Slides 6: Congress: Structures, powers, and the legislative process

Vocabulary flashcards covering the powers, representation models, electoral rules, internal leadership, and legislative procedures of the United States Congress.

Representation

The congressional duty of looking out for the interests of the constituents who elect lawmakers at either the local or national level.

Lawmaking

The responsibility of Congress to create policies aimed at addressing society's problems and keeping the federal government operating.

Partisanship

Loyalty to a political party that shapes lawmakers' worldviews, how they perceive issues, and the policy solutions they support.

Hyper-partisanship

An intense commitment to party ideology where lawmakers prioritize ideological purity to appease radicals in their party, often at the expense of necessary legislative compromise.

Policy Representation

Congressional work in which lawmakers advance and vote for measures that directly benefit the economic and material interests of their home constituencies.

Allocative Representation

A form of representation where members of Congress work to secure specific projects, services, and federal funding directly for their own districts as part of larger legislative bills.

Pork Barrel Projects

Earmarked government-funded projects and expenditures secured by legislators for their local districts, often regardless of whether they are genuinely needed.

Casework

Direct assistance provided by congressional representatives to individual constituents to help resolve problems with federal government agencies and programs.

Symbolic Representation

Efforts by members of Congress to identify with common constituent values, background, or regional culture through appearances, accents, or highlighting working-class roots.

Congressional Oversight

The authority of Congress to continuously monitor, review, and investigate executive branch actions and federal agencies, typically conducted through selective committee hearings.

Reapportionment

The reallocation of the $435$ House of Representatives seats among the states every ten years, determined by population shifts recorded in the national census.

Redistricting

The process of redrawing congressional district boundary lines within states to ensure equal population representation based on the principle of one citizen, one vote.

Gerrymandering

The practice of redrawing electoral district boundaries to give a distinct political advantage to a specific party or group, named after Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry's $1812$ salamander-shaped district.

Cracking

A partisan gerrymandering tactic in which a concentration of opposing party voters is divided across multiple districts to dilute their overall voting power.

Packing

A partisan gerrymandering technique that concentrates as many opposing party voters as possible into a single district to minimize their electoral influence across other districts.

Racial Gerrymandering

The drawing of legislative district boundaries specifically to advantage or disadvantage an ethnic or racial minority group's electoral strength.

Incumbency Advantage

The structural electoral edge enjoyed by current officeholders over challengers due to name recognition, campaign funds, established networks, and past constituent service.

Coattail Effect

The electoral boost that congressional candidates receive when a popular presidential candidate from their party attracts voters to the polls.

Midterm Loss

The recurring historical pattern in which the president's political party loses seats in the House or Senate during midterm congressional elections.

Speaker of the House

The presiding officer of the House of Representatives and leader of its majority party, wielding substantial authority over floor debate and legislative scheduling.

Whips

Party leaders in both chambers of Congress who assist majority and minority leaders by counting prospective votes and enforcing party discipline.

Seniority System

The historic congressional practice of granting committee leadership positions to the majority party member with the longest continuous service, which was reformed and weakened in the 1970s.

Standing Committees

Permanent legislative panels in the House and Senate responsible for drafting, reviewing, and filtering legislation within specific policy areas.

House Rules Committee

A specialized committee in the House of Representatives that establishes the guidelines, debate durations, and amendment rules for bills reaching the floor.

Select Committees

Temporary congressional committees appointed to conduct focused investigations or address specific emergencies not handled by regular standing committees.

Joint Committees

Combined committees composed of members from both the House and Senate created to coordinate legislative activities and expedite policymaking.

Conference Committees

Temporary joint committees appointed to reconcile and resolve differences between different versions of the same bill passed by the House and Senate.

Policy Entrepreneurship

The practice where individual members of Congress actively identify, advocate for, and push specific issues onto the national legislative agenda.

Filibuster

A procedural delaying tactic unique to the Senate in which a senator or group of senators prolongs debate to stall or prevent a vote on a bill.

Cloture

A formal Senate procedure requiring a $\frac{3}{5}$ supermajority vote ($60$ senators) to end a filibuster and bring a measure to a final vote.

Omnibus Legislation

A massive bill that consolidates numerous diverse policy measures and proposals into a single package to build a broader coalition of votes for passage.

Congressional Gridlock

The inability of Congress to pass legislation caused by institutional checks, balanced division, or ideological friction between competing parties or chambers.