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Ch_13 Vocab
Congress
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bicameral Legislature | A lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts. |
| Filibuster | An attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action to the bill. |
| Marginal Districts | Political districts in which candidates elected to the H.O.R. win in close elections, typically by less than 55% of the vote. |
| Safe Districts | Districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55% or more. |
| Conservative Coalition | An alliance between Republican and conservative Democrats. |
| Majority Leader | The legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House or the Senate. |
| Minority Leader | The legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House or the Senate. |
| Party Whip | A senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking. |
| Party Polarization | A vote where a majority of Democratic legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators. |
| Party Caucus | An association of Congress members created to advance a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest in a specific party. |
| Standing Committees | Permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area. |
| Select Committees | Congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose. |
| Joint Committees | Committees on which both senators or representatives serve. |
| Conference Committees | A joint committee to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill. |
| Public Bill | A legislative bill that deals with matters of general concern. |
| Private Bill | A legislative bill that deals only with specific private, personal, or local matters. |
| Simple Resolution | An expression of opinion either in the House or Senate to settle procedural matters in either body. |
| Concurrent Resolution | An expression of opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, but not the president. |
| 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 be signed by the president. |
| Multiple Referral | A congressional process whereby a bill may be referred to several committees. |
| Sequential Referral | A congressional process by which a Speaker may send a bill to a second committee after the first is finished acting. |
| Discharge Petition | A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had the bill for thirty days, may petition to have it brought to the floor. |
| Closed Rule | An order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate; forbids a bill from being amended on the floor. |
| Open Rule | An order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor. |
| Restrictive Rule | An order from the H.R.C. that permits certain kinds of amendments but not others to be made into a bill on the floor. |
| Quorum | The minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress. |
| Quorum Call | A roll call in either House of Congress to see whether the minimum number of representatives required to conduct business is present. |
| Cloture Rule | A rule used by the Senate to end of limit a debate. |
| Double-Tracking | A procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster in which the disputed bill is shelved temporarily so that the Senate can get on with other business. |
| Voice Vote | A congressional voting procedure in which members shout "yea" in approval or "nay" in disapproval, permitting members to vote quickly or anonymously on bills. |
| Division Vote | A congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted. |
| Teller Vote | A congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, the "yeas" first and the "nays" second. |
| Roll-Call Vote | A congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering "yea" or "nay" to their names. |
| Pork-Barrel Legislation | Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return. |
| Franking Privilages | Their ability of members to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature for postage. |
| Congressional Caucus | Growing rival caucus of parties as a source of political leadership. |
| Gerrymandering | Drawing a district boundary or in a shape to make it easy for one party to dominate or win elections in that district. |
| Malapportionment | District of unequal population allows people and votes to be more valuable than others. |
| House Rules Committee | Reviews most bills and adopts a rule that governs the procedures under which they will be considered by the House. |
| Parliament | An assembly of party representatives who choose a government and discuss major national issues. |
| Strict Party Vote | 90% of the vote is party. |
| Loose Party Vote | 50/50 vote. (Party and themselves) |
| Markup Session | The process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation. |
| Party Vote | Party vote is unanimous. |
| "Christmas Tree" Bill | Informal nomenclature for a bill on the Senate floor that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments. The amendments which adorn the bill may provide special benefits to various groups or interests. |
| Riders | Informal term for a nongermane amendment to a bill or an amendment to an appropriation bill that changes the permanent law governing a program funded by the bill. |
| Seniority System | The status given Senators according to their length of service, which entitles a Senator with greater seniority to preferential treatment in matters such as committee assignments. |
| Reconciliation Process | A legislative device employed by the U.S. Senate to end a filibuster, close debate and pass controversial budget bills, thereby circumventing the three-fifths rule. |
| Earmarks | Legislative provisions that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees. |
| Sophomore Surge | An increase in the votes congressional candidates usually get when they first run for re-election. |
| Substantive Representation | Describes the tendency of representatives to advocate for certain groups. |
| Majority-Minority District | A term used to describe a U.S. state or other jurisdiction whose racial composition is less than 50% white. |
| Descriptive Representation | The idea that candidates in democratic elections should be elected to represent ethnic and gender constituencies, as well as other minority interest groups, rather than the population at large. |
| Congressional Budget Office(CBO) | Provides information on the costs of proposed policies on the congressional end. |
| Congressional Research Service(CRS) | Responds to cpngressional requests for information and now employs nearly 900 people, with advanced training, to respond to more than 1/4 million questions a year. |
Created by:
cg_love007
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