From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Floor Manager photo credit: karindalziel A member who has the task of steering legislation through floor debate and the amendment process to a final vote in the House or the Senate. Floor managers usually are the chairmen or ranking members of the committee that reported … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Germane / Germaneness / Pastore Rule photo credit: mRio Pertaining to the subject matter of the measure at hand. All House amendments must be germane to the bill being considered. House Rule XVI, clause 7 specifies: 7. No motion or proposition on a subject different … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Union Calendar Bills that directly or indirectly appropriate money or raise revenue are placed on this House calendar according to the date they are reported from committee. The Constitution specifies that all bills for raising revenue originate in the House (Article I, Section 7). House … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Committee of the Whole photo credit: flowercarole The Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, more often referred to as the “Committee of the Whole,” is the House of Representatives operating as a committee on which all 435 House members serve. … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Teller Vote photo credit: wjarrettc This is a largely moribund procedure in the House in the Committee of the Whole. Members file past tellers and are counted as for, or against, a measure, but they are not recorded individually. In the House, teller votes are … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Clerk of the House Chief administrative officer of the House of Representatives, responsible principally for administrative support of the legislative process in the House. Selected by the House per the Constitution, Article I. Section 2. Duties correspond to those of the Secretary of the Senate. … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Pair / Logrolling photo credit: dno1967b A pair is a voluntary, informal arrangement that two lawmakers, usually on opposite sides of an issue, make on recorded votes. In many cases the result is to subtract a vote from each side, with no effect on the … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Cloakroom / Hotline Donnald K. Anderson: Running the Democratic Cloakroom Democratic and Republican cloakrooms adjacent to the Senate and House chambers serve as gathering places for party members to discuss chamber business privately. Each cloakroom operates a “hotline” (telephone cloakroom recording) for party … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Lame Duck / “Lame Duck” Session When Congress (or either chamber) reconvenes in an even-numbered year following the November general elections to consider various items of business. Some lawmakers who return for this session will not be in the next Congress. Hence, they are informally … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Executive Session / Executive Business / Secret Session photo credit: glasseyes view Executive Session (1) A meeting of a Senate or House committee (or occasionally of either chamber) that only its members may attend. Witnesses regularly appear at committee meetings in executive session – for … Read more