From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Sense of the Congress / Sense of the House / Sense of the Senate

One or both chambers of Congress may formally express opinions about subjects of current national interest through freestanding simple or concurrent resolutions (called generically “Sense of the House,” “Sense of the Senate,” or “Sense of the Congress” resolutions). These opinions may also be added to pending legislative measures by amendments expressing the views of one or both chambers.

Sense of the House or Senate resolutions take the form of simple resolutions because they only require the approval of one chamber. A sense of Congress resolution, on the other hand, must be a concurrent resolution as both the House and Senate must approve such measures. Joint resolutions are not typically used for expressions of congressional opinion because joint resolutions generally require presidential approval.

“Sense of” resolutions are considered under the normal legislative processes of each chamber applicable to any other legislative vehicle. Because “sense of” resolutions do not involve the expenditure of public funds, such resolutions when reported from House committees are placed on the House calendar. Typically, the House considers them through suspension motions, by unanimous consent request, or under the terms of a special rule reported from the Committee on Rules. The Senate normally takes up “sense of” resolutions by unanimous consent or, more infrequently, they are automatically laid before the Senate under the “resolutions…over, under the Rule” process (Senate Rule XIV).

A “sense of” resolution is not legally binding because it is not presented to the president for his signature. Even if a “sense of” provision is incorporated into a bill that becomes law, such provisions merely express the opinion of Congress or the relevant chamber. They have no formal effect on public policy and are not considered law. However, a “sense of” resolution may invite executive branch compromise with Congress, but without making law.

Besides expressing such views through simple or concurrent resolutions, Congress may attach such provisions to a bill by way of floor or committee amendment. In the House, a “sense of” amendment must be germane to the overall measure and to the particular portion of the bill to which it is added. Violations of the germaneness rule can be overcome through motions to suspend the rules or by provisions in a special rule waiving certain points of order.

Senate rules give more latitude to Senators to offer “sense of” amendments in committees or on the floor. In general, the rules of the Senate normally do not require amendments to be germane to the pending bill. Germaneness of amendments is required once the Senate invokes cloture. “Sense of Congress” or “Sense of the Senate” amendments offered post-cloture are germane if the subject of the “sense of” amendment falls within the jurisdiction of the committee reporting the underlying bill.

“Sense of” resolutions and amendments expressing the sense of one or both houses of Congress have offered on many issues. A survey of “sense of” resolutions and amendments offered during the 105th Congress shows that most of them focused on foreign policy matters, particularly resolutions that express the sense of the Senate. However, “sense of” proposals have also addressed domestic policy issues, such as calling for certain federal agencies or officials to take specified action or to refrain from some action.

Although “sense of” proposals have no force in law, foreign governments pay close attention to them as evidence of shifts in U.S. foreign policy priorities. On domestic issues, agencies also monitor “sense of” provisions because they may be an early signal that the Congress will alter formal statutory provisions, although because of the informal nature of “sense of” provisions they do not directly influence agency policy.

Also see Amendment; Committee Amendment; Concurrent Resolution; Germane / Germaneness; Unanimous Consent; § 8.160 Congress and Foreign Policy: Legislation, Appropriations, and Nominations, § 9.50, Legislation Effective within Congress: Simple and Concurrent Resolutions, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• “‘Sense of’ Resolutions and Provisions,” CRS Report 98-825
• “Senate Rule XIV Procedure for Placing Measures Directly on the Senate Calendar,” CRS Report RS22309 (6-page PDF)

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

Budget Deficit / Budget Surplus

The relationship between spending and revenues is reflected in the surplus or deficit figure. A surplus is an excess of revenues over outlays, while a deficit is an excess of outlays over revenues. Congress controls the enactment of legislation providing budget authority and raising revenues, but not the occurrence of outlays. Because of this, Congress’ efforts to control the level of the surplus or the deficit are less effective over the short run compared to the long run.

The difference between government revenues and outlays in a fiscal year equals the budget deficit or budget surplus. A budget deficit results when outlays exceed revenues; a budget surplus results when revenues exceed outlays. What is counted as government revenues and outlays, however, depends on the presentation of the federal budget. The federal budget typically is presented in the form of the unified budget, reflecting a unified budget deficit or surplus. The unified budget, or consolidated budget, includes the revenues and outlays of all budget accounts, including federal funds and trust funds, regardless of whether they are designated in law as on-budget or off budget. The unified budget represents a comprehensive picture of the federal government’s financial activities.

The federal budget also is presented to distinguish between on-budget and off-budget accounts. That is, the federal budget also presents an on-budget deficit or surplus and an off-budget deficit or surplus. The on-budget deficit or surplus includes all accounts not designated in law as off budget. The off-budget deficit or surplus includes those accounts designated in law as off-budget. Currently, there are three accounts designated in law as off-budget: the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security retirement), the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security disability), and the Postal Service Fund.

To strengthen control over spending and deficit levels, and to promote more efficient legislative action on budgetary issues, Congress and the president enacted the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. A key issue confronting the president and Congress in early 2011 was the need to raise the statutory limit on the public debt by a significant amount to accommodate the persistent, high deficits projected by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The resulting compromise was the the Budget Control Act of 2011.

The Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 contains many elements, including a phased increase in the statutory debt limit amounting to $2.1 trillion in total, a requirement that the House and Senate vote on a balanced-budget constitutional amendment by the end of 2011, and various changes in House and Senate budget procedures. The core elements, however, involve the reinstitution of statutory limits on discretionary spending and a process under which a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the “Joint Committee”) is required to develop significant deficit-reduction legislation.

As long as the federal government incurs annual deficits and trust funds incur annual surpluses, the public-debt limit must be increased periodically. The frequency of congressional action to raise the debt limit has ranged in the past from several times in one year to once in several years.

The Historical Tables in the president’s budget provide data, covering an extended time period, on receipts, budget authority, outlays, deficits and surpluses, federal debt, and other matters.

