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16th Amendment (not in section)
allows Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states on the basis of population.
17th Amendment (not in section)
established the direct election of United States senators in each state.
Pork barrel spending
legislation that directs specific funds to
projects within districts or states.
Logrolling
trading of votes on legislation by members of
Congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation.
Oversight
efforts by Congress to ensure that executive branch
agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their
officials, are acting legally and in accordance with congressional
Constituency
a body of voters in a given area who elect a
representative or senator.
Apportionment
the process of determining the number of
representatives for each state using census data.
Gerrymandering
the intentional use of redistricting to benefit a
specific interest or group of voters.
Partisan gerrymandering
drawing of district boundaries into
strange shapes to benefit a political party.
Majority-minority district
a district in which voters of a minority
ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral
district.
Malapportionment
the uneven distribution of the population
among legislative districts.
Incumbency
being already in office as opposed to running for the
first time.
Incumbency advantage
institutional advantages held by those
already in office who are trying to fend off challengers in an
election.
Speaker of the House
the leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by an election of its members.
Political Action Committee (PAC)
an organization that raises
money for candidates and campaigns.
House majority leader
the person who is the second in command
of the House of Representatives.
Whip
a member of Congress, chosen by his or her party
members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline.
Minority leader
the head of the party with the second-highest
number of seats in Congress, chosen by the party’s members.
Senate Majority Leader
the person who has the most power in the
Senate and is the head of the party with the most seats.
Committee Chair
leader of a congressional committee who has
authority over the committee’s agenda.
Conference Committee
a temporary group of members from the House of Representatives and the Senate that work together to resolve differences in a bill
Discharge petition
a motion filed by a member of Congress to
move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the House of
Representatives for a vote
House Rules Committee
a powerful committee that determines
when a bill will be subject to debate and vote on the House floor,
how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be
allowed on the floor.
Committee of the Whole
Consists of all members of the House
and meets in the House chamber but is governed by different
rules, making it easier to consider complex and controversial Legislation
Hold
a delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a
bill.
Unanimous Consent agreement
an agreement in the Senate that
sets the terms for consideration of a bill.
Filibuster
a tactic through which an individual senator may use
the right of unlimited debate to delay a motion or postpone action
on a piece of legislation.
Cloture
a procedure through which senators can end debate on a
bill and proceed to action, provided 60 senators agree to it.
Office of Management and Budget
the executive branch
office that assists the president in setting national spending
priorities.
Entitlement Program
a program that provides benefits for those
who qualify under the law, regardless of income.
Mandatory Spending
spending required by existing laws that is
“locked in” the budget.
Discretionary Spending
spending for programs and policies at the discretion of Congress and the president.
Budget Surplus
: the amount of money remaining when the
government takes in more than it spends.
Budget deficit
the shortfall when a government takes in less
money than it spends.
National debt
the total amount of money owed by the federal
government.
Delegate role
the idea that the main duty of a member of
Congress is to carry out constituents’ wishes.
Trustee role
the idea that members of Congress should act as
trustees, making decisions based on their knowledge and
judgment
Politico role
representation where members of Congress balance
their choices with the interests of their constituents and parties in
making decisions.
Bipartisanship
agreement between the parties to work together in
Congress to pass legislation.
Gridlock
a slowdown or halt in Congress’s ability to legislate and
overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship
Divided governemnt
control of the presidency and one or both
chambers of Congress split between the two major parties.
Lame duck period
period at the end of a presidential term when
Congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees.
Executive branch
the branch of government charged with putting the nation’s laws into effect.
Formal/Enumerated powers
powers expressly granted in the
Constitution.
Informal powers
powers not laid out in the Constitution but used
to carry out presidential duties.
Treaty
an agreement with a foreign government negotiated by the
president and requiring a two-thirds vote in the Senate to ratify.
State of the Union Address
the annual speech from the president
to Congress updating that branch on the state of national affairs.
Veto
formal rejection by the president of a bill that has passed
both houses of Congress.
Pocket veto
an informal veto caused when the president chooses
not to sign a bill within ten days, during a time when Congress
has adjourned at the end of a session.
Presidential pardon
presidential authority to release individuals
convicted from a crime of legal consequences and forgive an
individual and set aside punishment for a crime.
Executive privilege
: a right claimed by presidents to keep certain
conversations, records, and transcripts confidential from outside
scrutiny, especially that of Congress.
Executive agreement
an agreement between a president and
another nation that does not have the same durability in the
American system as a treaty but does not require Senate
ratification.
Signing statement
written comments issued by presidents while
signing a bill into law that usually consist of political statements
or reasons for signing the bill but that may also include a
president’s interpretation of the law itself.
Executive order
policy directives issued by presidents that do not
require congressional approval.
War Powers Resolution
a law passed over President Nixon’s
veto that restricts the power of the president to maintain troops in
combat for more than sixty days without congressional
authorization.
Impeachment
the process of removing a president from office,
with articles of impeachment issued by a majority vote in the
House of Representatives, followed by a trial in the Senate, with a
two-thirds vote necessary to convict and remove.
22nd Amendment
No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice
Executive office of the president
a collection of offices within
the White House organization designed mainly to provide
information to the president.
Bargaining and Persuasion
informal tool used by the president to
persuade members of Congress to support his policy initiatives.
Bully pulpit
Presidential appeals to the public to pressure other
branches of government to support his policies.
Going public
a tactic through which presidents reach out directly
to the American people with the hope that the people will, in turn,
put pressure upon their representatives and senators to press for a
president’s policy goals.
