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Chapter 11

Terms in this set (35)

incumbents
Those already holding office. In congressional elections, incumbents usually win.
casework
Activities of members of Congress that help
constituents as individuals, particularly by cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get.
pork barrel
Federal projects, grants, and contracts available to state and local governments, businesses, colleges,
and other institutions in a congressional district.
bicameral legislature
A legislature divided into two
houses. The U.S. Congress and all state legislatures except Nebraska's are bicameral.
House Rules Committee
The committee in the House
of Representatives that reviews most bills coming from a House committee before they go to the full House.
filibuster
A strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation use their right to unlimited
debate to prevent the Senate from ever voting on a bill.
Sixty members present and voting can halt a filibuster.
Speaker of the House
An office mandated by the
Constitution. The Speaker is chosen in practice by the
majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed to the presidency should that office become vacant.
majority leader
The principal partisan ally of the Speaker of the House, or the party's manager in the Senate. The majority leader is responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes on behalf of the party's legislative positions.
whips
Party leaders who work with the majority leader or minority leader to count votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to a bill favored by the
party.
minority leader
The principal leader of the minority party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate.
standing committees
Separate subject-matter
committees in each house of Congress that handle bills in
different policy areas.
joint committees
Congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses.
conference committees
Congressional committees formed when the Senate and the House pass a particular bill in different forms. Party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill.
selective committees
Congressional committees
appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation.
legislative oversight
Congress's monitoring of the
bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings.
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