This Glossary will remain as is and is no longer updated - please use the version on Hobnob Blog, located at CongressionalGlossary.com.

General Debate
Term for period of time at the beginning of proceedings in the Committee of the Whole to debate a measure. The time is generally divided equally between majority and minority floor managers.

Germane/Germaneness
Pertaining to the subject matter of the measure at hand. All House amendments must be germane to the bill being considered. The Senate requires that amendments be germane when they are proposed to general appropriation bills, bills being considered once cloture has been adopted, or, frequently, when proceeding under a unanimous consent agreement placing a time limit on consideration of a bill. 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.

Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Process
The process established by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Act (commonly known as the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings or GRH), as amended in 1987 and 1990. The process includes deficit targets and a procedure to sequester budgetary resources if the projected deficit is above the target. The Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 amended GRH to provide revised deficit targets for fiscal years 1991-95, and to establish discretionary spending limits and a pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) process affecting revenues and direct spending.

    back to top of G, H, I, J, K  glossary

Grandfather Clause
A provision exempting persons or other entities already engaged in an activity from new rules or legislation affecting that activity. Grandfather clauses sometimes are added to legislation to avoid antagonizing groups with established interests in the activities affected.

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

   back to top of G, H, I, J, K  glossary

Hearings
Committee sessions for taking 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. Hearings related to special investigations bring forth a variety of witnesses. 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. The vast majority of hearings are open to the public. (See also Executive Session.)

Hereby Rule
(See also Self-Executing Rule.)

Hold
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.

   back to top of G, H, I, J, K  glossary
 

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 in 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. (See also Bills Introduced.) 

   back to top of G, H, I, J, K  glossary

Hour Rule
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. Therefore, the House normally amends bills while sitting as the Committee of the Whole, where the five-minute rule on amendments operates. (See also Committee of the Whole, Five-Minute Rule.)

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

   back to top of G, H, I, J, K  glossary

House as in Committee of the Whole
A procedure that can be used to expedite consideration of certain measures such as continuing resolutions and, when there is debate, private bills. The procedure can only be invoked with the unanimous consent of the House or a rule from the Rules Committee. It has procedural elements of both the House sitting as the House of Representatives (the Speaker presiding and the previous question motion being in order) and the House sitting as the Committee of the Whole (the five-minute rule pertaining.)

House Calendar
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.

   back to top of G, H, I, J, K  glossary

Immunity
(1) 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. Also, freedom from arrest while traveling to or from sessions of Congress or on official business. Members in this status may be arrested only for treason, felonies or a breach of the peace, as defined by congressional manuals.

(2) In the case of a witness before a committee, a grant of protection from prosecution based on that person's testimony to the committee.

Impoundments
Any action taken by the executive branch that delays or precludes the obligation or expenditure of budget authority appropriated by Congress. The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974 was enacted after frequent use of impoundments by President Richard Nixon. In addition to creating the budget process currently used, the 1974 law established procedures for congressional approval or disapproval of temporary or permanent impoundments, which are called deferrals and rescissions.

Insert
Amendment to add new language to a measure or another amendment.

Insist
Motion by one chamber to reiterate its previous position during amendments between the chambers.

   back to top of G, H, I, J, K  glossary

Instruct Conferees
Formal action by one chamber urging its conferees to uphold a particular position in conference.

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

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. As of 1993 only four joint committees remain: Joint Economic, Joint Taxation, Joint Library, and Joint Printing. None has the authority to report legislation. Standing joint committees are permanent joint committees established by law. The law fixes the number of the majority and minority members from each house.

   back to top of G, H, I, J, K  glossary

Joint Explanatory Statement of Managers
Statement appended to a conference report explaining the conference agreement and the intent of the conferees.

Joint Meeting
An occasion, often ceremonial, when the House and Senate meet together to hear an address by various dignitaries, such as foreign leaders.

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 resolutions also are used to propose amendments to the Constitution in Congress. These do not require presidential signature, but become a part of the Constitution only when approved by two-thirds of each chamber of Congress and ratified by three-fourths of the states. (See also Bill.)

   back to top of G, H, I, J, K  glossary

Joint Session
When the House and Senate meet together to conduct formal business or to hear an address by 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, statements and the like. The Constitution requires each house to maintain a journal; the House has one and the Senate has four.   Senate rules stipulate that different Journals be kept for legislative and executive (treaties and nominations) proceedings, as well as for confidential legislative proceedings and proceedings when the Senate sits as a court for impeachment of high Federal officials.

   back to top of G, H, I, J, K  glossary

URL: TheCapitol.Net/glossary/ghijk.htm
 

Related Resources

Publications