ap gov unit 3 congress vocab

Congressional caucuses

A group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic.

Descriptive representation

Congressmen/women representing their constituents by mirroring their personal and political characteristics.

Substantive representation

Congressmen/women representing the interests of groups.

Seniority system

Simple rule for selecting committee chair; longest-serving member from the controlling party became chair, effective until 1970s.

Oversight

Congress’s monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy.

Whips

Party leaders who work with majority or minority leaders to count votes and influence wavering members.

Minority leader

Leads the minority party in the House of Representatives or Senate.

Credit claiming

Claiming increased spending in states or helping constituents to enhance reelection prospects.

Committee chairs

Elected by committee members to provide leadership for committee activities.

Conference committees

Committee that works out compromise between differing House and Senate versions of a bill.

Standing committees

Permanent congressional committees that handle legislation.

Joint committees

Committees on a few subject matter areas with membership drawn from both houses.

Select committees

Congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose.

Speaker of the House

An Office mandated by the Constitution chosen by the majority party in the House.

Filibuster

A strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents try to talk a bill to death.

Cloture

To stop a filibuster; requires sixty senators.

Majority leader

Principal partisan ally of the Speaker of the House.

Bicameral legislature

A legislature divided into two houses, with Nebraska as the only exception.

House Rules Committee

An institution unique to the House that reviews all bills before they go to the full House.

Casework

Activities of members of Congress that help their constituents as individuals.

Pork barrel

List of federal projects and contracts available in a congressional district, often with excessive spending.

Incumbents

Those elected officials already holding office.

House of Representatives

Four times larger than Senate; 435 Members; more institutionalized and the voice of the people.

Senate

Less disciplined; protects elite interests; consists of 100 members.

Bill

Proposed law, drafted in legal language.

Lobbying

Communication by someone other than a citizen directed to a decision maker to influence decisions.

Gerrymandering

Redrawing district lines to favor one party at the expense of the other.

Constituent

A person who authorizes another to act on their behalf as a voter in a district.

Marked-up bill

Bills debated and amended in Congressional committees or subcommittees.