Acts: Legislation (a bill or joint resolution, see below) that has passed both chambers of Congress in identical form, been signed into law by the President, or passed over his veto, thus becoming law. A bill also becomes an act without the President’s signature if he does not return it to Congress within ten days; Sundays excepted, while Congress is in session. Technically, this term also refers to a bill that has been passed by one house and engrossed (prepared as an official copy).

Adjournment: The termination of a meeting, with a set date and time of the net meeting (or set subject to the call of the chair in a committee). A motion to adjourn in the Senate creates a new legislative day; so the Senate normally recesses, rather than adjourns, at the end of a day. Both houses must agree to a concurrent resolution for either house to adjourn for more than three days.

Adjournment Sine Die: Final adjournment of an annual or two-year session of Congress, literally "adjournment without a day."

Amendment: A proposal of a member of Congress to alter the language, provisions or stipulations in a bill, resolution, motion, treaty, or other amendment. An amendment is usually printed, debated and voted upon in the same manner as a bill.

Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute: Usually, an amendment that seeks to replace the entire text of a bill. Passage of this type of amendment strikes out everything after the enacting clause and inserts a new version of the bill. An amendment in the nature of a substitute can also refer to an amendment that replaces a large portion of the text of a bill. Congressional committees often use these amendments to substitute their version of a measure for the version introduced by the original sponsor.

Appeal: A member’s challenge of a ruling or decision made by the presiding officer of the chamber.

Appropriation: Provision of law that provides authority for Federal agencies to obligate funds and to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. Appropriations for the Federal government are provided both in annual appropriations acts and in permanent provisions of law.

Appropriations Bill: A bill giving legal authority to spend or obligate money from the Treasury. The Constitution forbids money to be drawn from the Treasury "but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law." An appropriation bill grants the actual money approved by authorization bills, but not necessarily the full amount permissible under the authorization. By congressional custom, an appropriations bill originates in the House, and is not supposed to be considered by the full House or Senate until a related measure authorizing the funding is enacted. The latter restriction is often ignored. Appropriations are often not completed until after the start of the fiscal year, requiring a succession of stopgap bills to continue government functions. In addition, much federal spending—about half of all budget authority—does not require annual appropriations; those programs exist under permanent appropriations.

Authorization: Legislation that establishes or continues the legal operation of a federal program or agency, either indefinitely or for a specific period of time, or sanctions a particular type of obligation or expenditure. The legislation indicates conditions under which the program or agency acts and authorizes appropriations, which is normally a prerequisite for an appropriation bill. Authorizations specify how appropriated funds are to be used and may provide permanent appropriations. Under the rules of both houses, the appropriation for a program or agency may not be considered until its authorization has been considered.

Backdoor Spending Authority: Budget authority provided in legislation outside of the normal appropriations process. The most common forms of backdoor spending are borrowing authority, contract authority, entitlements, and loan guarantees that commit the government to payments of principal and interest on loans made by banks or other private lenders. Loan guarantees only result in actual outlays when there is default by the borrower. In some cases, such as interest on the public debt, a permanent appropriation is provided that becomes available without further action by Congress.

Balanced Budget: A budget in which receipts equal expenditures.

Baseline: Projection of receipts, expenditures, and other budget amounts that would occur in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.

Bills: Most legislative proposals before Congress take the form of bills. Bills are designated H.R. if they originate in the House of Representatives and S. if they originate in the Senate and by a number assigned in the order in which they are introduced during the two-year period of a congressional term. In both the House and Senate, any number of members may join in introducing a single bill or resolution. The first member listed is the sponsor of the bill, and all members’ names following his or hers are the bill’s cosponsors. Many bills are introduced under the name of the chairman of the committee or subcommittee with jurisdiction over the measure. All appropriations bills fall into this category.

Budget: The document sent to Congress by the president early each year estimating government revenue and expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year.

Budget Act: The common name for the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974, which established the current budget process and created the Congressional Budget Office. The act also put limits on presidential authority to refuse to spend appropriated money.

Budget Authority: Authority given federal agencies to obligate government funds. The basic forms of budget authority are appropriations, contract authority, and borrowing authority. Budget authority may be classified by the period of availability (one-year or multi-year), by the timing of congressional action (current or permanent), or by the manner of determining the amount available (definite or indefinite).

Budget Enforcement Act of 1990: The Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 was adopted as a response to the budget crisis that persisted through the 1980’s. The Budget Enforcement Act established a new deficit control process to contain the deficit by controlling the amount of revenue raised and money spent. The Budget Enforcement Act established three sets of rules for controlling the deficit; adjustable deficit targets, caps on discretionary spending, and pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules for revenue and direct spending.

Budget Process: Congress enacted legislation in 1985 to strengthen its budget process with the goal of balancing the federal budget by fiscal year 1991. The law established annual maximum deficit targets and mandated across-the-board automatic cuts (sequestration) if the deficit goals were not achieved through appropriations.

