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Congress Terms
Bicameral Legislature
a lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts
Speaker of the House
the leader of the majority party who serves as the presiding officer of the House of Representatives
Congress Terms
House: 2 years
Senate: 6 years
House Rules Committee
The committee in the House of Representatives that reviews most bills coming from a House committee before they go to the floor
Majority leader
the legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House or Senate
Minority leader
The principal leader of the minority party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate.
Whips
assistant to the floor leaders, keeps a head count of votes, rounds up members for important votes
Census
the official count of a population every 10 years
Reapportionment
the process of reassigning representation based on population, after every census
Baker v. Carr
Ruling: Supreme Court has jurisdiction over legislative apportionment under the equal protection clause.
Gerrymandering
the drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent
partisan gerrymandering
drawing of district boundaries into strange shapes to benefit a political party
racial gerrymandering
drawing of legislative boundaries to give electoral advantages to a particular racial group.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
prohibits voting practices or procedures that dilute minority vote
Shaw v. Reno
Ruling: race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries
Cracking
spreading voters of one type over many districts where they will comprise minorities that are unable to influence elections
Packing
concentrating partisan voters in a single district in order to maximize the number of representatives that can be elected by the opposition in other districts
Committees
small groups of representatives who work out the details of bills
Discharge Petitions
a motion to force a bill to the House floor that has been bottled up in committee
Committee of the Whole
consists of all members of the House and meets in the House chamber but is governed by different rules, making it easier to consider complex and controversial legislation
unanimous consent agreement
an agreement in the Senate that sets the terms for consideration of a bill
filibuster
A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue.
cloture
A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate. Requires 3/5ths of the senate (60 ppl)
non-germane amendments
amendments which are unrelated to the subject matter of the original measure
Pigeonholing
Occurs when a committee ignores a bill and doesn't report it out. Also known as "tabling" or "death by committee." Major cause of bill death.
legislative oversight
Congress's monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings.
McGrain v. Daugherty
Congress has the power to investigate and compel testimony as part of its legislative function. Congress should be allowed to investigate to understand and inform law in the future
fire alarm oversight
members of Congress respond to complaints about the bureaucracy or problems of implementation only as they arise
police patrol oversight
members of congress constantly monitor the bureaucracy to make sure that laws are implemented correctly
Trustee
A legislator who acts according to her or his conscience and the broad interests of the entire society.
Delegate
A legislator who acts according to the wants of the area they represent
Politico
Role played by elected representatives who act as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue.
cacus (congressional)
A group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic. Many are composed of members from both parties and from both houses.
earmarks/pork-barrel legislation
Legislation added to appropriation bills that benefits one state or district
hold (congress)
delay on legislation by objecting senator
Note 
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