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Complete list of Terms and Definitions for Congress vocab

Terms Definitions
bicameral two-part
DECLARE WAR CONGRESS ONLY
house majority leader Eric Cantor
Mitch McConnell Senate Minority Leader
Censure harsh criticism or disapproval
gridlock describes people's perception that Congress and the president are in a state of disagreement that results in little legislation passing
Bicameralism a two-house legislature provides opportunity for two different types of representation and response to varying interests , division of a legislative body into two houses, chambers, or branches
the average congressional representative and senator have how many representatives 17, 40
trustee After listening to constiutents, elected representatives vote based on their own opinions
franking free mailing privileges of congress people
Staff agency a legislative support agency responsible for policy analysis.
Republic a representative democracy in which citizens elect representatives to make policy decisions on their behalf
Geographical sorting districts are becoming more homogenous
Gerrymandering The drawing of legislative district boundary lines for the purpose of obtaining partisan or factional advantage. A district is said to be gerrymandered when its shape is manipulated by the dominant party in the state legislature to maximize electoral strength at the expense of the minority party.
pork-barrel legislation legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return
safe seat legislative district in which incumbent usually wins by a large margin
Which type of representation takes place when representatives have the same racial, ethnic, religous, or educational backgrounds as their constituents? Sociological
members of congress who introduces a bill?
special interests Committees make it harder for ___________________ to shape public policies.
Rules Committee in the House that limits debate on a bill
Types of Committee Standing, Select, Joint and Conference
division vote a congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted
Implied Powers those powers of Congress not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, but derived by implication from the delegated powers
cloture A procedural move in which a supermajority of sixty senators agrees to end a filibuster.
One This is the number of REPRESENTATIVES that each state is guaranteed in the U. S. Constitution
private bill deals specifically with a person, place, or thing( but only one)
honoraria speaking fees accepted by members of Congress
party conference wyhat republicans call their party caucus
seniority rule A legislative practice that assigns the chair of a committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee.
Standing The permanent committees of each house with the power to report bills
Speaker is always leader of the majority party
Congress the legislature of the United States government
constituency the voters in a state or district.
House #s based on population; 435 members, 2 yr. terms; each member represents a district
Incumbents a member currently in office who is running for reelection, they usually win
safe districts districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55% or more
Roll call vote a congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering yea or nay to their names
Closed Rule An order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate; forbids a bill from being amended on the floor.
house leadership: more formal and leaders have more power, speaker of house - presiding members formally elected by whole house, but really elected by majority party caucus, recognizes speaker of the floor, SEE OTHER QUESTION
How must treaties be approved? 2/3s vote in Senate
casework a law maker to help consitituents with a problem
Representation The function of members of Congress as elected officials representing the views of their constituents.
delegates believe that you are there to rep. your constituents (usually house members)
Committee Dominated (Distributional/Autonomous) DAV Leadership, Hall & Evans: Subcommittee: workhorses experts (Staggers following Rodger's opinion), Shepsley: assignment process, preference outliers, confernce committee
Shaw V Reno NO racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries; majority-minority districts.
Senatorial Courtesy A senator's approval of a presidential appointment from the state of that senator, if senator of same party as president
Standing committee a permanent committee in Congress that oversees bills that deal with certain kinds of issues
safe district districs in which incumbents win by margins of 55 percent or more
voice vote a voting method in which those in favor say yea and those against say no
true true or false? can a hearing be opened and closed?
ranking member most senior member in a committee for the party out of power
Speacker of the House leader of the House of Representatives
Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) "one person one vote" principle. Districts must be equal in population. Population shifts determined by census every 10 years.
Fixed Terms terms of office that have a definite length of time, e.g., two years for a member of the House
Double Tracking A procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster in which the disputed bill is shelved temporarily so that the Senate can get on with other business.
filibuster An attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action on the bill.
