Snip Congress
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36 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 franking privilege | benefit allowing members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free; contributes to incumbent advantage |
| bill of attainder | A legislative act that inflicts punishment without a court trial; BANNED in the U.S. constitution (art 1 sect 9) |
| filibuster | senate tactic of extended debate to kill a bill |
| Westberry vs. Sanders | U.S. House of Rep's districts must be roughly equal in population; (one man one vote) |
| Reynolds vs. Sims | ruled both houses in STATE legislatures must represent roughly equal population (one man one vote) |
| Baker vs Carr | this case decided that drawing legislative districts was not a "political question" which allowed the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of legislative redistricting; established the principle "one man one vote" |
| committee chairperson | usually a committee member with the most seniority from the party; this is an informal tradition not law but you MUSTbe from the majority party |
| census | a periodic and official count of a country's population; used for reapportionment purposes |
| reapportionment | the process of reassigning representation in the U.S. House based on population, after every census |
| gerrymander | To draw a legislative district's boundaries to gain an advantage in elections |
| filibuster | a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches |
| cloture | terminate debate by calling for a vote; requires 3/5 in Senate |
| pork barrel | a government project that benefits a specific location or lawmaker's home district and constituents but not the nation as a whole |
| conference committee | resolves the differences between hous and senate versions of a bill |
| standing committee | A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area |
| select committee | A temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period and for a special purpose. |
| pocket veto | a bill fails to become law because the president did not sign it within ten days before Congress adjourns |
| pigeonhole | a bill stuck in committee |
| killer amendment | addition to a bill that makes it unpassable |
| speaker of the house | leader of the House of Representatives |
| Vice-president | presides over the Senate and can cast a tie breaking vote |
| House of Rep's term | 2 years |
| Senate term | 6 years; 1/3 of the body is up for election every 2 years |
| president pro tempore | Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president |
| voting rights act of 1965 | law that hoped to increase minority voter registration and increase miniority representation in Congress |
| Shaw vs Reno | Court struck down congressional districts drawn to increase minority representation (no majority-minority districting) |
| House ways and means | powerful committe that initiates most tax and spending bills |
| ex post facto law | a law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed |
| oversight | congressional power to check up that its laws are being implemented properly, usually through committee hearings |
| discharge petition | a motion to force a bill to the House of Rep's floor that has been bottled up in committee |
| partisan branch | the house usually is more partisan and votes along party lines; mostly because of constant need to raise reelection funds which makes you dependent on your party |
| Gramm-Rudman Act | set budget reduction targets to balance budget; it failed |
| civil rights act of 1964 | banned discrimination in public places; title VII prohibited gender discrimination in employment |
| Title IX | No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance |
| War Powers Act | president can only use military for 60-90 days without congressional approval |
| McCain-Feingold | law that banned soft money contributions to parties and placed limits on how much an individual can give to a campaign |
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