by the Clerk.

(2) Before consideration of a Senate bill or joint resolution, the chair of a committee of jurisdiction may submit the statement required under subparagraph (1) as though the chair were the sponsor of the Senate bill or joint resolution.

“The rule also repeals clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII (relating to constitutional authority statements in committee reports).
. . .
“While the Office of the Legislative Counsel will assist Members by providing a properly formatted Constitutional Authority Statement form, it is the responsibility of the bill sponsor to determine what authorities they wish to cite and to provide that information to the Legislative Counsel staff.”

“New Constitutional Authority Requirement for Introduced Legislation,” House Committee on Rules, January 5, 2011

More

• “Whither Constitutional Authority Statements?” by Ilya Shapiro, Cato at Liberty, October 18, 2011
• “House Rule XII: Congress and the Constitution,” by Marc Spindelman, 72 Ohio State Law Journal, 2011. (26-page PDF)
• “Sources of Constitutional Authority and House Rule XII, Clause 7(c),” by Kenneth R. Thomas, CRS Report R41548, January 18, 2011 (24-page PDF)

Courses

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
• Capitol Hill Workshop
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations

Publications

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net