Government CH 10-12
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67 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 term | two-year period of time during which Congress meets |
| session | period of time during which, each year, Congress assembles and conducts business |
| adjourns | suspends until the next session |
| prorogue | end, discontinue |
| special session | a meeting to deal with some emergency situation |
| apportioned | distributed |
| reapportion | redistribute |
| off-year elections | those congressional elections that occur in between presidential elections |
| single-member district | electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each elected office |
| at-large | elected from the state at whole |
| gerrymandered | the drawing of electoral district lines to the advantage of a party or group |
| continuous body | all of its seats are never up for election at the same time |
| constituencies | the people and interests the senators represents |
| trustee | lawmaker who votes based on his or her conscience and judgement, not the views of his or her constituents |
| partisans | those lawmakers who owe their first allegiance to their political party |
| politicos | attempt to combine the basic elements of the trustees, delegates, and partisan roles |
| oversight function | process by which Congress, through its committees, checks to see that the various agencies in the executive branch are working effectively and acting in line with the policies that Congress has set by law |
| franking privilege | benefit allowing members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free |
| strict constructionists | one who argues a narrow interpretation of the Constitution's provisions, in particular those granting major powers to the Federal Government |
| liberal constructionists | one who argues a broad interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution, particularly those granting powers to the Federal Government |
| consensus | general agreement among various groups on fundamental matters; broad agreement on public questions |
| tax | a charge levied by government on persons or property to raise money to meet public needs |
| direct tax | tax that must be paid directly to the government by the person on whom it is imposed |
| indirect tax | tax that is first paid by one person but then passed on to another |
| public debt | all of the money borrowed by the Federal Government over the years and not yet repaid, plus the accumulated interest on that money |
| deficit financing | government spends more than it takes in each year |
| commerce power | the power of Congress to regulate interstate and foreign trade |
| legal tender | any kind of money that a creditor must by law accept in payment for debts |
| bankruptcy | the legal proceeding in which the bankrupt's assets- however much or little they may be- are distributed among those to whom a debt is owned |
| naturalization | the process by which citizens of one country become citizens of another |
| copyright | the exclusive right of an author to reproduce, publish, and sell his or her creative work |
| patent | grants a person the sole right to manufacture, use, or sell "any new and useful art, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof." |
| eminent domain | the inherent power to take private property for public use |
| appropriates | assigns to a particular use |
| Necessary and Proper Clause | clause that gives Congress the power to make all laws "necessary and proper" for executing its powers |
| doctrine | a principle or fundamental policy |
| successor | a replacement |
| impeach | to accuse, bring charges |
| acquit | find them not guilty |
| perjury | lying under oath |
| censure | formal condemnation of one's behavior |
| subpoena | a legal order directing one to appear in court and/or to produce certain evidence |
| speaker of the house | the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, chosen by and from the majority party in the House |
| president of the Senate | the Senate's presiding officer |
| president pro tempore | the member of the United States Senate, or of the upper house of a State's legislature, chosen to preside in the absence of the president of the Senate |
| party caucus | a closed meeting of the members of each party in each house |
| floor leaders | members of the House and Senate picked by their parties to carry out party decisions and steer legislative action to meet party goals |
| whips | assistants to the floor leaders in the House and Senate, responsible for monitoring and marshalling votes |
| committee chairmen | those members of head the standing committees in each chamber |
| seniority rule | unwritten rule in both houses of Congress reserving the top posts in each chamber, particularly committee chairmanships, for members with the longest records of service |
| standing committees | permanent committee in a legislative body to which bills in a specified subject-matter area are referred |
| select committee | panels set up for some specific purpose and, most often, for a limited time |
| joint committee | committee composed of members of both houses |
| conference committee | temporary joint committee created to reconcile any difference between the two houses' versions of a bill |
| joint resolution | a proposal for action that has the force of law when passed; usually deals with special circumstances or temporary matters |
| concurrent resolution | a statement of position on an issue used by the House and Senate acting jointly; does not have the force of law and does not require the President's signature |
| resolution | a measure relating to the business of either house, or expressing an opinion; does not have the force of law and does not require the President's signature |
| rider | a provision not likely to pass on its own merit that is attached to an important measure certain to pass |
| discharge petition | petition that enables members to force a bill that has remained in committee 30 days onto the floor for consideration |
| subcommittees | divisions of existing committees formed to address specific issues |
| Committee of the Whole | a committee that consists of an entire legislative body; used for a procedure in which a legislative body expedites its business by resolving itself into a committee of itself |
| quorum | majority of the full membership |
| engross | to print a bill in its final form |
| filibuster | an attempt to "talk a bill to death" |
| cloture | limiting debate |
| veto | refuse to sign the bill |
| pocket veto | type of veto a chief executive may use after a legislature has adjourned; when the chief executive does not sign or reject a bill within the time allowed to do so |
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