Constitutional & Founding
Advice and Consent
The Senate’s constitutional job of approving treaties and confirming many presidential nominees.
See also: Nomination · Treaty
Bills, votes, and Congress reference.
A working hub for the official-record details: current reference guides and the A-Z glossary for the procedural words that decide what actually happened.
116 terms
Congress terms, A-Z
The old glossary is preserved here in alphabetical form, with anchors for jumping to the first available term under each letter.
A
Types of Legislation
Amendment
A proposed change to a bill, resolution, or sometimes the Constitution. Some amendments rewrite major sections. Others tweak a few words.
See also: Substitute Amendment · Manager’s Amendment
Floor Procedure
Appeal of the Ruling of the Chair
A vote asking the chamber to overrule the presiding officer’s decision.
See also: Point of Order
Budget & Appropriations
Appropriations Bill
A bill that actually spends money. Authorization says a program may exist. Appropriations says it gets funded.
See also: Authorization · Continuing Resolution
Constitutional & Founding
Article I
The part of the Constitution that creates Congress and gives it legislative powers.
See also: Necessary and Proper Clause · Commerce Clause
Who's in Congress
At-Large Member
A House member elected by an entire state instead of a district. Usually used by states with only one representative.
See also: Representative
Budget & Appropriations
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a program and sets what it is allowed to do. It does not automatically fund it.
See also: Appropriations Bill
B
Common Terms
Bipartisan Vote
A vote where both parties supply meaningful support.
See also: Crossover Vote · Party-Line Vote
Floor Procedure
Blue Slip
A House-origin requirement for tax bills, and separately a Senate Judiciary tradition involving home-state senators on judicial nominees. Same phrase, two very different uses.
See also: Origination Clause · Nomination
Budget & Appropriations
Budget Resolution
Congress’s internal budget blueprint. It sets targets, not law, and does not go to the President.
See also: Concurrent Resolution · Reconciliation
Budget & Appropriations
Byrd Rule
The Senate rule that strips out reconciliation provisions seen as too unrelated to the budget. It is the gatekeeper inside reconciliation.
See also: Reconciliation · Parliamentarian
C
Committees & Process
Calendar
The formal list of measures eligible for floor action.
See also: Union Calendar · House Calendar
Committees & Process
Calendar Wednesday
A rarely used House procedure letting committees call up certain reported bills on Wednesdays.
See also: Calendar
Floor Procedure
Closed Rule
A House rule blocking floor amendments except those leadership allows.
See also: Rule · Open Rule
Types of Votes
Cloture
The Senate’s vote to cut off debate. On most legislation it takes 60 votes. Without cloture, a bill can be talked to death.
See also: Filibuster · 60-Vote Threshold
Constitutional & Founding
Commerce Clause
The constitutional power letting Congress regulate interstate and foreign commerce. Huge source of federal power.
See also: Article I
Committees & Process
Committee
A smaller group of lawmakers focused on a topic like agriculture, taxes, or judges. This is where most bills live or die.
See also: Subcommittee · Markup
Committees & Process
Committee Report
The written explanation a committee issues when it sends a bill to the floor. It explains what the bill does and why.
See also: Markup
Types of Legislation
Concurrent Resolution
A measure both chambers adopt together without sending it to the President. It is often used for budget frameworks or shared congressional statements.
See also: Budget Resolution · Simple Resolution
How a Bill Becomes Law
Conference Committee
A temporary House-Senate negotiating team created when both chambers pass different versions of the same bill.
See also: Conference Report
Types of Votes
Conference Report
The final negotiated text that comes out of a House-Senate conference. Both chambers vote yes or no on it. No amendments allowed.
See also: Conference Committee
Who's in Congress
Congress
A two-year legislative period numbered in sequence. We are in the 119th Congress right now.
See also: Session
Budget & Appropriations
Continuing Resolution
A temporary funding bill that keeps the government open when regular appropriations are not done.
See also: Appropriations Bill · Shutdown
Constitutional & Founding
Conviction
In an impeachment trial, the Senate’s vote to remove an official. It takes two-thirds.
See also: Impeachment · Two-Thirds Supermajority
Common Terms
Crossover Vote
When a member votes against most of their own party.
See also: Party-Line Vote
D
Budget & Appropriations
Debt Ceiling
The legal cap on how much the federal government can borrow. Raising it does not approve new spending. It lets the government pay bills already incurred.
