From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 promoting the growth and advancement of the Internet. Congressional caucuses such as, for example, the Out of Iraq Caucus, are an openly organized political faction within the House Democratic Caucus, in this case, and strive to achieve political goals, similar to a European "platform." (This last sentence seems to be a biased statement that should be referenced)

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

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

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

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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

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

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

v • d • e United States Congress House of Representatives, Senate — 110th Congress
Members	Current, Freshmen – House: Current by seniority, Former members | Senate: Current by age, Current by seniority; Former, Former still living, Expelled/censured, Longest serving, Classes
Leaders	House: Speaker, Party leaders, Party whips, Dem. caucus, Rep. conference, Dean | Senate: President pro tempore (list), Party leaders, Assistant party leaders, Dem. Caucus (Chair, Secretary, Policy comm. chair), Rep. Conference (Chair, Vice-Chair, Policy comm. chair), Dean
Groups	African Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Caucuses, Committees, Demographics, Hispanic Americans, Senate Women, House Women
Agencies, Employees & Offices	Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Guide Service (board), Capitol Police (board), Chiefs of Staff, GAO, Government Printing Office, Law Revision Counsel, Librarian of Congress, Poet laureate | House: Chaplain, Chief Administrative Officer, Clerk, Doorkeeper, Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations, Historian, Page (board), Parliamentarian, Postmaster, Reading clerk, Recording Studio, Sergeant at Arms | Senate: Chaplain, Curator, Historian, Librarian, Page, Parliamentarian, Secretary, Sergeant at Arms
Politics & Procedure	Act of Congress (list), Caucuses, Committees, Hearings, Joint session, Oversight, Party Divisions, Rider | House: Committees, History, Procedures | Senate: Committees, Filibuster, History, Jefferson's Manual, Traditions, VPs' tie-breaking votes
Buildings	Botanic Garden, Capitol, Capitol Complex, Office buildings (House: Cannon, Ford, Longworth, O'Neill, Rayburn, Senate: Dirksen, Hart, Russell)
Research	Biographical directory, Congressional Quarterly, Congressional Record, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, The Hill, Roll Call, THOMAS
Misc	List of lists, Congressional districts (by area), Mace of the House, Power of enforcement, Scandals, Softball League
Websites: House of Representatives | Senate