Congress Vocab Chapter 4

Pork barrel spending

legislation in appropriations bills that funds projects within districts or states

Logrolling

combining several different bills into a single bill to get enough votes for the legislation to pass

Discharge Petition

A motion filed by a member of congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the House of Representatives for debate

House rules committee

A powerful committee that determines when a bill will be subject to debate and vote on the house floor, how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be allowed on the floor

Committee of the whole

consists of all members of the house and meets in the house chamber but is governed by different rules that make it easier and faster to debate a piece of legislation

Quorum

Only 100 members needed

Roll call vote

Vote in which each member of the chamber debating a bill indicates “yea” “nay” or “present”

Hold

A delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a bill to prevent it from moving to the floor for a vote

Unanimous consent agreement

An agreement in the senate that sets the terms for consideration of a bill

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

Cloture

A procedure through which senators can end a filibuster and proceed to a vote, provided sixty senators agree to it

Veto

The power of a president to reject a bill passed by congress, sending it back with objections

Pocket veto

If the president doesn’t sign the bill within ten days and congress is not in session, the bill does not become law

Veto override

Bills that are vetoed can still become law if two-thirds of both chambers vote to override the presidents veto

oversight

the power of congress to review and investigate actions by executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, to ensure that they are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals

constituency

citizens in a district or state who elect a representative or senator

apportionment

the process that occurs every 10 years after the census of determining the number of representatives for each state using census data

redistricting

states redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts for the house of representatives following each census

malapportionment

the uneven distribution of the population among legislative districts

gerrymandering

the intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific group, usually a political party

majority-minority district

a district in which voters of a minority race or ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district

incumbency

being already in office when running for reelection

incumbency advantage

institutional advantages held by those already in office who are trying to fend off challengers in an election

speaker of the house

the leader of the house of representatives, chosen by members, and from the majority party

political action committee (PAC)

an organisation that raises money for candidates and campaigns

house majority leader

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

whip

a member of congress, chosen by their party members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline

minority leader

the head of the party with the second highest number of seats in congress, chosen by that partys members

senate majority leader

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

committee chair

leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committees agenda

conference committee

a temporary joint committee that resolves differences between the house version and senate version of a bill

entitlement program

a program that provides benefits for those who qualify under the law, regardless of income

mandatory spending

spending required by existing laws that is “locked in” the budget

discretionary spending

spending for programs and policies at the discretion of congress and the president

budget surplus

the amount of money remaining when the government takes in more than it spends

budget deficit

the annual shortfall when a government takes in less money than it spends

national debt

the total amount of money owed by the federal government

delegate role

the idea that the main duty of a member of congress is to vote according to their constituents wishes

trustee role

the idea that members of congress should make decisions based on their knowledge and judgement

politico role

representation where members of congress balance their choices with the interests of their constituents and parties in making decisions

bipartisanship

agreement between the parties to work together in congress to pass legislation

gridlock

a slowdown or halt in congress’s ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship

divided government

control of the presidency and one or both chambers of congress split between the major parties

lame duck period

period at the end of a presidential term when congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees

1842 apportionment act

mandated single member districts. represented by one person in the house

1929 reapportionment act

435 members, depends on state population

baker v carr (1962)

supreme court case, court can review district boundaries so they have equal population, argues courts overstepped boundaries with state issue

shaw v reno (1993)

cant draw boundary lines based off of race

franking privilege

free use of all US mail for communication with constituents

substantive representation

members of congress represent interests and policy preferences of constituents

current speaker of the house

mike johnson

current senate majority leader

John Thune

current president of the senate

JD Vance