AP Government - The Legislative Branch

Requirements for House Election

25 years old, citizen for seven years, live in district

Requirements for Senate Election

30 years old, citizen for 9 years, live in state

Speaker of the House

Elected member of majority party; Directs legislative agenda, apponts committee chairman, 3rd in line for presidency

House Majority Leader

Part of majority party, spokesperson for the majority party, carries out legislative agenda, acts as liaison with minority party

Majority Whip

Third most powerful person in the House, key role is to keep party members in line for votes, reports to majority leader and speaker

Committee Chairs

Usually majority party members, selected by majority party leaders, they have a lot of power over the life of a bill when it arrives at the committee process

House Minority Leader

Carries out minority party agenda, liaison with majority party, may run for speaker is his/her party becomes the majority party

Minority Whip

key role is to keep party members in line for votes, reports to minority leader

Seventeenth Amendment

Direct election of senators (remember, the Constitution originally had senators elected by state legislators)

President Pro Tempore

Presides over the Senate when the President of the Senate is not there

Standing Committees

Permanent committees in Congress

Joint Committees

Made up of both house and senate members, most are not permanent, do NOT develop legislative proposals

Select Committees

Temporary, deal with a specific issue not dealt with in standing committees

Conference Committees

Joint committees formed to make sure a house and senate bill are identical

House Rules Committee

This committee is the "gatekeeper" for legislation, sets rules to govern debate, controlled by the majority committee

House Ways and Means Committee

All revenue (tax) related bills start here

House Appropriations Committee

This committee regulates expenditures of money by the government of the United States

Filibuster

Strategy in the Senate only where prolonged speech obstructs progress. Essentially, talking a bill to death

Cloture

3/5ths (60) votes are necessary to stop a filibuster

Pork Barrel Legislation

The use of government funds for projects designed to please voters or legislators and win votes - attached to appropriation bills.

Logrolling

Congressman trading their vote on a bill for a promise from another member to support a future bill.

Earmarks

A congressional directive that funds should be spent on a specific project

Caucus

Formed by members of both houses of Congress and both political parties who have similar interests.

Congressional Budget Office

Created in 1974 to establish a nonpartisan arm of Congress that would generate economic reports related to budget issues.

Reapportionment

a reallocation of congressional seats among the states every ten years, following the census

Gerrymandering

the term for the redrawing of district lines to benefit one political party at the expense of another

Baker v. Carr

case that decided that redistricting (attempts to change the way voting districts are delineated) issues present justiciable questions, thus enabling federal courts to intervene in and to decide redistricting cases

Incumbant

the person already holding an elective office

Senate

approve presidential appointments and treaties; more deliberative body of Congress; 1/3 of Senate is up for reelection every 6 years (continuous body); more foreign policy responsibility

Apportionment

Distribution of representatives among the states based on the population of each state

Congressional Redistricting

Redrawing district lines following reapportionment; done by state legislatures

Incumbency Effect

Tendency of those already holding office to win reelection due to advantages because they already hold the office.

Vice President

Serves as President of the Senate (largely ceremonial role) and casts tie-breaking vote in Senate

President Pro Tempore

Is authorized to perform certain duties in the Senate in the absence of the vice president, including ruling on points of order.

Seniority System

a system that gives the member of the majority party with the longest uninterrupted service on a particular committee the leadership of that committee

Congressional caucuses

Association of members created to support a political ideology or regional economic interest (Black Caucus, Women's Caucus, Blue Dog Democrats...)

Delegate view of representation

The legislator who acts according to the views of his or her constituents, even if they are different from their personal beliefs

Trustee view of representation

The legislator who acts according to his or her conscience and the broad interest of the entire nation

Expressed or Delegated Powers

Powers directly stated in the Constitution

Implied Powers

Powers not specifically mentioned in the constitution; inferred from the Expressed powers; based on Necessary and Proper Clause Article I; Section 8

Congressional Oversight

Power used by Congress to gather information useful for the formation of legislation, review the operations and budgets of executive departments and independent regulatory agencies, conduct investigations through committee hearings, and bring to the public's attention the need for public policy

Bill

a proposed law

Lobbyists and Interest Groups

Often provide members with information on topics relating to their group's interest or possible financial support in future campaigns

discharge petition

Petition to force bills out of a House committee, 218 signatures are needed to grant this.

divided government

The political condition in which different political parties control the presidency and Congress (legislative=Republican, executive=Democrat)

unified government

The political condition in which the same political party controls the presidency and Congress.

impeachment

The power held by the House of Representatives to charge the president, vice president, or other civil officers with Treason, Bribery, and other high Crimes and misdemeanors.

markup

A session in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor

pocket veto

If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill it is considered vetoed without the president's signature.

politico theory of representation

Voting pattern that varies between a trustee, delegate, or partisan depending on the issue.

senatorial courtesy

a custom whereby presidential appointments are confirmed only if there is no objection to them by the senators from the appointee's state

Speaker of the House

The only officer of the House of Rep. mentioned in the Constitution. The chamber's most powerful position, usually a member of the majority party, gatekeeper of lesislation

veto

The formal constitutional authority of the President to reject bills passed by both houses.

War Powers Act

Passed in 1973, limits the president power to deploy troops overseas to a sixty-day period unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period.

standing committees

permanent committees with a defined legislative jurisdiction.

subcommittees

Within committees, there are several of these. They typically handle a specific area of the committees' jurisdiction. The House has 104, the Senate has 70.

markups

action taken within a committee or subcommittee where suggested language changes are made and amendments are added to bills

report (or reporting)

after agreeing to the wording of a bill, a committee issues one of these to the full chamber explaining the bill and its intent. The bill may then be considered by the full chamber.

concurrent powers

powers which are shared by both the federal government and state governments. This includes the power to tax, build roads, and create lower courts.