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Vote-a-rama
A "vote-a-rama" (or "vote-arama", "vote-athon") is a procedure in the United States Senate that allows senators to propose an unlimited number of amendments to budget-related measures. After brief debate, the amendments are each voted on in rapid succession. Vote-a-ramas have been a fixture of Senate budget and reconciliation bills since the 1990s. They are primarily a political messaging tool, as they allow individual senators to force votes on divisive or controversial amendments that would not ordinarily be allowed by the majority leader. History In the United States Senate, vote-a-ramas have been a feature of the consideration of budget resolutions and reconciliation bills since the 1980s, and they became a fixture since conflict between the political parties intensified in the mid-1990s. The term "vote-a-rama" appears to have been coined by Senator Trent Lott, then the Republican majority whip, in 1996. The practice of vote-a-rama developed by custom through agreements ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Procedures Of The United States Congress
Procedures of the United States Congress are established ways of doing legislative business. Congress has two-year terms with one session each year. There are rules and procedures, often complex, which guide how it converts ideas for legislation into laws. Sessions A term of Congress is divided into two " sessions", one for each year; Congress has occasionally also been called into an extra, (or special) session (the Constitution requires Congress to meet at least once each year). A new session commences each year on January 3, unless Congress chooses another date. Before the Twentieth Amendment, Congress met from the first Monday in December to April or May in the first session of their term (the "long session"); and from December to March 4 in the second "short session". (The new Congress would then meet for some days, for the inauguration, swearing in new members, and organization.) The Constitution forbids either house from meeting any place outside the United States Cap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byrd Rule
Budget reconciliation is a special parliamentary procedure of the United States Congress set up to expedite the passage of certain budgetary legislation in the United States Senate. The procedure overrides the filibuster rules in the Senate, which may otherwise require a 60-vote supermajority for passage by the Senate. Bills described as reconciliation bills can pass the Senate by a simple majority of 51 votes or 50 votes plus the Vice President's as the tie-breaker. The reconciliation procedure also applies to the House of Representatives, but it has minor significance there, as the rules of the House of Representatives do not have a ''de facto'' supermajority requirement. Due to greater polarization, gridlock, and filibustering in the Senate in recent years, budget reconciliation has come to play an important role in how the United States Congress legislates. Budget reconciliation bills can deal with spending, revenue, and the federal debt limit, and the Senate can pass one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Budget Resolution
The United States budget process is the framework used by Congress and the President of the United States to formulate and create the United States federal budget. The process was established by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and additional budget legislation. Prior to 1974, Congress had no formal process for establishing a federal budget. When President Richard Nixon began to refuse to spend funds that Congress had allocated, they adopted a more formal means by which to challenge him. The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 created the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which gained more control of the budget, limiting the power of the President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Act passed easily while the administration was embroiled in the Watergate scandal and was unwilling to provoke Congress. Discretionary spending Discretionary spending requires an annual appropriation bill, which is a piece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Budget Process
The United States budget process is the framework used by Congress and the President of the United States to formulate and create the United States federal budget. The process was established by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and additional budget legislation. Prior to 1974, Congress had no formal process for establishing a federal budget. When President Richard Nixon began to refuse to spend funds that Congress had allocated, they adopted a more formal means by which to challenge him. The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 created the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which gained more control of the budget, limiting the power of the President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Act passed easily while the administration was embroiled in the Watergate scandal and was unwilling to provoke Congress. Discretionary spending Discretionary spending requires an annual appropriation bill, which is a piece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reconciliation (United States Congress)
Budget reconciliation is a special parliamentary procedure of the United States Congress set up to expedite the passage of certain budgetary legislation in the United States Senate. The procedure overrides the filibuster rules in the Senate, which may otherwise require a 60-vote supermajority for passage by the Senate. Bills described as reconciliation bills can pass the Senate by a simple majority of 51 votes or 50 votes plus the Vice President's as the tie-breaker. The reconciliation procedure also applies to the House of Representatives, but it has minor significance there, as the rules of the House of Representatives do not have a ''de facto'' supermajority requirement. Due to greater polarization, gridlock, and filibustering in the Senate in recent years, budget reconciliation has come to play an important role in how the United States Congress legislates. Budget reconciliation bills can deal with spending, revenue, and the federal debt limit, and the Senate can pass one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Budget Resolution
