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Congress glossary: plain definitions of the terms in the news

Short, plain definitions of the procedural terms that come up when a bill moves, or stalls, in Congress. Each one links to an official source.

Last checked October 30, 2026.

These are general definitions. How a term applies to a specific bill depends on that bill's official record.

Where can you check the official record?

The record is in more than one place. These are the official government sites our pages use.

  • congress.gov: bill pages, actions, and bill text.
  • api.congress.gov: the same bill data, in a form made for computers.
  • bioguide.congress.gov: photos and short bios of members.
  • constitution.congress.gov: notes on the Constitution, from Congress.
  • govinfo.gov: bills, laws, calendars, and the daily record of floor debate.
  • archives.gov: the Constitution, and the office that gives each new law its number.
  • house.gov: how the House says a bill moves, from the first step to the President.
  • clerk.house.gov: official House roll call votes.
  • uscode.house.gov: the official code of federal laws, kept by the House.
  • senate.gov: Senate roll call votes and the Senate glossary.
  • rules.senate.gov: the Standing Rules of the Senate.
  • appropriations.senate.gov: bills and reports from the Senate spending committee.
  • gao.gov: watchdog reports for Congress.

What does held at the desk mean?

"Held at the desk" means a chamber received a bill passed by the other chamber. It kept the bill at the desk, ready for floor action, instead of sending it to a committee.

Official source: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo · S. 272, the Protect Infant Formula from Contamination Act: official status record

How Our Laws Are Made says a Senate-passed bill is referred to a House committee "or held at the Speaker's table at the Speaker's discretion." It does not mean the bill was approved, scheduled or rejected.

Sources: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo

Example: one bill was held at the desk in the House on May 4, 2026. The bill is S. 272, the Protect Infant Formula from Contamination Act. It was still the latest action in its GovInfo status record. We checked on October 30, 2026, at 6:36 p.m. Central.

Sources: S. 272, the Protect Infant Formula from Contamination Act: official status record

What does placed on the calendar mean?

"Placed on the calendar" means a bill was added to a list. The list holds measures that can come to the floor. In the Senate, that list is the Calendar of Business. Being on it does not schedule a vote.

Official source: U.S. Senate: Glossary · GovInfo: About Congressional Calendars

Most Senate bills are listed under "General Orders." They appear in the order they were added.

Sources: GovInfo: About Congressional Calendars

What is a Senate hold?

A hold is an informal practice. A senator tells party leaders not to bring a bill to the floor. The same can be true of a nomination. That usually means the senator would object. The objection is to moving it by unanimous consent.

Official source: U.S. Senate: Glossary · S. Res. 28 (112th Congress), standing order on notices of intent to object

A Senate standing order, S. Res. 28, from the 112th Congress, says a notice of intent to object must be published. It must appear in two places. One place is the Congressional Record. The other place is the Senate calendar. A senator may say on the floor that someone is "blocking" a bill. That remark is not, by itself, the formal notice.

Sources: S. Res. 28 (112th Congress), standing order on notices of intent to object · GovInfo: About Congressional Calendars

What is a hotline in the Senate?

A hotline is a phone and email system. It connects each Senate office to the majority cloakroom. It also connects that office to the minority cloakroom. Senate leaders use it to send schedule notices. They also use it to send unanimous consent requests.

Official source: Congressional Research Service: "Holds" in the Senate

The Senate glossary has no entry for this term. This wording follows a research report on Senate holds. The Congressional Research Service wrote the report. It is on congress.gov.

Sources: Congressional Research Service: "Holds" in the Senate · U.S. Senate: Glossary

What is a motion to proceed?

A motion to proceed is how the Senate starts work on a bill. The bill is already on its calendar. By tradition, the Majority Leader makes it. It is used when there is no unanimous consent to start.

Official source: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo

In the Senate, a vote to limit debate can be needed on the motion to proceed itself. That vote comes before any debate on the bill.

Sources: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo

What is a vote to limit debate?

It is how the Senate ends open-ended debate. For most bills, it needs three-fifths of all senators sworn in, usually 60.