Also see Baseline Budgeting; Byrd Rule; Congressional Budget Act; Federal Debt; Fiscal Year; Off-Budget / Off-Budget Entities; On-Budget; Outlay; Public Debt; Revenue; Statutory Limit on the Public Debt; Unified Budget; § 7.60 Spending, Revenue, and Debt-Limit Legislation, § 7.100 Debt-Limit Legislation, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• Bureau of the Public Debt
• Federal Debt Basics – GAO
• Debt Subject to Limit Graph – Treasury Direct
• “The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases,” CRS Report RL31967
• “Reducing the Budget Deficit: The President’s Fiscal Commission and Other Initiatives,” CRS Report R41784
• “Uncertainty in Budget Projections,” CRS Report RL30854
• “Reducing the Budget Deficit: Policy Issues,” CRS Report R41778
• “The Congressional Budget Process Timetable,” CRS Report 98-472
• “The Congressional Budget Process: A Brief Overview,” CRS Report RS20095
• “Basic Federal Budgeting Terminology,” CRS Report 98-410
• “The Debt Limit,” CRS Report IB93054
• “Public Debt Ceiling: Its Current Status (1984),” CRS Report IB82081 (7-page PDF)
• “Overview of the Federal Debt,” CRS Report R41815
• “Votes on Measures to Adjust the Statutory Debt Limit, 1978 to Present,” CRS Report R41814
• “The Debt Limit: The Need to Raise It After Four Years of Surpluses,” CRS Report RS21111
• “The Federal Government Debt: Its Size and Economic Significance,” CRS Report RL31590

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

Blue-Slip Resolution / Star Print

Blue-Slip Resolution: House resolution ordering the return to the Senate of a Senate bill or amendment that the House believes violates the constitutional prerogative of the House to originate revenue measures.

Article I, Section 7, clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution is known as the Origination Clause because it provides that “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.” As generally understood in both the House and Senate, this clause carries two kinds of prohibitions. First, the Senate may not originate any measure that includes a provision for raising revenue, and second, the Senate may not propose any amendment that would raise revenue to a non-revenue measure. The Senate, however, may generally amend a House-originated revenue measure as it sees fit. These prohibitions can be enforced in either the House or the Senate, and there are ample precedents for both.

Star Print: A reprint of a measure, amendment, or committee report to correct errors in a previous printing. The first page carries a small black star. Rarely used today, with technology mitigating the need.

Also see Amendment; Bills; Resolution; § 6.11 Legislation Glossary, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• Article I, Section 7
• Cannon’s Precedents, Volume 6, Chapter 180 – Prerogatives of the House as to Revenue Legislation – FDsys
• “The Origination Clause of the U.S. Constitution: Interpretation and Enforcement,” CRS Report RL31399
• “Bills and Resolutions: Examples of How Each Kind Is Used,” CRS Report 98-706
• “Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses,” CRS Report 98-696

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

Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) / Legislative Assistant / Legislative Correspondent / Legislative Director

The first paid staff on Capitol Hill were hired by committees before the Civil War. By World War II, there were approximately 2,000 people in the personal offices of members of the House and Senate. Today, that number is approximately 14,000.

The congressional offices are like 535 small companies all individually dealing with organizational structure and staffing issues. While there are some common attributes, there are unique features within each office that do not correspond to any other office. Some offices even share Washington, DC, staff for positions such as computer professionals. Educational levels and experience vary widely with the more junior positions such as staff assistant and legislative assistant. Advanced degrees and management experience are more common among top staff. Overall, the majority of staff for any given office are recruited from that member’s home state, but this is less often the case for the more senior positions, where more varied experience, such as previous work in another member’s office, is more often the case.

Being a staffer is not a nine-to-five job. Members can require staffers to work ten or more hours a day, often six days a week. Each member decides office policies on vacation and sick leave. Each staffer individually negotiates salary with the member, the member’s chief of staff, or, possibly, an office manager. Most personal staff are young and white, and a substantial portion are female. Senior positions are held predominantly by men. Many staff are recent college graduates with little previous full-time job experience.

The Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) is the budget authorized by the Committee on House Administration for each Member of Congress in support of the conduct of official and representational duties to the district from which elected. For Legislative Year 2011, the MRA ranged from $1.3 – 1.9 million. The Statement of Disbursements (SOD) is a quarterly public report of all receipts and expenditures for House members, committees, leadership, officers and offices. The House has been required by law to publish the SOD since 1964. See Statement of Disbursements.

Each House member has a member’s representational allowance (MRA), which allows a member to hire up to eighteen permanent and four other staff, such as paid interns. Staff are divided between the Washington and district offices. The maximum House personal staff salary in 2011 was $168,411. Each employee must be paid at least minimum wage.

In the Senate, a senator’s administrative and clerical assistance allowance varies with the size of a senator’s state. For 2011, the allowance ranged from $2,512,574 for a senator representing a state with a population of less than 5 million people, to $3,993,206 for a senator representing a state with a population of 28 million people or more. The maximum staff salary in a senator’s office in 2010, the latest year for which a figure was officially available, was $169,459. In addition, in 2011, the legislative assistance allowance authorized for each senator for the appointment of three legislative assistants was proposed at $508,377.

Job titles and responsibilities vary from office to office.

Legislative Assistant / Legislative Aide (LA): Congressional staff person with responsibility for handling one or more issue areas for a member of Congress, but generally without managerial responsibility. The LA drafts legislation and amendments (usually working with the Office of Legislative Counsel), monitors committee and floor action, and deals with constituents and lobbyists. In some offices, the LA also answers constituent correspondence. In most Senate offices, the LA works with a legislative correspondent.
Alternate Job Titles:
- Junior Legislative Assistant, Legislative Counsel, Senior Legislative Assistant

Legislative Correspondent (LC): Congressional staff charged with the task of preparing answers to large volumes of constituent mail, including form emails received from constituents. A legislative correspondent typically provides research for and responds to constituents’ correspondence. These duties might include drafting, proofreading, and printing letters, and providing administrative support to legislative aides or legislative assistants as needed.
Alternate Job Titles:
- House: Legislative Aide and Legislative Correspondent, Legislative Correspondent/Legislative Assistant.
- Senate: Constituent Services Representative/Caseworker, Counsel, Grants and Projects Coordinator, Office Manager, Scheduler (Washington, DC), Legislative Aide, Staff Assistant (Washington, DC).

