 | Term | Definition |
| |
House of Representatives |
lower body of the nation's bicameral legislature. representatives proportional to the states' population |
| |
apportionment |
division of the state into congressional and state Senate and House districts of equal population for purposes of representation |
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Senate |
upper house of legislature. equal number of representatives, regardless of population |
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Speaker of the House |
majority party leader of the lower legislative body in a congress |
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president of the Senate |
role of the Vice President of the U.S. |
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president pro tempore |
senator elected as president of the Senate in the absence of the Vice President |
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majority leaders |
floor leaders of the mahority party in a legislative |
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minority leaders |
legislative floor leaders from the minority party |
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party whips |
legislative floor leaders who report to the majority or minority leaders |
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bill |
proposed law going through the legislative process |
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law |
a legal document where a rule of order is establisehed and enforced by the authority and legislation of a community, state, or nation |
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veto power |
presidential power to stop a bill from becoming a law by rejecting it |
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committee system |
legislative system that helps bills become laws |
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seniority system |
those holding office longer getting better committee appointments in a legislature |
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filibuster |
legislative tactic; holding the floor with endless speeches to step a bill from coming to a vote |
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cloture |
vote to end a filibuster |
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non-legislative powers |
powers of a legislature besides making laws, such as impeaching the president |
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impeachment |
first step toward removing a politician from office |
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censure |
action by Congress repimanding one of its members for misconduct |
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expulsion |
banishment, for example, of a Congressman from Congress |
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immunity |
protection from government or law |
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writ of habeas corpus |
document requiring that the detention of a person be justified |
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bills of attainder |
legislation declaring a person guilty of a crime without a trial |
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ex post facto laws |
forbidden practice under American law making a new law apply to an action that was not a crime when the act was committed |
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Legislative Branch |
part of the government that makes laws. formed by a House of Representatives and a Senate |
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