The United States budget process is the framework used by Congress and the President of the United States to formulate and create the United States federal budget. The process was established by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and additional budget legislation. Prior to 1974, Congress had no formal process for establishing a federal budget. When President Richard Nixon began to refuse to spend funds that Congress had allocated, they adopted a more formal means by which to challenge him. The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 created the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which gained more control of the budget, limiting the power of the President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Act passed easily while the administration was embroiled in the Watergate scandal and was unwilling to provoke Congress. Discretionary spending Discretionary spending requires an annual appropriation bill, which is a piece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roll Call (vote)
Deliberative assemblies – bodies that use parliamentary procedure to arrive at decisions – use several methods of voting on motions (formal proposal by members of a deliberative assembly that the assembly take certain action). The regular methods of voting in such bodies are a voice vote, a rising vote, and a show of hands. Additional forms of voting include a recorded vote and balloting. Regular methods Voice vote ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'' (RONR) states that a voice vote (''viva voce'') is the usual method of voting on any motion that does not require more than a majority vote for its adoption. It is considered the simplest and quickest of voting methods used by deliberative assemblies. The chair of the assembly will put the question to the assembly, asking first for those in favor of the motion to indicate so verbally ("aye" or "yes"), and then ask those opposed to the motion to indicate so verbally ("no"). The chair will then estimate which side had more me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congressional Research Service
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a confidential, nonpartisan basis. CRS is sometimes known as Congress' think tank due to its broad mandate of providing research and analysis on all matters relevant to national policymaking. CRS has roughly 600 employees reflecting a wide variety of expertise and disciplines, including lawyers, economists, reference librarians, and scientists. In the 2016 fiscal year, it was appropriated a budget of roughly $106.9 million by Congress. CRS was founded during the height of the Progressive Era as part of a broader effort to professionalize the government by providing independent research and information to public officials. Its work was initially made available to the public, but between 1952 and 2018 was restricted only to members of Congr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Filling The Tree
In the United States Senate, filling the tree is a procedure by which the majority leader can prevent amendments to a piece of legislation from being voted on. This is done by filling all possible opportunities for amendments by amendments of the leader's choosing. It is not a new tactic, but saw a significant increase in usage under Harry Reid. Procedure The Senate majority leader has a traditional right to be recognized first for the purposes of offering amendments on legislation. The term itself is a colloquial name for the diagram used to show the priority given to amendments to a bill. The trunk of the tree represents the bill, while the branches reflect the corresponding amendments. Majority leaders fill the tree to introduce first- and second-degree amendments that block other senators from offering further amendments because the Senate cannot move on to another amendment without unanimous consent or overcoming a filibuster on the motion to put the other amendment before the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cloture
Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ''Clôture'' is French for "the act of terminating something". It was introduced into the Parliament of the United Kingdom by William Ewart Gladstone to overcome the obstructionism of the Irish Parliamentary Party and was made permanent in 1887. It was subsequently adopted by the United States Senate and other legislatures. The name ''cloture'' remains in the United States; in Commonwealth countries it is usually ''closure'' or, informally, ''guillotine''; in the United Kingdom ''closure'' and ''guillotine'' are distinct motions. Australia In Australia, the procedure by which finite debating times for particular bills are set, or protracted debates are brought to a close, is referred to as a "guillotine" or “gag”. Generally, a minist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sponsor (legislative)
A sponsor or patron is a person, usually a legislator, who presents a bill or resolution to a legislature for consideration. Those who support it are known as cosponsors (sometimes co-sponsors) or copatrons. U.S. Congress A sponsor in the United States Congress is the first member of the House or Senate to be listed among the potentially numerous lawmakers who introduce a bill for consideration. Committees A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ... are occasionally identified as sponsors of legislation as well. A sponsor is also sometimes called a "primary sponsor." In contrast to a sponsor, a "cosponsor" is a senator or representative who adds their name as a supporter to the sponsor's bill. An "initial cosponsor" or "original cosponsor" is a senator or representative who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology or the will of their donors or constituents. Whips are the party's "enforcers". They try to ensure that their fellow political party legislators attend voting sessions and vote according to their party's official policy. Members who vote against party policy may "lose the whip", being effectively expelled from the party. The term is taken from the "whipper-in" during a hunt, who tries to prevent hounds from wandering away from a hunting pack. Additionally, the term "whip" may mean the voting instructions issued to legislators, or the status of a certain legislator in their party's parliamentary grouping. Etymology The expression ''whip'' in its parliamentary context, derived from its origins in hunting terminology. The ''Oxford English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