See also: Treasury · Continuing Resolution
Who's in Congress
Delegate
A House member from D.C. or a U.S. territory who can vote in committee but not on final House floor passage.
See also: Resident Commissioner
Committees & Process
Discharge Petition
A House move that lets a majority of members force a bill out of committee over leadership’s objections. Rare and politically hard.
See also: Committee · Motion to Discharge
Types of Votes
Division Vote
A vote taken by counting members standing or otherwise visibly separating, but without a full roll call.
See also: Voice Vote · Recorded Vote
E
Budget & Appropriations
Earmark
A funding direction for a specific project, place, or recipient. Congress mostly calls them community project funding now.
See also: Appropriations Bill
How a Bill Becomes Law
Enrolled Bill
The final official copy of a bill after both chambers pass the same text. This is what goes to the President.
See also: Presentment
Constitutional & Founding
Enumerated Powers
The powers the Constitution specifically gives Congress.
See also: Article I · Necessary and Proper Clause
F
Common Terms
Filibuster
A Senate tactic for blocking action by stretching debate or threatening to do so until supporters cannot reach cloture.
See also: Cloture · 60-Vote Threshold
Types of Votes
Final Passage
The vote that actually passes a bill, nomination, or resolution in that chamber. This is the headline vote people usually mean.
See also: Motion to Proceed · Cloture
How a Bill Becomes Law
Floor Action
The stage where the full chamber debates and votes.
See also: Final Passage · Rule
H
Types of Legislation
H.J.Res. (House Joint Resolution)
A joint resolution from the House. It can become law and is often used for continuing resolutions, constitutional amendments, or narrow authorizations.
See also: S.J.Res. (Senate Joint Resolution) · Continuing Resolution
Types of Legislation
H.Res. (House Simple Resolution)
A House-only resolution. It can set House rules or express the House’s view, but it does not become law.
See also: S.Res. (Senate Simple Resolution) · Concurrent Resolution
Committees & Process
Hearing
A committee meeting to gather testimony, facts, and political messaging before action on a bill.
See also: Markup · Witness
Common Terms
Hold
An informal Senate warning that a senator objects to moving something quickly. Not in the Constitution, but powerful in practice.
See also: Unanimous Consent
Floor Procedure
Hotline
A Senate leadership alert used to see whether any senator objects to moving something by consent.
See also: Unanimous Consent · Hold
Committees & Process
House Calendar
The House calendar for public bills that do not belong on the Union Calendar.
See also: Calendar
Types of Legislation
HR (House Bill)
A bill introduced in the House. If it passes both chambers and gets signed, it becomes law.
See also: S (Senate Bill) · Final Passage
I
Constitutional & Founding
Impeachment
The House brings charges. The Senate holds the trial.
See also: Conviction
Budget & Appropriations
Impoundment
When a president delays or withholds spending that Congress approved. Congress has restricted this power heavily since Watergate.
See also: Rescission
How a Bill Becomes Law
Introduction
Step one: a member files a bill.
See also: Committee · Final Passage
M
Who's in Congress
Majority Leader
The leader who manages the floor for the party in control.
See also: Minority Leader · Whip Count
Types of Legislation
Manager’s Amendment
A package of changes put together by the bill’s floor manager. It usually rolls multiple negotiated edits into one vote.
See also: Amendment
Committees & Process
Markup
The committee session where lawmakers debate, amend, and rewrite a bill line by line.
See also: Committee · Hearing
Types of Legislation
Minibus
A smaller version of an omnibus. It bundles several bills together, but not everything.
See also: Omnibus Bill
Who's in Congress
Minority Leader
The top leader of the party not in control of the chamber.
See also: Majority Leader
Types of Votes
Motion to Adjourn
A vote to end the day’s legislative business.
See also: Adjournment
Committees & Process
Motion to Discharge
A parliamentary move to pull a matter from committee or from the calendar so the chamber can act on it.
See also: Discharge Petition
Types of Votes
Motion to Proceed
A vote to take up a bill or other business. In the Senate, getting to the bill can be the fight before the fight.
See also: Cloture · Motion to Table
Types of Votes
Motion to Recommit
A House vote to send a bill back to committee, usually with instructions. The minority party often uses it as its last shot.
See also: Committee · Final Passage
Types of Votes
Motion to Suspend the Rules
A House fast-track procedure used for bills leadership expects broad support for. Debate is limited, no floor amendments are allowed, and it needs a two-thirds vote.
