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Legislative Branch

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Term
Definition
16th Amendment   gave Congress the power to collect income taxes  
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17th Amendment   established the direct election of senators by the people  
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Speaker of the House   Presiding officer in the House of Representatives; always a member of the majority party; most powerful member of the House  
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President Pro Tempore   Temporary presiding officer of the Senate when the Vice President is not there; usually the member of the majority party with the longest continuous term in the Senate; mostly a ceremonial position  
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Majority Leader   Chief spokesperson of the majority party in the Senate/House; directs the legislative program & party strategy  
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Minority Leader   Party leader for the minority party in the Senate & House; same responsibilities as the majority leader, except for his/her party  
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Whip   Aids the majority or minority leader of the Senate or House; passes information down from the leadership to party members; ensures that party members show up when necessary and vote when necessary  
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Lobbyists   Organization or individual who attempts to influence legislation & the decisions of the government; can teater on the line between legal & illegal; the group with the most money often sees things go their way  
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Interest Group   Organized group who shares common objectives/interests who attempt to influence policy makers; hire lobbyists to work on their behalf  
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Impeachment   An action by the House of Representatives to accuse a high ranking government official (president, VP, etc) of committing a crime; once this happens, the official is tried by the Senate to determine if he/she will be removed from office  
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Standing Committee   Permanent committee in the Senate or House that considers bills within a certain subject area; most important committees in Congress  
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Select Committee   Temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period & for a special purpose; current committees are for Climate, Modernization of Congress, Ethics, & Intelligence  
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Conference Committee   Special joint committee appointed to settle differences when bills pass the 2 chambers of Congress in different forms; no bill can be sent to the President to be signed into law unless it has passed through both chambers of Congress in identical form  
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Joint Committee   Legislative committee composed of members from both chambers of Congress; current committees - Economic, Printing, Taxation & Library  
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Filibuster   A delay tactic used by the senate where a Senator uses unlimited debate to block a bill;c an be ended IF 16 senators sign a petition requesting it be stopped AND if, after 2 days, ⅗ of the Senate vote for cloture  
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Cloture   Shuts off discussion of a bill  
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Appropriation   Congress’ passing of a spending bill specifying the amount of money that will be given to an agency’s use  
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Oversight   The process by which Congress follows up on laws it has enacted to ensure that they are being enforced and administered in the was Congress intended  
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Necessary & Proper Clause/Elastic Clause   Article I Section 8 Clause 18; gives Congress the power to do whatever is necessary to execute its delegated powers  
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Ratification   to formally approve  
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Reapportionment   The allocation of seats in the House to each state after each census; if the census numbers change, the number of representatives a state has may change  
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Gerrymandering   The drawing of legislative districts to obtain an advantage over the other political party  
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Rider   C added to a bill which is being considered for approval by the legislative branch that has nothing to do with the subject matter of the bill; usually created as a way to pass something controversial that would not be able to pass as its own bill  
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Quorum   Minimum number of voting members that must be in attendance at a meeting for that meeting to be held  
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Veto   to reject a decision or proposal  
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Pocket Veto   A special veto exercised by the president after a legislative body has ended; if Congress wants to reconsider the bill, it must be reintroduced in the next Congressional session  
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Pork   Special projects or money that are intended to benefit a member’s district or state  
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