Act: Legislation passed by Congress and thus officially law.

Adjournment: Ending of a legislative day, or session.

Administration Program: Group of bills proposed and supported by the president and his
advisors.
Amendment: Formal change proposed or made in a bill, motion, or the Constitution.
Appeal: Challenge by a congressman of a ruling or decision made by the presiding officer of the
Senate or House; an attempt to put such a decision to a vote
Appropriation: Congressional act authorizing expenditure of money for government activities.
Bicameral:
Bill: Measure awaiting or undergoing congressional action.
Bipartisan: Composed or representing of two parties.
Bloc: Group of congressmen voting the same way on a bill.
Boondoggle: Wasteful or unnecessary government projects.
Budget: The president’s statement sent to Congress in January, which estimates total government
income and spending, and recommends appropriations for the next fiscal year.
Calendar: Schedule of measures to be acted upon; an agenda or list of business pending before
committees in the House or Senate.
Casework:
Chamber: General meeting place for the whole membership body in either house.
Clean Bill: Measure rewritten as a new bill containing committee amendments to original
proposals.
Clerk of the House: Chief administrator of the House of Representatives responsible for the
direction of duties of House Employees and special business activities. His duties are similar to
those of the Secretary of the Senate.
Cloture: a two-thirds vote to the Senate, which limits debate to one hour. Rarely invoked, it is the
countermeasure to the Senate privilege of unlimited debate.
Congress:
Congressional Record: Daily published account of House and Senate proceedings.
Constituent(s):
Continuous Body:
Committee: Group appointed or elected to study legislative proposals or specific problems, which
fall under congressional responsibility.
Filibuster: Lengthy debate or speechmaking in the senate to delay action on a bill.
Fiscal Year: Twelve-month period between one annual balancing of financial accounts and the
next.
Floor: Assembly room of the House or Senate where debate and voting are carried out.
Floor Manager: Committee member – usually a chairman or ranking member – who attempts to
steer a bill through to a final vote in the chamber.
Frank: Facsimile of a congressman’s signature used in place of a stamp for official outgoing mail.
Gag Rule: Rule restricting time allowed for debate.
Gerrymandering:
Hopper: Box in which introduced bills are dropped.
Immunity: Congressman’s privilege under the Constitution to make statements in committee or
on the floor for which he cannot be legally indicted.
Impeachment: Accusation against a public official for misconduct while in office. Only House
Representatives can impeach president and civil officers in the U.S Government. Senate,
however, conducts the impeachment trial.
Incumbent:
Interest Group: Group seeking to influence legislation that would serve its own cause.
Joint Session: Combined meeting of both houses of Congress.
Journal: Record of daily proceedings. Does not include verbatim report on speeches, as does the
Congressional record. Each house publishes its journal periodically.
Lame Duck: Officeholder finishing unexpired term after losing election.
Legislation: Laws passed or being considered by Congress.
Legislator(s):
Legislature:
Lobby: Group or party seeking to influence legislators and legislation.
Log Rolling: Mutual agreement between legislators to support each other’s projects or legislation.
Lower House: House of Representatives
Majority Leader: Chosen spokesman of majority party in either house.
Majority Whip: Assistant to majority leader. The majority whip works to muster forces in support
of party strategy.
Mark-Up: Amending of proposal by committee before it reaches whole legislative body for
action. Final form is called a Clean Bill.
Minority: Less then half of the total membership or vote.
Minority Leader: Chosen spokesman of the minority party in either house.
Minority Whip: Assistant to the minority leader. Duty is to marshal supporting forces for party
strategy.
Oversight:
Pigeonhole: To suspend action on a proposal so that it cannot come up for consideration.
Plenary Session: Meeting of the entire membership of either house.
Point of Order: Objection raised by chamber members when rules of procedure are violated.
President of the Senate: Presiding officer of the Senate. Under the Constitution, the Vice
President is ex-officio the president of the senate.
President Pro Tempore: Presiding officer in the Senate in the absence of the Vice President. The
Senate members elect the President pro tempore.
Quorum: Required number of members for either house for conducting official business
Reappointment: Reorganization of legislative and congressional districts to assure more equal
representation.
Recess: Pause in a congressional session. A recess differs from adjournment in that it does not
end a legislative day.
Redistricting:
Rider: Provision added to a bill in hopes of getting it through more easily.
Secretary of the Senate: Chief administrative official of the senate responsible for the direction of
duties of senate employees, pageboys, and other business activities.
Session:
Speaker of the House: Presiding officer of the House of Representatives elected by its members.
Speech and Debate Clause:
Standing committee: Permanently established committees of either house, set up to examine
proposed legislation of a specific kind.
Special Committee: Temporarily established committee appointed to investigate and report on
special problems
Subcommittee: Smaller unit of a standing committee set up to handle specific problems within
the standing committee’s general sphere.
Term:
Upper House:
Veto: Refusal of the President to approve a bill or resolution