unit 5
Bicameral- having two branches, chambers, or houses, such as the United States Congress, which is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
\ Seventeenth Amendment- established the direct election of senators in each state.
\ Reapportionment- Every ten years, after the census is completed each states, electoral votes may be reallocated based on the changes in population
\ Enumerated powers- powers explicitly granted to the national government through the constitution
\ Expressed powers- powers explicitly granted to the national government through the constitution
\ Implied powers- power of the federal government to carry out powers not explicitly granted in the constitution, but are considered necessary to carry out enumerated powers
\ Power of the Purse- ability of one group to manipulate and control the actions of another by withholding funding.
\ Commerce Clause- gives congress the power to regulate interstate commerce
\ Gibbons v. Ogden- case that decided the federal government has the power to regulate interstate commerce.
\ Franking privilege- ability to send mail by one's signature rather than by paying for postage.
\ Impeachment Powers - The Senate has the constitutional power to hold the impeachment trial and votes to determine if the officeholder will be removed from office. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict, and the penalty for an impeached official upon conviction is removal from office
\ Markup Sessions- congressional committees and subcommittees that debate, amend and rewrite proposed legislation
\ War Powers Act- law passed over Nixon's veto, restricts power of the president to maintain troops in combat for more than 60 days without congressional authorization.
\ McCulloch v Maryland- established that federal law always wins over state laws.
\ Advice and consent- the power to review presidential appointments
\n Speaker of the House- elected from majority vote, delegates members to committee, sends bills to committee, signs bills that pass, sets agenda, decides what bills should be considered and when.
\ Majority Leader- second in command, acts as the floor manager. Also known as the “eyes and ears”
\ Gerrymandering- Political parties through their legislatures manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) to favor one party or class
\ Minority Leader Whips- member of the minority parts who assists the minority leader in coordinating the party and its response to legislation.
\ President Pro Tempore- deals with the day to day objectives and is the oldest member of the house.
\ Baker v. Carr- The redistricting of state legislative districts is not a political question, and thus is justiciable by the federal courts. One man, one vote, or one person, one vote, expresses the principle that individuals should have equal representation in voting.
\ Conference Chair- directs day to day operations.
\ Standing Committees- permanent committees by the House and Senate
\ Joint Committee- committees consisting of both House and Senate members. \n
Select Committee- congressional committee that performs a special function that is beyond the authority of a standing committee.
\ Caucuses- a state's voters meet to select delegates to represent their preferences in the nomination process.
\ Rules Committee- determines when a bill should be debated on the floor, how long it will be debated and if amendments are allowed on the floor.
\ Ways and Means Committee- responsible for raisins revenue to finance the federal government. Includes social security, medicare and more
\ Germane Amendments- the proposition that an amendment must address the same subject as the matter being amended
\ Discharge petition- motion filed by a member of congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor for a vote.
\ Filibuster- prolonged talking by a senator or senators for the purpose of delay, in the hope of forcing the majority to give up the proposal being debated.
\ Cloture- motion or process in procedure aimed to bring debate to a quick end.
\ Sponsor of bill- a person who presents a bill to a legislature for consideration.
\ Non-germane amendments- amendment that would add new and different subjects to the bill or other legislature that it seeks to amend.
\ Riders- an unrelated controversial measure attached to a congressional bill in order to compel the President to accept the bill with its rider or do without the bill. (The President cannot veto part of a bill.)
\ Omnibus bill- a bill that converts a number of diverse topics
\ Pork barrel spending- legislation that directs specific funds to projects within a district or state
Earmark- legislative provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects.
\n Pigeonhole- to not assign or dear debate on a bill
\ Logrolling- trading votes on legislation by members of congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation.
\ Congressional Budget Office- federal agency tasked with producing analysis of both budgetary and economic issues in effort to support the congressional budget process.
\n Shaw v. Reno- Redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny under the equal protection clause while bodies doing redistricting must be conscious of race to the extent that they must ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
\ Delegate model- elected representatives are delegated to act in the interest of the people who elected them, they should consider their electorate, or state when making decisions.
\ Trustee Model- idea that members of congress should act as trustees, making decisions based on their own knowledge.
\n Politico model- representatives can fulfill the role of a trustee or delegate depending on an issue
overriding veto- congress can override a veto by passing the act by a 2/3rds vote in both the house and senate.
\ Sources of Revenue- most revenue of the government comes from contributions from individual taxpayers and businesses.
\n Tariffs/excise tax- tax imposed on sales of specific goods or services
Partisanship- strong adherence to a political party or ideology.
\ Redistricting- states redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts following each census.
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