chapter 13 assingment reading 2

Organizational explanation

Organizational explanation

based on the equally reasonable assumption that since most constituents do not know how their legislator has voted, it is not essential to please them. But it is important to please fellow members of congress, whose goodwill is valuable in getting things done and in acquiring status and power in congress

Attitudinal explanation

based on the assumption that there are so many conflicting pressures on members of congress that they cancel one another out, leaving them virtually free to vote on the basis of their own beliefs.

Policy committee

a dozen or so senators who help the party leader schedule senate business, choosing what bills will be given major attention and in what order

Standing committees

permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area

Select committees

congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose

Joint committees

committees on which both senators and representatives serve

Conference committees

join committees appointed to resolve differences in the senate and house versions of the same bill

Caucus

an association of congressional members created to advance a regional, ethnic, or economic interest

Party vote

there are two measures of such voting. By the stricter measure, a party vote occurs when 0 percent or more of the democrats in either the house of congress vote together against 90 percent or more of the republicans, A looser measure counts as a party vote any case where at least 50 percent of the democrats vote together against at least 50 percent of the republicans

Speaker

the presiding officer of the house of representatives and the leader of his party in the house

Whip

a senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking

Majority leader

the legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the house or the senate

Minority leader

the legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the house or the senate

Conservative coalition

an alliance between republican and conservative democrats

Marginal districts

political districts in which candidates elected to the house or representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55 percent of the vote

Safe districts

districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55 percent or more

22nd Amendment

placed a two-term limit on the president after Franklin D. Roosevelt served 4 terms