From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms
Call of the Calendar
Senate bills not brought up for debate by a motion, unanimous consent or a unanimous consent agreement are brought before the Senate for action when the calendar listing them is “called.” Bills must be called in the order listed. Measures considered by this method usually are non-controversial, and debate on the bill and any proposed amendments is limited to a total of five minutes for each senator. Party leaders and their aides check with senators beforehand to make sure that no one objects to the measures. The system is referred to as “the clearance process.”
Also see § 6.180 Senate Calendars and Legislative and Executive Business before the Senate, in Congressional Deskbook.
David Hawkings’ Whiteboard: How Congress’ Schedule Works
More
- Most-Viewed Bills on Congress.gov
- Senate Rule VIII. Order of Business
- “Bypassing Senate Committees: Rule XIV and Unanimous Consent,” CRS Report RS22299 (17-page PDF
) - “Motions to Proceed to Consider Measures in the Senate: Who Offers Them?,” CRS Report RS21255 (19-page PDF)
- “Supreme Court Nominations: Senate Floor Procedure and Practice, 1789-2011,” CRS Report RL33247 (53-page PDF)
- “House Floor Activity: The Daily Flow of Business,” CRS Report RS20233 (3-page PDF)
- “Reorganization of the Senate: Modern Reform Efforts,” CRS Report RL32112 (45-page PDF)
- “The Amending Process in the Senate,” CRS Report 98-853 (38-page PDF)
Courses
- Congressional Operations Briefing – Capitol Hill Workshop
- Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
- Writing for Government and Business: Critical Thinking and Writing
- Custom, On-Site Training
- Drafting Effective Federal Legislation and Amendments in a Nutshell, Audio Course on CD
- Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Fundamentals of Lawmaking Series, a Nine-Course series on CD
Publications
Legislative Drafter’s Deskbook: A Practical Guide
Pocket Constitution
Citizen’s Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials: A Guide for Citizen Lobbyists and Grassroots Advocates
Congressional Procedure
CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net
For more than 40 years, TheCapitol.Net and its predecessor, Congressional Quarterly Executive Conferences, have been teaching professionals from government, military, business, and NGOs about the dynamics and operations of the legislative and executive branches and how to work with them.
Our custom on-site and online training, publications, and audio courses include congressional operations, legislative and budget process, communication and advocacy, media and public relations, testifying before Congress, research skills, legislative drafting, critical thinking and writing, and more.
TheCapitol.Net is on the GSA Schedule, MAS, for custom on-site and online training. GSA Contract GS02F0192X
TheCapitol.Net is a non-partisan small business.
Teaching how Washington and Congress work ™
