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bicameral legislature

A legislature that has two chambers (the House and the Senate, in the case of the United States).

bill

A proposed law (legislative act) within Congress or another legislature. (See also law.)

cloture

A parliamentary maneuver that, if a three-fifths majority votes for it, limits Senate debate to 30 hours and has the effect of defeating a filibuster. (See also filibuster.)

conference comittee

A temporary committee formed to bargain over the differences in the House and Senate versions of a bill. Members are usually appointed from the House and Senate standing committees that originally worked on the bill.

constituency

The people residing within the geographic area represented by an elected official.

filibuster

A procedural tactic in the U.S. Senate whereby a minority of legislators prevent a bill from coming to a vote by holding the floor and talking until the majority gives in and the bill is withdrawn from consideration. (See also cloture.)

gerrymandering

The process by which the party in power draws election district boundaries in a way that enhances the reelection prospects of its candidates.

incumbent

The current holder of a particular public office.

jurisdiction (of a congressional committee)

The policy area in which a particular congressional committee is authorized to act.

law

A legislative proposal, or bill, that is passed by both the House and the Senate and is not vetoed by the president. (See also bill.)

lawmaking function

The authority (of a legislature) to make the laws necessary to carry out the government’s powers.

midterm election

The congressional election that occurs midway through the president’s term of office.

oversight function

A supervisory activity of Congress that centers on its constitutional responsibility to see that the executive branch carries out the laws faithfully.

party caucus

A group that consists of a party’s members in the House or Senate and that serves to elect the party’s leadership, set policy goals, and plan party strategy.

party leaders

The members of the House and Senate who are chosen by the Democratic or Republican caucus in each chamber to represent the party’s interests in that chamber and who give some central direction to the chamber’s work.

party unity

The degree to which a party’s House or Senate members act as a unified group to exert collective control over legislative action.

pork

Also called pork-barrel spending; spending whose tangible benefits are targeted at a particular legislator’s constituency.

reappointment

The reallocation of House seats among states after each census as a result of population changes.

redistricting

The process of altering election districts in order to make them as nearly equal in population as possible. Takes place every 10 years, after each population census.

representation function

The responsibility of a legislature to represent various interests in society.

seniority

A member of Congress’s consecutive years of service on a particular committee.

service strategy

The use of personal staff by members of Congress to perform services for constituents in order to gain their support in future elections.

standing comittees

Permanent congressional committees with responsibility for a particular area of public policy. An example is the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

veto

The president’s rejection of a bill, thereby keeping it from becoming law unless Congress overrides the veto.