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Ch. 6
vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| bicameral | a legislature of two parts, or house |
| census | a population count taken by the census bureau |
| constituent | a person from a legislator district |
| gerrymander | an oddly shaped election district designed to increase the voting strength of a particular group |
| majority party | in both the house of representative and the senate, the political party to which more than half the members belong |
| minority party | in both of house of representative and the senate the 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 other congress has that are specifcally listed in the constitution. |
| implied powers | powers that congress has that are not stated explicitly in the constitution |
| elastic clause | to accuse government officals of misconduct in office |
| impeach | to accuse government officals 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 committeed |
| 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 officals directly to their policy making |
| casework | the work that a lawmaker does to help constituents with a problem |
| pork-barrel | 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 say 'yeh' 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 | a president's power to kill a bill, if congress is not in session by not signing it for 10 days,. |