Legislative Director (LD): Congressional staff person in charge of managing several legislative staff people and overseeing several (if not all) legislative issue areas within the congressional office. An incumbent in this position typically manages office legislative activities, and may supervise a member’s legislative staff. A legislative director might assist in the development of policy positions and legislative initiatives, or monitor and report to the chief of staff or member on floor activity.
Alternate Job Titles
- House: Administrative Assistant, Deputy Chief of Staff, Legislative Counsel, Policy Director.
- Senate: Chief of Staff, Constituent Services Representative/Caseworker Counsel, Legislative Correspondent, Office Manager, Systems Administrator, Legislative Aide, Senior Legislative Aide.

Legislative Counsel is similar to Legislative Director, although a “counsel” is typically an attorney.

Also see § 4.39 Congressional Office Structures, in Lobbying and Advocacy; § 4.60 Personal Staff, § 4.61 Staff Salary Data, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• Statement of Disbursements – House
• Statement of Disbursements, FAQs – House
• 2 U.S.C. § 57B – Representational Allowance for Members of House of Representatives
• “Congressional Staff: Duties and Functions of Selected Positions,” CRS Report RL34545 (16-page PDF)
• “2006 U.S. Senate Employment, Compensation, Hiring and Benefits Study,” Office of the Secretary of the Senate (97-page PDF)
• “2010 House Compensation Study: Guide for the 112th Congress,” Chief Administrative Office, U.S House of Representatives (79-page PDF)
• “Congressional Salaries and Allowances,” CRS Report RL30064 (16-page PDF)
• “Congressional Staffing: A Selected Annotated Bibliography,” CRS Report 81-5 (1981)

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

Political Action Committee / PAC / Leadership PAC

Political Action Committee (PAC): A private group organized to elect or defeat government officials or to promote or defeat legislation. PACs are defined and regulated by state and federal law.

A leadership PAC is a political action committee established by a congressional member to support other candidates. A political committee that is directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained or controlled by a candidate for Federal office or an individual holding federal office but which is not an authorized committee of the candidate or individual and which is not affiliated with an authorized committee of the candidate or individual, except that leadership PAC does not include a political committee of a political party.

A candidate for a House or Senate seat may also establish her own PAC, popularly called a leadership PAC, which is a political committee directly or indirectly established and controlled by the candidate. Strictly, it is a nonconnected PAC, that is, not a PAC affiliated with a corporation, labor union, or membership organization such as a trade association or professional society. It is not the principal campaign committee or an affiliated committee of the candidate and does not influence an election on the candidate’s behalf.

A leadership PAC is subject to the same receipt limit of $5,000 applicable to other PACs. It may receive contributions from individuals, party committees, other PACs, other political committees, and from candidate campaign committees. It may donate as a PAC, which limits contributions to $5,000 for each candidate for each election. A candidate’s leadership PAC may donate up to $5,000 for each election to the candidate’s own campaign committee.

Candidates’ campaign committees and leadership PACs may only receive hard money as contributions, that is, money that is fully covered by federal laws and regulations. The kinds of contributions just described are hard money. Campaign funding that is legal but only partially or immaterially regulated is called soft money. Candidate campaign committees and leadership PACs may not receive soft money contributions. Candidates for Congress are also limited in their participation in events for raising permitted soft-money contributions, such as for state or local parties. Leadership PACs must also report contributions, including contributions bundled by lobbyists, and their spending.

Congressional leaders, aspiring leaders, and many individual members also maintain political action committees (PACs), so-called leadership PACs, which they use to support their party’s candidates for Congress. This support can even extend to advertising not specifically related to a campaign, such as a testimonial for a member on a vote he has cast. Party leaders, such as each chamber’s majority and minority leaders and the House Speaker, may have political responsibilities broader even than their leadership PAC, including not only fund-raising for their party and its members but also messaging and communications, political operations, coordination with the incumbent president (or the presidential candidate) of their party, and coordination of their PACS and campaign organization.

Also see § 2.10 Campaigns and Elections, § 2.70 Federal Campaign Finance Laws, in Congressional Deskbook; § 2.26 The Campaign Compliance Imperative, in Lobbying and Advocacy.

More

• List of Leadership PACs and Sponsors – FEC
• Metadata Description of Leadership PAC List – FEC
• What is a PAC? – opensecrets
• List of Leadership PACs – opensecrets
• “Campaign Financing,” CRS Report IB87020
• “Lobbying and Related Reform Proposals,” CRS Report RL33293
• “Lobbying Regulations on Non-Profit Organizations,” CRS Report 96-809
• “Political Action Committees: Their Evolution, Growth and Implications for the Political System,” CRS Report 84-78
• “The Constitutionality of Campaign Finance Regulation: Buckley v. Valeo and Its Supreme Court Progeny,” CRS Report RL30669
• “Political Spending by Organized Labor: Background and Current Issues,” CRS Report 96-484

Capitol Learning Audio Course ^TM

• PAC Management: Advanced PAC Strategy

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

Conferees / Managers / Instruct Conferees

Conferees: The representatives and senators from each chamber who serve on a conference committee; also referred to as managers.

Instruct Conferees: Formal action by one chamber urging its conferees to uphold a particular position in conference.

Managers: Representatives and senators serving on a conference committee; also called conferees.

Selection of Conferees: Although House rules grant the Speaker the right to appoint conferees, the Speaker usually does so after consultation with the chair(s) of the committee(s) of jurisdiction. The Senate presiding officer appoints Senate conferees, although the presiding officer, too, draws selections from recommendations of the chair of the committee of jurisdiction and party leaders. Conferees are also referred to as managers.

