| A | B |
|---|
| bicameral legislature | A lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts. |
| caucus | An association of Congressional members created to advance a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest. |
| closed rule | An order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate and forbids a particular bill from being amended on the floor. |
| cloture rule | A rule used by the Senate, providing to end or limit debate. |
| concurrent resolution | An expression of opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, but not the president. |
| conference committees | A joint committee appointed to resolve differences in House and Senate versions of the same bill. |
| conservative coalition | An alliance between conservative Democrats and Republicans. |
| discharge petition | A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had a bill for thirty days, may petition to have it brought to the floor. If a majority of members agree, the bill is discharged for the committee. |
| division vote | A congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted. |
| double-tracking | A procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster, whereby a disputed bill is temporarily shelved so that the Senate can go on with other business. |
| filibuster | An attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action on the bill. |
| joint committees | Committee on which both representatives and senators serve. |
| joint resolution | A formal expression of congressional opinion that must be approved by both houses of Congress and by the president; however, joint resolutions proposing a constitutional amendment need not be signed by the president. |
| majority leader | The legislative leader elected by party members holding a majority of seats in the House or the Senate. The House majority leader helps the Speaker, while the Senate majority leader is the most important member of the Senate. |
| marginal districts | Political districts in which candidates elected to the House of Representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55 percent of the vote. |
| minority leader | The legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate. They are their party's leader in each house. |
| multiple referral | A congressional process whereby a bill may be referred to several committees that consider it simultaneously in whole or in part. |
| open rule | An order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor. |
| party polarization | A vote in which a majority of Democratic legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators. |
| pork-barrel legislation | Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hopes of winning their votes in return. |
| private bill | A legislative bill that deals with specific, private, personal or local matters, like a bill pertaining to an individual becoming a naturalized citizen. |
| public bill | A legislative bill that deals with matters of general concern, like defense expenditures. |
| quorum | The minimum number of members required to be in attendance for Congress to conduct official business. |
| quorum call | A calling of the roll in either house of Congress to see whether the number of representatives in attendance meets the minimum number required to conduct business. |
| restrictive rule | An order from the House Rules Committee that permits certain kinds of amendments but not others to be made to a bill on the floor. |
| roll-call vote | A congressional procedure that consists of members answering yea or nay when their names are called. |
| safe district | A House district in which the winner of the general election carries more than 55 percent of the vote. |
| select committees | Permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area. |
| sequential referral | A congressional process by which the Speaker of the House may send a bill to a second committee after the first is finished acting. |
| simple resolution | An expression of opinion, without the force of law, either in the House or the Senate, to settle housekeeping or procedural matters in either body. |
| standing committees | Permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area. |
| teller vote | A congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, first the yeas and then the nays. Since 1971, teller votes are recorded at the request of twenty members. |
| voice vote | A Congressional voting procedure used in both houses in which members vote by shouting yea or nay. |
| party whip | A senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking. |
| incumbents | Those people who hold office. This term is generally used when they are running for re-election |
| casework | When a member of Congress tries to help individual constituents. These activities often deal with helping deal with the bureaucracy. |
| House Rules Committee | This group of Congresspeople reviews nearly all legislation coming out of committe and going to the floor. They set the rules of debate and place the bill on the House calendars |
| Speaker of the House | Generally considered the second most powerful office in government after the president. This person, chosen by the party which holds the majority in the House, holds both many formal and informal powers. |
| whips | Party leaders in each house. Their job includes counting votes before legislation is voted on and trying to encourage party members to vote in favor of party legilation. |
| legislative oversight | Congress monitors the Executice departs and agencies. They do this by holding hearings, adjusting their budgets, and passing legislation. |
| committee chairs | These members of Congress, who are always members of the majority party, have been chosen to run a standing committee. They shedule hearings, hire staff, appoint subcommittees, and manage the bill sent to the committee. |
| seniority system | Committee chairs are usually the longest serving member of the majority party on the committee. Before 1975, tis was a firm rule. Today, it is the usual way chairs are chosen, but officially they are elected by the majority caucus. |
| bill | a proposed law which has been introduced in Congress. |
