Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Unit 2 Government
Chp 5-7 Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| bicameral legislature | A two-chamber legislature |
| session | A period of time during which a legislature meets to conduct business |
| census | A population count |
| reapportionment | The process of reassigning representation based on population after every census |
| redistrict | To set up new district lines after reapportionment is complete |
| gerrymander | To draw a district’s boundaries to gain an advantage in elections |
| at-large | As a whole; for example, statewide |
| censure | A vote of formal disapproval of a member’s actions |
| incumbent | Candidate who is already in office |
| constituents | Persons a member of Congress has been elected to represent |
| caucus | A private meeting of party leaders to choose candidates for office |
| majority | leader The Speaker’s top assistant whose job is to help plan the majority party’s legislative program and to steer important bills through the House |
| whips | Assistants to the party floor leaders in the legislature |
| bill | A proposed law |
| calendars | Schedules that list the order in which bills will be considered in Congress |
| quorum | The minimum number of members who must be present to permit a legislative body to take official action |
| president pro tempore | The Senate member, elected by the Senate, who stands in as president of the Senate in the absence of the vice president |
| filibuster | A method of defeating a bill in which a senator keeps talking until a majority either abandons the bill or agrees to modify it |
| cloture | A procedure that allows each senator to speak only one hour on a bill under debate |
| standing committee | A permanent committee in Congress that oversees bills that deal with certain kinds of issues |
| subcommittee | A group within a standing committee that specializes in a subcategory of its standing committee’s responsibility |
| select committee | A temporary committee formed to study one specific issue and report its findings to the Senate or the House |
| joint committee | A committee of the House and Senate that usually acts as a study group and reports its findings back to the House and the Senate |
| conference committee | A temporary joint committee set up when the House and the Senate have passed different versions of a bill |
| seniority system | A system that gives the member of the majority party with the longest uninterrupted service on a particular committee the leadership of that committee |
| expressed powers | Powers directly stated in the Constitution |
| necessary and proper clause | Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to make all laws that are necessary and proper for carrying out its duties |
| implied powers | Powers that the government requires to carry out the expressed powers |
| revenue bill | A law proposed to raise money |
| appropriations bill | A proposed law to authorize spending money |
| interstate commerce | Trade among the states |
| impeachment | A formal accusation of misconduct in office against a public official |
| subpoena | A legal order that a person appear or produce requested documents |
| perjury | Lying under oath |
| contempt | Willful obstruction of justice |
| immunity | Freedom from prosecution for witnesses whose testimony ties them to illegal acts |
| legislative veto | Device that gave Congress ability to review and cancel actions of executive agencies; ruled unconstitutional in 1983 |
| national budget | The yearly financial plan for the national government |
| impoundment | The president’s refusal to spend money Congress has voted to fund a program |
| private bill | A bill dealing with an individual person or place |
| public bill | A bill dealing with general matters and applying to the entire nation |
| simple resolution | A statement adopted to cover matters affecting only one house of Congress |
| rider | A provision included in a bill on a subject other than the one covered in the bill |
| hearing | A session at which a committee listens to testimony from people interested in the bill |
| veto | Rejection of a bill |
| pocket veto | When a president kills a bill passed during the last ten days Congress is in session by simply refusing to act on it |
| tax | The money that people and businesses pay to support the activities of the government |
| closed rule | A rule that forbids members of Congress to offer amendments to bills from the floor |
| appropriation | Approval of government spending |
| authorization bill | A bill that sets up a federal program and specifies how much money may be appropriated for the program |
| entitlement | A required government expenditure that continues from one year to the next |
| lobbyist | An interest group representative |
| lobbying | Direct contact made by lobbyists in order to persuade government officials to support the policies their interest group favors |
| casework | The work that a lawmaker does to help constituents with problems |
| pork-barrel legislation | Laws passed by Congress that appropriate money for local federal projects |
| logrolling | An agreement by two or more lawmakers to support each other’s bills |
Created by:
perryherbst
Popular American Government sets