Although seniority on a committee of jurisdiction plays a role in selecting conferees, junior committee members are also appointed to conference committees. A member not on the committee of jurisdiction may be appointed if he had an important amendment included in the chamber’s version of the measure or in the other chamber’s version. In some instances, especially when a measure was considered by multiple committees, representatives or senators can be appointed as limited-purpose conferees. Precedents in both chambers indicate that conferees are supposed to support their chamber’s legislation in conference.

The number of conferees can range from three to every member of a chamber. Generally, the size of a chamber delegation reflects the complexity of a measure. Moreover, the size of one chamber’s delegation does not necessarily affect the size of the other chamber’s delegation. Decisions are made by majority vote of each delegation, never by a majority vote of all the conferees. Each chamber appoints a majority of conferees to its delegation from the majority party.

Instructing Conferees: Because a conference committee is a negotiating forum, there are few rules imposed on conferees. However, there are two circumstances under which House conferees may be given direction: first, before conferees are named, and second, when conferees have been appointed for twenty calendar days and ten legislative days and have not yet filed a report.

By custom, recognition to offer a motion to instruct conferees–a motion before the conferees are named–is a prerogative of the minority party. The motion is debatable for one hour. Only one motion to instruct conferees before their being named is in order.

For a motion to instruct conferees who have been appointed but have not yet reported, any member, regardless of party, can be recognized to make a motion to instruct, and numerous motions to instruct can be offered.

Motions to instruct House conferees are not binding but express the sentiment of the House on a particular issue in either the House or Senate version of a measure sent to conference.

Motions to instruct in the Senate are rarely made. If made, a motion to instruct is both debatable and amendable, and, as in the House,must be offered before conferees are named. Unlike the House, however, a motion to instruct is not available after conferees have been appointed but the conference committee has not yet reported.

Also see Conference Committee; Conference Report; Joint Explanatory Statement of Managers; § 6.280 Conference Committees, § 6.282 Authority of Conferees, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• House Rule XXII – House And Senate Relations
• Senate Rule XXVIII – Conference Committees, Reports, Open Meetings
• “Congressional Budget Resolutions: Motions to Instruct Conferees,” CRS Report RS20480
• “House Conferees: Selection,” CRS Report RS20227
• “Instructing House Conferees,” CRS Report 98-381
• “Going to Conference in the Senate,” CRS Report RS20454
• “Senate Conferees: Their Selection and Authority,” CRS Report 98-380
• “Conference Reports and Joint Explanatory Statements,” CRS Report 98-382

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

Speaker’s Lobby

In the House chamber, the door to the Speaker’s left and another to the Speaker’s right provide access to the Speaker’s Lobby.

After the House moved to the new south wing of the Capitol in 1857, the Speaker’s Office occupied space behind the chamber, in the center section of what is now the Member’s Retiring Room.

Montgomery C. Meigs, supervising engineer of the Capitol extension, noted that these rooms would be “very convenient and very beautiful…and on each side a retiring room; thus affording to each of the great parties…a room for consultation.” Original features that remain today include bronze cherub-shaped sconces, Tennessee marble fireplace mantels designed by Architect of the Capitol Thomas U. Walter, and the colorful Minton floor tiles.

In 1879, the House attempted to remedy longstanding ventilation problems by opening the entire area behind the chamber, including the Office of the Speaker, who moved to another room near the chamber. Virtually all the walls in the rooms behind the chamber were removed. This new airy space became the lounge known as the Member’s Retiring Room adjacent to the Speaker’s Lobby.

Portraits of former Speakers, known as the Speaker Portrait Collection and a vital visual record of House history, hang in the Speaker’s Lobby. The collection was conceived as a “tribute to their worth to the nation.” It began informally with artist Giuseppe Fagnani’s 1852 donation of his portrait of Speaker Henry Clay. This initial gift was followed by more donations. In 1910, the House mandated that it must acquire an oil portrait of every Speaker “of whom no acceptable portrait was in possession of the House.” Posthumous portraits were commissioned to commemorate the missing Speakers, and every Speaker since 1910 has had a portrait made. The entire collection now hangs in the Speaker’s Lobby and adjoining stairwells.

Also see Capitol; Chamber; Speaker; Visiting Washington, DC; “What’s the deal with …“; What Your Member of Congress Can Do for You; § 11.13 View of the Speaker’s Dais, Floor of the House, and Galleries, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• Speaker Portrait Collection – House
• “The Last Gasp of a Smoke-Filled Room?” by Lyndsey Layton, The Washington Post, December 8, 2006

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

Mace

The mace is the symbol of authority of the House of Representatives. The mace is 46 inches high and consists of 13 thin ebony rods representing the original 13 states of the union. The rods are bound together by four crossing ribbons of silver, pinned together and held at the bottom and at the top by silver bands. The bands are decorated with floral borders and a repoussé design. The name “Wm. Adams/Manufacturer/New York/1841.” is engraved in the cartouche, located in the front center of the bottom band. This shaft is topped by a silver globe 4-1/2 inches in diameter and engraved with the seven continents, the names of the oceans, lines of longitude, and the major lines of latitude. The Western Hemisphere faces the front. The globe is encircled with a silver rim marked with the degrees of latitude, on which is perched an engraved solid silver eagle with a wingspan of 15 inches. The total weight of the mace is 10 pounds.

The Mace, Image courtesy of the Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives

The mace, the symbol of the authority of the House and of the office of the sergeant at arms, is in the custody of the sergeant at arms. At the opening of a session of the House, a staffer in white gloves places the mace on a pedestal to the Speaker’s right. The mace is removed from its pedestal when the Committee of the Whole is meeting and moved to a lower, less visible position near the Speaker’s dais. After consideration of amendments in the Committee of the Whole, the committee rises and reports the measure back to the House. The mace is replaced on its pedestal, and the Speaker or Speaker pro tempore assumes the chair.

