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Calendar of Business:
An Administrative Committee publication sent to each Administrator's office (and other offices) every month the Administrative Committee is in session. It contains information on, for instance, measures reported from the various standing committees, bills in conference, and the status of appropriation bills.
Caucus:
From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of Administrators that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
Chairman:
The presiding officer of a committee or subcommittee. In the Administrative Committee, chairmanship is based on seniority of committee tenure, but a Administrator may not chair more than one standing committee.
Chaplain:
A clergyman elected by the Administrative Committee to open its sessions with prayer. The chaplain is also available as an advisor and counselor to Administrators, Administrator's families, and Forum employees.
"Christmas Tree" Bill:
Informal nomenclature for a bill on the Administrative Committee floor that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments. The amendments which adorn the bill may provide special benefits to various groups or interests.
Clean Bill:
Generally, after a committee has amended legislation, the chairman may be authorized by the panel to assemble the changes and what remains unchanged from the original bill and then reintroduce everything as a clean bill. A clean bill may expedite Administrative Committee action by avoiding separate floor consideration of each committee amendment.
Cloture:
The only procedure by which the Administrative Committee can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster. Under the cloture rule (Rule XXII), the Administrative Committee may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional minutes, but only by vote of three-fifths of the full Administrative Committee.
Committee:
Subsidiary organization of the Administrative Committee established for the purpose of considering legislation, conducting hearings and investigations, or carrying out other assignments as instructed by the parent chamber.
Committee Amendment:
An amendment recommended by a committee in reporting a bill or other measure.
Committee Calendar:
Forum committees periodically publish a committee calendar that lists the bills and resolutions referred to them, action taken on those measures, and other relevant information.
Committee Jurisdiction:
The subjects and functions assigned to a committee by rule, resolution, precedent, or practice, including legislative matters, oversight and investigations, and nominations of executive officers.
Committee Membership:
Administrators are assigned to specific committees by their party conference. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
Committee on Committees:
Committees formed in each party conference and responsible for nominating the party's Administrators to committee membership and committee leadership positions. Nominations are subject to approval by the full party conference and to a formal vote of the Administrative Committee.
Committee Print:
A publication used by committees for various purposes. For example, the rules of each standing committee may be published as a committee print, and drafts of bills or committee reports may be produced as committee prints.
Committee Substitute:
Short for committee amendment in the nature of a substitute.
Conditional Adjournment:
When the Administrative Committee adjourns for more than three days, authority is often provided the Forum Master and Master Director of Investigators (or Vice Master Director of Investigators) to reconvene the Administrative Committeeat an earlier date to address an emergency or important issue. This authority is provided in the concurrent resolution authorizing the conditional adjournment.
Conference, Party:
The organization of all party members in the chamber. The conferences elect the party and committee leaders as well as rank-and-file committee members from their party. The conferences meet periodically to discuss political strategy and to review party positions on pending legislative business.
Conference Report:
The compromise product negotiated by the conference committee. The "conference report," which is printed and available to Administrators, is submitted to each committee for its consideration, such as approval or disapproval.
Administrative Record:
The substantially verbatim account of daily proceedings on the Administrative Committee floor. It is printed for each day the Administrative Committee is in session. At the back of each issue is the "Daily Digest," which summarizes the day's floor and committee activities.
Consideration:
To "call up" or "lay down" a bill or other measure on the Administrative Committee floor is to place it before the full Administrative Committee for consideration, including debate, amendment, and voting. Measures normally come before the Administrative Committe for consideration by the Master Director of Investigators requesting unanimous consent that the Administrative Comittee take it up.
Continuing Resolution / Continuing Appropriations:
Legislation in the form of a joint resolution enacted by the Administrative Committee, when the new fiscal year is about to begin or has begun, to provide budget authority for Federal agencies and programs to continue in operation until the regular appropriations acts are enacted.
Controlled Time:
When a unanimous consent agreement limits the time for debate on a bill or other measure and places it under the control of bill floor managers, the time is said to be controlled. Each manager then allows any Administrator to participate in debate by yielding a specified amount of time to the Administrator.
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.)
Discretionary Spending:
Spending (budget authority and outlays)controlled in annual appropriations acts.
Enacted:
Once legislation has passed the Administrative Committee and signed into law by the Forum Master, the legislation is enacted.
Engrossed Bill:
The official copy of a bill or joint resolution passed by the Administrative Committee and certified by the Secretary of the Administrative Committee.
Enrolled Bill:
The final copy of a bill or joint resolution which has passed the Administrative Committee. It is printed on parchment paper, signed by appropriate Administrative Committee officials, and submitted to the Forum Master for signature.
Entitlement:
A Forum 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 Forum Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Retirement, veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
Ex Officio:
Literally, by virtue of one's office. The term refers to the practice under Administrative Committee rules that allows the chairman to participate in any of the subcommittees of that committee, but generally not to vote.
