Germane - Revelant to the issue at hand. A motion or amendment must be germane to be considered on the floor. The presiding officer decides the question based on a recommendation from the parliamentarian.

Motion - A request by a representative for some parliamentary action, such as a ''motion to adjourn'' the House.

Table - A motion to ''lay on the table'' is essentially a request for a vote that would kill an amendment, bill or other measure. It is not debatable.

Point of order-A member can object that the House straying from its rules by citing the violation and asking for a decision from the presiding officer.

Previous question - A motion for the previous question is an attempt to cut off debate. If it is approved, the House proceeds directly to vote without any further action.

Quorum - The number of members necessary to do business in the House, which is a majority. A point of order is often made that a quorum is not present as a delaying tactic.

Recommit to committee - A motion returning a measure to the committee that sent it to the House floor. Such a motion often kills the measure, but if it is recommitted with instructions, those instructions are automatically incorporated in the existing measure and debate continues.

Speaker - The House presiding officer. During debate, it is whoever is in the chair; the titled speaker is elected by the majority party and is currently Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

Strike the last word - Members gain recognition to speak for five minutes by asking to ''strike the last word'' of the measure under debate. It does not actually change the measure.

Unanimous consent - Usually a request to proceed regardless of House rules or previous agreements through consent of the entire membership. One objection can halt such a request.

Voice vote - Exactly what it sounds like: members vote ''aye'' or ''no'' in chorus on a question.

Yeas and nays - A recorded vote required when one-fifth of the House members request one, as determined by the speaker.

Yield - A member is given a set amount of time to speak and controls the floor during that time. He or she may ''yield'' portions of that time to members who request it; the two parties usually divide overall debate time equally and yield amounts to their members.