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Unit 3 Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| 16th Amendment | gave Congress the power to collect income taxes |
| 17th Amendment | Established the direct election of senators by the people |
| Speaker of the House | Presiding officer in the House of Representatives; always a member of the majority party; most powerful member of the House; position is currently held by Nancy Pelosi (D) |
| President Pro Tempore | Temporary presiding officer of the Senate when the Vice President is not there; usually the member of the majority party with the longest continuous term in the Senate; mostly a ceremonial position; currently held by Chuck Grassley (R) |
| Majority Leader | Chief spokesperson of the majority party in the Senate/House; directs the legislative program & party strategy; position is currently held by Senator Mitch McConnell (R) & Representative Steny Hoyer (D |
| Minority Leader | Party leader for the minority party in the Senate & House; same responsibilities as the majority leader, except for his/her party; position currently held by Senator Charles Schumer (D) & Representative Kevin McCarthy (R) |
| Whip | Aids the majority or minority leader of the Senate or House; passes information down from the leadership to party members; ensures that party members show up when necessary and vote when necessary |
| Lobbyist | Organization or individual who attempts to influence legislation & the decisions of the government; can teater on the line between legal & illegal; the group with the most money often sees things go their way |
| Interest Groups | Organized group who shares common objectives/interests who attempt to influence policy makers; hire lobbyists to work on their behalf |
| Impeachment | An action by the House of Representatives to accuse a high ranking government official (president, VP, etc) of committing a crime; once this happens, the official is tried by the Senate to determine if he/she will be removed from office |
| Standing committee | Permanent committee in the Senate or House that considers bills within a certain subject area; most important committees in Congress |
| Select Committee | Temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period & for a special purpose; current committees are for Climate, Modernization of Congress, Ethics, & Intelligence |
| Conference Committee | Special joint committee appointed to settle differences when bills pass the 2 chambers of Congress in different forms; no bill can be sent to the President to be signed into law unless it has passed through both chambers of Congress in identical form |
| Joint Committee | Legislative committee composed of members from both chambers of Congress; current committees - Economic, Printing, Taxation & Library |
| Filibuster | A delay tactic used by the senate where a Senator uses unlimited debate to block a bill;c an be ended IF 16 senators sign a petition requesting it be stopped AND if, after 2 days, ⅗ of the Senate vote for cloture |
| Cloture | Shuts off discussion of a bill |
| Appropriation | Congress’ passing of a spending bill specifying the amount of money that will be given to an agency’s use |
| Oversight | The process by which Congress follows up on laws it has enacted to ensure that they are being enforced and administered in the was Congress intended |
| Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause) | Article I Section 8 Clause 18; gives Congress the power to do whatever is necessary to execute its delegated powers |
| Ratification | to formally approve |
| Reapportionment | The allocation of seats in the House to each state after each census; if the census numbers change, the number of representatives a state has may change |
| Gerrymandering | The drawing of legislative districts to obtain an advantage over the other political party |
| Rider | Additional clause added to a bill which is being considered for approval by the legislative branch that has nothing to do with the subject matter of the bill; usually created as a way to pass something controversial that would not be able to pass as its o |
| Quorum | Minimum number of voting members that must be in attendance at a meeting for that meeting to be held |
| Veto | to reject a decision or proposal |
| Pocket Veto | A special veto exercised by the president after a legislative body has ended; if Congress wants to reconsider the bill, it must be reintroduced in the next Congressional session |
| Pork | Special projects or money that are intended to benefit a member’s district or state |
Created by:
tatum.shivers
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