Also see Chamber; Sergeant at Arms; Committee of the Whole; Speaker; Well; § 6.111 The Mace, § 11.12 View of the Speaker’s Dais and Well of the House, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• “Guide to Individuals Seated on the House Dais,” CRS Report 98-396
• “House Sergeant at Arms: Fact Sheet on Legislative and Administrative Duties,” CRS Report 98-835

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

Congressional Gold Medal

Senators and Representatives are frequently asked to support or sponsor proposals recognizing historic events and outstanding achievements by individuals or institutions. Among the various forms of recognition that Congress bestows, the Congressional Gold Medal is often considered the most distinguished. Through this venerable tradition, the occasional commissioning of individually struck gold medals in its name, for more than two centuries Congress has expressed public gratitude for distinguished contributions, dramatized the virtues of patriotism, and perpetuated the remembrance of great events. This tradition, of authorizing individually struck gold medals bearing the portraits of those so honored or images of events in which they participated, is rich with history.

Although Congress has approved legislation stipulating specific requirements for numerous other awards and decorations, there are no permanent statutory provisions specifically relating to the creation of Congressional Gold Medals. When such an award has been deemed appropriate, Congress has, by special action, provided for the creation of a personalized medal to be given in its name, which would in each instance truly record the approbation of a grateful country.

The Continental Congress had not yet proclaimed its independence from Great Britain when, on March 25, 1776, George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, was tendered the first Congressional Gold Medal for his “wise and spirited conduct” in bringing about British evacuation of Boston. During the next 12 years, the Continental Congress authorized an additional six gold medals for Revolutionary military and naval leaders.

Since 1776, this award, which initially was bestowed on military leaders, has also been given to such diverse individuals as Sir Winston Churchill, Bob Hope, Robert Frost, Joe Louis, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. More recently, Congressional Gold Medals were given to Neil A. Armstrong, the first human to walk on the Moon; Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., the pilot of the lunar module and second person to walk on the Moon; Michael Collins, the pilot of their Apollo 11 mission’s command module; and John Herschel Glenn, Jr., who, in 1962, became the first American to orbit the Earth; Arnold Palmer; and the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service, United States Army.

See also Visiting Washington, DC; “What’s the deal with …“; What Your Member of Congress Can Do for You.

More

• Congressional Gold Medal Recipients, 1776 to Present – House
• Congressional Gold Medal – Wikipedia
• The United States Mint Coins and Medals Program – U.S. Mint
• “Congressional Gold Medals, 1776-2010,” CRS Report RL30076
• “A Guide to Major Congressional and Presidential Awards,” CRS Report RS20884

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

Motion to Recommit / Recommit to Committee / Table / Lay on the Table

Recommit: To send a measure back to the committee that reported it. A motion to recommit without instructions kills a measure; a motion to recommit with instructions proposes to amend a measure. In the House, the motion may be offered just before vote on final passage. In the Senate, the motion may be offered at any time before a measure’s passage.

In the House, a motion to recommit a measure can instruct a committee to report the measure back to the House with a specific amendment. The right to offer a motion to recommit is the prerogative of the minority party. A motion to recommit is not in order when the House is sitting as the Committee of the Whole.

After the third reading of a bill, but before the vote on final passage, a motion to recommit is in order. (The third reading is the required reading to a chamber of a measure by title only before the vote on passage.) The motion is traditionally the prerogative of a minority member to offer, providing the minority with one last opportunity to kill or amend a measure.

A member stands and says, “Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.” The Speaker then asks if the member is opposed to the measure. That member signifies that he is opposed to the measure “in its current form.” There are two types of motions to recommit. Adoption of a motion to recommit without instructions kills a measure. If such a motion is offered, it is not debatable.

A motion to recommit with instructions attempts to amend a measure. The motion normally instructs that the measure be referred to the reporting committee and that the committee “report the bill back to the House forthwith with the following amendment….” A motion to recommit with instructions is debatable for ten minutes, equally divided between the proponent and an opponent. The time is not controlled, meaning members may not yield or reserve time. At the request of the majority floor manager, the ten minutes can be extended to one hour, equally divided and controlled.

If a motion to recommit with instructions is agreed to, the measure is immediately reported back to the House with the amendment, the amendment is voted on, and the House then votes on final passage of the bill. The vote on final passage is then taken. When the results of the vote on final passage are announced, a pro forma motion to reconsider is made and laid on the table, i.e., postponed indefinitely. There is rarely a vote on these motions. To table the motion to reconsider prevents a measure from being reconsidered at a later date.

Table / Lay on the Table: Prevents further consideration of a measure, amendment, or motion, thus killing it.

Also see Amendment; Motion to Table; § 6.140 House Floor: Motion to Recommit and Final Passage, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• “Commonly Used Motions and Requests in the House of Representatives,” CRS Report
• “Floor Consideration of Conference Reports in the House,” CRS Report 98-736
• “Special Rules and Options for Regulating the Amending Process,” CRS Report 98-612
• “Procedural Distinctions Between the House and the Committee of the Whole,” CRS Report 98-143
• “Special Rules and Waivers of House Rules,” CRS Report 98-433
• “The Legislative Process on the Senate Floor: An Introduction,” CRS Report 96-548
• “The Amending Process in the Senate,” CRS Report 98-853
• “The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction,” CRS Report 95-563

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

Statuary Hall

Statuary Hall, aka National Statuary Hall, is located outside the House chamber, just south of the Rotunda. The chambers of the House and Senate, National Statuary Hall, and the Rotunda are located on the second (“principal”) floor of the Capitol. The semicircular chamber south of the Rotunda served as the Hall of the House until 1857, and is now designated National Statuary Hall.

Visitors can listen to whispers at the location of John Quincy Adams’ desk in the Old House Chamber, now National Statuary Hall.

Immediately following a State of the Union address, members of Congress meet the press in National Statuary Hall to put their “spin” on it.

