Act – A bill passed by the Senate and the House, and signed by the President or passed over his veto.
Ad Hoc Select Committee – A temporary committee formed for a special purpose or to deal with a specific subject.
Adjournment – The end of a legislative day. Regular adjournments set the date for the next meeting. Adjournment sine die (without a day) marks the end of the session, since it does not set a time for reconvening.
Administration Bill – A bill drafted in the executive office of the President or in an executive department or agency to implement part of the President’s program.
Administrative Assistant – The title usually given to a representative’s chief aide, political advisor, or head of office staff.
Advance Appropriation – In an appropriation act for a particular fiscal year, an appropriation that does not become available for spending or obligation until a subsequent fiscal year.
Advice and Consent – The Senate’s constitutional role in consenting to or rejecting the President’s nominations to executive branch and judicial offices and the treaties he submits. Confirmation of nominees requires a simple majority vote of the full Senate. Treaties must be approved by a two-thirds majority of senators present and voting.
Agency – Generic term for a governmental organization, such as a department, bureau, office, commission, board, administration, advisory council, and so forth.
Agency Debt – The debt incurred by federal agencies like the Export-Import Bank, but excluding the Treasury and the Federal Financing Bank, which are authorized by law to borrow funds from the public or from another government fund or account.
Aisle – The center aisle of each chamber. When facing the presiding officer, Republicans usually sit to the right of the aisle, Democrats to the left.
Amend – To formally modify by changing, adding to, or deleting from a bill or law.
Amendment – A proposal of a member of Congress to alter the language in a bill or in another 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 to replace the entire text of a measure. It strikes out everything after the enacting clause and inserts a version that may be somewhat, substantially, or entirely different.
Amendments Between the Houses – The basic method for reconciling House and Senate differences on a measure is passing it back and forth between them until both have agreed to identical language by means of amendments. The method is routinely used for relatively non-controversial measures and sometimes for major legislation that must be passed quickly.
Annual Authorization – Legislation that authorizes appropriations for a single fiscal year and usually for a specific amount. Under the rules of the authorization-appropriation process, an annually authorized agency or program must be reauthorized each year if it is to receive appropriations for that year.
Appeal – A member’s formal challenge of a ruling or decision by the presiding officer. On appeal, a house or a committee may overturn the ruling by a majority vote. The right of appeal ensures the body against arbitrary control by the chair.
Apportionment – The action, after each decennial census, of allocating the number of members in the House of Representatives to each state. By law, the total number of House members (not counting delegates and a resident commissioner) is fixed at 435. The number allotted to each state is based approximately on its proportion of the nation’s total population. Since the Constitution guarantees each state one representative no matter how small its population, exact proportional distribution is virtually impossible. The mathematical formula currently used to determine the apportionment is called the Method of Equal Proportions.
Appropriated Entitlement – An entitlement program, such as food stamps or veterans’ pensions, that is funded through annual appropriations rather than a permanent appropriation. Because such an entitlement law requires the government to provide eligible recipients the benefits to which they are entitled, whatever the cost, Congress must appropriate the necessary funds.
Appropriation – The amount of funding Congress provides for a program or line item in a given fiscal year. Language sometimes sets the terms under which funds may be spent.
Appropriation Bill – Legislation permitting the expenditure of monies approved by an authorization bill, but not necessarily the total permissible under the authorizing legislation. An appropriation bill originates in the House and normally is not acted on until its authorization measure is enacted.
Appropriation Limitation – A provision in an appropriations act establishing the maximum amount that may be obligated or spent for specified purposes.
Assignments – The committees and subcommittees on which a member serves.
At-Large – Elected by and representing an entire state instead of a district within a state. The term usually refers to a representative rather than to a senator.
Authorization Bill – Legislation that establishes or continues a federal program or agency, specifies its general goals and conduct, and usually sets a ceiling on the amount of money which can be appropriated for it.
Authorization-Appropriation Process – The two-stage procedural system that each house requires for establishing and funding federal agencies and programs. First, authorizing legislation is created that establishes or continues an agency or program. Second, enactment of appropriations legislation provides funds for the authorized agency or program.