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Chap. 6
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bicameral | A legislature consisting of two parts, or houses |
| Census | A population count taken by the Census Bureau |
| 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 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 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 | Clause in Article 1, Section 8 of the constitution that gives congress the right to make 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 |
| 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 relayed 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 does to help constituents with a problem |
| 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 bills 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 "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 own votes in turn |
| Veto | Refusal to sign a bill or resolution |
| pocket Vito | Presidents power to kill a bill, if congress is not in session, by not signing it for 10 days |
| Pork-barrel project | Government project grant that primarily benefits the home district or state |
| Constituent | A person from a legislators district |
| Bill of attainder | A law that punishes a person accused of a crime without a trial or a fair hearing in court |