CON Important terms

Constituency

The people that reside in the area from which an official was elected.

Bicameral

A legislative assembly that is composed of two chambers or houses.

Pork Barrel

Government projects or appropriations yielding rich patronage benefits.

Select Committee

Typically, temporary legislative committees that are set up to highlight or investigate a certain issue or address an issue that is not within the jurisdiction.

Standing Committee

Permanent committees that have the power to propose and write legislation that covers a certain subject.

Joint Committee

Legislative committees that are formed of members of both the House and the Senate.

Conference Committee

Joint committees that are created to work out a compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation.

Seniority System

The ranking that is given to an individual based on the length of continuous service on a committee in Congress.

Filibuster

A tactic used by members of the Senate to prevent action on legislation that they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down.

Cloture

The only procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster.

Roll Call

A system of voting in which each legislator's vote is recorded as the clerk calls the names of the members alphabetically.

Logrolling

The practice of exchanging favors, especially in politics by reciprocal voting for each other's proposed legislation. Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.

Gerrymandering

The manipulating of electoral constituency boundaries in order to favor a specific political party or socioeconomic class.

Redistricting

The process of drawing electoral district boundaries.

Lame Duck

Period of office when an elected official is serving after the new successor has been elected.