Glossary

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 Chairperson

The leader of a committee orsubcommittee. Chosen by the majority party in that chamber of congress. Most often the senior members of that party get appointed as chairpersons.

 Conference Committee

A Joint committee made up of members in both chambers of the Congress. Their job is to work out thedifferences in both versions of a bill.

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Just role your mouse over or click the word to learn its meaning.

 Full House

The full house refers to when all the Representatives come together for a debate on a piece of legislation. It is also refereed to as a committee of the whole.

 Full Senate

Referes to All or a quorum of the senators making decisions and taking actions on a bill.

 Lawology

Theultimateguide to how a bill becomes law.

 Markup

This is a term used my congresspersons to refere toamendmentsmade to a bill. The term originated form the pencil marks thecongresspersonsmake on a bill.

 Parliamentarian

The refere of the senate. There job is to make sure that everyone is following the ruler of the senate. And they deal thebureaucracyof the senate by deciding what committeenewlyintroducedbills are sent to.

 Pocket Veto

A special power where the President literally does not do anything with the bill. The President has 10 days to do something. If he doesn't do anything, the bill expires.

 Quorum of the Representatives

One hundred representatives must be present for any decision making to take place.

 Quorum of the Senators

A majority or 51 senators need to be present for decision making to be made.

 Reported

The term used by congresspersons when a bill passes committee and is "reported" or sent to the Rules Committee or Senate Leadership depending on which house you are in.

 Rules Committee

The House Committee on Rules is the committee responsible for setting debate guidelines and times.

 Speaker of the House

The leader of the House of Representatives. Selected by the majority party and acts as the voice of the House of Representatives.

 Veto

The power given to the President where he can kill any bill that passes Congress and makes it to his desk. His veto can beoverturnedby a 2/3 majority vote in Congress.