Government Unit 4

435

435

number of members in House of Representatives

100

How many U.S. Senators are there?

ensure the House is responsive to the will of the people.

Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms in order to:

Article I Section 7

Requires revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives thus linking taxation with representation

necessary and proper clause

Clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress, in addition to its express powers, has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Constitution vests in the national government

16th amendment

Allows the federal government to collect income tax

Commerce Clause

The clause in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.

the bill may be overridden with a two-thirds majority vote in each House of Congress.

When the President of the United States vetoes a bill

Senate

who confirms judicial appointments

reapportionment in the House

takes place every ten years in order to redistribute seats in the House of Representatives

census

the official count of a population

gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

differences in representation between the Senate and the House

senators generally represent a larger constituency than do representatives

Minority Leaders

Congressional officers who are leaders of the party NOT in power in both the House and the Senate

majority party leader of the Senate

has responsibility for directing passage of his or her party's policy agenda

Speaker of the House

member of Congress who holds the most power

whips

officers in the Senate and House have the responsibility for gathering, assessing, and reporting the degree of support or information about votes for legislation present among members

the chairperson of the committee

Within a congressional committee, this person has the responsibility of setting and controlling the committee's agenda.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Senate committee gives advice on the support or disapproval of a treaty

Rules Committee in the House of Representative

speed up or slow down a bill as it moves through the body; set rules for how, when, and under what rules debate will take place on a bill; set a calendar date for a bill to be discussed

Standing committee

permanent, and includes the most important committees in Congress?

congressional committee

consists of more members of the majority party than of the minority party.

marking up

The process of revising or amending a bill in committee

closed rules

House of Representative rules limits debate and forbids adding amendments to a bill

how a bill is handled in the House of Representatives

Bill introduced, bill sent to committee, bill sent to house floor, vote taken on bill

primary purpose of a conference committee

create a compromise version of a bill that will be accepted by both houses

filibuster

unique practice that a minority party uses to prevent a vote on a measure that its members feel is likely to pass.

cloture

procedure used in the Senate to bring an immediate end to debate on a bill with a two-thirds vote of its members.

Committee of the Whole

A committee that consists of an entire legislative body; used for a procedure in which a legislative body expedites its business by resolving itself into a committee of itself. may be formed to debate and amend a bill on the floor.

bill

a proposed law; must be passed in identical form in both houses of Congress