Congress Review

The committee in the House of Representatives that reviews most bills coming from a House committee before they go to the full House.

• House Rules Committee
• Senate Finance Committee
• House Ways and Means Committee
• Joint Committee

The most important influencers of the congressional agenda. Play dominant roles in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house.

• Committee Chairs
• Cabinet
• Whips
• Speaker of the House

Activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals, particularly by cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get

• Casework
• Pork Barrel
• Revenue
• Tax Expenditures

Advises Congress on the probable consequences of its decisions, forecasts revenues, and is a counterweight to the president’s Office of Management and Budget.

• Congressional Budget Office
• Office of Management and Budget
• Council of Economic Advisers
• Senate Finance Committee

A legislative position that acts as a liaison between members of the party and party leadership. They are also vote counters and act as a sort of lobbyist for their party with regard to certain bills.

• party whips
• incumbents
• speaker of the house
• president pro tempore

The leader of the House or Senate who is a member of the minority party.

• Speaker
• President pro tempore
• party whip
• minority leader

Unlimited debate by the Senate used to delay or stop a bill from passing (usually used by the minority party to obstruct the majority); with 2017 nuclear option on Neil Gorsuch, these may be a thing of the past

• franking
• gerrymandering
• filibustering
• nuclear option

These are smaller, temporary committees that are formed for special purposes like an investigation.

• standing committees
• select committees
• joint committees
• 5th block committee

This person is the presiding officer of the HOR (and from the majority party).

• Speaker of the House
• President prom tempore
• House majority leader
• Senate majority leader

Most legislation introduced in Congress

• is passed
• is vetoed
• never makes it out of committee
• gets stuck in conference committee