Question | Answer |
Bicameral | A legislature consisting of two parts,or houses |
Census | A population count taken by tH |
Constituent | A person from a legislator's district |
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 | Power that congress has that are specifically listed in the constitution |
Implied powers | Power that congress has that are not stated explicitly |
Elastic clause | Clause in Article I, section 8 of the Constitution that gives congress the right to make all 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 |
Bill of attainder | A law that punishes a person accused of a crime without 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 committed |
Franking Privilege | The right of senators and representatives to send job-related mail without paying postage |
Lobbyist | Representative of an interest group who contact lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy making |
Casework | The work that a lawmaker does to help constituents with a problem |
Pork-Barrel Project | Government project grant that primarily benefits the home district or state |
joint Resolution | A resolution that is passed by both house 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 note | 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 |
veto | Refusal to sign a bill or resolution |
Pocket veto | President's power to kill a bill, if Congress is not in session, by not signing it for 10 days |