Budget Resolution: Budget resolutions, due by April 15 annually, set guidelines for congressional action on spending and tax measures for each of five fiscal years. They are adopted by the House and Senate, but are not signed by the president and do not have the force of law. The budget resolution establishes various budget totals, divides spending totals into functional categories (such as transportation), and may include reconciliation instructions to designated House or Senate committees.

By Request: A phrase used when a senator or representative introduces a bill on behalf of the president, an executive agency, or private individual or organization but does not necessarily endorse the legislation.

Calendars: Lists of business eligible for floor consideration, usually following committee action. Each house decides which measures are discussed, and in what order, in accordance with their respective rules and practices.

Chairman/Chairwoman: The presiding officer of a committee or subcommittee.

Chairman’s Mark: Phrase referring to a amendment in the nature of a substitute proposed by a committee or subcommittee chairman during the mark-up process.

Chamber: The meeting place for the membership of either the House or Senate. A chamber is often referred to as "the floor."

Classes of Senators: Senators are elected to six-year terms, and the terms of one-third of the Senators expire every two years. A class, approximately one-third of the Senate, consists of Senators elected in the same general election.

Clean Bill: After a committee has finished a major revision of a bill, one of the committee members, usually the chairman, will assemble the changes and what is left of the original bill into a new measure and introduce it as a "clean bill." The revised measure, which is given a new number, then is referred back to the committee, which reports it to the floor for consideration. This often is a time-saver, as separate floor votes are avoided for committee-recommended changes in a clean bill. Reporting a clean bill also protects committee amendments that are subject to points of order concerning germaneness.

Closed Rule: (House only) Simple resolutions from the House Committee on Rules specifying time limits for the debate of certain measures and generally prohibiting floor amendments, except those offered by a committee that considered the measure. May also contain waivers prohibiting points of order.

Cloture: (Senate only) The process by which a filibuster can be ended in the Senate other than by unanimous consent. A motion for cloture can apply to any measure before the Senate, including a proposal to change the chamber’s rules. A cloture motion requires the signatures of 16 senators to be introduced.

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): A listing of regulatory documents in final rule form.

Committee: Designated group of Members assigned the responsibility for holding hearings and considering measures within their issue jurisdictions. Committees are also responsible for investigations and oversight of executive branch agencies. Committees relating to aviation include the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (HTIC) and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (SCST).

Committee Amendment: An amendment, also referred to as a "manager’s amendment", which is recommended by a committee in reporting a bill or other measure to the floor of either chamber.

Committee Jurisdiction: The subjects and functions assigned to a committee by rule, resolution, precedent, or practice, including legislative matters, oversight and investigations, and nominations of executive officers.

Committee of the Whole: (House only) Formally, "The Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union." Used to expedite legislative business, a Committee of the Whole is composed of all House members, sitting as a committee. Any 100 members present comprise a quorum. During a meeting of the Committee of the Whole, the House supplants the Speaker with a "chairman." The committee may debate measures and adopt amendments (votes on amendments taking place as needed) but cannot pass a bill. When the committee completes work on a measure, it dissolves itself by "rising." The Speaker returns and the committee "chairman" reports that the work has been completed. Members may, at this time, demand a roll-call vote on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole. The final vote is on passage of the legislation.

Committee Report: The document written by a committee to accompany a bill reported to the floor, which includes the findings and recommendations of a committee regarding a measure it was assigned for consideration, including any amendments proposed by the committee, votes held in committee, and any dissenting or supplemental views of its members. Committee reports are required in the House; they are optional in the Senate.

Companion Bill or Measure: Similar or identical legislation introduced in both the Senate and House. House and Senate lawmakers who share similar views on legislation may introduce a companion bill in their respective chambers to promote simultaneous consideration of the measure.

Concurrent Resolution: A concurrent resolution, designated H. Con. Res. in the House or S. Con. Res. in the Senate, must be adopted by both houses, but does not have the force of law. A concurrent resolution is used to fix the time for adjournment of a Congress, is the vehicle for expressing the sense of Congress on various foreign policy and domestic issues, and serves to coordinate decisions on the federal budget.

Conference: A formal meeting between the representatives of the House and the Senate to reconcile differences between the two houses on provisions of a bill passed by both chambers. A majority of the conferees (or managers) for each house must reach agreement on the provisions of the bill (often a compromise between the versions of the two chambers) before either chamber can consider it.

Conference Committee: A temporary, ad hoc panel composed of House and Senate conferees, appointed by the Speaker and the presiding officer of the Senate, which is formed for the purpose of reconciling differences in legislation that has passed both chambers. Conference committees are usually convened to resolve differences on major and controversial legislation. Conferees are expected to try and uphold their chamber’s position on measures when they negotiate with conferees from the other body.

Conference Report: The compromise product negotiated by the conference committee. The "conference report," is submitted to each chamber for approval or disapproval. When the conference report goes to the floor, it cannot be amended, and if both chambers do not approve it, the bill may go back to conference in certain situations, or a new conference must be convened.

