Glossary of Congressional Terms >
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The sources for this glossary include the
US Senate and the Congressional
Deskbook.
Date
Shifting:
One of the budgetary maneuvers used by
Congress. Congress can shift scheduled payments for contracts, or
even for federal employee salaries, by a few days in order to move
expenditures from one fiscal year to another. For example, a
payment scheduled for September 30, 2005, delayed a day to October 1,
2005, would shift the cost from the books of fiscal year 2005 to fiscal
year 2006. (Source: CQ Today)
Deferral:
Executive branch action to defer, or delay, the spending of appropriated money. The
1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act requires a special message from the
president to Congress reporting a proposed deferral of spending. Deferrals may not extend
beyond the end of the fiscal year in which the message is transmitted. A federal district
court in 1986 struck down the presidents authority to defer spending for policy
reasons; a federal appeals court upheld the ruling in 1987. Congress can and has
prohibited proposed deferrals by enacting a law doing so; most often cancellations of
proposed deferrals are included in appropriations bills.
At present, the president may defer funds only
for limited reasons set forth in the Antideficiency Act: to provide for contingencies, or
to achieve savings made possible through changes in requirements or efficiency of
operations. The president may not defer funds for policy rescissions. (See also Rescission.)
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Deficit
(Surplus):
The amount by which outlays exceed receipts in a given fiscal period. (A surplus would be
the amount by which receipts exceed outlays.)
Degrees
of Amendment:
Designations that indicate the relationship of an amendment to the
text of a measure and of one amendment to another. Amendments are
permitted only in two degrees.
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. House rules outlaw dilatory motions, but enforcement
is largely within the discretion of the Speaker or chairman of the Committee of the Whole.
The Senate does not have a rule banning dilatory motions, except under cloture. The
tactics include, among others, demanding quorum calls and votes at every opportunity.
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Direct
Spending:
Budget authority, and the resulting outlays,
provided in laws other than appropriations acts. (See also Entitlement
Program; contrast to Discretionary
Spending.)
Directed
Scoring:
Congress can order budget scorekeepers
to estimate the cost of a spending proposal a certain way to make it
appear less expensive. (Source: CQ Today)
Disagree:
To reject an amendment of the other chamber.
Discharge a
Committee:
To remove a measure from committee to which it has been returned in order to make it
available for floor consideration. This is attempted more often in the House than in the
Senate, and the procedure rarely is successful.
In the House, if a committee does not report a
bill within 30 days after the measure is referred to it, any member may file a discharge
motion. Once offered, the motion is treated as a petition needing the signatures of 218
members (a majority of the House.) After the required signatures have been obtained, there
is a delay of seven days. Thereafter, on the second and fourth Mondays of each month,
except during the last six days of a session, any member may enter a motion to discharge
the committee. The motion is handled like any other discharge petition in the House.
Occasionally, to expedite non-controversial
legislative business, a committee is discharged by unanimous consent of the House, and a
petition is not required. (Senate Procedure, see Discharge
Resolution.)
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Discharge
Calendar:
The House calendar to which motions to discharge committees are referred when they
have the required number of signatures (218) and are awaiting floor action. Short title
for it is Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committee.
Discharge
Petition:
(See also Discharge a Committee.)
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Discharge
Resolution:
A special motion in the Senate that any senator may introduce to relieve a committee
from consideration of a bill before it. The resolution can be called up for Senate
approval or disapproval in the same manner as any other Senate business. (House
procedure, see Discharge a Committee.)
Discretionary
Appropriations:
Appropriations not mandated by existing law and therefore made available annually in
appropriation bills in such amounts as Congress chooses. As defined by the Budget
Enforcement Act of 1990, it refers to budget authority - and the outlays derived from it -
provided in the annual appropriations acts, other than appropriated entitlements.
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Discretionary
Spending:
Spending (budget authority and outlays) controlled in annual appropriations acts.
(Contrast to Direct Spending.)
Discretionary
Spending Limits:
Ceilings or "caps" on budget authority and outlays for discretionary
spending programs as set by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. Congressional rules and
sequestration procedures enforce these spending limits. Discretionary spending limits
apply to three categories for fiscal years 1991-93 (domestic, defense, and international
affairs) and to total discretionary spending for fiscal years 1994-95.
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Division
of a Question for Voting:
A practice that is more common in the Senate but also is used in the House whereby a
member may demand a division of an amendment or a motion for purposes of amendment. The
individual parts are voted on separately when a 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.
Division Vote:
(See also Standing Vote.)
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Earmark:
For expenditures, an amount set aside within
an appropriations account for a specified purpose.
Electronic Vote:
A vote in the House using electronic voting machines. Members insert
voting cards into one of the devices located throughout the House chamber.
"Emergency" Spending:
Spending with the "emergency" designation does not count against
budget caps. While often used for one-time, unforeseen events,
this designation has also been used to circumvent budget limits. For
example, spending for the census has been designated as "emergency"
spending. (Source: CQ Today)
En Bloc
Amendment:
Several amendments offered as a group after obtaining unanimous consent.
