Ch. 6 - Congress

Closed Rule

an order from the house rules committtees limiting floor debate on a particcular bill and disallowing or limiting amendment

Open Rule

Cloture

parliamentary procedure to close debate. used in senate to cut off filibusters. .

3/5 or 60 senators must vote to cloture except on presidential nominations to offices other than the supreme court.

Conditional Party Government

Degree of authority delegated to and exercised by congressional leaders; varies with and is conditioned by the extent of election driven ideological consensus among members. difference between members strong

Conference Committes

a temporary joint committee of house/senate appointed to reconcile the differences between the two chambers on a particular piece of legislation.

Discharge Petition

a petition that forces a bill onto the floor for consideration without committee or leadership approval. . In house, iot must be signed by majority of house memebrs (218)

Earmarks

money set aside by congress in the federal budget to pay for projects in the home district of a member of congress

Filibusters

tactic used in the senate to halt action on a bill. endless talking

Gerrymandering

drawing leglislative districts in such a way to give one political party a disproportionately large share of seats for the share of vores its candidates win.

Joint Committtees

permanent congressional committees made up of members of both chambers. monitor specific activities and compile reports.

Majority Leader/Whip

Leader: formal leader of the party controlling majority of seats in either chamber, ranked second in the party hierarchy behind the speaker.

Whip: in congress majority party official charged with managing commissions between party leaders and members. Minority whip serves same purpose.

Pocket Veto

method by which the president vetoes a bill passed by both houses of congress by failing to act on it within 10 days of congress’s adjournment

“Pork Barrell” Legislation

leg that provides members of congress with federal projects and programs for their individual districts

President Pro-tempore

in the absence of vice pres, formal presiding officer of the sente

honor often conferred to a senior member of majority party. sometimes rotated among senators of majority party

Quorum

Min # of congressional members to be present for the transaction of business. 218 and 51 in senate

Riders

an amendment to a bill that is not relevent to the legislation

Roll-Call Vote

used to check for quorom,

Select Committees

temporary legislative committee created for a specfic purpose , dissolved after task is completed

Seniority Rule

practive of appointing committee or sub C chairs the memebrs with the most years of committee service

Special Committees

temporary legislative C, lacking authority

Standing Committees

permanent legislative committee specializing in a particular legislative area. have stable memberships and stable jurisdictions

Status quo-bias

institutional bias that fundamentally favors continuation of current public policy

Ticket Splitting

voting for different parties different offices

Unanimous Consent Agreements

unanimous resolution in senate restricting debate and limiting ameendments to bills on the floor,