Legislative glossary
Conference report
Definition
The reconciled bill produced by a conference committee. Both chambers must pass it without amendments: yes or no, take it or leave it.
Why it matters
The conference report is the conference committee's output: the single reconciled text both chambers must accept or reject without amendment. That no-amendments rule is what gives conference its power, and its reputation. Language nobody voted for can appear; provisions both chambers passed can vanish; and members must swallow it whole or kill the bill entirely.
In the game
Survive The Bill to Law Game's Conference stage and the deal you cut becomes a report facing two up-or-down votes, with everyone who got cut out of the deal voting their grudge.
Related terms
Comes up alongside