House Rules Committee determines the length of floor debate and states what types of amendments may be placed on it
Senate and impeachment trial of impeachment takes place in the senate
committee chairperson the leader of a committee. a very powerful position. he/she controls the committee calendar, agenda, and hearings. he/she can PIGEONHOLE a bill by refusing to schedule debate on the bill. decide when a committee will debate bill
when the house of reps or senate ignore the bill and it dies. a pigeonhole is?
compensations: non salary compensation special tax deduction based on duel residences, traces allowance, low cost for medical care, generous retirement plans, offices in either the office buildings near the capital and allowances for offices in home state and operating costs, franking privilege- no paying for stamps
hold A tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. This allows the senator to stop the bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed.
Wesberry v. Sanders One person, one vote. In Georgia, the 5th district had 3 to 4 times more people than did the other districts.
Direct Tax a tax paid directly by the person or organization on whom it is levied
How much money in 2004, was spent on a presidential election? $1.2 billion
to introduce a bill in the senate a senator addresses the chair
Minority of 41 can Prevent the Senate from acting on a measure
Bob Casey and Arlen Specter These are your U. S. Senators from Pennsylvania
According to the authors of the text, in recent years, the House has exhibited considerably more intense partisanship and ideological division than the Senate. Why? Since House members represent more homogeneous districts in which their party is dominant, they are less willing to seek compromise
What is Congress? What is the role of the Legislative Branch? Congress does things like wage war and the legislative branch makes laws.
perjury lying under oath
senate minority leader Mitch McConnell
Nancy Pelosi House Minority Leader
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
The senate has ____ members. 100
John Boehner Speaker of the House
Veto chief executive's (president's) power to reject a bill passed by a legislature
conference committee temporary committees formed to reconcile differences in House and Senate versions of a bill
reapportionment adjusting the representation in the House to keep with population shifts. see textbook map
incumbency advantage name recognition, "home style", constituency service, greater resources
redistrict to adjust the borders of districts
Earmarks Special provisions in legislation to set aside funds for projects that have not passed an impartial evaluation by agencies of the executive branch. aka "pork"
select/special committee Congressional committee appointed to perform a special function that is beyond the authority or capacity of a standing committee
resolution expression of opinion by a house
Committee Chair the most important influencer of congressional agenda
Bicameral Congress Congress made up of two houses
Different Approaches to Analyzing Evolution Evolution of Presidential/Congressional Relations (Sundquist) Evolution of the Committee System (Smith and Deering) Evolution of Subcommittee (Haeberle, DAV)
Midterm elections general elections that fall between presidential elections (or in the middle of a president's term).
senate: size 100 members, framers hoped that smaller senate more "enlightened", represents a larger population and therefor have more interests, not only focus on state but also local
Daniel Inouye: Hawaii President Pro-Tempore of the Senate
logrolling occurs when a member of Congress supports another member's pet project in return for supprt for his or her own pet project
impeach To formally charge a public official with misconduct in office
Joe Biden Who is the President of Senate?
whips members of Congress who serve as informational channels linking the leadership and the rank and file communicating the leadership's views and intentions to the members and vice versa
Minority Leader The legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House or Senate
Major Senate committees Appropriations, Finance, Budget and Foreign Relations
redistricting the process of dividing the states into legislative districts.
joint committee formed when both houses need to investigate an issue
Discharge petition Petition that, if signed by majority of the House of Representatives' members, will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration.
Congress can hold special _____ in a time of crisis. Sessions
A) The President The single strongest source of pressure is the pres. state of the union address where he tells Congress what he wants. Another is he can use the media to advertise what he wants.
Term limit a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office
Census A population count taken by the Census Bureau
Baker v Carr Tennessee had failed to reapportion the state legislature for 60 years despite population growth and redistribution. This landmark decision opened the way for numerous suits on legislative apportionment.
Substantive representation the ability of a legislator to represent the agenda or interests of a group to which he or she does not personally belong.
