Term | Definition |
Bicameral | a legislature consisting of two parts, or houses |
Census | a population count taken by the Census Bureau |
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 less than half the members belong |
Standing Comittee | 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 congress |
Elastic Clause | clause in Article 1, 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 a 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 contacts lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy making |
Casework | the work that a lawmaker does to help a 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 houses of Congress |
Special-Interest Group | an organization of people with some common interest who try to influence government decisions |
Fillbuster | 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 Vote | a voting method where those in favor say yeah 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 votes in turn |
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 |