#37: CIVICS 101: The Legislative Branch
Q&A #37: What are caucuses, congressional Member organizations, and other similar groups?
Our American Government
Our American Government is a small book published by the House of Representatives for citizens and those who seek a greater understanding of the American interpretation of democracy. It follows a question-and-answer format and covers a broad range of topics dealing with the three branches of our Government, the electoral process, and the role of political parties.
The Savvy Citizen is reproducing the 169 questions-and-answers through a series of posts called Civics 101. Each post will contain the Q&A as well as some additional commentary to add historical context, fun facts, or anything we believe will add to our collective understanding of these topics.
Think of it as your adult Civics class but without the test!
Let’s keep at it.
SECTION: The Legislative Branch: The Congress
Members, Offices, and Staff
Q&A #37: What are caucuses, congressional Member organizations, and other similar groups?
Congressional Member Organizations (CMOs), commonly referred to as caucuses, are groups of Members of Congress formed to pursue common legislative objectives. CMOs are voluntary groups that have no legal or corporate identity.
CMOs take a variety of forms:
some are comprised only of House Members,
some only of Senators, and
some have a membership drawn from both chambers.
Many CMOs are bipartisan, having both Republican and Democratic members.
A number of CMOs have been organized around State or regional issues and around subjects concerned with fostering legislative attention to particular policy topics.
CMOs do not receive separate offices or facilities; instead, they work out of individual Representatives’ or Senators’ offices, using the staff and facilities provided to Members of Congress who are active in a particular group.
My Thoughts
Once again, the Congressional Research Service has provided us with an excellent summary and history of CMOs, which you can download and peruse at the link below!
To learn more about the CRS, you can visit their website here.
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Back next time with Q&A #38: Do Members of the House have individual seats on the Chamber floor?
Meanwhile, don’t forget that we’re organizing the post links on a single page available here.
xo,
Kelley for the Savvy Citizen Team
January 10, 2025