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chapter 6
Term | Definition |
---|---|
bicameral | a legislature consisting of two parts or houses |
census | population count taken by the census bureau |
constituent | a person from a legislator's district |
gerrymander | an oddly shaped election district designed to increase the voting strength of a particular group |
majority party | in both the house and the senate, the politician party to which more than half the members belong |
minority party | the political party that has less than half the members belong |
standing committee | a permanent committee that continues work from session to session in its congress |
seniority | years of service which is used as a consideration for assigning committee members |
expressed powers | powers that congress has that are specifically listed in the constitution |
implied powers | powers that congress has that are not stated explicitly in the constitution |
elastic clause | a clause in article one section 8 of the constitution that gives congress the right to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out its expressed powers |
impeach | to accuse government officials of misconduct in office |
writ of habeas corpus | a court order that requires police to bring a prisoner to court to explain why they are holding the person |
bill of attainder | a law that punishes a person accused of a crime without a trial or a fair hearing in court |
ex post facto law | a law that would allow a person to be punished for an action that was not against the law when it was committed |
franking privilege | the right of senators and representatives to send job-related mail without paying postage |
lobbyist | representative of an interest group who contacts lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy making |
casework | the work that a lawmaker dose to help constituents with a problem |
pork-barrel project | government project grant that primarily benefits the home district or state |
joint resolution | a resolution that is passed by both houses of congress |
special-interest group | an organization of people with some common interest who try to influence government decisions |
filibuster | a tactic for defeating a bill in the senate by talking until the bill's sponsor withdraws it |
cloture | a procedure used in the senate to limit debate on a bill |
voice vote | a voting method in which those in favor would say yea and those who oppose would say no |
standing vote | in congress when members stand to be counted for a vote on a bill |
roll-call vote | voting method in the senate in which members voice their votes in turn |
veto | a refusal to sign a bill or resolution |
pocket veto | presidents power to kill a bill, if congress is not in session, by not signing it for 10 days |