AP Gov chapter 11 vocab

Quiz 1/7/2026

Bicameralism

a legislature made up of two houses (House of Representatives and Senate)

Apportionment

dividing the 435 seats in the House among the states based on population data from census

Constituency

the people that elect a representative (who the representative represents)

Representation

the effort of elected officials to look out for the interest of their constituents

Descriptive representation

the extent to which a body of representatives represent the descriptive characteristics of their constituents (race, gender, religion)

Collective representation

the idea that Congress as a whole represents the American people, even if someone’s specific representative doesn’t reflect their views

Delegate model

the representative votes for exactly what their constituents want

Trustee model

the representative uses their own judgement to make decisions even if it’s not what the constituents want (“trust me to make decisions for you”)

Politico model

combination of delegate and trustee models, the representative uses delegate model for important decisions and trustee model for less important decisions

Speaker of the House

the presiding officer of the House of Representatives and the leader of the majority party, second after vice president to succeed president

President por tempore

the senator (most senior member of majority party) who presides over the Senate when the vice president is absent

Majority leader

leader of the majority party in either House or Senate (serves under the speaker of the house in House and is main leader in Senate)

Minority leader

leader of minority party in either House or Senate

Whip

responsible for making sure party members vote in alignment with party goals (in House and Senate)

Standing committee

a permanent committee that meets regularly (ex agriculture, foreign affairs)

Select committee

a temporary committee created for a specific, often investigative, purpose (also ad hoc or special committee)

Joint committee

a committee made up of members from both the House and Senate (it does research but has no power to create legislation)

Conference committee

a special joint committee that combine different versions of the same bill from House and Senate into one bill

Bill

a proposed piece of legislation

Markup

committee members debate and revise bill

Filibuster

used to prevent voting in Senate which gives minority party power (they can oppose what the majority party wants), in the past by extending debate for a long time but modern filibusters are just announcements of intent

Cloture

ends a filibuster, requires ⅗ votes (60 votes)

Pork-barrel politics

federal spending that benefits a specific district which can help a representative get re-elected

Oversight

the right of Congress to review and monitor the executive branch and federal agencies

Enumerated powers

powers specifically listed in Constitution (federal government can regulate interstate and foreign commerce, raise army, declare war, coin money, regulate foreign affairs)

Implied powers

powers that are not specifically listed in the Constitution but are “necessary and proper” to carry out enumerated powers

Inherent powers

powers that naturally belong to any sovereign nation (ex regulating immigrants, acquiring territory, conducting foreign affairs)

Surge-and-decline theory

the president’s party loses seats in Congress during midterm elections, “surge” during presidential election and “decline” during midterm elections