The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is comprised of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. The entire collection now consists of 100 statues contributed by 50 states. All 50 states have contributed two statues each. Under authority of House Concurrent Resolution No. 47 passed in 1933, to provide for the relocation of statues and to govern the reception and placement of future additions, it was decided that only one statue from each state should be placed in Statuary Hall. The others would be given prominent locations in designated areas and corridors of the Capitol. A second rearrangement of the statues was made in 1976 by authorization of the Joint Committee on the Library. To improve the crowded appearance of the collection, 38 statues were rearranged in Statuary Hall according to height and material. Statues representing 10 of the 13 original colonies were moved to the Central Hall of the East Front Extension on the first floor of the Capitol. The remainder of the statues were distributed throughout the Capitol, mainly in the Hall of Columns and the connecting corridors of the House and Senate wings. In 2008, the Joint Committee on the Library approved another relocation of statues to improve their display in numerous areas of the Capitol, including the Capitol Visitor Center.

Hall of Columns in the House wing of the Capitol, from the Architect of the Capitol

The Hall of Columns is a dramatic, high-ceilinged corridor over 100 feet long. It runs along the North–South axis of the first floor of the House wing in the U.S. Capitol, directly beneath the chamber of the House of Representatives. The Hall of Columns takes its name from the 28 fluted, white marble columns that line the corridor. The capitals are a variation on the Corinthian order, incorporating not only classical acanthus leaves but also thistles and native American tobacco plants. Earlier uses of American vegetation in the building’s capitals include Benjamin Henry Latrobe’s corncob capitals in a first-floor vestibule and his tobacco-leaf capitals in the small Senate rotunda.

The Hall of Columns was constructed in the mid-19th century as part of architect Thomas U. Walter’s extension of the Capitol, which added the present House and Senate wings and the dome. The marble for the columns was quarried at Lee, Massachusetts. Walter’s annual report indicates that by October 1855 approximately half of the columns and pilasters had been set in place and the carving of the capitals was under way. By November 1856 all of the columns were in place, and the entablature and cast-iron ceiling were also complete. The ceiling was cast in Baltimore at the foundry of Hayward, Bartlett, and Co. The walls between the pilasters are finished in scagliola, an imitation marble made of finely ground gypsum and glue. Originally, the floor was laid with Minton encaustic tiles from England. These eventually became too badly worn for further use, and they were replaced in 1920–1924. The present floor is composed of square tiles of white marble from Alabama and black marble from New York.

Since 1976, the Hall of Columns has housed part of the National Statuary Hall Collection.

Also see Architect of the Capitol (AOC); Capitol; State of the Union; Visiting Washington, DC; “What’s the deal with …“; What Your Member of Congress Can Do for You; § 11.30 Guide to Public Buildings on Capitol Hill, § 11.33 The Capitol’s Second (Principal) Floor, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• Statuary Hall – Architect of the Capitol
• Statuary Hall Collection (list) – Architect of the Capitol
• “The Capitol Visitor Center: An Overview,” CRS Report RL31121

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

Budget and Accounting Act of 1921

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 (Pub.L. 67-13, 42 Stat. 20–27) required for the first time that the president submit to Congress each year a budget for the entire federal government. Before enactment of this law in 1921, there was no annual centralized budgeting in the executive branch. Federal government agencies usually sent budget requests independently to congressional committees with no coordination of the various requests in formulating the Federal Government’s budget.

The president is free to submit the budget in the form and detail he deems appropriate, but certain information is required. In addition, the estimates of the legislative and judicial branches must be incorporated in his budget, as submitted by those branches, without change. Congress has amended the requirements many times and has codified them as Chapter 11, Title 31, U.S. Code.

The 1921 Budget and Accounting Act also established the Bureau of the Budget. General Charles G. Dawes, vice president during President Calvin Coolidge’s second term, was the first director of the Bureau of the Budget, under President Harding. Brigadier General Herbert M. Lord was the Bureau of the Budget’s second director, and the single person with whom President Coolidge met most often and for the longest blocks of time during his time in office. Coming to the presidency, as he did, after the initial settling into place of the budget control system during Harding’s administration, Coolidge was really the first chief executive who had the power to shape the finances of federal agencies and departments. With the Bureau of the Budget operating efficiently, he had both complete information on the fiscal condition of the executive agencies and the power to approve or deny their appropriation requests and expenditures.

The Bureau of the Budget is now called the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and headed by a director subject to Senate confirmation, to assist the president in formulating the budget, in presenting it to Congress, and in monitoring the execution of the enacted budget by agencies. In addition, the 1921 act established the General Accounting Office, later renamed the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a congressional agency, headed by the comptroller general, to audit and evaluate federal programs and perform other budgetary duties.

Also see Confirmation; Executive Branch; Government Accountability Office (GAO); Office of Management and Budget (OMB); President’s Budget; § 7.10 Key Budget Process Laws, § 7.40, Presidential Budget Process, in Congressional Deskbook; The Federal Budget Process.

More

• Federal Budget Links and Research Tools – TheCapitol.Net
• Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 – Wikipedia
• “The Congressional Budget Process: A Brief Overview,” CRS Report RS20095
• “Overview of the Executive Budget Process,” CRS Report RS20175
• “Federal Budget Process Reform: Analysis of Five Reform Issues,” CRS Report RL31478
• “The Role of the Office of Management and Budget in Budget Development,” CRS Report RS20167
• “The Role of the President in Budget Development,” CRS Report RS20179
• “The Role of Departments and Agencies in Budget Development,” CRS Report RS20198
• “The Mid-Session Review of the President’s Budget: Timing Issues,” CRS Report RL32509
• “The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases,” CRS Report RL31967

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

Hour Rule / One Hour Rule

One-Hour Rule: Rules are considered in the House under the one-hour rule, with time controlled by a majority floor manager. The majority floor manager customarily yields thirty minutes to the minority floor manager “for purposes of debate only.” Accordingly, special rules can be amended only if the majority floor manager offers an amendment to the rule or yields time to another member to offer an amendment, or if the previous question on the rule is defeated. (The previous question is in the form of a motion (“I move the previous question”), which, if agreed to, cuts off further debate and the possibility of amendment.)