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.
Enacting Clause:
Key phrase in bills beginning "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives . . ." A successful motion to strike it from legislation kills the
measure.
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Engrossed Bill/Engrossed Measure:
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. An enrolled bill is
printed on parchment.
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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. Entitlements constitute
a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have
legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans'
compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
Entitlement
Authority:
A provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that
meets the eligibility requirements established by such law. Entitlements constitute a
binding obligation on the part of the federal government, and eligible recipients have
legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Entitlement legislation requires annual
appropriations unless the existing appropriation is permanent. Examples of entitlement
programs are Social Security benefits and veterans compensation.
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Entitlement
Program:
A federal program that guarantees a certain level of benefits to persons or other
entities who meet requirements set by law, such as Social Security, farm price supports or
unemployment benefits. It thus leaves no discretion with Congress on how much money to
appropriate, and some entitlements carry permanent appropriations.
Executive
Business:
Nominations and treaties; called executive business because these categories of
business are received by the Senate from the president, rather than introduced by
senators.
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Executive Calendar:
This is a non-legislative calendar in the Senate on which presidential documents such
as treaties and nominations are listed.
Executive
Communication:
A message sent to the Senate by the president or other executive branch official.
Presidential veto messages are an example of an "executive communication."
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Executive Document:
A document, usually a treaty, sent to the Senate by the president for approval.
Executive documents are identified for each session of Congress as Executive A, 101st
Congress, 1st Session; Executive B, etc. They are referred to committee in the
same manner as other measures. Unlike legislative documents, however, treaties dont
die at the end of a Congress but remain "live" proposals until acted on by the
Senate or withdrawn by the president.
Executive
Session:
(1) A meeting of a Senate or House committee (or occasionally of either chamber) that
only its members may attend. Witnesses regularly appear at committee meetings in executive
session - for example, Defense Department officials during presentations of classified
defense information. Other members of Congress may be invited, but the public and press
are not allowed to attend.
(2) A Senate meeting devoted to the consideration
of treaties and nominations.
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Ex Officio:
Literally, by virtue of one's office. The term refers to the practice under Senate
rules 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 one,
two or more years earlier.
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Fast-Track
Procedures:
Procedures that circumvent or speed up all or part of the legislative
process. Some rule-making statues prescribe expedited procedures for certain
measures, such as trade agreements.
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. The public debt comprises about 99 percent of the gross federal debt.
Federal Funds:
All monies collected and spent by the federal government other than
those designated as trust funds.
Filibuster:
A time-delaying tactic associated with the Senate and used by a minority in an effort
to delay, modify or defeat a bill or amendment that probably would pass if voted on
directly. The most common method is to take advantage of the Senates rules
permitting unlimited debate, but other forms of parliamentary maneuvering may be used. The
stricter rules of the House make filibusters more difficult, but delaying tactics are
employed occasionally through various procedural devices allowed by House rules. (Senate
Filibusters, see Cloture.)
Also see the CRS Reports discussing filibusters and cloture linked on
our Legislation and Legislatures page.
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Fiscal Year:
The federal governments annual accounting period. 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; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1,
2005 and
ends on September 30, 2006. (From fiscal year 1844 to fiscal year 1976, the fiscal
year began July 1 and ended the following June 30.) See
Title 31 U.S.C. Section 1102.
Five-Minute Rule:
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.
(See also Pro Forma Amendment.)
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Floor Amendment:
An amendment offered by an individual senator from the floor during consideration of a
bill or other measure, in contrast to a committee amendment.
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Floor Leaders:
The Majority Leader and Minority Leader are elected by their respective party conferences
to serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and to manage and schedule the
legislative and executive business of the Senate. By custom, the Presiding Officer gives
the floor leaders priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate.
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
the
chairmen or ranking members of the committee that reported the
legislation under debate. Managers are responsible for
apportioning the debate time divided between the parties (for general
debate in the House Committee of the Whole) or allocated between
supporters and opponents of the bill or amendments to it (under a Senate
time agreement). The ranking minority member
of the committee normally apportions time among minority party members
participating in debate.
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Frank:
A members facsimile signature, which is used on envelopes in lieu of stamps, for
the members official outgoing mail. The "franking privilege" is the right
to send mail postage-free.
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 national defense,
agriculture, health, etc.) that best represents its major purpose, regardless of the
agency administering the program. The functions do not correspond directly with
appropriations or with the budgets of individual agencies. (See also Budget Resolution.)
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|
A,B |
C |
D,E,F |
G,H,I,J,K |
L,M,N |
O,P,Q |
R |
S |
T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z |
The sources for this glossary include the US Senate
and the Congressional Deskbook.
URL: TheCapitol.Net/glossary/def.htm Last updated:
January 01, 2008
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