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Ch 4
chapter 4 vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Delegates | representatives; members of congress who cast votes based on the wishes of their constituents |
| trustees | lawmaker who votes based on his or her conscience and judgment, not the view of his or her constituents |
| partisans | lawmaker who owns his/her first allegiance to his/her political party and votes according to the party line |
| politicos | Lawmaker who attempts to balance the basic elements of the trustees, delegate, and partisan roles |
| bills | proposed laws |
| floor consideration | what will be considered and acted upon by the full membership of the house or senate |
| oversight function | the process by which congress, through its committees, cheeks to see that the executive branch agencies are carrying out the policies that congress has set by law |
| term | two year period of time during which congress meets |
| session | period of time during which.each year, congress assembles and conducts business |
| convene | to begin a new session of congress |
| adjourn | suspended in terms of a session of congress |
| recess | a time when both houses of congress temporarily suspended business |
| prorogue | adjourn, as in a legislative session |
| special session | an extraordinary session of a legislative body, called to deal with an emergency situation |
| franking privilege | benefit allowing members of congress to mail letters and other materials postage free |
| apportioned | Distributed seats in a legislative body |
| reapportion | redistribute as in seats in a legislative body |
| single-member district | Electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each elected office |
| at-large | Election of an officeholder by the voters of an entire government rather than by the voters of a district or subdivision |
| gerrymandering | The drawing of electoral lines in favor of a party or group |
| off-year elections | Congressional election that occurs between presidential election years |
| incumbent | Current officeholder |
| continuous body | covering unit whose seats are never all ip for the election at the same time |
| constituencies | people and interests that an elected official represents |
| Expressed powers | those delegated powers of the national government tat are spelled out expressly in the constitution also Called the "Enumerated powers" |
| implied powers | those delegated powers of the national government that are suggested by the expressed powers set int the constitution; those "necessary and proper" to carry out the expressed powers |
| inherent powers | powers the constitution is presumed to have delegated to the national government because it is the government of a sovereign state within the world community |
| commerce powers | exclusive power of congress to regulate interstate and foreign trade |
| tax | a change levied by government on persons or property to meet public |
| public debt | all of the many goals that a government purses in all of the many areas of human affairs in which it is involved |
| deficit financing | practice of funding government by borrowing to make up the difference between government spending and revenue |
| bankruptcy | the legal proceeding by which a bankrupt person's assets are distributed amount those to whom he or she own debts |
| legal tender | any kind of money that a creditor must by law accept in payment for debts |
| copyright | the exclusive, legal right of a person to reproduce, publish, and sell his or her own literary, musical, or artistic creations |
| patent | a license issued to an inventor granting the exclusive right to manufacture, use, or sell his or her invention for a limited period of time |
| territory | part of the United States that is not admitted as a state and has its own government |
| eminent domain | power of government to take a private property for public use |
| naturalization | the legal process by which a citizen of one country become a citizen of another |
| Necessary and proper clause | constitutional clause that gives congress the power to make all laws "necessary and proper" for executing powers |
| strict constructionist | one who argues a narrow interoperation of the constitutions provisions; in particular those granting powers to the federal government |
| liberal constructionist | One who argues a road interoperation of the provisions of the constitution particularly those granting powers to the federal government |
| consensus | general agreement among various groups on fundamental matter; broad agreements on public questions |
| appropriate | assign to particular use |
| impeach | to bring formal charges against a public official; the House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach civil officers of th United States |
| acquit | find not guilty of a charge |
| perjury | the act of lying under oath |
| censure | issue a formal condemnation |
| subpoena | an order for a person to appear and to produce documents or other requested materials |
| successor | a person who inherits a title or office |
| Speaker of the house | the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, chosen by and from the majority party in the house |
| President of the senate | the presiding officer of a senate; in congress, the Vice President of the United States; in a states legislator, either the lieutenant governor or senator |
| President pro tempore | the member of the United States senate, or of the upper house of a state's legislature.chosen to preside in the absence of the president of the senate |
| party caucus | a closed meeting of a party's house or senate members; also called a part conference |
| floor leaders | members of the house and senate picked by their parties to carry out party decisions and steer legislative action to meet party goals |
| majority leader | the floor leader of the party that holds the majority of seats in each house of congress |
| minority leader | the floor leader of the party that holds the minority of seats in each house of congress |
| whips | assistance to the floor leaders in the house and senate, responsible for monitoring and marshaling votes |
| committee chair | member who heads a standing committee in a legislative body |
| seniority rule | unwritten rule in both houses of congress reserving the top posts in each chamber, particularly committee chairmanships, for members with the longest records of service |
| standing committee | permanent committee in a legislative body to which bills of a specified subject matter are referred |
| subcommittee | division of existing committee that is formed to address specific issues |
| select committee | legislative committee created for a limited time and for some specific purpose; also known as a special committee |
| joint committee | legislative committee composed of members of both houses |
| conference committee | temporary join committee created to reconcile any differences between the two houses' versions of a bill |
| bill | a proposed law presented to a legislative body for consideration |
| joint resolution | a proposal for action that has the force of law when passed; usually deals with special or temporary matters |
| concurrent resolution | a statement of position on an issue used by the House and senate acting jointly; does not have force of law and does not require the presidents signature |
| resolution | a measure relating to the business of either house or expressing an opinion; does not have the force of law and does not require presidents signature |
| rider | unpopular provision added to an important bill certain to pass so that it will "ride" through the legislative process |
| pigeonholed | expression describing how most bills introduced in each session of congress are buried, put away, or never acted upon |
| discharge petition | a procedure enabling members to force a bill that has been pigeonhole in committee onto the floor for consideration |
| quorum | least number of members who must be present for a legislative body to conduct business; majority |
| engrossed | to print a bill in its final form |
| filibuster | various tactics aimed at defending a bill in a legislative body by preventing a final vote; associated with the U.S. Senate |
| cloture | procedure that may be used to limit or end floor debate in a legislative body |
| veto | chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature; literally "I forbid" |
| pocket veto | type of veto a chief executive may use after a legislative has adjourned; when the chief executive does not sign or reject a bill within the time allowed to do so |
| omnibus measure | one bill contains numerous issues and topics |
Created by:
Mason Flaherty
Popular American Government sets