Congressional Record: The daily printed account of proceedings in both the House and Senate chambers, showing substantially verbatim debate, statements, and a record of floor action. Members are entitled to have their extraneous remarks printed in an appendix known as "Extension of Remarks" and may extend and revise remarks made on the floor during debate before they are printed.

Consideration: To "call up" or "lay down" a bill or other measure on the House or Senate floor is to place it before the full Chamber for consideration, including debate, amendment, and voting.

Continuing Resolution/Continuing Appropriations: A joint resolution enacted by Congress and signed by the president when the new fiscal year is about to begin or has begun in order to provide new budget authority to specific federal agencies and programs not yet been appropriated for that fiscal year, allowing them to continue operating until regular appropriations are enacted.

Contract Authority: Budget authority contained in an authorization bill that permits the federal government to enter into contracts or other obligations for future payments from funds not yet appropriated by Congress. The assumption is that funds will be available for payment in a subsequent appropriation act.

Controllable Budget Items: Programs for which expenditures during a fiscal year can be controlled without changing existing, substantive law.

Controlled Time: When a unanimous consent agreement limits the time for debate on a bill or other measure and places it under the control of bill floor managers, the time is said to be controlled. Each manager then allows any Member to participate in debate by yielding a specified amount of time to that Member.

Current Services Estimates: Estimated budget authority and expenditures for federal programs and operations for the upcoming fiscal year based on continuation of existing levels of service without policy change. The President transmits these estimates to Congress, accompanied by the underlying economic and policy assumptions upon which they are based, when the budget is submitted.

Custody of the Papers: Possession of an engrossed measure and related documents that the two houses produce as they try to resolve their differences over the measure. The chamber with custody of the papers—the engrossed bill and amendments—is the only body empowered to request the conference report once the conferees reach agreement on the bill.

Deferral: Executive Branch action to delay the spending of appropriated money. Congress can prohibit proposed deferrals by enacting a law doing so; most often cancellations of proposed deferrals are included in appropriations bills.

Deficit: The amount by which expenditures exceed receipts in a given fiscal period.

Dilatory Motion or Tactic: A motion made for the purpose of killing time and preventing action on a bill or amendment by a house or a committee, such as demanding quorum calls and votes at every opportunity. House rules prohibit dilatory motions, but enforcement is at the discretion of the Speaker. The Senate does not have a rule banning dilatory motions, except under cloture.

Discharge: A petition to remove a bill from the committee to which it has been referred, which must be signed by a majority of members in that chamber. Senators may introduce a discharge petition at any time. In the House, members must wait 30 days after a bill has been referred before filing discharge motions. Occasionally, to expedite action on non-controversial bills, a committee is discharged by unanimous consent of the House and a petition is not required.

Discretionary Appropriations/Spending: Spending controlled in annual appropriations acts not mandated by existing law and therefore made available annually in amounts Congress chooses.

Discretionary Spending Limits/Caps: Ceilings on budget authority and discretionary spending on programs as set by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. Congressional rules enforce these spending limits.

Division of a Question for Voting: A practice that is more common in the Senate but also is used in the House where a member demands a division of an amendment or a motion for purposes of amendment. The individual parts are voted on separately when member demands a division. Each part should present a separate proposition, so that if any part is rejected the other parts can logically stand-alone. This procedure occurs most often during the consideration of conference reports

Enacted: Once legislation has passed both chambers of Congress in identical form, been signed into law by the President, become law without his signature, or passed over his veto, the legislation is enacted.

Engrossed Bill: The final official copy of a bill as passed by one chamber, with the text as amended by floor action and certified by the clerk of the House or the secretary of the Senate.

Enrolled Bill: The final official copy of a bill that has been passed by both chambers in identical form. It is certified by an officer of the house of origin (Clerk of the House or Secretary of the Senate) and then sent on for the signatures of the House Speaker, the Senate President Pro Tempore and the President of the United States.

Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and veterans' compensation are examples of entitlement programs. Entitlements leave no discretion with Congress on how much money to appropriate, and some entitlements carry permanent appropriations.

Executive Communication: A message sent to Congress by the President or other executive branch official. Presidential veto messages are an example of an "executive communication."

Executive Order: Unilateral proclamations by the President which have a legislative impact.

Executive Session: A meeting of a Senate or House committee (or occasionally of either chamber) that only Members, staff, and witnesses may attend.

Ex Officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office. The term refers to the practice under the rules of Congress that allows the chairman and ranking minority member of a committee to participate in any of the subcommittees of that committee, but generally not to vote.

Expenditures: The actual spending of money as distinguished from the appropriation of funds. The disbursing officers of the administration make expenditures; only Congress makes appropriations. The two are rarely identical in any fiscal year. In addition to some current budget authority, expenditures may represent budget authority made available during earlier years.

Federal Debt: The federal debt consists of public debt, which occurs when the Treasury of the Federal Financing Bank (FFB) borrows money directly from the public or other funds or accounts, and agency debt, which is incurred when a federal agency other than the Treasury of the FFB is authorized by law to borrow money from the public or another fund or account.