Official source: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo · U.S. Senate: Voting · Standing Rules of the Senate, Rule XXII · Congressional Research Service: nominations and debate limits, R43331 · Congressional Research Service: Supreme Court nominations, R44819 · 2 U.S.C. 641, budget reconciliation debate · Congressional Research Service: Senate debate after a vote to limit debate, RL31980 · Congressional Record Daily Digest, April 3, 2019

A change to the Senate rules is different. To limit debate on that change takes two-thirds of senators present and voting. Only a simple majority of the votes is needed. That vote is used to limit debate on a nomination. That has been true since 2013, and for the Supreme Court since 2017. Some laws set their own time limits on debate. A budget bill with a set debate limit is one example.

Sources: Standing Rules of the Senate, Rule XXII · Congressional Research Service: nominations and debate limits, R43331 · Congressional Research Service: Supreme Court nominations, R44819 · 2 U.S.C. 641, budget reconciliation debate

The process starts when 16 senators sign a motion. If the vote succeeds, more debate is limited to 30 more hours. For most nominations, the limit is 2 hours.

Sources: Standing Rules of the Senate, Rule XXII · Congressional Research Service: Senate debate after a vote to limit debate, RL31980 · Congressional Record Daily Digest, April 3, 2019

What does suspension of the rules mean?

Suspension of the rules is a fast House path. It allows 40 minutes of debate. It bars amendments from the floor. The bill passes only if two-thirds of those voting agree.

Official source: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo · House Roll Call 107 (2025), Office of the Clerk

How Our Laws Are Made says this path is usually for bills that draw little fight. Changes can be built into the motion itself. Example: H.R. 1402, the TICKET Act, passed this way 409 to 15 (Roll no. 107 of 2025).

Sources: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo · House Roll Call 107 (2025), Office of the Clerk

What is a voice vote?

In a voice vote, the presiding officer asks those in favor and those against to call out "yea" or "nay." The officer announces the result. No individual votes are recorded.

Official source: U.S. Senate: Glossary · house.gov: House floor

What is a roll call vote?

A roll call vote records how each member voted, yea or nay. It is also called a recorded vote, or the "yeas and nays."

Official source: U.S. Senate: Glossary · Office of the Clerk, U.S. House: Roll call votes

In the House, a recorded vote is usually cast on a machine. In both chambers, a recorded vote is held if enough members ask for one.

Sources: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo · U.S. Senate: Voting

What does it mean when a committee reports a bill?

A committee reports a bill when it votes to send the bill back to the full chamber. It may send the bill with or without changes. It often files a written report that explains the bill.

Official source: house.gov: In committee · U.S. Senate: Glossary

What is the difference between an engrossed and an enrolled bill?

An engrossed bill is the official copy passed and certified by one chamber. An enrolled bill is the final copy. Both chambers have passed it in the same form. It has been sent to the President.

Official source: U.S. Senate: Glossary · How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo

What is a public law?

A public law applies to the public. It is a bill, or a joint resolution, that has been enacted. It can become law when the President signs it. It can become law by the 10-day rule. Or each chamber can vote by two-thirds to pass the bill over a veto. It gets a number such as P.L. 119-103, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027.

Official source: GovInfo: About Public and Private Laws · U.S. Constitution, National Archives

That office assigns the number. That office is part of the National Archives. The first part is the Congress. The second part is the order of enactment.

Sources: GovInfo: About Public and Private Laws · National Archives, Office of the Federal Register: Public laws, current Congress

What does sine die mean?

Sine die is Latin for "without day." It describes the final adjournment of a session of Congress. No date is set to meet again.

Official source: U.S. Senate: Glossary

How Our Laws Are Made says Congress reads the President's pocket veto one way. It is limited to the sine die adjournment of a Congress.

Sources: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo

When does a Congress end, and what happens to unfinished bills?

Each Congress lasts 2 years. It ends at noon on January 3 of an odd year. Bills it has not finished passing do not carry over.

Official source: U.S. Constitution, 20th Amendment, National Archives · U.S. Constitution, National Archives · P.L. 116-344 (S. 5076), An Act To authorize the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate to delegate authority to approve payroll and personnel actions

The 119th Congress ends at noon Eastern on January 3, 2027. Bill numbering starts over in each new Congress. An unfinished bill has to be introduced again, under a new number.

Sources: U.S. Constitution, 20th Amendment, National Archives · GovInfo: About Congressional Bills

What doesn't this page cover?

