best_practices_2013

BEST PRACTICES 2013
The Government Printing Office (GPO) has some of the Serial Set available,
but it is not complete:
http://www.gpo.gov/help/u.s._congressional_serial_set.htm
Definitions of Congressional Document are from www.gpo.gov/help
Reports are from Congressional committees concerning proposed legislation
and/or findings on matters under investigation
Senate Executive Reports are from the Committee on Foreign Relations
relating to Treaties. They can be reports of various committees regarding
nomination of individuals.
Documents are various other materials ordered printed by both chambers
of Congress. Documents can include reports of executive departments and
agencies and committee prints if the information they contain is in demand.
Senate Executive Documents contain the text of a Treaty as it is
submitted to the U.S. Senate for ratification by the President of the United
States.
Debates
Once a bill is on the floor, the debates may begin.
The House has time restrictions on all its debates and member will yield
their time to fellow members. Debate in the house can end by a motion to
close the debate.
The Senate has no time restrictions on its members and it is a challenge to
end the debate process. The Senate must employ cloture to silence a
member. Cloture takes 3 days and 60 votes.
Tip: Cloture: The only procedure by which the Senate 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 Senate may limit
consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours, but only by vote of
three-fifths of the full Senate, normally 60 votes.
(http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/cloture.htm)
Amendments
The House requires that amendments be germane to the bill at hand.
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