Federal Register: A daily publication that provides a uniform system for publishing Presidential documents, and current and proposed rules and regulations.

Filibuster: A time-delaying tactic in which a minority party Senator controls the floor and extends the debate of a measure in an effort to delay, modify or defeat a bill or amendment that probably would pass if voted on directly. The stricter rules of the House make filibusters more difficult, but delaying tactics are employed occasionally through various procedural devices allowed by House rules.

Final Rule: Regulatory document, issued by a federal agency, having legal effect, which is produced after a notification and comment period.

Fiscal Year: Financial operations of the government are carried out in a 12-month accounting year, beginning on October 1 and ending on September 30. The fiscal year carries the date of the calendar year in which it ends and is referred to as FY.

Five-Minute Rule: (House only) A debate-limiting rule of the House that is invoked when the House sits as the Committee of the Whole. Under the rule, a member offering an amendment is allowed to speak five minutes in its favor, and an opponent of the amendment is allowed to speak five minutes in opposition. Debate is then closed. In practice, amendments regularly are debated more than 10 minutes, with members gaining the floor by offering pro forma amendments or obtaining unanimous consent to speak longer than five minutes.

Floor: The interior chamber of the House or Senate, where Members meet to introduce and deliberate proposed legislation. Action "on the floor" is that which occurs as part of a formal session of the full Senate. An action "from the floor" is one taken by a Senator during a session of the Senate. A Senator who has been recognized to speak by the Chair is said to "have the floor."

Floor Amendment: An amendment offered by an individual Member from the floor during consideration of a bill or other measure, in contrast to a committee amendment.

Floor Manager: A member who has the task of steering legislation through floor debate and the amendment process to a final vote in the house or the Senate. Floor managers usually are chairmen or ranking members of the majority party. Managers are responsible for apportioning the debate time granted supporters of the bill. The ranking minority member of the committee normally apportions time for the minority party’s participation in the debate.

Full Committee: The entire committee, including those assigned to one or more subcommittees. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (HTIC) and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (SCST) are full committees.

Function (Functional Classification): Categories of spending established for accounting purposes to keep track of specific expenditures. Each account is placed in the single function (such as transportation) that best represents its major purpose, regardless of the agency administering the program.

Germaneness: A requirement that an amendment or debate be pertinent and relevant to the measure under deliberation. All House amendments must be germane to the bill being considered, unless a special exception is granted, but the Senate requires an issue to be germane only in certain circumstances. The 1974 budget act also requires that amendments to concurrent budget resolutions be germane. In the House, floor debate must be germane, and the first three hours of debate each day in the Senate must be germane to pending business.

Grandfather Clause: A provision in a bill or law exempting persons or other entities already engaged in an activity from new rules or legislation affecting that activity.

Grants: Payments by the federal government to states, local governments or individuals in support of specified programs, services, or activities.

Hearings: Committee sessions for hearing testimony from witnesses. At hearings on legislation, witnesses usually include specialists, government officials and spokesmen for persons or entities affected by the bill or bills under study. Committees sometimes use their subpoena power to summon reluctant witnesses. The public and press may attend open hearings, but are barred from closed or "executive" hearings.

Hold: (Senate only) An informal practice by which a Senator informs his or her floor leader that he or she does not wish a particular bill or other measure to reach the floor for consideration. The Majority Leader need not follow the Senator's wishes, but is on notice that the opposing Senator may filibuster any motion to proceed to consider the measure.

Hold-Harmless Clause: A provision added to legislation to ensure that recipients of federal funds do not receive less in a future year than they did in the current year if a new formula for allocating funds authorized by the legislation would result in a reduction to the recipients. This clause has been used most frequently to soften the impact of sudden reductions in federal grants.

Hopper: Box on House clerk’s desk where members deposit bills and resolutions to introduce them.

Hour Rule: (House only) A provision in the rules of the House that permits one hour of debate time for each member on amendments debated in the House of Representatives sitting as the House. The House normally amends bills while sitting as the Committee of the Whole, where the five-minute rule on amendments operates.

House: The House of Representatives, as distinct from the Senate, although each body is broadly referred to as a "house" of Congress.

House Calendar: (House only) A listing for action by the House of public bills reported by the House committees that do not directly or indirectly appropriate money or raise revenue when favorably reported by House committees.

Immunity: The constitutional privilege of members of Congress to make verbal statements on the floor and in committee for which they cannot be sued or arrested for slander or libel as well as freedom from arrest while traveling to or from sessions of Congress or on official business.

Impeachment: A procedure to remove from office public officials accused of misconduct. The procedure must be initiated and passed in the House, then is referred to as an article(s) of impeachment. The Senate must vote to pass the articles before the official is removed from office.

Impoundment: Any action taken by the executive branch that delays or precludes the obligation or expenditure of budget authority appropriated by Congress.

