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CH.6
Term | Definition |
---|---|
bicameral | a legislature consisting of two parts, or houses |
census | a 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 of representatives and the senate , the political party to which more than half the members belong |
minority party | in both the house of representatives and the senate , political party to which fewer than half the members belong |
standing committee | 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 | power that congress has that are not stated explicitly in the constitution |
elastic clause | clause in article 1 section 8 of the constitution that gives congress the right to make all 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 trail 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 commited |
franking privilege | the right of senators and representatives to send job- related mail without paying postage |
lobbyist | representatives of an interest group who contacts lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy makeing |
casework | the work that a lawmaker does 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 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 |
cloture | a procedure used in the senate to limit debate on a bill |
voice vote | a voting method in which those in favor say ''yea'' and those against say ''no'' |
standing vote | in congress, when members stand to be counted for a vote on a bill |
roll-call vote | a voting method in the Senate in which members voice their votes in turn |
veto | refusal to sign a bill or resolution |
pocket veto | President's power to kill a bill, if congress is not in session, by not signing it for 10 days |