Pairing – A procedure that permits two or three members to enter into voluntary arrangements that offset their votes so that one or more of the members can be absent without changing the result. The names of paired members and their positions on the vote (except on general pairs) appear in the Congressional Record (italics). Members can be paired on one vote or on a series of votes.
Parliamentarian – The official advisor to the presiding officer in each house on questions of procedure. The parliamentarian and his/ her assistants also answer procedural questions from members and congressional staff, refer measures to committees on behalf of the presiding officer, and maintain compilations of the precedents. Either a parliamentarian or an assistant is always present and near the podium during sessions of each house. The Speaker appoints the House parliamentarian. Nominally, the Secretary of the Senate appoints its parliamentarian, but always with the approval of the majority leader.
Parliamentary Law – The formal rules governing the methods of procedure, discussion, and debate in deliberative bodies and organized assemblies.
Party Caucus – Generic term for each party’s official organization in each house. Only House Democrats officially call their organization a caucus. House and Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats call their organizations conferences. The party caucuses elect their leaders, approve committee assignments and chairmanships (or ranking minority members, if the party is in the minority), establish party committees and study groups, and discuss party and legislative policies.
Party Leader – (Majority and Minority) chief strategist and floor spokesperson for the party. Elected by the party caucus.
Passed – The term applied to bills and joint resolutions that have been approved by a house.
Pay-As-You-Go – A provision of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. Requires any entitlement or tax proposal to include provisions for financing. New entitlement or tax proposals must be paid for by raising new revenue or cutting existing entitlement programs. Thus, changes in entitlement programs or revisions must be deficit neutral.
Permanent Appropriation – An appropriation that remains continuously available, without current action or renewal by Congress, under the terms of a previously enacted authorization or appropriation law. One such appropriation provides for payment of interest on the public debt and another the salaries of members of Congress.
Permanent Authorization – An authorization without a time limit. It usually does not specify any limit on the funds that may be appropriated for the agency, program, or activity that it authorizes, leaving such amounts to the discretion of the appropriations committees and the two houses. A permanent authorization continues in effect unless, or until, Congress changes or terminates it.
Petition – A formal plea from a citizen, group, or organization that asks Congress to take some legislative action or oppose an action.
Pocket Veto – The indirect veto of a bill as a result of the President withholding approval of it until after Congress has adjourned sine die. A bill the President does not sign, but does not formally veto while Congress is in session, automatically becomes a law ten days (excluding Sundays) after it is received. But if Congress adjourns its annual session during that ten-day period, the measure dies even if the President does not formally veto it.
Point of Order – A question raised by a legislator concerning the rules of procedure.
Political Action Committees (PACs) – Federal law prohibits incorporated associations from making campaign contributions to candidates for federal offices. The establishment of a PAC allows individuals with similar interests to combine and direct their individual contributions to political candidates who share those interests. For example, V-PAC is a political action committee supporting vocational education.
Pork or Pork Barrel Legislation – Pejorative terms for federal appropriations, bills, or policies that provide funds to benefit a legislator’s district or state, with the implication that the legislator presses for enactment of such benefits to ingratiate himself or herself with constituents rather than on the basis of an impartial, objective assessment of need or merit. The terms are often applied to such benefits as new parks, post offices, dams, canals, bridges, roads, water projects, sewage treatment plants, and public works of any kind as well as demonstration projects, research grants, and relocation of government facilities.
Postpone – A motion to postpone a proposal indefinitely kills it. Postponing to a day certain brings the proposal back for consideration on the specified day. Both motions are debatable.
Preamble – Introductory language describing the reasons for and intent of a measure, sometimes called a whereas clause. In a bill it is placed before the enacting clause, in a joint resolution before the resolving clause, and in other resolutions above the test. Like other parts of a measure, the preamble can be amended.
Precedence – The order in which amendments and other motions may be offered and acted on.
Precedent – A previous ruling on a parliamentary matter or a long-standing practice or custom of a house. Before a presiding officer makes a ruling, he or she is expected to consider prior rulings on the same, similar, or analogous questions. Precedents serve to control arbitrary rulings and serve as the common law of a house. Each house compiles and publishes its precedents from time to time.
President of the Senate – The Vice President of the United States in his constitutional role as presiding officer of the Senate. Modern vice presidents usually preside only when their vote may be needed, on ceremonial occasions, or to rule on some crucial procedural questions. The president pro tempore or a senator designated by him presides over the Senate during the Vice President’s frequent absences.
President Pro Tempore – Under the Constitution, an officer elected by the Senate to preside over it during the absence of the Vice President of the United States. Often referred to as the “pro tem”, he is usually the majority party senator with the longest continuous service in the chamber, and also, by virtue of his seniority, a committee chairman.
Presiding Officer – In a formal meeting, the individual authorized to maintain order and decorum, recognize members to speak or offer motions, and apply and interpret the chamber’s rules, precedents, and practices. The Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate are the chief presiding officers in their respective houses.
Private Bill – A bill that applies to one or more specified persons, corporations, institutions, or other entities, usually to grant relief when no other legal remedy is available to them. Many private bills deal with claims against the federal government, immigration and naturalization cases, and land titles.
Private Law – A private bill enacted into law.
Public Bill – A bill dealing with general legislative matters having national applicability or applying to the federal government or to a class of persons, groups, or organizations.
Public Debt – The portion of the federal debt borrowed by the Treasury or the Federal Financing Bank directly from the public or from another federal fund or account. For example, the Treasury regularly borrows money from the Social Security trust fund. Public debt accounts for about 99 percent of the federal debt.
Public Law – A public bill or joint resolution enacted into law.