A formal dialogue between members of Congress regarding pending legislation.
What You Want
Congress conducts much of its work through floor speeches, committee hearings, and legislative debate. A colloquy is a scripted exchange on the House or Senate floor intentionally designed to debate, clarify, or draw attention to the intent of pending legislation.
A colloquy typically begins when a member of Congress asks unanimous consent to enter into a colloquy with a colleague. These exchanges are entered into the Congressional Record and become part of a bill’s legislative history. Colloquies give federal agencies, courts, and stakeholders a contextual, real-time window into what Congress meant when it considered legislation.
Chip On My Shoulder
Legislative text is often ambiguous and frequently uses language that leaves federal agencies with considerable discretion when implemented. Colloquies provide members of Congress with an opportunity to clarify intent outside the written language of a law and signal to regulators, adjudicators, and stakeholders how Congress expects a provision to be applied.
Senators used a colloquy to debate provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including those related to literacy tests and voter registration. Decades later, members of both chambers engaged in colloquies to underscore the role of non-profit and state-based organizations in student loan servicing under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. Just this summer, Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) conducted a colloquy related to Social Security insolvency.
Find My Way
Colloquies remain a valuable tool for lawmakers seeking to provide additional context or clarify language on pending legislation. These exchanges offer members with a public forum to stake out positions on contentious issues, preserve their views in the congressional record, and influence future policy debates amid the possibility of changes in party control, committee leadership, and congressional membership.
Congress faces a crowded legislative agenda when it returns on November 9 with little time to legislate before the end of the 119th Congress. Procedural tools, such as colloquies, could play a key role in determining both what is enacted through the end of 2026 and how lawmakers expect those policies to be interpreted long into the future.
About Wonkology
What is a policy rider? How long is a legislative day? Political jargon can be headache-inducing. But your ability to understand how Washington works could significantly impact your business. Wonkology is an update from the Thompson Coburn Lobbying & Policy group. In each edition, we will decode Washington lingo by giving you a straightforward definition of a political term that is in the news.
