The Senate procedure to end a filibuster, which requires a three-fifths vote in the Senate, is called the Cloture Rule. It originally required a two-thirds vote in the Senate, but this proved too difficult to attain, so the limit was lowered to three-fifths.

The right to vote to impeach officials is reserved for the House of Representatives, but it is the Senate that has the power to try the officials that the House of Representatives votes to impeach.

Logrolling is the term given to the exchange of political favors between two individuals or groups. One group offers political concessions to another group in exchange for the second group offering its support in favor of a bill that the first group wishes to get passed.

In Congressional procedure it is quite common for one group to try to add an unrelated amendment to a bill that seems likely to garner a lot of support. The usual goal is to try to pass a controversial or unpopular measure by hiding it in a much larger bill about something unrelated. This amendment is called a “rider.”

A Select Committee is a temporary committee created with a prescribed purpose, usually to investigate one particular issue, and is then disbanded once that issue has been dealt with.

A discharge petition is a means by which the House can vote to remove a Bill from a committee and bring it to the House Floor for discussion. It requires an absolute majority to be utilized, and so is rarely done successfully.

The ability of a Member of Congress to mail a letter to a member of their constituency, without having to pay for the service, is called Franking Privilege. It is designed, at least in theory, to encourage increased interaction between a representative and those that they represent.

A Quorum is the minimum number of representatives required to be present in a government body in order to carry official business. A Quorum Call then is a roll call designed to see if the minimum number of representatives are present.

The Cloture Rule is designed to combat the occasional use of a filibuster in Congress. A filibuster is when one individual speaks indefinitely, but according to congressional procedure, with the intention of preventing Congress from debating or passing a bill. The Cloture Rule stated that, with a two-thirds majority (now three-fifths) vote of Congress, a filibuster can be ended and the debate quickly terminated.

The constitution of the United States explicitly lays out bill procedure. A bill is first introduced into the House. Once it is approved there, it goes to the Senate. Then a committee of members from both the House and the Senate meet to hammer out differences in the bill before it is sent to the President to be signed or vetoed.