Quorum The minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress
joint resolution a resolution that is passed by both houses of congress
House of Representatives each state guaranteed at least one member
standing vote members who support bill as asked to stand and are then counted
amicus curiae Latin for "a friend of the court"; descries a brief in which individuals not party to a suit may have their views heard
representational view of representation the theory of Congressional voting behavior that assumes that members make voting decisions based on their constituents wishes to ensure reelection
president pro tempore the president of the senate, who presides in the absence of the vice president
party caucus A closed meeting of a partys house/ senate members in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy.
types of committee structure of congress: standing permanent bodies with specific legislation
The founders wanted to fashion a legislative branch that would act slowly and deliberately.
Franking privilege the right of a member of Congress to send official mail without paying postage
majority and minority whips work with the leaders to see that members are present for their votes; find out before a vote how their party's senators plan to vote; try to persuade their party's members to vote with the party leaders; let party leaders know what members are thinking about the issues
Speaker of the House The person who presides over the House and serves as the chamber's official spokesperson
218 signatures are required to remove a proposal from a recalcitrat committee via a discharge petition in HOR
Both houses use committees to carry out their work. ____________ is not a function of Congressional committees supervision of the lawmakers' offices and providing advice
What are the other benefits of legalizing marijuana? Profit for the government, less crime, psychological attraction to the taboo, and cleaner needles.
-if nothing is done for 10 days, it becomes a law -pocket veto-if he does nothing with it for last ten days of session it automaticly dies what are 2 things the president can do when he receives a bill?
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy
KY 5th district Hal Rogers (R)
markup Committee revisions of a bill
Descriptive representation A correspondence between the demographic characteristics of representatives and those of their constituents.
Senate The members of this representative body were originally selected by state legislatures
1789 First Congress met in this year.
Select committee Congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation.
Congressional Review Congressional action that requires approval of both houses and the president, that can stop implementation of executive branch regulations.
The legislative branch initiates and approves laws that affect all Americans. A written proposal for a law is called a bill
malapportionment drawing the boundaries of legislative districts so that they are unequal in population
select committees congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose
Constituents the people of a congressperso;these people live in said congress member's congressional district
Majority leader Persons selected by the political party holding a majority of the seats in the House and Senate.
Enumerated powers powers specifically listed in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution as being granted to the Congress.
adjourn suspend, as in a session of Congress
class 3 next senatorial class up for re-election
bill a proposed law, drafted in precise, legal language (anyone can draft it, but only a member of Congress can formally submit it)
redistricting matters * Michigan -1 * State legislature/governor * All GOP * How will they combine 2? * 2 democratic incumbents in same district * Utah +1 * State legislature/governor * All GOP * How will they create 4? * Can they "crack" the Dem. District and get all 4?
teller vote A congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, the "yeas" first and the "nays."
Commerce Powers gives the national government the power to regulate interstate commerce
Conservative Coalition An alliance between Republican and conservative Democrats.
Conference Committees Is a temporary committee of members from both houses of Congress, created to resolve the differences in House and Senate versions of a bill. (Also called the compromise committee)
bipartisan a label given if support for something comes from members of both parties.
executive take care that the laws be faithfully executed
lame duck former officeholder that has failed to be re-elected
At large districts political districts in which all voters may vote for all of the representatives from the district
committee chairs The most important influencers of the congressional agenda. They play dominant roles in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house.
steering committee Decides who will serve on standing committees in the Senate.
McCulloch v Maryland Established that Congress had the authority to create a National Bank and recognized the "necessary and proper" clause as giving Congress implied powers
concurrent resolution an expression of opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, but not the president
Legislature persons who make or amend or repeal laws
Congressional Oversight refers to the review, monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs and policy implementation, and it provides the legislative branch with an opportunity to inspect, examine, review and check the executive branch and its agencies.
Hopper The box where the bill gets dropped in the House before introduction
Legislative veto The ability of Congress to override a presidential decision.
