Congress, chapter 6

Ap American gov

filibuster

to attempt to block a bill from becoming law by speaking at length against it

Speaker of the House

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

Majority Leader

the Speaker's top assistant whose job is to help plan the majority party's legislative program and to steer important bills through the House ( the REAL leader of the Senate...)

Whips

Party leaders who work with the majority leader or minority leader to count votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to a bill favored by the party.

quorum

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

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.

Reapportionment

the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.

Redistricting

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

Gerrymandering

the drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent

Incumbent

elected official that is already in office

Enumerated powers

powers specifically listed in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution as being granted to the Congress.

Closed rule

A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments

Open rule

an order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor

President pro tempore

Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president

Cloture

a procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate

Standing committee

A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area

Special or select committee

A congressional committee created for a specific purpose, sometimes to conduct an investigation

Joint committee

legislative committee composed of members of both houses

Earmarks

pet projects added to appropriation bills by congressmen, called "wasteful spending" and "pork barrel legislation" by critics

Seniority rule

Unwritten rule in both houses of Congress reserving the top posts in each chamber, particularly committee chairmanships, for members with the longest records of service

Conference committee

committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form.

Logrolling

Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators

Rider

a provision added to a piece of legislation that is not germane to the bill's purpose; number of riders has been increasing recently

power of the purse

Constitutional power given to Congress to raise and spend money

17th Amendment

Passed in 1913, this amendment to the Constitution calls for the direct election of senators by the voters instead of their election by state legislatures.

appropriations

An act of a legislature authorizing money to be paid from the treasury for a specified use.

Impeachment

a formal document charging a public official with misconduct in office

Contract with America

Plan signed by many Republican candidates who promised to work for a balanced budget amendment and other reforms

Rules Committee

the "traffic cop" of the House that sets the legislative calendar and issues rules for debate on a bill.

Wesberry v. Sanders

Reapportionment case dealt with Georgia's congressional districts, must conform to the one-man one vote principle.

Majority-Minority Districts

Congressional districts intentionally drawn to make it easier for minority citizens to elect minority representatives

Reasons for imcumbent victories

money, visibility, constituent services, franking privilege, gerrymandering

Marginal Districts

political districts in which candidates elected to the house of representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55 percent of the vote

Safe Districts

districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55% or more

Instructed Delegate

A legislator who is an agent of the voters who elected him or her and who votes according to the views of constituents regardless of personal beliefs.

Trustee

Lawmaker who votes based on his or her conscience and judgment, not the views of his or her constituents (AKA Attudinal)

Politico

lawmaker who attempts to balance the basic elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan roles

polarization

sharp division, as of a population or group, into opposing factions.

Ways and Means Committee

a permanent committee of the United States House of Representatives that makes recommendations to the House on all bills that would raise revenue

germaneness

The relevance or appropriateness of amendments. (for Ea...)

gridlock

A situation in which government is incapable of acting on important issues, usually because of divided government.

Caucus

an association of congress members created to advance a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest (Congressional Member Organizations)

Franking privilege

the privilege of incumbents of sending mail free to the electorate

Joint resolution

a formal expression of congressional opinion that must be approved by both houses of Congress and by the president; constitutional amendments need not to be signed by the president

pigeonholed

expression decribing how most bills introduced in each session of Congress are buried, put away, or never acted upon

Closed rule

sets a strict time limit on debate and restricts additions (amendments) from the floor (House of Representatives)

Open rule

an order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor

bipartisan

a label given if support for something comes from members of both parties.

pocket veto

President's power to kill a bill, if Congress is not in session, by not signing it for 10 days

law without signature

occurs when a bill becomes law after 10 days if not signed by the POTUS and Congress is in session

60 Senators

need to stop debate (invoke cloture)

Organizational

voting to please Congressiona colleagues

Moderate; center of the political spectrum

recent political beliefs of majority of Americans

Steering Committee

Assigns Democrats to standing committees in the Senate

Personal Caucus

members share an interest in an issue (ex: arts, human rights)

Committee Chairs

Leaders of congressional committees, generally members of the majority party with more longevity on the committee. A Senator can only chair ONE committee.

Congressional Research Service

answers thousands of requests for info from lawmakers, congressional staff, and committees

Congressional Budget Office

advises the congress on the likely economic effects of different spending programs and provides information on the costs of proposed policies

simple resolution

covers matters affecting only one house of congress and is passed by that house alone

sequential referral

a congressional process by which a speaker may send a bill to a second committee after the first is finished acting

mark up session

After congressional hearings have been held on a bill, the members of the subcommittee or full committee will meet to make final changes, adding and removing words and provisions, revising the amounts of money authorized, etc....

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