US GOV Ch 10 and 12

Torture

bicameral

2 Chambers

the two chambers of congress

House of Representatives and Senate

total amount of congress members

535

# of Senators

100 (2 per state)

# of representatives in the house

435

session of congress

period of time during which, each year, Congress assembles and conducts business

__ sessions of congress per term

2

__ session per year

1

convenes

begins

adjourns

suspends until the next session

recess

a time when both houses of Congress temporarily suspend business

sine die

finally ending a session

prorogue

to discontinue a session

special session

a meeting to deal with some emergency situation (Only the President may call Congress into a "special session")

___ is the start of each 2 year termof congress

Jan 3 (noon every odd numbered year)

approportioned

distributed

Reapportion

redistribute

off-year election

congressional election that occurs between presidential election years

single-member district

An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official.

at large

elected from the state as a whole, rather than from a particular district

packing

pack as many voters from the opposing party into a single district as possible

cracking

happens when the party in power splitsup the voters who support the opposing party. Resultsin the minority party winning fewer seats

Kiddnapping

happens when the party in powere draws the district lines to move a minority party incumbent into a different district where he or she is less likely to win reelection

Gerrymandered

drawn to the advantage of the political party that controls the State's legislature

formal qualifications to be a house member

at least 25 yrs old

citizen in the US for at least 7 yrs

inhabitant of the state from which he or she is elected

incumbent

the current officeholder

average amount of $ spent on congressional campaigns in 2010

1.4 million

Term for House of Representatives

2 years

Term for Senate

6 years

Upper House of Congress

Senate

Lower House of Congress

House of Representatives

Only _of senators´ terms expire every two years

1/3

continuous body

all of the seats are never up for election at the same time

Constituencies

the people and interests the senators represent

Qualifications for Senate

minimum age 30, U.S.

citizen for 9 years,

resident of the state represented

5 major roles of congress

-Legislators-

Representatives of their constituents

-Committee members

-Servants of their constituents

-Politicians

delagates

vote based on what the people they represent want

trustees

lawmakers who vote based on their conscience and judgment, not the views of their constituents

Partisans

vote along party lines

Politicos

Attempt to combine the basic elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan roles

bill

a proposed law

floor consideration

the consideration of and action on a bill by the full membership of the House or Senate

most congressmen are paid

$174000 per year

franking privilege

Benefit allowing members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free

___ people work for the legislative branch

30000

congress appropriates about ___ to fund its many sided operations

$5 billion

Speaker of the House

the leader of the majority party who serves as the presiding officer of the House of Representatives

President of the Senate

Vice President. presiding officer, only votes to break a tie (tbh they don´t do much)

President Pro Tempore

serves in the VP´s absence, always a leading member of the majority, usually the longest serving member, follows the Speaker of the house in presidential sucession (they also dont do much tbh)

why is congress a political body?

• it is the nation´s centeral policy making body
• it is partisan (congress parties more than i do )

party caucus

a closed meeting of the members of each party in each house

floor leaders

the chief officers of the majority and minority parties in each house

majority floor leader

the floor leader of the party that holds the majority of seats in each house of Congress

minority floor leader

Floor leader of the party that holds the minority of seats in each house of Congress

whips

assists the floor leaders

committee chairman

member who heads a standing committe in each chamber

seniority rule

A legislative practice that assigns the chair of the committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee.

standing committtee

A permanent committee in Congress, with a defined legislative jurisdiction.

subcommittees

divisions of standing committees that do most of the committee's work

___ is the ¨traffic cop¨

house rules committee

select committee

Congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose.

joint committe

A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations.

conference committee

special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate

joint resolutions

When passed have the force of law

concurrent resolutions

measures in which both houses of Congress address matters that affect the operations of both chambers. dont require POTUS approval

resolutions

deal with matters concerning either house alone and are taken up only by that house. not sent to POTUS for approval

rider

A provision attached to a bill - to which it may or may not be related - in order to secure its passage or defeat.

pigeonholed

a bill stuck in a House or Senate committee

discharge petition

Petition that, if signed by majority of the House of Representatives' members, will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration.

Quorum

The minimum number of members who must be present to permit a legislative body to take official action

engrossed

printed in its final form

___ measures introduced

10778

__ measures reported by committtee

971

___ measures passed

1, 315

___ measures made into publc laws

383

Filibuster

talk a bill to death

cloture

A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate. need 3/5 vote

veto

Chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature

__ vote needed to override a veto

2/3

pocket veto

congress ajorns its session within 10 days of submiting a bill to the POTUS and the POTUS doesnt act, bill dies

__ independents in the house

3

Current Speaker of the House

Kevin McCarthy

current majority in the senate

Republicans

current majority in the House

democrats

current minority in the senate

democrats

current minority in the house

republicans

___ and ___ committees are permanent

standing, joint

__ and __ committees are temporary

select, conference

___ and ___ committes have members from both houses

joint, conference

___ and ___ committees have members from one house

select, standing

the 5 kinds of govs

-town

-fed

-senate

-county

-district

Fed excusive powers

DC WATTS of Fed Property and Interstate Commerce Power

DC WATTS

• District of Colombia
• Currency and Coins
• War
• Adimrality
• Treaties
• Taxes for the general welfare
• Spending for the general welfare

State and Local exclusive powers

police powers

police powers

• public welfare

• public safety

• public health

• public morals

implied powers are implied in the

delegated/expressed powers

implied powers are from the

necessary and proper clause

state govs are __ under the Fed

not

concurrent powers

• tax and spend INTRAstate
• tax and spend INTERstate
• state and fed courts

2 senators of Nj

Cory Booker

Bob Menendez