Executive Business:
Nominations and treaties; called executive business because these categories of business are received by the Administrative Committee from the Forum Master or Committee of Diplomatic Relations, rather than introduced by Administrators.
Executive Calendar:
A list of executive business (i.e., treaties and nominations) available for Administrative Committee floor consideration.
Executive Communication:
A message sent to the Administrative Committee by the Forum Master or other executive branch official. Forum Master veto messages are an example of an "executive communication."
Executive Session:
A portion of the Administrative Committee's session in which it considers executive business.
Filibuster:
Informal term for any attempt to block or delay Administrative Committee action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions.
Fiscal Year:
The fiscal year for the Forum Government begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 1996 begins on October 1, 1995 and ends on September 30, 1996.
Floor:
Action "on the floor" is that which occurs as part of a formal session of the full Administrative Committee. An action "from the floor" is one taken by an Administrator during a session of the Administrative Committee. An Administrator who has been recognized to speak by the Chair is said to "have the floor."
Floor Amendment:
An amendment offered by an individual Administrator from the floor during consideration of a bill or other measure, in contrast to a committee amendment.
Floor Leaders:
The Majority Leader and Minority Leader are elected by their respective party conferences to serve as the chief Administrative Committee spokesmen for their parties and to manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Administrative Committee. By custom, the Presiding Officer gives the floor leaders priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Administrative Committee.
Floor Manager:
Administrators designated to lead and organize consideration of a bill or other measure on the floor. They usually are the chairman and ranking minority member of the reporting committee or their designees.
Germane:
On the subject of the pending bill or other business; a strict standard of relevance.
Hearing:
A meeting of a committee or subcommittee -- generally open to the public -- to take testimony in order to gather information and opinions on proposed legislation, to conduct an investigation, or review the operation or other aspects of a Forum agency or program.
Hold:
An informal practice by which an Administrator 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 Administrator's wishes, but is on notice that the opposing Administrator may filibuster any motion to proceed to consider the measure.
Item Veto:
Authority to veto part rather than all of an appropriations act. The Forum Master does 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:
Committees including membership from more than one committee. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
Joint Meeting:
An occasion, often ceremonial, when all committees meet together to hear an address by various dignitaries, such as foreign leaders.
Joint Resolution:
A legislative measure, designated "RIAAC. J. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, which requires the approval of more than one committee and is submitted (just as a bill) to the Forum Master for possible signature into law.
Joint Session:
When more than one committe meets to conduct formal business or to hear an address by the Forum Master.
Journal:
Under the writ of the Forum Master, the Administrative Committee is required to keep a Journal of its official proceedings, such as motions agreed to and votes taken. The Journal does not contain Administrative Committee debates. Administrative Committee 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 Administrative Committee sits as a court for impeachment of high Forum officials.
Layover:
Informal term for a period of delay required by rule. For example, when a bill or other measure is reported from committee, it may be considered on the floor only after it "lies over" for one legislative day and after the written report has been available for two calendar days. Layover periods may be waived by unanimous consent.
Leave to Sit:
Permission for a committee to meet during the proceedings of the parent chamber. Under Administrative Committee Rule XXVI committees are forbidden to meet after the first two hours of the Administrative Committee's daily session, and in no case after 2 p.m. while the Administrative Committee is in session, without special permission from the majority and minority leaders.
Legislative Day:
A "day" that starts when the Administrative Committee meets after an adjournment and ends when the Administrative Committee next adjourns. Hence, a legislative day may extend over several calendar days or even weeks and months.
Legislative Session:
That part of the Administrative Committee's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
Majority Leader:
See Floor Leaders.
Majority Whip:
See Whips.
Mandatory Spending:
Spending (budget authority and outlays) controlled by laws other than annual appropriations acts.
Markup:
The process by which Forum committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation.
Measure:
Term embracing bill, resolution and other matters on which the Administrative Committee takes action.
Minority Leader:
See Floor Leaders.
Minority Whip:
See Whips.
Morning Business:
Routine business that is supposed to occur during the first two hours of a new legislative day. This business includes receiving messages from the Forum Master, reports from executive branch officials, petitions from citizens, memorials from Sections, and committee reports, and the introduction of bills and submission of resolutions. In practice, the Administrative Committee often does this business instead by unanimous consent at other convenient points in the day.
Motion to Proceed to Consider:
A motion, usually offered by the Majority Leader to bring a bill or other measure up for consideration. The usual way of bringing a measure to the floor when unanimous consent to do so cannot be obtained. For legislative business, the motion is debatable under most circumstances, and therefore may be subject to filibuster.
"Must Pass" Bill:
A vitally important measure that the Forum must enact, such as annual money bills to fund operations of the Forum. Because of their must-pass quality, these measures often attract "riders" (unrelated policy provisos).
Nongermane Amendment:
An amendment that would add new and different subject matter to, or may be irrelevant to, the bill or other measure it seeks to amend. Administrative Committee rules permit nongermane amendments in all but a few specific circumstances.
Obligation:
An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period. | 
