AP Gov - Chapter 11
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75 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 reapportionment | The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative districts. |
| redistricting | The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population. |
| gerrymandering | The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent. |
| safe seat | An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of that party's candidate is almost taken for granted. |
| incumbents | The current holders of elected office. |
| bicameralism | The principle of a two-house legislature. |
| enumerated powers | The powers explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution. |
| Speaker | The presiding officer in the House of Representatives, formally elected by the House but actually selected by the majority party. |
| majority leader | The legislative leader selected by the majority party who helps plan party strategy, confers with other party leaders, and tries to keep members of the party in line. |
| minority leader | The legislative leader selected by the minority party as spokesperson for the opposition. |
| whip | Party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature. |
| party caucus | A meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy. Called a conference by Republicans. |
| closed rule | A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments. |
| open rule | A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill. |
| president pro tempore | Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president. |
| hold | A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of a bill or nomination. |
| fillibuster | A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue. |
| cloture | A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate. |
| senatorial courtesy | Presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work. |
| standing committee | A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area. |
| special or select committee | A congressional committee created for a specific purpose, sometimes to conduct an investigation. |
| joint committee | A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations. |
| seniority rule | A legislative practice that assigns the chair of a committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee. |
| conference committee | Committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form. |
| delegate | An official who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of the legislator. |
| trustee | An official who is expected to vote independently based on his or her judgment of the circumstances; one interpretation of the role of the legislator. |
| attentive public | Those citizens who follow public affairs carefully. |
| logrolling | Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators. |
| discharge petition | Petition that, if signed by a majority of the members of the House of Representatives, will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration. |
| rider | A provision attached to a bill - to which it may or may not be related - in order to secure its passage. |
| pocket veto | A veto exercised by the president after Congress has adjourned; if the president takes no action for ten days, the bill does not become law and is not returned to Congress for a possible override. |
| override | An action taken by Congress to reverse a presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds majority in each chamber. |
| centralization | Quick, decisive power that comes at the expense of the power of individual congressmen and citizens. Centralization requires a strong leadership, restrictions on debate, few stalling tactics, minimal committee interference, and minimal public scrutiny. |
| decentralization | Power that involves longer debate and protects individual voices and constituents, requires weak leadership, few restrictions on debate, many opportunities for the minority, powerful committees and intense public scrutiny. |
| rules committee | A committee in the House whose members are chosen by the Speaker. The committee decides the rules under which certain House business will proceed. |
| 17th Amendment | Allowed for the direct election of senators. |
| adjournment | The end of a congressional term. |
| sessions | Terms are two years long, divided into year long________ |
| recesses | Breaks from congressional service. |
| revenue bills | Must originate in the House. |
| line of succession | Predetermined list of who reaches the presidency if the president dies or becomes incapacitated. |
| majority party | Party with the most seats in either house. |
| parliamentary procedure | The rules by which congressional business is conducted. |
| US Term Limits vs. Thornton | 1995 Supreme Court case that said term limits imposed by state legislatures are unconstitutional. |
| President of the Senate | The Vice President's traditional role. |
| docket | The bills up for consideration. Influenced by the Speaker. |
| pork barrel | Projects congressmen secure for their home state that often waste federal money but secure votes. |
| 27th Amendment | Prevents salary raises for congressmen from having immediate effect. |
| Honoraria | Speaking fees. Banned for congressmen. |
| franking privilege | Congressmen can mail for free. |
| legislative immunity | Cannot be arrested on the way to a vote. |
| census | A constitutionally-mandated counting of American citizens every ten years. |
| packing | Concentrations of the opposing party into a few districts in gerrymandering. |
| cracking | Dispersion of opposing party into districts to dilute power. |
| Baker vs. Carr | "One man, one vote" for legislative districts in states, correcting overrepresentation of rural areas. |
| malapportionment | Shifts within the 10 years. |
| Racial gerrymandering | Moving voters of the same race into the same district. |
| Shaw vs. Reno | Prohibits racial gerrymandering. |
| Miller vs. Johnson | Race cannot be the primary factor in gerrymandering. |
| institutional powers | Relate to checks and balances. Ratification of treaties by Senate, House votes for impeachment, etc. |
| censure | Official punishment of a sitting member. |
| ex post facto laws | After the fact laws. |
| bills of attainder | Legislative act pronouncing someone's guilt/punishment without trial. |
| habeas corpus | Cannot be suspended unless a time of invasion or rebellion. |
| watchdog | Media role over monitoring congress. |
| authorization | Allows for a program. |
| appropriation | Pays for a program. |
| reported out | Action taken if a bill passes through committee successfully. |
| mark up | Session when a bill is amended in committee. |
| earmarks | Spending placed by committee members. |
| pigeonhole | Postpone indefinitely in committee. |
| line-item veto | Deemed unconstitutional, process of eliminating individual parts of a bill. |
| Clinton v. NY | Declared line-item veto unconstitutional. |
| seniority system | Ranking of who has been in the congress longest. |
| Ways and Means | House committee dealing with tax bills. |
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