Joint Committee: A committee composed of an equal number of members of both the House and the Senate. A joint committee may be investigative or research oriented but does not have authority to report legislation. Standing joint committees are permanent joint committees established by law.

Joint Resolution: A joint resolution, designated HJ Res. or SJ Res. requires the approval of both houses and the signature of the president, just as a bill does, and has the force of law if approved. There is no practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution. A joint resolution generally is used to deal with limited matters, such as a single appropriation.

Joint Session: When the House and Senate meet together to conduct formal business or to hear an address by various dignitaries, foreign leaders, or the President of the United States.

Journal: The official record of the proceedings of the House and Senate. The Journal records the actions taken in each chamber, but unlike the Congressional Record, it does not include the substantially verbatim report of speeches, debates, and statements. The Constitution requires each house to maintain a journal; the House has one and the Senate has four.

"Lame Duck": When Congress (or either chamber) reconvenes in an even-numbered year following the November general elections to consider various items of business. Some lawmakers who return for this session will not be in the next Congress. Hence, they are informally called "lame duck" Members participating in a "lame duck" session. The President of the United States may also be a "lame duck" if he has lost an election or is ineligible to run for an additional term.

Law: An act of Congress that has been signed by the president or passed over his veto by Congress. Public bills, when signed, become public laws, and are cited by the letters PL and a hyphenated number. The digits before the hyphen correspond to the Congress, and the one or more digits after the hyphen refer to the numerical sequence in which the bills were signed by the president during that Congress.

Layover: Informal term for a period of delay required by rule. For example, when a bill or other measure is reported from committee, it may be considered on the floor only after it "lies over" for one legislative day and after the written report has been available for two calendar days. Layover periods may be waived by unanimous consent.

Legislative Session: That part of the Senate's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and related actions).

Legislative Veto: A procedure, as of 1983 no longer allowed, which permitted either the House or Senate, or both chamber, to review proposed executive branch regulations or actions and to block or modify those with which they disagreed.

Line Item Veto: Authority to veto part rather than all of an appropriations act. The President does not now have line-item-veto authority. He must sign or veto the entire appropriations act.

Loan Guarantee: Loans to third parties for which the federal government in the event of default guarantees, in whole or in part, the repayment of principal or interest to a lender or holder of a security.

Lobby: A group seeking to influence the passage or defeat of legislation. Lobbying may include direct attempts to influence lawmakers through personal interviews and persuasion as well as indirect, or "grass-roots," influence such as persuading members of a group to write or visit their local elected officials or attempting to create a climate of opinion favorable to a desired legislative goal. The right to attempt to influence legislation is based on the First Amendment to the Constitution, which says "Congress shall make no law…abridging the right of the people to petition the government for redress of grievances."

Majority Leader: The majority leader is elected by his/her party colleagues. In the Senate, the majority leader, in collaboration with the minority leader, directs the legislation schedule for the chamber. Each is his/her party’s spokesperson and chief strategist. In the House, the majority leader is the Speaker’s principal assistant who gathers political intelligence, assisted by a team of party whips.

Manager’s Amendment: Usually an amendment in the nature of a substitute voted into place before a bill is reported to the floor of the House or Senate. The Chairman of the committee reporting the bill is often referred to as the bill’s "manager."

Mandatory Spending: Spending controlled by laws other than annual appropriations acts.

Manual: The official handbook of each house that details its organization, rules, and operations.

Markup: The process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, rewrite, and insert new text into proposed legislation in committee or subcommittee. If the bill is extensively amended, the new version may be introduced as a separate, "clean" bill, with a new number, before being reported to the full House or Senate.

Measure: Term implying bill, resolution or other matter on which Congress takes action.

Minority Leader: Floor leader and chief spokesperson for the minority party in each chamber, elected by the members of that party and responsible for devising the party’s political and procedural strategy.

Morning Hour (Morning Business): The time set-aside at the beginning of each legislative day for consideration of regular, routine business.

Motion: In the House or Senate chamber, a request by a member to institute any one of a wide array of parliamentary actions. The member "moves" for a certain procedure, such as the consideration of a measure. The precedence of motions, and whether they are debatable, is set forth in the House and Senate manuals.

Motion to Proceed to Consider: A motion, usually offered by the Majority Leader or Speaker, to bring a bill or other measure up for consideration. The usual way of bringing a measure to the floor when unanimous consent to do so cannot be obtained.

"Must Pass" Bill: A vitally important measure that Congress must enact, such as annual money bills to fund operations of the government. Because of their must-pass quality, these measures often attract riders (unrelated policy amendments).

Nominations: (Senate only) Presidential appointments to office subject to Senate confirmation. Although most nominations win quick Senate approval, some are controversial and become the topic of hearings and debate.

Nongermane Amendment: An amendment that would add new, different, and possibly irrelevant subject matter to the measure it seeks to amend.

Off-Budget Entities: The budget authority, expenditures, and receipts of certain federal entities that have been excluded from budget totals under provisions of law. At present, off-budget entities include the Social Security trust funds and the Postal Service.

