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Chapter 13
Congress
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Partisan Polarization | A vote in which a majority of Democratic legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators. |
| Bicameral Legislature | A lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts. |
| Filibuster | An attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action on the bill. |
| Cloture Rule | A rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate. |
| Marginal Districts | Political districts in which candidates elected to the House of Representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55 percent of the vote. |
| Safe Districts | Districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55 percent or more. |
| Conservative Coalition | An alliance between Republicans and conservative Democrats. |
| Representational View | The view that members of Congress vote to please their constituents so they can be reelected. |
| Organizational View | The view that members of Congress vote to please their fellow members to gain status and power in Congress. |
| Attitudinal View | The view that members of Congress make votes from their own opinions and beliefs. |
| Majority Leader | The legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House of the Senate. |
| Minority Leader | The legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House or the Senate. |
| Whip | A senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking. |
| Speaker | The presiding officer of the House of Representatives and the leader of his or her party in the House. |
| Party Vote | All members of a party in Congress vote the same way within their party. |
| Caucus | An association of congressional members created to advance a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest. |
| Standing Committee | Permanently established legislative committee that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area. |
| Select Committee | Congressional committee appointed for a limited time and purpose. |
| Joint Committee | Committees on which both senators and representatives serve. |
| Conference Committee | Joint committees appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill. |
| Simple Resolution | An expression of opinion either in the House or Senate to settle procedural matters in either body |
| Concurrent Resolution | An expression of opinions without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, but not the president |
| Joint Resolution | A formal expression of congressional opinion that must be approved by both houses of Congress and by the president; constitutional amendments need not be signed by the president |
| Discharge Petition | A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had the bill for 30 days, may petition to have it brought to the floor. |
| Restrictive | An order from the House Rules Committee that permits certain kinds of amendments but not others to be made into a bill on the floor. |
| Closed Rule | An order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate; forbids a bill from being amended on the floor. |
| Open Rule | An order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor. |
| Quorum | The minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress |
| Riders | Amendments on matters unrelated to a bill that are added to an important bill so that they will "ride" to passage through the Congress. when a bill has many riders, it is called a Christmas-tree bill. |
| Double Tracking | A procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster in which the disputed bill is shelved temporarily so that the Senate can get on with other business. |
| Voice Vote | A congressional voting procedure in which members shout "yea" in approval or "nay" in disapproval, permitting members to vote quickly or anonymously on bills. |
| Division Vote | A congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted |
| Roll-Call Vote | A congressional voting procedure that consists of members answer "yea" or "nay" to their names |
| Teller Vote | A congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, the "yeas" first and the "nays" second. |
| Veto | Literally, "I forbid": it refers to the power of a president to disapprove a bill; it may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress |
| Divided Government | One party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress. |
| Unified Government | the same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress. |
| Earmarks | "Hidden" congressional provisions that direct the federal government to fund specific projects or that exempt specific persons or groups from paying specific federal taxes or fees. |
| Pork-Barrel legislation | Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return. |
| Franking Privileges | The ability of members to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature for postage. |
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