  • These definitions are short by design. For the full rules, see How Our Laws Are Made and the House and Senate rules.
  1. U.S. Constitution, National Archives

    Article I, Section 7, clauses 2-3: passage by both Houses, presentment, the 10 days (Sundays excepted), veto and two-thirds override, yeas and nays

  2. U.S. Constitution, 20th Amendment, National Archives

    Section 1: terms of Senators and Representatives end at noon on January 3

  3. How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo

    Pp. 23-24 (suspension of the rules); pp. 31-32 (voice, division and recorded votes); p. 37 (engrossed bill); p. 38 (motion to proceed); p. 39 (Calendar of Business); p. 40 (limiting debate: 16 senators sign, three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn); p. 49 (Senate bills held at the Speaker's table); p. 50 (enrollment); p. 52 (public law number)

  4. house.gov: In committee

    Hearings, markup; reported "with or without amendment, or tabled"; committee reports ("H.Rpt.")

  5. house.gov: House floor

    Special rules; recorded votes; voice votes, where "no record of individual responses is available"

  6. U.S. Senate: Glossary

    "Calendar of Business," "engrossed bill," "enrolled bill," "hold," "public law," "report," "roll call vote," "adjournment sine die," "unanimous consent," "voice vote"

  7. U.S. Senate: Voting

    Roll-call and voice votes; unanimous consent, "a measure passes so long as no senator objects"; three-fifths to end debate

  8. Congressional Research Service: "Holds" in the Senate

    Footnote 18, report updated January 24, 2017. The hotline connects Senate offices to the majority and minority cloakrooms. Leaders use it for schedule notices and unanimous consent requests.

  9. S. Res. 28 (112th Congress), standing order on notices of intent to object

    Sec. 1: notice to the leader, then to the Congressional Record and the Senate calendar section "Notices of Intent to Object to Proceeding"

  10. GovInfo: About Congressional Bills

    Bills are numbered in the order introduced, "starting at the beginning of each Congress"; bill versions through the enrolled version

  11. GovInfo: About Public and Private Laws

    After signing, the Office of the Federal Register assigns a law number; citation format "Pub.L." plus Congress and number

  12. National Archives, Office of the Federal Register: Public laws, current Congress

    Public law numbers as assigned

  13. GovInfo: About Congressional Calendars

    Senate Calendar of Business: prepared by the Legislative Clerk, updated each day in session, bills awaiting floor action, mostly under "General Orders"

  14. Office of the Clerk, U.S. House: Roll call votes

    Search House roll calls by year, number or bill

  15. House Roll Call 107 (2025), Office of the Clerk

    H.R. 1402, the TICKET Act: "On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass", 2/3 Yea-And-Nay, 409-15

  16. S. 272, the Protect Infant Formula from Contamination Act: official status record

    Latest action May 4, 2026: "Held at the desk." Record updated Sept. 19, 2026, 6:31 p.m. Central. Checked October 30, 2026, at 6:36 p.m. Central.

  17. P.L. 116-344 (S. 5076), An Act To authorize the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate to delegate authority to approve payroll and personnel actions

    Approved January 13, 2021, after the 116th Congress ended on January 3.

  18. Standing Rules of the Senate, Rule XXII

    Paragraph 2: three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn, except two-thirds of senators present and voting to change the rules. Thirty hours after a successful vote, or two hours for most nominations after the April 3, 2019 precedent.

  19. Congressional Research Service: nominations and debate limits, R43331

    2013: a simple majority of those voting can limit debate on presidential nominations other than the Supreme Court. Reconciliation is a separate statute with its own debate limit.

  20. Congressional Research Service: Supreme Court nominations, R44819

    April 6, 2017: a majority of senators voting, a quorum being present, can limit debate on Supreme Court nominations.

  21. 2 U.S.C. 641, budget reconciliation debate

    Section 641(e)(2): Senate debate limited to not more than 20 hours.

  22. Congressional Research Service: Senate debate after a vote to limit debate, RL31980

    April 3, 2019: post-vote time for most nominations cut from 30 hours to 2 hours.

  23. Congressional Record Daily Digest, April 3, 2019

    Post-vote time on certain nominations is two hours.

About this guide

This glossary defines common terms from Congress in plain language. Each term has an official source.

Last checked October 30, 2026.

We use AI to help draft these pages. We use official government records. A human reviews each release before publication.

Spot an error? Reply to any Political Oversight Weekly email. Contact via LinkedIn. Include the passage and an official source, if available.

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