One-Minute Speeches: (House only) Addresses by House members at the beginning of a legislative day. The speeches may cover any subject but are limited to one minute.

Override a Veto: The override of a Presidential veto requires a recorded vote with a two-thirds majority in each chamber. The question to put to each house is "Shall the bill pass, the objections of the president to the contrary notwithstanding?" Historically, Congress has overridden fewer than ten percent of all presidential vetoes.

Oversight Committee: A congressional committee, or designated subcommittee of a committee, that is charged with general oversight of one or more federal agencies activities. Usually, the oversight panel for a particular agency also is the authorizing committee for that agency’s programs and operations.

Passage: The concluding favorable vote on a measure.

Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Process: A process established by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 to ensure that direct spending and revenue legislation do not add to the deficit. PAYGO requires that direct spending or revenue legislation increasing the deficit be offset or a presidential sequester of resources in certain spending accounts will occur. Emergency needs agreed to by the president and Congress may be exempted from the requirement.

Permanent Appropriation: Budget authority that becomes available as the result of previously enacted legislation and does not require current action by Congress. Budget authority is considered to be "current" if provided in the current session of Congress and "permanent" if provided in prior sessions.

Pocket Veto: A maneuver by the President where his or her veto is withheld until after final adjournment of Congress, thereby denying Congress an opportunity to meet and override the veto.

Point of Order: An objection raised by a member, in committee or on the floor, that the chamber is departing from rules governing its conduct of business. The objector cites the rule violated, and the chair rules either to sustain or overrule the point of order. In the House, these rulings may not be appealed, but in the Senate they are routinely appealed and put to a vote by the entire Senate.

Political Action Committees (PAC’s): Groups organized to promote their views on selected political issues, usually through raising money to contribute to political candidates currently or potentially supportive of those views.

Popular Name: The descriptive names given to laws, also referred to as short titles.

President of the Senate: Under the Constitution, the Vice President of the United States presides over the Senate and is allowed to cast a vote in the event of a tie. In his or her absence, the President Pro Tempore, or a senator designated by the President Pro Tempore, presides over the Senate.

President Pro Tempore: (Senate only) Under the Constitution, the chief officer of the Senate in the absence of the Vice President, elected by his or her Senate colleagues. Usually the majority party senator with the longest period of continuous service.

President’s Budget: A non-binding report sent to Congress by the President in January of each year, including estimates in the federal government’s receipts and expenditures for the coming fiscal year as well as recommendations on appropriations.

Presidential Signature: A proposed law passed by Congress must be presented to the President, who then has 10 days to approve or disapprove it. The President signs bills he or she supports, making them law and vetoes a bill by returning it to the house in which it began, usually with a written message. Normally, bills the President neither signs nor vetoes automatically become law within 10 days.

Private Law: A private bill enacted into law. Private laws have restricted applicability, often addressing immigration and naturalization issues affecting individuals.

Pro Forma Session: A brief meeting (sometimes only several seconds) of Congress in which no business is conducted. It is usually held to satisfy the constitutional obligation that neither chamber can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other.

Proposed Rules: Notices to the public of possible new rules and regulations, giving interested parties an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking prior to the adoption of the final rules.

Proxy Voting: The practice of allowing a Members to cast a vote in committee for a absent Members.

Public Laws: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.

Quorum: The minimum number of members whose presence is necessary for the transaction of business. In the Senate and House, it is a majority of the membership. A quorum is 100 in the Committee of the Whole House. Both houses usually assume a quorum is present even if it is not; however, should a point of order be made that a quorum is not present, a motion must be made to either adjourn or to request the attendance of the absentees.

Quorum Call: A roll call to establish whether a quorum is present. If any member suggests the absence of a quorum, the Presiding Officer must direct the roll to be called. Often, a quorum call is terminated by unanimous consent before completion, which permits Congress to use the quorum call to obtain a brief delay to work out some difficulty or await a member’s arrival.

Ranking Minority Member: The highest ranking (and usually longest serving) minority member of a committee or subcommittee. Ranking Members usually have the authority to hire minority committee staff, disburse minority committee funds, appoint minority Members to conference committees, and act as minority floor managers for committee bills on the floor.

Receipts: Collections from the public and from payments by participants in certain social insurance and other Federal programs. These collections consist primarily of tax revenues and social insurance premiums, but also include receipts from court fines, certain fees, and deposits of earnings by the Federal Reserve System.

Recess: A temporary interruption during a day’s proceedings that does not interrupt unfinished business. The rules in each house direct matters to be taken up and disposed of at the beginning of each legislative day. The House usually adjourns from day to day. The Senate often recesses, thus meeting on the same legislative day for several calendar days or even weeks at a time.

Recognition: The power of recognition of a member is lodged in the Speaker of the House, the presiding officer of the Senate, or the chair of a Committee.

Recommit to Committee: A motion, made on the floor after a bill has been debated, to return it to the committee that reported it. If approved, recommittal usually kills a bill.

