Government chapter 5 terms

bicameral legislature

a two chamber legislature

census

a population count

reapportionment

the process of reassigning representation based on population, after every census

gerrymandering

to draw a districts boundaries to gain an advantage in elections

baker v. Carr

the court held that federal courts could decide conflicts over distinct boundaries

censure

a vote of formal dissaproval of a members actions

incumbents

elected official who is already in office

constituents

a person whom a member of congress has been elected to represent

speaker of the house

the presiding officer and its most powerful leader

cacus

a private meeting of party leaders to choose candidates for office

majority leader

the speakers top assistant whose job is to help plan the legislative program

whip

an assistant to the party floor leader in the legislative

bills

a proposed law

concurrent jurisdiction

authority shared by 2 or more committees

quorum

the minimum number of members who must be present to permit a legislative body

president pro-tempore

stands in as president of the senate in absence of vice president

filibuster

a method of defeating a bill in the senate by stalling the legislative process and preventing a vote

cloture resolution

a produce that allows each senator to speak only 1 hour on a bill under debate

standing committee

a committee that oversees bills that deal with certain kinds of issues

subcommittee

specialized in subcategory of its standing committees responsibility

select committee

a temporary committee formed to study a specific issue and report its finding to the house/senate

joint committee

consist of members from both the house and senate, formed to act as a study group that reports back to the House

conference committee

with the house and the senate have passed different versions of the same bill

seniority system

give members of the majority party with the longest uninterrupted service on a particular committee

caseworker

on the lawmakers personal staff who handles request for help from constituents

congressional budget office

to coordinate the budget work of congress