Congressional caucus

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A Congressional caucus is a group of members of the United States Congress that meets to pursue common legislative objectives.

At the broadest level, Democratic members of the House of Representatives and Senate organize themselves into the House Democratic Caucus and Senate Democractic Caucus, while their Republican counterparts are organized into the House Republican Conference and Senate Republican Conference.^[1]

The remaining, more narrowly focused caucuses are typically based on shared affinities or ethnicities of Members participating in a given caucus, and can be bipartisan or even contain members of both houses. Of the many Congressional caucuses, one of the best-known is the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of African-American members of Congress. Another prominent example is the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, whose members voice and advance issues affecting Hispanics in the United States, including Puerto Rico. In a different vein, the Congressional Internet Caucus is composed of a bipartisan group of Members who wish to promote the growth and advancement of the Internet. Congressional caucuses are openly organized political factions and strive to achieve political goals, similar to a European "platform." Formally, caucuses that are formed through the House of Representatives are organized as Congressional Member organizations, governed under the Rules of the that chamber. They are not always called "caucuses"— there are also "Coalitions", "Study Groups", "Task Forces", and "Working Groups."

Contents 1 Rules 1.1 General 1.2 Registration 1.3 Membership 1.4 Funding and resources 1.5 Communications 2 List of caucuses 3 References

[edit] Rules

The U.S. House Committee on House Administration prescribes certain rules for Congressional Member Organizations. The Members' Congressional Handbook, lists the following rules:

[edit] General

Members of Congress may form a Congressional Member Organization (CMO) in order to pursue common legislative objectives.

[edit] Registration

Each Congress, CMOs must register with the Committee on House Administration.

CMOs must provide the following information:

1. Name

2. Statement of Purpose

3. Officers of the CMO

4. Employee designated to work on issues related to the CMO

[edit] Membership

• Members of both the House and Senate may participate in CMO, but at least one of the Officers of the CMO must be a Member of the House. The participation of Senators in a CMO does not impact the scope of authorized CMO activities in any regard.

[edit] Funding and resources

• CMOs have no separate corporate or legal identity. A CMO is not an employing authority. The Member's Representational Allowance (MRA) may not directly support a CMO as an independent entity. A CMO may not be assigned separate office space.
• Neither CMOs nor individual Members may accept goods, funds, or services from private organizations or individuals to support the CMO. Members may use personal funds to support the CMO.
• A Member of a CMO, in support of the objectives of that CMO, may utilize employees (including shared employees) and official resources under the control of the Member to assist the CMO in carrying out its legislative objectives, but no employees may be appointed in the name of a CMO.

[edit] Communications

• CMOs may not use the Frank, nor may a Member lend his or her Frank to a CMO.
• A Member may use official resources for communications related to the purpose of a CMO. Any such communications must comply with the Franking Regulations.
• Members may devote a section of their official Web site to CMO issues, but CMOs may not have independent Web pages.
• A Member may use inside mail to communicate information related to a CMO.
• Members may prepare material related to CMO issues for dissemination.
• Official funds may not be used to print or pay for stationery for the CMO.
• Members may refer to their membership in a CMO on their official stationery.

• Source: Committee on House Administration

[edit] List of caucuses

• Caucuses of the United States Congress
• Caucuses of the United States Congress by term

[edit] References

1. ^ See, e.g., U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Caucus, U.S. House of Representatives Republican Conference; U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus; U.S. Senate Republican Conference

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