Reconciliation: The 1974 budget act provides for a "reconciliation" procedure for bringing existing tax and spending laws into conformity with caps enacted in the congressional budget resolutions. Under the procedure, Congress instructs designated legislative committees to approve measures that adjust revenues and expenditures by a certain amount. The committees have the discretion of deciding what changes are made. The recommendations of the various committees are consolidated without change by the budget committees into an omnibus reconciliation bill, which must be approved by both houses of Congress.

Reconciliation Bill: A bill containing changes pursuant to reconciliation instructions in a budget resolution. If the instructions pertain to only one committee in a chamber, that committee reports the reconciliation bill. If the instructions pertain to more than one committee, the Budget Committee reports an omnibus reconciliation bill, but it may not make substantive changes in the recommendations of the other committees.

Recorded Vote: A vote upon which each member’s stand is individually made known. In the Senate, this is accomplished through a roll call of the entire membership, to which each senator on the floor must answer "yea," "nay" or, if he or she does not wish to vote, "present." The House uses an electronic voting system for recorded votes, including "yea" and "nay" votes formerly taken by roll calls.

Referral: The assignment of a bill to a committee or committees for consideration.

Report: A committee that has been examining a bill referred to it by the parent chamber "reports" its findings and recommendations to the chamber when it completes consideration and returns the measure. The process is called "reporting" a bill.

Rescission: An item in an appropriations bill rescinding or canceling budget authority previously appropriated but not spent or the repeal of a previous appropriation by Congress at the request of the president.

Rider: The popular name for non-germane amendments whose sponsors hope to secure passage by including in other legislation whose passage is otherwise likely or essential. Riders become law if the bills embodying them are enacted. The House, unlike the Senate, has a strict germaneness rule; thus, riders usually are Senate devices to get legislation enacted quickly or to bypass lengthy House consideration, and possibly opposition.

Roll Call Vote: A vote in which each member votes "yea" or "nay" as his or her name is called by the Clerk, so that the names of members voting on each side are recorded.

Rules: A standing order governing the conduct of House or Senate business that is listed among the permanent rules of either chamber. The rules deal with duties of officers, the order of business, admission to the floor, parliamentary procedures on handling amendments and voting, jurisdictions of committees, etc. In the House, a rule also may be a resolution reported by its Rules Committee to govern the handling of a particular bill on the floor. A rule sets the time limit on general debate and may waive points of order against provisions of the bill in question, such as non-germane language, or against certain amendments intended to be proposed. It may even forbid all amendments or all amendments except those proposed by the legislative committee that handled the bill. In this instance, it is known as a "closed" or "gag" rule as opposed to an "open" rule, which puts no limitation on floor amendments, thus leaving the bill completely open to alteration by the adoption of germane amendments.

Scorekeeping: A procedure used by the Congressional Budget Office for up-to-date tabulations of congressional actions on bills and resolutions that provide new budget authority and outlays or change revenues and the public debt for a fiscal year.

Select or Special Committee: A committee set up for a special purpose usually for a limited time by resolution of either the House or Senate. Most (but not all) special committees are investigative and lack legislative authority; legislation is not referred to them and they cannot report bills to their parent chamber.

Senate: One of the two "Houses of Congress."

Seniority: The status given Members according to their length of service, which entitles a Member with greater seniority to preferential treatment in matters such as committee assignments.

Sequestration: The cancellation of expenditures previously approved by the budgeting process. Sequestration may occur in response to the enactment of appropriations that cause a breach in the discretionary spending limits or the enactment of spending legislation that causes a net increase in the deficit.

Session: The period during which Congress assembles and carries on its regular business. Each Congress generally has two regular sessions (a first and second session), based on the constitutional mandate that Congress assemble at least once each year.

Simple Resolution: Designated "H. Res." or "S. Res.," simple resolutions are used to express nonbinding positions of one house.

Speaker: The presiding officer of the House of Representatives, selected by the caucus of the party to which he or she belongs and formally elected by the whole House.

Special Session: A session of Congress after it has adjourned sine die, completing its regular session. The president convenes special sessions.

Standing Vote: A non-recorded vote used in both the House and Senate. (A standing vote is also called a division vote.) Members in favor of a proposal stand and are counted by the presiding officer. Then members opposed stand and are counted. There is no record of how individual members voted.

Statutes At Large: A chronological arrangement of the laws enacted in each session of Congress.

Statutory Limit on the Public Debt: The maximum amount, established in law, of public debt that can be outstanding. The limit covers virtually all debt incurred by the Federal Government (primarily the Treasury Department), including borrowing from trust funds, but excludes some debt incurred by agencies.

Strike from the Record: Remarks made on the house floor may offend some member, who moves that the offending words be "taken down" for the Speaker’s cognizance, and then expunged from the debate as published in the Congressional Record.

Subcommittee: Subsidiary committee established for the purpose of dividing the committee's workload. Recommendations of a subcommittee must be approved by the full committee before being reported to the floor. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (HTIC) and The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (SCST) both have Aviation Subcommittees.

