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 Rider photo credit: carterse An amendment, usually not germane, that its sponsor hopes to get through more easily by including it in other legislation. Riders become law if the bills embodying them are enacted. Amendments providing legislative directives in appropriations bills are outstanding examples of … 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 Fiscal Year photo credit: MBoy68 Fiscal Year: Any yearly accounting period, regardless of its relationship to a calendar year. The federal government’s annual accounting period. Financial operations of the government are carried out in a 12-month accounting year, beginning on October 1 and ending on … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Five-Minute Rule photo credit: Moe_ A debate-limiting rule of the House that is invoked when the House sits as the Committee of the Whole. Under the rule, a member offering an amendment is allowed to speak five minutes in its favor, and an opponent of … 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 House / House of Representatives 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 … 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 Hearing / Hearings photo credit: The U.S. Army Committee sessions for taking testimony from witnesses. At hearings on legislation, witnesses usually include specialists, government officials and spokesmen for persons or entities affected by the bill or bills under study. Hearings related to special investigations bring … Read more