Chapter 11 - Congress

apportionment

the process by which seats in the House of Representatives are distributed among the fifty states, based on population data collected by the US Census Bureau.

bicameralism

the political process that results from dividing a legislature into two separate assemblies.

bill

proposed legislation under consideration by a legislature that must be approved by both houses to become law.

cloture

a parliamentary process to end a debate in the Senate, as a measure against the filibuster, invoked when three-fifths of senators vote for the motion.

collective representation

the relationship between Congress and the United States as a whole, and whether the institution itself represents the American people.

conference committee

a special type of joint committee that reconciles different bills passed in the House and Senate so a single bill results.

constituency

the body of voters, or constituents, represented by a particular politician.

delegate model of representation

a model of representation in which representatives feel compelled to act on the specific expressed and stated wishes of their constituents.

descriptive representation

the extent to which a body of representatives represents the descriptive characteristics of their constituencies, such as class, race, ethnicity, and gender.

enumerated powers

the powers given explicitly to the federal government by the Constitution to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, raise and support armies, declare war, coin money, and conduct foreign affairs: powers are specifically listed in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.

filibuster

a parliamentary maneuver used in the Senate to extend debate on a piece of legislation as long as possible, typically with the intended purpose of obstructing or killing it.

implied powers

the powers not specifically detailed in the US Constitution but inferred as necessary to achieve the objectives of the national government: allow Congress to enact laws that are deemed necessary and proper for carrying out its enumerated functions.

inherent powers

the power neither enumerated nor implied but assumed to exist as a direct result of the country’s existence.

joint committee

a legislative committee consisting of members from both chambers that investigates certain topics but lacks bill referral authority: such as the Joint Committee on Taxation.

majority leader

the leader of the majority party in either the House (Speaker of the House) or Senate (chief spokesperson for the majority party): help set the legislative agenda, coordinate party strategy, and ensure party discipline.

markup

the amending and voting process in a congressional committee: involves reviewing, revising, and finalizing a bill before it is presented to the full chamber for consideration.

minority leader

the party member who directs the activities of the minority party on the floor of either the House or the Senate.

overnight

Congress’s right to review, monitor, and investigate other bodies such as the executive branch..

politico model of representation

a model of representation in which members of Congress act as either trustee or delegate, based on rational political calculations about who is best served, the constituency or the nation.

pork-barrel politics

federal spending intended to benefit a particular district or set of constituents: representatives bring home the bacon through favorable budget allocations which has become a form of corruption.

president pro tempore

the senator who acts in the absence of the actual president of the Senate (VP): usually the most senior senator of the majority party.

representation

an elected leader’s looking out for his or her constituents while carrying out the duties of the office.

select committee

a small legislative committee created to fulfill a specific purpose and then disband also called an ad hoc, or special committee.

speaker of the house

the presiding officer of the House of Representatives and the leader of the majority party: second in the presidential line of succession after the VP.

standing committee

a permanent legislative committee that meets regularly: responsible for reviewing bills and overseeing specific areas of policy, such as finance or foreign relations.

surge-and-decline theory

a theory proposing that the surge of stimulation occurring during presidential elections subsides during midterm elections, accounting for the differences we observe in turnouts and results.

trustee model of representation

a model of representation in which representatives feel at liberty to act in the way they believe is best for their constituents (but not necessarily stated by them).

whip

a high leadership position in the House and in the Senate, whose primary duty is to enforce voting discipline in the chambers and conferences.

congress power

the power of Congress to regulate interstate and intrastate commerce has generally increased, while its power to control foreign policy has declined over the course of the twentieth century.

classic legislative process

bills are introduced and sent to the appropriate committee where hearings are held and the bill is debated and sent to the floor of the chamber where the bill is debated and amended until passed or voted down, if passed it moves to the second chamber where debating and amending begins anew then is reconciled by a joint committee.

recent legislative process

in recent decades Congress has adopted a process whereby large pieces of legislation covering many different items are passed through the budgeting process: empowering the leadership, to the detriment of the committees.