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Writing of the Declaration of Independence

Amendment Exchange

 

An amendment exchange, which is sometimes humorously referred to as “ping-pong,” is the repetitive amending of legislation, or other measure, in both the House and Senate as the two houses seek to agree to a single version of the measure.

 

Example:

 

The staffers monitored H.R.245 as the amendment exchange continued for 2 weeks. First, the Senate added an amendment, then the House added an amendment, and it continued to ping-pong between the houses 10 times before they finally agreed to a version that was able to pass in both houses.

 

Congress.gov Definition

 

Also referred to as “amendments between the houses” or, colloquially, “ping-pong.” A method for reconciling differences between the two chambers’ versions of a measure by sending the measure back and forth between them until both have agreed to identical language.

 

Reference:

 

https://www.congress.gov/help/legislative-glossary

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