Unit 2 Congress

gov. means government; HoR means House of Representatives; VP is vice president

Speaker of the house

presiding officer of the HoR, leader of majority party

HoR majority leader

speaker’s chief lieutenant om HoR and the most important officer of the senate; responsible for managing the floor

HoR minority leader

speaks up for the minority party that is dealing with the majority

Floor

the main legislative chamber where all members of the HoR or Senate assemble to debate, amend, and vote on laws

Whips

members of congress who serve as informal channels of communication; conveys leaders views/intentions to members and vise versa

President of Senate

vice president; only votes to break ties

President Pro Tempore

acts as senate’s presiding officer when VP is absent

Senate majority leader

spokesperson for senate’s majority party; responsible for managing and building consensus

Senate minority leader

spokesperson for senate’s minority party; responsible for setting agenda and strategies of minority party

Party Caucus

a closed meeting of a party in HoR or senate

Floor leader

chosen by a party to steer legislative action to meet party goals; assisted by whips

Committee chairmen

member who heads a standing committee

Standing committee

a permanent panel with full legislative functions and oversees committee responsibility

Subcommittee

a committee formed to tackle a specific task/issue with the authority of the standing committee

Select/Special committee

a smaller group made for a limited time to investigate a specific issue

Joint committee

a committee with members of both chambers; mainly do housekeeping task

Conference committee

a temporary committee where members of both chambers come together to discuss similar bills/laws

Expressed powers

authorities and powers written in and granted by the US constitution; also called explicit or enumerated powers

Implied powers

unstated gov. authorities that are reasonably deduced from the enumerated and inherent powers granted by the U.S. Constitution

Inherent powers

authorities that a gov. holds simply by virtue of existing as a sovereign entity, without needing to be explicitly written or granted by a constitution

What is the difference between inherent and implied powers?

Inherent powers exist simply because the gov. is the gov., while the Implied powers are directly linked/taken from the expressed powers