See also: Suspension of the Rules · Two-Thirds Supermajority
Types of Votes
Motion to Table
A vote to kill or set aside a matter fast. If a motion is tabled, it is usually dead for practical purposes.
See also: Motion to Proceed
Common Terms
Must-Pass Bill
Legislation Congress is under heavy pressure to move, like funding bills or debt ceiling packages.
See also: Continuing Resolution · Omnibus Bill
N
Constitutional & Founding
Necessary and Proper Clause
The Constitution’s clause letting Congress make laws needed to carry out its listed powers.
See also: Article I · Enumerated Powers
Types of Votes
Nomination
A Senate vote on a presidential appointee like a judge, ambassador, or cabinet official. The House does not do these votes.
See also: Advice and Consent
Types of Votes
Not Voting
A member misses the vote or does not cast a position.
See also: Present
O
Types of Legislation
Omnibus Bill
One big package that combines many measures or funding pieces into a single vote. Congress uses it when leadership wants one vehicle to carry a lot of business.
See also: Minibus · Appropriations Bill
Floor Procedure
Open Rule
A House rule allowing many amendments from the floor.
See also: Rule · Closed Rule
Committees & Process
Ordered Reported
Committee language meaning the members voted to send the bill forward and prepare the official report.
See also: Committee Report
Constitutional & Founding
Origination Clause
The constitutional rule saying revenue bills must start in the House.
See also: Blue Slip · Article I
How a Bill Becomes Law
Other Chamber
After one chamber passes a bill, the other chamber gets its turn.
See also: Conference Committee
How a Bill Becomes Law
Override
Congress’s act of passing a bill despite a veto. It takes two-thirds in both chambers.
See also: Veto Override
P
Types of Votes
Pair
An informal arrangement where members on opposite sides offset absences. It matters politically, but it does not change the official tally.
See also: Not Voting
Common Terms
Parliamentarian
The chamber referee on procedure. In the Senate, this role matters a lot in reconciliation fights.
See also: Byrd Rule · Point of Order
Common Terms
Party-Line Vote
A vote where nearly all Democrats line up on one side and nearly all Republicans line up on the other.
See also: Crossover Vote
How a Bill Becomes Law
Pocket Veto
When the President kills a bill by taking no action while Congress adjourns.
See also: Veto · Presentment
Floor Procedure
Point of Order
An objection that says a rule is being broken. The chair rules on it, and sometimes the chamber votes on that ruling.
See also: Parliamentarian · Rule
Types of Votes
Present
A member shows up for the vote but does not vote yes or no.
See also: Not Voting
How a Bill Becomes Law
Presentment
The step where Congress sends a passed bill to the President for signature or veto.
See also: Enrolled Bill · Veto
Who's in Congress
President Pro Tempore
The senator who formally presides when the Vice President is absent. The role is mostly ceremonial day to day.
See also: Vice President
Floor Procedure
Previous Question
A House procedural vote that shuts off debate and blocks alternative plans from the minority. It is about control of the floor.
See also: Rule · Motion to Table
Types of Legislation
Private Bill
A bill aimed at a specific person or small group instead of the public at large. Rare.
See also: Public Bill
Types of Legislation
Public Bill
A bill that affects the country broadly. Most legislation you hear about is a public bill.
See also: Private Bill
Q
Key Thresholds
Quorum
The minimum number of members needed to do business. House: 218. Senate: 51.
See also: Quorum Call
Types of Votes
Quorum Call
A check to see whether enough members are present to do business. House: 218. Senate: 51.
See also: Quorum
R
Constitutional & Founding
Ratification
The formal approval process used for constitutional amendments and, historically, for the Constitution itself.
See also: Amendment
Budget & Appropriations
Reconciliation
A budget process that lets the Senate pass certain tax and spending bills with a simple majority instead of 60 votes.
See also: Byrd Rule · Simple Majority
Types of Votes
Recorded Vote
A vote where each member’s position is captured individually. This is what powers PollBrief vote pages.
See also: Roll Call Vote
How a Bill Becomes Law
Referral
After introduction, the bill is sent to the committee with jurisdiction.
See also: Committee
Who's in Congress
Representative
One of 435 voting House members, apportioned by population.
See also: Senator
Budget & Appropriations
Rescission
A proposal to cancel money Congress already approved but has not yet been spent.
See also: Impoundment · Appropriations Bill
Who's in Congress
Resident Commissioner
Puerto Rico’s House delegate. Similar to a delegate, but with a four-year term.
