bedwetter n.— «A member of Congress once told me that Representatives who consider changing their votes based on only a dozen or so phone calls from constituents are referred to as “bedwetters” by the other members of Congress...
rifle shot n.— «Prodded by advocacy groups on both sides of the issue, members of Congress are considering various narrowly targeted proposals—”rifle shots,” in Washington parlance—to ease or tighten the limits on legal entry...
funding cliff n.— «Naturally, however, there’s a budget sleight-of-hand. Known as a “funding cliff,” the yearly Schip layout increases to $13.9 billion in 2011, then abruptly cuts spending by 65% below current funding levels...
Few are the words whose origins we know for certain, but “bunk” is one of them. From the mountains of North Carolina to the halls of Congress to everyday language, Martha scoops the skinny.
son stroke n.— «Son stroke is not new to the Congress, but in Punjab, where the shadow of a split continues to lengthen everyday, it’s more like a son flare.…Last month, virtually every corridor of Punjab Bhawan and Kapurthala House...
shortfalling n.— «While Democrats in Congress have vowed to investigate the findings, Bush said “the IG report, which justly made issue of FBI shortfallings, also made it clear that these letters were important to the security of...