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-Institutions of Government
-Article I
Establishes the Legislative Branch (Congress) and the two houses
-Bicameral
a lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts
-Constituency
The individuals who live within the geographical area represented by an elected officia
-Coalition-building
an alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government of states.
-Revenue
The financial resources of the federal government
-Congressional committee
joint committees appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill
-Standing committee
permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area
-Select committee
Congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose.
-Conference committee
joint committees appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill
-Joint committee
committees on which both senators and representatives serve
-Speaker of the House
the presiding officer of the House of Representatives and the leader of his or her party in the house
-President of the Senate
the vice president serves as the president of the Senate and presides over the Senate's daily proceedings
-President Pro Tempore
second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate
-Majority Leader
the legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House or Senate
-Minority Leader
the legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House or the Senate
-Majority Whip
an elected member of the majority party who assists the Speaker of the House and the majority leader to coordinate ideas on
-Minority Whip
member of the minority party who assists the minority leader in coordinating the party caucus in its responses to legislation and other matters
-Committee chairperson
the member of congress responsible for running a committee, has influence on the committe
-Filibuster
an attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action on the bill
-Cloture
a procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote
-Quorum
The minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress
-Hold
A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of the bill or nomination
-Unanimous consent
-Rules Committee
determines the rules for debate of each bill, including whether the bill may be amended
-Committee of the Whole
A committee of the people on the floor of the House in which all revenue and most other bills are discussed
-Discharge petition
means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from the committee by "discharging" the committee from further consideration of a bill or resolution.
-Treaty ratification
advice and consent of two-thirds of the US Senate, and only if the agreement does not contravene the Constitution
-Discretionary spending
spending that is not required to pay for contracts, interest on the national debt, or entitlement programs such as Social Security
-Mandatory spending
those areas of the federal budget that must be enacted each year by law and are not dependent on annual review by committees of congress
-Entitlements
financial benefits provided to citizens by the government
-Social Security
A combination of entitlement programs, paid for by employer and employee taxes
-Medicare
A program added to the Social Security system in 1965 that provides hospitalization insurance for the elderly and permits older Americans to purchase inexpensive coverage for doctor fees and other health expenses
-Medicaid
a federal and state assistance program that pays for health care services for people who cannot afford them.
-Budget deficit
when federal expenditures exceed federal revenues for a one year period
-Pork barrel legislation
Appropriations made by a legislature for projects that are not essential but are sought because they pump money and resources into the local districts of the legislators
-Earmarks
Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents.
-Riders
provision added to an important bill certain to pass so that it will "ride" through the legislative process
Bill
a proposed law presented to a legislative body for consideration
Pigeon hole (hold)
to set a congressional bill aside in committee without considering it.
-Omnibus bill
proposed law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics.
Closed rules
An order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate and forbids a particular bill from being amended on the floor.
Casework
Activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals; cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get
-Logrolling
the trading of favors, or quid pro quo, such as vote trading by legislative members to obtain passage of actions of interest to each legislative member.
-Franking privilege
The ability of members of Congress to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature for postage.
-Partisanship
an adherent or supporter of a person, group, party, or cause, especially a person who shows a biased, emotional allegiance
-Divided government
A government in which one party controls the white house and another party controls one or both houses of congress.
-Ideological division
refer to the differences in beliefs and values that shape political opinions and policy preferences among individuals and groups.
-Gridlock
is the political stalemate that occurs when the government is unable to act or pass laws because rival parties control different parts of government
-Gerrymandering
The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent.
-Packing
redistricting that packs all seats into one area/ your party loses seats in that area, but you dominate the surrounding area
-Cracking
redistricting to break up a certain group; takes away power from the group
-Reapportionment
The reallocation of the number of representatives each state has in the House of Representatives
-Census
census of human populations, such as size, growth, density, distribution
incumbent
a government official who currently holds office
-Redistricting
The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.
-Safe seat
electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure
-Marginal seat
constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system
-Baker v. Carr (1961)
This case resulted in the decision that facilitated the development of the "one person, one vote" doctrine and enabled federal courts to weigh in on legislative redistricting questions.
-"One person, one vote"
election districts would have to be redrawn to provide equal representation for all of states citizens
-Racial gerrymandering
The drawing of election districts so as to ensure that members of a certain race are a minority in the district; ruled unconstitutional in Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960).
-Shaw v. Reno (1993)
The Court ruled that although it was a legitimate goal for state legislatures to take race into account when they draw electoral districts in order ot increase the voting strength of minorities, they may not make race the sole reason for drawing district lines.
-"Lame-duck" president
an elected official whose successor has already been elected or will be soon
-Article II
Establishes executive branch
-"Trustee" role
Role played by elected representatives who listen to constituents' opinions and then use their best judgment to make final decisions
-"Delegate" role
The idea that representatives are instructed by and mirror the preferences of their constituents
-"Partisan" role
an adherent or supporter of a person, group, party, or cause, especially a person who shows a biased, emotional allegiance
-"Politico" role
Role played by elected representatives who act as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue.
-Policy agenda
a set of issues, problems, or subjects that gets the attention of/is viewed as important by people involved in policymaking
Congressional (Legislative)oversight
review, monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation.
open rule
an order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor.
Note 
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