U.S. Congress Study Guide
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27 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 bicameral | made up of two houses |
| congress | the legislature of the United States government |
| session | time period during which, each year, congress assembles and conducts business |
| term | two-year time period during which congress meets |
| apportion | to distribute congressional seats among the States based on their population |
| reapportion | to adjust the distribution of seats in the house of representatives after each census |
| gerrymandering | to draw districts to the advantage of the political party in power |
| incumbent | the person who currently holds a political office. |
| constituents | the people a member of congress represents |
| expressed powers | powers spelled out in the constitution |
| implied powers | reasonably deduced from the expressed powers |
| inherent powers | natural powers of the government |
| impeach | to bring formal charges against a public official |
| red scare | a period of general fear of communists |
| speaker of the house | most powerful position in congress |
| president pro tempore | presides over the senate in the vice president's absence |
| state of the union address | Annual speech by the president about issues in the country |
| party caucus | A closed meeting of a party's house or senate members. |
| majority leader | floor leader of the majority party |
| minority leader | floor leader of the minority party |
| majority whip | the majority floor leader's assistant |
| minority whip | the minority floor leader's assistant |
| seniority rule | the most important posts will be held b y those party members with the longest records of service in congress |
| standing committee | a permanent committee in Congress that oversees bills that deal with certain kinds of issues |
| subcommittee | the division of existing committee that addresses specific issues. |
| joint committee | legislative committee composed of members of both houses |
| conference committee | temporary joint committee |
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