Studied by 12 people
Hippensteel, Block 2
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 goals
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
redistricting
states' redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts following each census
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
incumbency
a political official who is currently in office
Speaker of the House
the leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by an election of its members
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
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
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 three-fifths of senators agree to it
veto
formal rejection by the president of a bill that has passed both houses of Congress
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
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 difference when a government takes in less money than it spends
national debt
the total amount of money owed by the federal government
delegate roll
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 judgement
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 government
a situation that occurs when control of the presidency and one or both chambers of Congress is 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
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