Congress Terms

U.S. Congress

The legislature of the federal government, divided into a Senate and a House of Representatives.

Senate

Upper house of Congress, designed to represent state interests; this chamber consists of 100 members, two from each state.

House of Representatives

Lower house of Congress, designed to represent the people; this chamber consists of 435 members, with each state allotted a number of seats based on its population.

Bicameral legislature

A lawmaking body that is divided into two houses, such as the U.S. Congress.

Enumerated powers

Powers that are explicitly granted to Congress within the text of the Constitution.

Necessary and proper clause

A statement in Article I of the Constitution giving Congress the implied power to expand the scope of its enumerated powers.

Implied powers

Powers belonging to a government entity that are not expressly stated in the Constitution; powers that are derived from explicit or enumerated powers.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Landmark Supreme Court decision that held that Congress has implied powers necessary to implement its enumerated powers and that established the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution and federal laws over state laws.

Speaker of the House

Formal presiding officer of the House of Representatives; a position established by Article I of the Constitution and elected by the entire House.

Majority leader

Member of Congress elected by the majority party in each house to promote its legislative agenda, primarily by speaking with leaders of both parties of both houses, and the public.

Majority whip

Member of Congress elected by the majority party of each house to encourage fellow party members to support the majority party’s legislative agenda.

Minority leader

Member of Congress elected by the minority party of each house to promote its legislative agenda; analogous to the majority leader.

Minority whip

Member of Congress elected by the minority party of each house to encourage fellow party members to support the minority party’s legislative agenda; analogous to the majority whip.

President of the Senate

The title used by the vice president of the United States in his or her role as the presiding officer of the Senate; a position established by Article I of the Constitution.

President pro tempore

The senator elected by the Senate to serve as its presiding officer in the absence of the vice president; a position established by Article I of the Constitution.

Standing committees

Permanent legislative panels within the House and Senate, each with a dedicated policy focus and the authority to review proposed legislation and conduct oversight of the executive branch within its legislative jurisdiction.

Select committees

Special legislative panels that are created for a specific purpose, such as to review legislation that does not fall within the jurisdiction of an existing standing committee.

Joint committees

Permanent legislative panels with a dedicated policy focus or administrative purpose that consist of members from both the House and Senate.

Conference committees

Temporary legislative panels with members from both the House and Senate that are established to reconcile different versions of the same bill following its passage by both houses.

Rules Committee

The committee in the House that determines the procedures for debating a specific bill; formally known as the House Committee on Rules.

Committee of the Whole

A committee consisting of all the members of the House; a parliamentary mechanism with fewer procedural requirements that is often used to expedite the legislative process.

Quorum

Minimum number of legislators that must be present in order for a legislative body such as the House or Senate to hold votes or conduct other business.

Discharge petition

Procedural mechanism in the House that can be used to move a bill that has stalled in committee to the floor of the House for a full vote.

Cloture

Process by which the Senate ends debate.

Filibustering

Act of blocking a vote in the Senate by speaking for an excessive length of time during debate or otherwise preventing cloture.

Unanimous consent

Parliamentary procedure used by the Senate in which it is assumed that all senators approve of an action unless an objection is raised.

Hold

Informal process by which a senator can prevent legislation from being considered by the full Senate.

Mandatory spending

Government expenditures that are mandated by preexisting law; primarily includes funding for entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicaid.

Discretionary spending

Government expenditures that are considered optional and can be added, modified, or eliminated each year during the annual budget process.

Earmarking

The act of inserting a provision into a spending bill that allocates funding for a specific program.

Pork barrel

Funding earmarked for a localized program that primarily benefits the home district of the legislator who proposed the earmark; commonly referred to as “pork.”

Log rolling

Informal bargaining that occurs between legislators who agree to trade votes on each other’s legislation or amendments.

Trustee model

A model of political representation in which an elected representative is entrusted by the voters to use his or her own judgment, even when it conflicts with the voters’ interests or preferences.

Delegate model

A model of political representation in which an elected representative is obligated to vote according to the interests or preferences of his or her constituents.

Politico model

A model of political representation that combines elements of the trustee and delegate models and that seeks to describe how elected representatives actually operate in practice.

Gerrymandering

Act of drawing the geographic boundaries for legislative districts in such a way that the party controlling the process gains a political advantage.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Landmark Supreme Court decision that held that the Constitution implies a “one person, one vote” standard that requires legislative districts to have roughly equal populations.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Landmark Supreme Court decision that held that race cannot be used as a factor when drawing the boundary lines for legislative districts.