Supplemental Appropriations Bill: Legislation appropriating funds after the regular annual appropriation bill for a federal department or agency has been enacted. A supplemental appropriation provides additional budget authority beyond original estimates for programs or activities, including new programs authorized after the enactment of the regular appropriation act, for which the need for funds is too urgent to be postponed until enactment of the next year’s regular appropriation bill.

Surplus: The amount by which receipts exceed expenditures in a given fiscal period.

Suspend the Rules: Often a timesaving procedure for passing bills in the House. The wording of the motion is "I move to suspend the rules and pass bill . . ." A favorable vote by two-thirds of those present is required for passage. Debate is limited to 40 minutes and no amendments from the floor are permitted. If a two-thirds favorable vote is not attained, the bill may be considered later under regular procedures.

Table a Bill: Motions to table, or to "lay on the table", are used to block or kill amendments or other parliamentary questions. When approved, a tabling motion is considered the final disposition of that issue. One of the most widely used parliamentary procedures, the motion to table is not debatable and adoption requires a simple majority vote. In the Senate, different language is sometimes used. The motion may be worded to let a bill "lie on the table", perhaps for subsequent "picking up". This motion is more flexible, keeping the bill pending for later action, if desired.

Trust Funds: Funds collected by the Federal Government, such as the Airport and Airways Trust Fund, for use in carrying out specific purposes and programs according to terms of a trust agreement or statute.

Unanimous Consent: Proceedings of the House or Senate and action on legislation often take place upon the unanimous consent of the chamber, whether or not a rule of the chamber is being violated. Unanimous consent is used to expedite floor action and frequently is used for routing procedural requests. They may be denied by a single objection. Unanimous consent has been reached when the chair states, "Without objection, so ordered."

Unanimous Consent Agreement: (Senate only) A device used to expedite legislation in the Senate. An agreement may list the order in which various bills are to be considered, specify the length of time bills and contested amendments are to be debated and when they are to be voted upon and, frequently, require that all amendments introduced be germane to the bill under consideration. In this regard, unanimous consent agreements are similar to the "rules" issued by the House Rules Committee for bills pending in the House.

U.S. Code: A consolidation and codification of the permanent laws of the United States, arranged by subject under 50 titles, the first six dealing with general or political subjects, and the other 44 alphabetically arranged from agriculture to war.

User Fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the Federal Government. In levying or authorizing these fees, Congress determines whether the revenue should go into the Treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.

Veto: Disapproval by the president of a bill or joint resolution (other than a measure proposing an amendment to the Constitution.) When Congress is in session, the president must veto a bill within 10 days, excluding Sundays, after he has received it; otherwise, it becomes law without his signature. When the president vetoes a bill, he returns it to the house of origin along with a "veto message," stating his objections. The President also has the power of a "pocket veto," where he or she delays addressing the bill until after final adjournment, denying Congress an opportunity to meet and override a veto.

Vice President: Under the Constitution, the Vice President serves as President of the Senate. He may vote in the Senate in the case of a tie, but is not required to. The President Pro Tempore (and others designated by him) usually perform these duties during the Vice President's frequent absences from the Senate.

Voice Vote: In the House or Senate, members answer "aye" or "no" in chorus, and the presiding officer decides the result. The term is also used loosely to indicate action by unanimous consent or without objection.

Vote: Unless rules specify otherwise, Congress may agree to any question by a majority of Members voting, if a quorum is present. The Chair puts each question by voice vote unless the "yeas and nays" are requested, in which case a roll call vote must occur.

Whips: Members who serve as assistants to the majority or minority leaders. The "Majority Whip" and "Minority Whip" monitor the positions of their party’s members on issues, maintain vote counts, help marshal forces in support of party strategies and legislation, seek to persuade their members to vote with the party, and round them up for important votes.

Without Objection: Used in lieu of a vote on non-controversial motions, amendments or bills that may be passed in either the House or Senate if no member voices an objection.

Witness: Anyone appearing before a congressional committee to give testimony to and answer questions from members of the committee. Usually government officials, spokespersons for trade or professional organizations, and industry experts.

Yeas and Nays: The Constitution requires that yea-and-nay votes be taken and recorded when requested by one-fifth of the members present. In the House, the Speaker determines whether one-fifth of the members present requested a vote. In the Senate, this practice requires only 11 members. The Constitution requires the yeas and nays on a veto override attempt.

Yield the Floor: A Member who has been recognized to speak yields the floor when he or she completes his or her remarks and terminates his or her recognition.

Yield Time: When the Senate (by unanimous consent) or the House (by decision of the Rules Committee) limits debate, placing debate time under control of floor managers, a member may be recognized to speak only if a manager yields the member a specified amount of time to speak. The Chair then recognizes the member receiving the time, not the manager who yields the time, to hold the floor.

Yielding: When a member has been recognized to speak, no other member may speak unless he obtains permission from the member recognized. This permission is called yielding, and is usually requested in the form, "Will the gentleman or gentlewoman yield to me?"