When debating a special rule, one hour of debate is provided, again equally divided between the parties. Proceedings in the House sitting as the House are often referred to as proceedings under the one-hour rule. A special rule itself is considered in the House under the one-hour rule.

Conference reports are privileged and can be brought up when available. They are considered under the one-hour rule. The House considers impeachment resolutions under the one-hour rule or pursuant to a special rule reported from the Rules Committee and agreed to by the House. Measures in the Committee of the Whole are not considered under a one-hour rule but under what is called the five-minute rule, allowing a proponent, an opponent, and other members on each side five minutes each to speak on an amendment.

Hour Rule: When the House for parliamentary purposes is sitting as the House and has not resolved into the Committee of the Whole, House rules permit members, when recognized, to hold the floor for no more than one hour each. A special rule from the Rules Committee is privileged and is considered under this hour rule. The majority floor manager for the Rules Committee, who calls up the simple resolution containing the special rule, customarily yields one half of this one hour to the control of a minority member of the committee, the minority floor manager, “for purposes of debate only.”

Also see Committee of the Whole; Five-Minute Rule; Floor Manager; Impeachment; Previous Question; Special Rule; § 6.80 House Floor: Methods of Consideration, § 6.100 Consideration of a Special Rule on the House Floor, § 6.280 Conference Committees, § 11.10 How to Follow Floor Proceedings in the House, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• House Rule XIV – Order and Priority of Business
• House Rule XVII – Decorum and Debate
• House Rule XIX – Motions Following The Amendment Stage
• House Rule XXII – House And Senate Relations
• House Committee on Rules
• “The Discharge Rule in the House: Principal Features and Uses,” CRS Report 97-552
• “The Discharge Rule in the House: Recent Use in Historical Context,” CRS Report 97-856
• “Procedural Distinctions Between the House and the Committee of the Whole,” CRS Report 98-143
• “The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction,” CRS Report 95-563
• “Floor Consideration of Conference Reports in the House,” CRS Report 98-736

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

District / Congressional District / District Work Period / State Work Period

Each member of the House represents a district. Members of the House represent districts that, after the 2010 census, include an average of 710,767 people. District sizes ranged from Rhode Island’s two districts with just over 527,000 people, to Montana’s single district with 989,415 people. Senators represented states ranging in population from 563,626 (Wyoming) to just under 37.3 million (California). Large and diverse constituencies make it difficult for members to gauge constituent opinion on every issue. Few districts or states are solely rural, suburban, or urban. Most areas now contain a cross-section of these kinds of interests. Most districts and states are heterogeneous–they include citizens, immigrants, schoolchildren, parents, and retirees, and people with diverse ethnic backgrounds, occupations, educational levels, and socioeconomic status.

The Constitution calls for a census to be conducted at the beginning of each decade for the purpose of apportioning seats in the House to the states (Article I, Section 2). Congress by law limited the size of the House to 435 seats (see “A Note About Usage: ‘Congress’“), and the Constitution guarantees each state one seat in the House, however small its population might be. All other seats are apportioned on the basis of a formula. Following apportionment after the most recent decennial census, the states with more than one seat redistrict so that the districts have approximately equal population, minorities have opportunities to win seats, and other redistricting goals are honored. The party tilt of some districts typically makes one party’s nominee a favorite in the general election.

Representatives’ districts are statewide in only seven states (see “At-large Representative“). Most representatives, therefore, are better known to their constituents than the senators representing a state. Representatives are often more involved in local affairs, or in local affairs with a federal dimension. On average, representatives make about forty trips to their home districts each year. Some may fly across the continent nearly every weekend, and House schedules try to accommodate the flight schedules to the West Coast. As an acknowledgment of the importance of going home, the House schedules district work periods / House recess when the House is in recess, and the Senate schedules nonlegislative periods (“state work periods / Senate recess“), to allow “long weekends” or full weeks to be spent in home districts and states. (See Congressional Schedules.) During a state or district work period, members attend town hall meetings, breakfasts, lunches, receptions, dinners, parades, events, ribbon cuttings, and meetings with constituents, as well as give interviews to the local press and make site visits to businesses and organizations in the member’s district.

At home, members usually maintain several district or state offices, and staff are divided between the Washington and district offices. The staff in the district offices have responsibility for much of an office’s case work and day-to-day contact with constituents. Many grass roots organizations prefer to meet with members of Congress during their state or district work periods as members are usually less distracted when home.

Some issues resonate more in one district or state than in another. Some members know that they will be reelected by a comfortable margin while others know every election campaign will be a close race. A member with a secure seat may be able to take the lead on an issue, even at the risk of alienating some voters, or might be able to spend more time on national concerns. A member in a competitive district or state may need to put his representational role ahead of a legislative role. Pork-barrel politics is often used to describe what members do to try to obtain federal funds for public-works projects, federal installations, grants, and other benefits for their districts.

Also see A Note About Usage: ‘Congress’; At-large Representative; Congressional Schedules; Constituency Service; Pork / Pork Barrel; Reapportionment; Redistricting; § 2.20 Constituency Pressure, § 2.40 Reapportionment and Redistricting, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 2
• Congressional Directory
• Find Your Representative in the House
• Congressional Districts, Printable Maps – from NationalAtlas.gov
• “The House Apportionment Formula in Theory and Practice,” CRS Report RL30711

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

Contempt of Congress

Contempt of Congress 1: The power of Congress to punish for contempt is inextricably related to the power of Congress to investigate. Generally speaking, Congress’ authority to investigate and obtain information, including but not limited to confidential information, is extremely broad. While there is no express provision of the Constitution or specific statute authorizing the conduct of congressional oversight or investigations, the Supreme Court has firmly established that such power is essential to the legislative function as to be implied from the general vesting of legislative powers in Congress. The broad legislative authority to seek and enforce informational demands was unequivocally established in two Supreme Court rulings arising out of the 1920′s Teapot Dome scandal: McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135 (1927), and Sinclair v. United States, 279 U.S. 263 (1929). Subsequent Supreme Court rulings have consistently reiterated and reinforced the breadth of Congress’ investigative authority.

