Congress 2A

Delegate

votes based on wishes of the people

Trustee

votes based on what they believe is best for the people (even if it goes against their wishes)

Politico

combo of delegate and trustee

Constituents

people in a congressional district represented by a congressperson

Colleagues

other relationships with congresspeople can sway and influence the way they vote

Party

swayed to vote with same way with rest of party (party line voting)

Caucus

groups within congress with mutual legislative goals. membership to a caucus influences voting on legislation that alligns with common goal

Lobbyists/PACs

influenced by donations funding and resources provided by lobbyists/PACs

Staff

staff of congresspeople reads legislation to help determine how to vote on a bill

Gerrymandering

districts are redrawn in an illogical way that favors one political party over the other. allows for minority over majority control

Apportionment

10 yr census to allocate representation in the house. larger population = more rep

(S) FIlibuster

endless debating/talking to prevent a vote on a piece of legislation. can be stopped by cloture

(S) Hold

prevent a bill from reaching the floor for a vote

(S) Cloture

60 senators vote. ends filibuster or hold

(S) Senatorial Courtesy

senator and president consultation before nominating judge/justice from senator’s state

(H) Open v. Closed Rules

open - riders/amendments can be added to bill during floor debate (more likely no vote)

closed - prevents amendments from being added as a whole

Riders

amendments onto a bill. make passage unlikely, usually not related to og bill

Earmarks

allocation of funds to a specific recipient in a bill

Pork Barrel

allocate funds to their own local district and projects to gain support

Log Rolling

vote trade for mutual benefit

Discharge Petition

to bring bill on hold out of committee and onto floor to vote

Override Veto

2/3 of congress votes to overturn president veto

Divided govt

when white house and congress (one or both chambers) have diff majority parties. leads to gridlock (not able to pass/compromise on legislation)

Hearings

interview executive branch and its members to hold accountable

Congressional Review

gives congress 60 days to overturn federal regulation created by bureaucracy

War Powers Act

president must notify congress within 48 hrs of using military forces. if congress doesn’t authorize, president must end action in 60 days

Impeachment

remove president from office.

house - whether enough ev to try

senate - whether pres is guilty and should be removed

Standing committee

permanent committee in congress

Joint committee

both senate and house members. report findings to chamber

Conference committee

both senate and house sort out different versions of bill

Select/Special committee

created for specific purpose or investigation

Rules committee (house only)

determines rules for proceeding of bill (how debate, if amendments, how voted upon)

Speaker of the house

head of house. decides committee assignments, floor votes

Senate majority leader

head of senate. decides committee assignments, schedules floor votes

President of the senate pro tempore

when VP is not there. typically based on seniority

only bills relating to tax can start in house

only senate can approve treaties

Baker v. Carr

tennesssee small rural had more power than large urban. prev ruled that redistricting wasn’t justicable. violated equal protection (14)

fed court could rule on redistricting cases

Wesberry v. Sanders

uneven georgia congressional district populations (800,000 in one and avg 400,000 or less in others). article 1, section 2 rep chosen by the people

districts must be relatively same population #’s. voter rep fairness

Shaw v. Reno

no black rep in NC so gerrymandered to create black districts. equal protection (14). shaw = drawn racial , reno = help blk populations

cannot be redrawn solely on race. “minority majority”

Budget

Entitlement programs

provide benefits for those who qualify under law, regardless of income

Mandatory spending

required by existing law locked into budget

Discretionary spending

programs and policies at the discretion of congress and president

Budget surplus

when govt makes more than it spends

Budget deficit

when govt spends more than it makes

National debt

total amount of $ owed by federal govt

Mandatory ex

social security, medicare, medicaid. mandatory costs grow with aging population and increased income inequality.

Discretionary ex

defense spending, diplomacy, education, infrastructure, debt interest. discretionary spending decreases unless tax revenue raised or budget deficit increases.

Budget passed at fiscal year Oct thru bill to law process.

if not passed, a continuing resolution is used to negotiate for 30 days. if refuse, the govt. shuts down.