chapter 11 - congress

incumbents

those individuals who already hold office. In congressional elections, incumbents usually win

casework

activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals, particularly by cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get

• basically when members of Congress help people fix personal issues with government agencies

• “bureaucratic red tape” = all confusing rules/delays

pork barrel

federal projects, grants, and contracts available to state and local governments, businesses, colleges, and other institutions in a congressional district

bicameral legislature

a legislature divided into two houses. The U.S. Congress and all state legislatures except Nebraska’s are bicameral

• instead of one big group making laws House of Reps and Senate have to agree before making law

House Rules Committee

The committee in the House of Representatives that reviews most bills coming from a House committee before they go to the full house

• “traffic controller” for the bills in the House

• decides how/when a bill gets debated before whole house votes on it

filibuster

a strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation use their right to unlimited debate to prevent the Senate from ever voting on a bill. Sixty members present and voting can halt a filibuster on legislation

Speaker of the House

An office mandated by the constitution. The Speaker is chosen in practice by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line (after the Vice President) to succeed to the presidency should that office become vacant

• leader in the House of Reps

majority leader

the principal partisan ally of the Speaker of the House or the majority party’s manager in the Senate. The majority leader in each house is responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes on behalf of the party’s legislative positions

• main “team captain” of the party with most members

• work both in Senate & House of Reps

• helps party stay organized & get laws passed

whips

party leaders who work with the majority leader or minority leader to count votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to the passage of a bill favored by the party

minority leader

the principal leader of the minority party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate

standing committees

committees in each house of Congress that handle bills in different policy areas

• oversee/manage bills in their specialty area before the whole house/senate looks

joint committees

congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses

• a committee made up of members from both the House and Senate working together on a specific topic

conference committees

congressional committees formed when the Senate and the House pass a particular bill in different forms. Party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill

• temporary group that fixes different versions of Senate & House of Reps versions of a bill →makes final version of bill both sides agree on

select committees

congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation

legislative oversight

congress’s monitoring of the executive branch bureaucracy and its administration of policy performed mainly through committee hearings

• congress checking if executive branch does its job

• how congress is making sure government is following laws/doing correctly

committee chairs

through their leadership of the committees, committee chairs have important influence on the congressional agenda. They play the dominant role, in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house

• “boss'“ of their committee

seniority system

a simple rule for picking committee chairs, in effect until the 1970s. The member who had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled the chamber became chair, regardless of party loyalty, mental state, or competence

caucus (congressional)

a group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristics. Many are composed of members from both parties and from both houses

• basically a club in Congress who share a common goal

bill

a proposed law, drafted in legal language. Anyone can draft a bill, but only a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate can formally submit a bill for consideration