See also: Delegate
Types of Legislation
Rider
A policy provision attached to a larger bill that is expected to move. Congress uses riders to hitch a ride on must-pass legislation.
See also: Appropriations Bill · Omnibus
Types of Votes
Roll Call Vote
A recorded vote listing how every member voted.
See also: Recorded Vote
Floor Procedure
Rule
The House Rules Committee’s floor plan for a bill. It decides debate time, amendment limits, and how the vote will happen.
See also: Open Rule · Closed Rule
S
Types of Legislation
S (Senate Bill)
A bill introduced in the Senate. Same path as an House bill, just from the other chamber.
See also: HR (House Bill) · Final Passage
Types of Legislation
S.J.Res. (Senate Joint Resolution)
A joint resolution from the Senate. It moves like a bill and usually carries a specific legal or constitutional purpose.
See also: H.J.Res. (House Joint Resolution)
Types of Legislation
S.Res. (Senate Simple Resolution)
A Senate-only resolution. It affects the Senate or states the Senate’s position, but it does not become law.
See also: H.Res. (House Simple Resolution)
Who's in Congress
Senator
One of 100 members of the Senate. Every state gets two.
See also: Representative
Who's in Congress
Session
One of the yearly chunks inside a Congress. Most Congresses have a first session and a second session.
See also: Congress
Budget & Appropriations
Shutdown
What happens when Congress does not pass funding and the government runs out of legal authority to spend for some operations.
See also: Continuing Resolution · Appropriations Bill
Key Thresholds
Simple Majority
More than half of the votes cast or members present under the rule being used. In practice, think 218 in the House and 51 in the Senate for most major actions.
See also: Two-Thirds Supermajority · Cloture
Who's in Congress
Speaker of the House
The House’s top officer and the chamber’s most powerful internal leader.
See also: Majority Leader · Minority Leader
Floor Procedure
Special Rule
Another name for the House rule governing debate on a specific bill.
See also: Rule
Floor Procedure
Structured Rule
A House rule allowing only selected amendments and usually under tight limits.
See also: Rule · Closed Rule
Committees & Process
Subcommittee
A smaller unit inside a committee that handles a narrower slice of work.
See also: Committee
Types of Legislation
Substitute Amendment
An amendment that swaps out big parts of a bill or the whole thing. It is not a tweak. It is a rewrite.
See also: Amendment · Manager’s Amendment
Key Thresholds
Supermajority
Any threshold higher than a simple majority. Congress uses different supermajorities for different jobs.
See also: Simple Majority · Two-Thirds Supermajority
Budget & Appropriations
Supplemental Appropriations
Extra funding passed outside the normal yearly budget cycle. Usually used for wars, disasters, or emergencies.
See also: Appropriations Bill
Floor Procedure
Suspension of the Rules
The House shortcut for noncontroversial bills. Less debate, no amendments from the floor, and a higher vote threshold.
See also: Motion to Suspend the Rules · Two-Thirds Supermajority
T
Constitutional & Founding
Treaty
A formal international agreement. The Senate must approve it by a two-thirds vote.
See also: Advice and Consent
Key Thresholds
Two-Thirds Supermajority
The threshold for things like overriding a veto, expelling a member, and passing suspension bills in the House.
See also: Veto Override · Suspension of the Rules
U
Floor Procedure
Unanimous Consent
A Senate habit of doing business without a recorded vote so long as no senator objects. Fast when it works. Dead stop when one senator objects.
See also: Objection · Hold
Committees & Process
Union Calendar
The House calendar for revenue, appropriations, and other measures involving money or property.
See also: Calendar
V
How a Bill Becomes Law
Veto
The President’s formal rejection of a bill.
See also: Pocket Veto · Veto Override
Types of Votes
Veto Override
A vote to pass a bill over the President’s veto. It takes two-thirds in both chambers.
See also: Two-Thirds Supermajority · Veto
Who's in Congress
Vice President
The Senate’s constitutional presiding officer and the tiebreaking vote when the Senate splits 50-50.
See also: President Pro Tempore
Types of Votes
Voice Vote
A vote by shouting yes or no instead of recording each member individually.
See also: Recorded Vote
W
Who's in Congress
Whip
A party leader focused on lining up votes.
See also: Whip Count
Common Terms
Whip Count
Leadership’s private estimate of where the votes stand before the vote actually happens.
See also: Majority Leader · Minority Leader
Committees & Process
Witness
Someone called to testify at a hearing. Could be an official, expert, advocate, or private citizen.
See also: Hearing