Congress

Public Bill

Bills pertaining to public affairs

Private Bill

Bills pertaining to particular individuals or groups

simple resolution

applies to a single chamber only; usually used to define rules; does not have force of law.

concurrent resolution

applies to both chambers of congress

joint resolution

requires approval of both houses and signature of the president; essentially the same as a law; used for proposing constitutional amendments; bills generally used to add or modify the US Code. Resolutions used for small appropriations, creating temporary commissions, to declare war, have been used to annex nations like Texas and Hawaii

sequential referral

allows the Speaker to send a bill to a second committee or refer parts of a bill to separate committees

mark up proceedings

committee and subcommittee meetings that involve hearings, amendments to bills under consideration

discharge petition

used in House to get a bill stalled in committee out; need 218 votes

closed rule

used in House, no amendments to be added to bills, debate is strictly limited
open rule: permits amendments

rider

amendments that are not germane to the bill's purpose

christmas tree bill

bill with a lot of riders

pork barrel legislation

legislation that contains pork (earmarks and spending for specific states or districts inserted to build support for a bill and deliver targeted benefits to certain constituencies)

quorum

minimum number needed to do business, usually a majority of the chamber.

"committee of the whole"

the entire House acting as a giant committee - quorum is 100

quorum call

a roll call to see if the minimum number of people required to do business is present

filibuster

in the Senate, a senators use of unlimited speaking time to delay or prevent the passage of a bill; usually used by the minority to force compromise from the majority

cloture rule

used to shut down a filibuster and limits all senators comments to one hour; total debate cannot exceed 100 hours

3/5

fraction of the chamber necessary to invoke cloture and end a filibuster

double-tracking

allows the Senate to shelve a bill temporarily and move on to other business during a filibuster; actually makes filibusters easier.

voice vote

members vocally say "yea" or "nay"; no names recorded

division vote

members stand to be counted; no names recorded

teller vote

members pass between two tellers, first yeas, then nays, clerks write down the names of those supporting or opposing a bill

roll call vote

roll is called and members respond yea or nay; done at the request of 1/5 of those present

pigeonhole

when a committee chair intentionally stifles a bill by "sitting on it" or scheduling it for discussion later in the process and smothering it in committee

president pro tempore

presiding officer of the Senate when the VP is absent.

Speaker of the House

presiding officer of the House; controls debate and recognizes who speaks on the floor, administers the rules for debate determined by the Rules Committee

Majority Leader

the most powerful person in the Senate

Rules Committee

Committee responsible for determining the conditions under which bills are debated in the House of Representatives

Ways and Means Committee

Powerful House committee responsible for taxation and entitlement programs

Whip

Party leader in charge of party discipline and information, including counting votes and convincing members to vote in line with the party's interest

Caucus

Informal clubs of congress members used to coordinate legislation along lines of similar interest

Congressional Black Caucus

a national constituency caucus focused on issues relevant to the African-American community

House Judiciary Committee

Responsible (among other things) for initiating the impeachment process

Senate Judiciary Committee

Responsible (among other things) for confirmation hearings for federal judges

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Responsible for hearings concerning the ratification of treaties and confirmation of the President's ambassador choices

Representational View (delegate model)

members of congress should vote the way their constituents want them to and their personal feelings should not be factored into their decisions

Attitudinal View (trustee model)

members of congress should vote for what they think is best for their constituents

Organizational View

members of congress should stick with their party and take their cues from party leadership on how they should vote collectively to advance the party's platform and the interests of the party

standing committee

A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area

select committee

A temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period and for a special purpose.

joint committee

A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations.

conference committee

special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate

Congressional Budget Office

Advises Congress on the probable consequences of its decisions, forecasts revenues, and is a counterweight to the president's Office of Management and Budget.

marginal district

political districts in which candidates elected to the house of representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55 percent of the vote

safe districts

Districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55 percent or more.

Baker v. Carr

case that est. one man one vote. this decision created guidelines for drawing up congresional districts and guaranteed a more equitable system of representation to the citizens of each state

Shaw v. Reno

NO racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries; majority-minority districts.

Logrolling

vote trading; voting to support a colleague's bill in return for a promise of future support