American Government Chapter 5

House of Representatives

there are 435 members in the house from 435 districts in America

Term

the length of time that a politician holds in office; a congressman's term is 2 years

Apportionment

the proportional distribution of Congressional seats in the states

Reapportionment

Each Congressman representations about 700,000 people

Gerrymandering

a district line being purposely drawn to benefit a specific political party

Senate

100 members, 2 from each state

17th Amendment

all Senators are elected at-large (by voters of their state)

President of the Senate

The constitutional leader of the Senate; only position in 2 branches of government

Floor Leaders

The Leader of each party in either house

Whips

2nd in command behind the floor leaders

Caucus

private meeting of political party members to decide on policy or to choose their party system (Seniority System)

Senate

What is the Upper House

House of Representatives

What is the Lower House

435

How many members are in the house

2 years

How long is a congressman's term

700,000

How many people does each Congressman represent

6

How many years does a Senator serve

General Election Day

All elections for the Senate and the House are held on what day

25

How old do you have to be to run for congress

30

How old do you have to be to run for Senate

Rick Scott and Ashley Moody

Who are Florida’s Senators

Majority party

A member of what usually becomes the speaker of the house

Mike Johnson

Who is the current Speaker of the House

Charles Grassley

Who is the current president pro temp

Majority

The political party that holds the most seats in either house is what

Minority

The party with fewer seats is what

Committees

Groups of Congressmen who work on bills related to their committees

Select

used for investigations

Joint

members of both houses work together on a bill/issue

Sergeant at Arms

chief protocol and law enforcement officer

Parliamentarian

advises house officers on rules

Chief Administrative Officer

maintains operational infrastructure of the house

Term

each term lasts 2 years and begins Jan. 3rd of each odd-numbered year

119th

Current Congress

20th Amendment

Originally, the session of Congress would last from Dec-March

Quorum

the required number needed for business to be done

27th Amendment

any salary changes that Congress makes will not start until the following term

Franking Privilege

All Congressional mail does not have postage charges

Congressional Immunity

A Congressman cannot be arrested or searched while they are in session

Censure

Officially condemning a Congressman for an action (legal, ethical, etc.)

Expulsion

a member of either house can be expelled for legal reasons with a two-thirds vote

Seniority system

Leadership is based on what system

Adjourn

What does it mean when Congress is not meeting in session

Simple majority

In Congress the quorum is what

Legislating

ability to make a law (most important responsibility)

Bill

a proposed new law; can be public (affects the entire nation) or private (affects a specific group)

Resolution

a formal statement of opinion determination adopted by a legislative assembly (can be simple, joint, or concurrent)

Cloture Rule

can be invoked by Senators through 3/5th vote (60)

President Action

the president signs the bill and it becomes a law

Veto

“I forbid”

Public

What bill affects the entire nation

Private

What bill affects a specific group

House

Who can only introduce revenue and appropriation bills

Senate

Who introduces a bill on the floor

Floor

What does the Senate introduce the bill on

House of Representatives

Who introduces a bill in the hopper

Hopper

What does the House of Representatives introduce a bill in

Sponsor

What do most bills have

Bipartisan bill

What does it mean when a bill is sponsored by both parties

Committee

What is a bill assigned to

Pigeonholed

What happens to most bills in Committees

Discharge petition

What can a house request for

Subcommittee

What are bills often referred to, to undergo further hearings

Senator

Who has unlimited speaking time when at the podium

filibustering

Senators abuse the privilege of unlimited speaking time by doing what

Conference Committee

What can be formed if the houses cannot agree

Veto

What can a President do to a bill

Trustee

1st view of representation

Delegate

2nd view; Representative votes based on the desires of his constituency

Oversight

the ability to monitor other branches and the bureaucracy to make sure the laws are followed

Sunset laws

laws that are given a termination date for a bureaucratic agency or program

Legislative Veto

Congress forbidding the implementation of an agency’s policy without the President’s consent; deemed unconstitutional but still used occasionally

Delegated Powers

powers that Congress does have the ability to use (listed in Article 1, Section 8)

Expressed

powers listed in Article 1, Section 8

Implied

powers that are not clearly stated

Necessary and Proper Clause

the basis for Congress’ implied powers

Impeachment

formally accusing a federal official of wrongdoing

Denied Powers

no titles of nobility

Character

What is the most important quality of any politician

Bureaucracy

What does the oversight monitor

Unconstitutional

What is Legislative Veto deemed as

Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton

What 2 Presidents were impeached