AP Gov. Unit 2 - Congress & Senate

Incumbent

A political official who is currently in office

Constituency

A body of voters in a given area who elect a representative or senator

Pork Barrel Spending

Legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or states, usually to benefit a specific representative or senator

Service Strategy

Use of personal staff by members of Congress to perform services for constituents in order to gain their support in future elections.

Open-Seat Election

An election in which there is no incumbent in the race

Reapportionment

The reallocation of house seats among states after each census as a result of population changes.

Redistricting

States redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts following each census

Gerrymandering

The intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific interest or group of voters

Midterm Election

Election that takes place in the middle of a presidential term, where a third of the senate seats are elected.

Party Leader(s)

Members of the House and Senate who are chosen by the Democratic or Republican caucus in each chamber to represent the party's interests in that chamber and who give some central direction to the chamber's deliberations.

Party Caucus

A group that consists of a party's members in the House or senate and that serves to elect the party's leadership, set policy goals, and determine party strategy.

Party Unity

the extent to which members of a political party vote together in the legislature, reflecting their shared ideology, goals, and interests. 

Speaker of the House

The leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by an election of its members

House Majority Leader

The person who is the second in command of the house of representatives.

House Minority Leader

The head of the party with the second-highest number of seats in the house, chosen by the parties members

House Majority Whip

A member of the majority party who is chosen by the party, whose job it is to ensure party unity and discipline in the house

House minority Whip

A member of the minority party who is chosen by the party, whose job it is to ensure party unity and discipline in the house

President of the Senate

Presiding officer of the senate, only duty is to make tie breaking votes. Also the vice president.

President Pro-Tem of the Senate

A senior member of the majority party chosen to preside in the absence of the senate president

Senate Majority Leader

The person who has the most power in the senate and is head of the party with the most seats

Senate Minority Leader

Head of the party of the senate with the second highest number of seats.

Senate Majority Whip

A member of the majority party who is chosen by the party, whose job it is to ensure party unity and discipline in the senate

Senate Minority Whip

A member of the minority party who is chosen by the party, whose job it is to ensure party unity and discipline in the senate

Standing Committee

Permanent committee that deals with specific policy matters

Conference Committee

Temporary joint committee that resolves differences between the House and Senate version of a bill

Joint Committee

Committees that contain both members of the House and Senate. They focus public attention on an issue, gather information for congress, or help party leader speed up the legislative process

Select Committee

Temporary committees that are usually called to investigate an issue, sometimes in response to a crisis or scandal

Jurisdiction

A committees specific subject area and authority to handle legislation

Bill

a formal proposal for a new law or an amendment to an existing one, introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate.

Seniority

A members credibility or power is based off of how long they have served in Congress

Cloture

A procedure through which senators can end a filibuster and proceed to action, granted 60 senators agree to it

Filibuster

A tactic through which an individual senator may use the right of unlimited debate to delay a motion or postpone action on a piece of legislation

Rider

A provision added to a bill that has little or no connection to the subject of the bill. 

Law

formal statute made by the bicameral U.S. legislature after a bill passes both chambers and gets presidential approval, creating binding rules for society,

Lawmaking

Congress’s ability to pass laws in areas of national policy

Oversight

Efforts by congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bereaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals.

Budgeting

Congresses function of setting the federal budget

Representation

elected officials act as delegates for their constituents

Logrolling

trading of votes on legislation by members of Congress to get their earmarks (allocation of money to specific projects in states or congressional districts) passed into legislation