Tools available to Congress during investigations include subpoenas, contempt power, grants of immunity, and staff interviews and depositions. House and Senate rules authorize standing committees and subcommittees to compel individuals to appear and testify in hearings or to require the provision of documents to Congress. Either chamber could also by resolution delegate that power, or additional powers, to special or select committees. If an individual fails to provide testimony or documents as required, provisions in statute allow the full House or Senate to cite a witness for criminal contempt and refer the matter to the U.S. attorney; the Senate also has recourse to a civil contempt proceeding against witnesses other than executive-branch officials. In the past, the threat of a congressional subpoena or contempt citation has often led to negotiated or full compliance on the part of the targeted individual or office. Litigation is used at times, but federal judges generally encourage congressional and executive parties to settle their differences out of court.

Contempt of Congress is punishable by statute and under the inherent powers of Congress. Congress has not exercised its inherent contempt power for some time. The statutory contempt of Congress provision, 2 U.S.C. § 192, has been employed only slightly more often and rarely in recent years. Much of what we know of the offense comes from Cold War period court decisions. Congress’ contempt power is the means by which Congress responds to certain acts that in its view obstruct the legislative process. Contempt may be used to coerce compliance (inherent contempt), punish the contemnor (criminal contempt), and to remove the obstruction (civil contempt). Although arguably any action that directly obstructs the effort of Congress to exercise its constitutional powers may constitute a contempt, in the last seventy years the contempt power (primarily through the criminal contempt process) has generally been employed only in instances of refusals of witnesses to appear before committees, to respond to questions, or to produce documents.

For more, see 2 U.S.C. Chapter 6: Congressional and Committee Procedure; Investigations – FDsys.

Enforcement through one of the forms of contempt proceedings available to the House and Senate is undertaken only after committee and chamber approval. If a witness invokes a Fifth Amendment privilege against testifying, a committee might still compel testimony with a two-thirds vote of the committee in favor of seeking a court order to grant immunity and direct the witness to testify. The immunity granted protects the witness from use of the testimony in a criminal prosecution. A grant of immunity might then jeopardize criminal prosecution, the prosecutor bearing the burden of showing that the case is not based on or derived from the immunized testimony.

The House can also adopt a simple resolution–a resolution of inquiry–requesting information or documents from the president or directing a department or agency head to supply such information. Such a resolution is used to obtain factual information, not to request opinions or investigations. Congressional committees often use staff interviews to collect information as part of an investigation. This staff work provides tighter focus to the questioning and witness list for investigative hearings. On some occasions, House and Senate resolutions have provided specific authority to a committee for staff members to take sworn depositions. Special committee procedures have usually been established under these circumstances. Among other things, depositions, which are conducted in private, might lead to more efficient use of hearing time, facilitate more candid responses from witnesses than they would provide in a hearing, and allow further investigation of witness allegations prior to the airing of those allegations at a public hearing. Under certain circumstances, a committee might seek a court order to grant partial or full immunity to a witness as a means of obtaining testimony.

House rules give the Oversight and Government Reform Committee wide latitude in conducting oversight. Senate rules do the same for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Each committee may conduct oversight government-wide and on intergovernmental programs and activities, and each is given a special responsibility to study GAO reports and recommend action to Congress based on those reports. In addition to general provisions encouraging oversight, House and Senate rules give specific committees “special” or “comprehensive” authority to conduct oversight in certain policy areas, although a particular policy area might fall within the legislative jurisdiction of several committees.

From time to time, Congress has also established temporary commissions to investigate particular events or issues. Such commissions have varied in their mandates, authorities, and profiles. The 9/11 Commission, for example, was established by law (P.L. 107-306; 116 Stat. 2408), and was populated by experienced and knowledgeable individuals who demonstrated a determination to reach consensus and see the commission’s recommendations implemented. The commission had the power to hold hearings and collect evidence, and was granted subpoena power.

Contempt of Congress 2 (Contempt for Congress): Many people have contempt for Congress, most commonly expressed in opeds, political cartoons and opinion polls regarding congressional job approval. For example, Real Clear Politics has a roundup of different polls, and for the week of May 5, 2012, the average approval was 13.8% and the disapproval was 78.5%. Polling Report also has a page showing Congress’ job rating over time.

Contempt of Congress 3: Many also feel that the “Contempt of Congress” is Congress’ contempt for citizens, similar to that expressed in the Puck cartoon below.

Congressional contempt, by Frederick Burr Opper, in Puck, January 31, 1883, Caption: Republican Congressman "He is howling for help." Monopolist "Throw him a promise!" Source:Library of Congress 2012645443

Also see Executive Privilege; Immunity; Oversight / Oversight Committee; Privilege; § 8.70 Congress and the Executive: Oversight and Investigation, § 8.75 Committee Investigations and Witness Protections, § 8.76 Example of Subpoena to Executive Branch Official, § 8.77 Seeking to Compel Testimony, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• Contempt of Congress – Legal Information Institute
• ATF gunwalking scandal, aka Fast and Furious – Wikipedia
• “ATF’s Fast and Furious scandal,” by Los Angeles Times, 2012
• “‘Fast And Furious’ Just Might Be President Obama’s Watergate,” by Frank Miniter, Forbes, September 28, 2011
• “Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power,” CRS Report RL31836
• “Obstruction of Congress: A Brief Overview of Federal Law Relating to Interference with Congressional Activities,” CRS Report RL34304
• “Investigative Oversight: An Introduction to the Law, Practice and Procedure of Congressional Inquiry,” CRS Report 95-464
• “Congressional Oversight Manual,” CRS Report RL30240
• “House Resolutions of Inquiry,” CRS Report RL31909
• “Congress Contempt Power,” CRS Report RL34097 (70-page PDF)
• “Gun Control Legislation,” CRS Report RL32842

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