Cloture (or Closure) a parlimentary technique used by a legislative body to end dibate and bring the matter under consideration to a vote
constituent server role members of congress are the "go between" the people and the federal gov(serve people)
open rule permits amendments from the floor on a particular piece of legislation (comes from the Rules Committee in the House)
Bicameral Legislature A legislature of two houses- such as the House of Reps and the Senate
Examples of long standing caucuses congressional black caucus and northeast-midwest congressional coalition
Approximately how much does it cost to win a seat in the House of Representatives? 3 million dollars
Political Action Committee (PAC) a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns.
pigeon hole to put a bill aside with the intention of ignoring it
dissenting opinion the opinion of the judge or judges who are in the minority on a particular case before the Supreme Court
Fiscal year Oct. 1, 2011- Sept. 30 ( Fiscal year 2012)
Necessary and Proper Clause What is another name for the elastic clause?
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Created in 1974 as a result of hostile relations between Congress and President Richard Nixon. Generates economic reports as a nonpartisan arm of Congress.
Which member of the majority party is the Chair? The party member with the most seniority on that committee
House Speaker Pelosi
legislative establish post offices
Steny Hoyer House Majority Leader
primaries spring elections when parties determine who will run in the fall
riders completely unrelated amendments tacked on to a bill
welfare governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in need
Majority-minority districts Congressional districts designed to make it easier for citizens of a racial or ethnic minority to elect representatives.
Judiciary Most powerful committee in the Senate
Legislative oversight Congress's monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings.
Politico Role played by elected representatives who act as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue.
joint committees a few subject-matter areas- memberships drawn from House and Senate
special session a president-requested session of congress; not one of the two sessions defined per term
Subcommittees formed to tackle very specific tasks within the jurisdiction of full committees
reapportion redistribute, as in seats in a legislative body
partisan when a congressmen votes according to party affiliation
subcommittee chair * Controls subcommittee agenda * Can do nothing, dead * Can amend the bill (change it) * Can rewrite the bill (markup) * Subcommittee votes: * lose- DEAD * pass- goes to full committee * full committee votes NO- DEAD * YES- MOVE ON * Often >1 committee
Quorom number of members required to do business
whip A senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking
17th Amendment established the direct election of senators
who divided congress into 2 parts roger sherman
Congressional Black Caucus Is an organization representing the African American members of the United States Congress
polarization sharp division, as of a population or group, into opposing factions.
Pork barrel The list of federal projects, grants and contracts available to cities, businesses, colleges and institutions in the district of a member of Congress.
Executive Budget The budget prepared and submitted by the president to Congress.
double-tracking a procedure used to keep the Senate going during a filibuster in which the disputed bill is shelved temporarily so that the Senate can get on with other business
public bill a legislative bill that deals with matters of general concern
Safe Districts in which the winner got more than 55% of the vote
Party Whip The person under the floor-leader for each party;assistant floor-leader
open-seat election an election in which there is no incumbent officeholder
Revenue and Budgeting Committees that deal with raising the money that appropriating committees spend
eminent domain power of a government to take private property for public use
Extension of Remarks enables a member to record his position on legislative matters even though he had not been able, or did not wish, to do so orally on the floor of his chamber.
divided government the president is from one party and the other party has a majority in at least one of the houses
CHRISTMAS TREE BILL when a bill has lots of riders
True leadership of the chamber Senate majority and minority leaders
roll-call vote voting yay or nay when your name is called out individually
original jurisdiction the authority of a court to be the first to hear a particular kind of case
Continuing Resolution we are going to continue to spend the same amount as last year
Baker v. Carr (1962) districts within a state must have the same population
Minority Leader of the House The party leader elected by the minority party in the House.
Representative of Government someone to speak and act for others in our government body.
ex post facto laws make an act illegal after the act has been committed
What happens during the tenth step? Once a bill goes to the President, it can become a law in three ways