AP U.S. Government & Politics: Congress (Topics 2.1–2.3)

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the structures, powers, unique rules, legislative procedures, spending types, representation models, and required Supreme Court cases of the United States Congress.

Bicameralism

A two-chamber legislature established under the Great Compromise to balance majority rule in the House of Representatives with state equality in the Senate.

Reapportionment Act of 1929

A statute that permanently capped the size of the House of Representatives at $435$ members and established a system to redistribute seats among the states every $10$ years after the Census.

Continuous Body

A term describing the Senate because its members serve staggered $6$-year terms with only $\frac{1}{3}$ of seats up for reelection every $2$ years, preventing abrupt institutional turnover.

Seventeenth Amendment (1913)

The constitutional amendment that shifted the selection of U.S. senators from state legislatures to direct popular election by the people of each state.

Advice and Consent

The exclusive constitutional power of the Senate to confirm presidential appointments (such as federal judges, Cabinet officials, and ambassadors) by a simple majority and ratify treaties by a $\frac{2}{3}$ supermajority.

Enumerated Powers

Congressional authorities explicitly listed in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, such as the power to collect taxes, coin money, declare war, and regulate commerce.

Power of the Purse

The constitutional power of Congress to levy taxes, borrow funds, coin money, and appropriate all federal expenditures, preventing any money from leaving the Treasury without legislative authorization.

War Powers Act (1973)

A law enacted to limit presidential military actions, requiring the executive to notify Congress within $48$ hours of deploying troops and withdraw them within $60$ days (with a possible $30$-day extension) unless Congress grants approval.

Implied Powers (Necessary and Proper Clause)

Powers not explicitly detailed in the Constitution but authorized under Article I, Section 8, giving Congress authority to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to execute its enumerated powers.

Congressional Caucuses

Informal coalitions of like-minded members of Congress (organized around parties, regions, or specific issues) that meet behind closed doors to plan legislative strategy and select leaders.

Speaker of the House

The presiding officer of the House of Representatives and leader of the majority party, possessing the authority to recognize speakers, assign bills to committees, appoint committee members, and control the legislative schedule.

Whips

Assistant party leaders in the House and Senate tasked with counting expected votes, enforcing party discipline, pressuring members to vote the party line, and maintaining ethical conduct.

President Pro Tempore

A constitutionally mandated officer, typically the most senior member of the majority party in the Senate, who presides over chamber proceedings when the Vice President is absent.

Senate Majority Leader

The true chief legislative strategist and dominant leader in the Senate who determines the legislative calendar and manages which bills reach the floor.

Standing Committees

Permanent legislative panels in each chamber dedicated to specific policy areas that handle the drafting, amending, and initial voting of bills.

Conference Committees

Temporary bicameral committees formed to resolve discrepancies and reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of the same legislation.

Congressional Oversight

The process through which congressional committees investigate, review, and monitor executive branch agencies and programs via hearings and budget examinations to ensure compliance with federal law.

House Rules Committee

The influential House panel known as the "traffic cop," responsible for establishing guidelines on debate duration, permitting or barring floor amendments, and scheduling bills for floor action.

Germane Amendments

Proposed changes to a bill that must be directly relevant and tied to the subject matter of the legislation, which is strictly enforced in the House of Representatives.

Committee of the Whole

A special parliamentary state in the House of Representatives requiring a quorum of only $100$ members, designed to accelerate debate and permit territorial delegates to vote on amendments.

Discharge Petition

A mechanism in the House that enables a majority of members ($218$ signatures) to extract a stalled bill from a reluctant standing committee and force it onto the House floor.

Filibuster

A Senate delay tactic, not found in the Constitution, in which a senator uses unlimited debate to prolong discussion endlessly to obstruct or defeat a bill or presidential nomination.

Cloture Rule (Rule 22)

The formal Senate procedure used to cut off debate and end a filibuster, requiring a three-fifths supermajority vote ($60$ out of $100$ senators).

Hold

An informal Senate tactic whereby a single senator objects to a unanimous consent request, signaling an intent to filibuster or stall action on a bill or nomination.

Pork-Barrel Spending (Earmarks)

Government funds directed by lawmakers into specific legislative provisions to finance localized projects within their home districts or states.

Logrolling

An informal legislative practice of mutual vote-trading among lawmakers, where one agrees to back another's bill in return for future legislative support.

Mandatory Spending

Federal expenditures mandated by existing permanent entitlement statutes (such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) that make up more than $60\%$ of the budget and cannot be cut without altering underlying laws.

Discretionary Spending

The segment of the federal budget (roughly $38\%$) that Congress debates and appropriates annually across agencies and programs such as defense, transportation, and education.

Delegate Model

A philosophy of legislative representation holding that lawmakers must vote strictly in accordance with the expressed preferences and desires of their constituents.

Trustee Model

A philosophy of legislative representation holding that lawmakers should follow their own conscience, reasoning, and judgment to act in the best interests of their constituents.

Politico Model

A hybrid representation framework where representatives vote as delegates when public sentiment is intense and clear, but behave as trustees when constituent interest is absent or split.

Gerrymandering

The deliberate redrawing of legislative district borders into distorted boundaries by a state legislature to give one political party an electoral advantage.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

The landmark Supreme Court decision establishing that unequal legislative districting (malapportionment) is a justiciable issue under the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, creating the "one person, one vote" doctrine.

Justiciable Question

A legal dispute that falls within the constitutional scope and authority of the federal judiciary to resolve, rather than being excluded as an inherently political question.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

The Supreme Court decision ruling that creating irregularly shaped congressional districts where race is the predominant factor segregates voters by race and violates the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause unless justified by a compelling state interest.