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Ch. 10 vocab AP gov

Terms in this set (47)

bicameralism
The system of having two chambers within one legislative body, like the House and Senate in the U.S. Congress.
pork barrel
Legislative appropriations that benefit specific constituents, created with the aim of helping local representatives win reelection.
descriptive representation
When a member of Congress shares the characteristics (such as gender, race, religion, or ethnicity) of his or her constituents.
substantive representation
When a member of Congress represents constituents' interests and policy concerns.
trustee
A member of Congress who represents constituents' interests while also taking into account national, collective, and moral concerns that sometimes cause the member to vote against the preference of a majority of constituents.
delegate (congressional role)
A member of Congress who loyally represents constituents' direct interests.
politico
A member of Congress who acts as a delegate on issues that constituents care about (such as immigration reform) and as a trustee on more complex or less salient issues (some foreign policy or regulatory matters).
casework
Assistance provided by members of Congress to their constituents in solving problems with the federal bureaucracy or addressing other specific concerns.
electoral connection
The idea that congressional behavior is centrally motivated by members' desire for reelection.
advertising
Actions taken by a member of Congress that are unrelated to government issues but have the primary goal of making a positive impression on the public, like sending holiday cards to constituents and appearing in parades.
credit claiming
The acceptance of credit by a member of Congress for legislation that specifically benefits his or her constituents.
position taking
Any public statement in which a member of Congress makes his or her views on an issue known to his or her constituents.
redistricting
Redrawing the geographic boundaries of legislative districts. This happens every ten years to ensure that districts remain roughly equal in population.
apportionment
The process of assigning the 435 seats in the House to the states based on increases or decreases in state population.
gerrymandering
Attempting to use the process of redrawing district boundaries to benefit a political party, protect incumbents, or change the proportion of minority voters in a district.
gridlock
An inability to enact legislation because of partisan conflict within Congress or between Congress and the president.
incumbency advantage
The relative infrequency with which members of Congress are defeated in their attempts for reelection.
universalism
The informal congressional norm of distributing the benefits of legislation in a way that serves the interests of as many states and districts as possible.
reciprocity
The informal congressional norm whereby a member votes for a bill that he or she might not otherwise support because a colleague strongly favors it, and in exchange, the colleague votes for a bill that the member feels strongly about (also known as logrolling).
earmarks
Federally funded local projects attached to bills passed through Congress.
specialization
The expertise of a member of Congress on a specific issue or area of policy. Specialization is more common in the House than the Senate, where members tend to be policy generalists.
seniority
The informal congressional norm of choosing the member who has served the longest on a particular committee to be the committee chair.
Speaker of the House
The elected leader of the House of Representatives.
majority leader
The elected head of the party holding the majority of seats in the House or Senate.
whip system
An organization of House leaders who work to disseminate information and promote party unity in voting on legislation.
minority leader
The elected head of the party holding the minority of seats in the House or Senate.
president pro tempore
A largely symbolic position usually held by the most senior member of the majority party in the Senate.
roll call vote
A recorded vote on legislation; members may vote yes, no, abstain, or present.
party votes
A vote in which the majority of one party opposes the position of the majority of the other party.
party unity
The extent to which members of Congress in the same party vote together on party votes.
standing committees
Committees that are a permanent part of the House or Senate structure, holding more importance and authority than other committees.
select committees
Committees in the House or Senate created to address a specific issue for one or two terms.
joint committees
Committees that contain members of both the House and Senate but have limited authority.
conference committees
Temporary committees created to negotiate differences between the House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation that has passed through both chambers.
distributive theory
The idea that members of Congress will join committees that best serve the interests of their district and that committee members will support each other's legislation.
informational theory
The idea that having committees in Congress made up of experts on specific policy areas helps to ensure well informed policy decisions.
markup
One of the steps through which a bill becomes a law, in which the final wording of the bill is determined.
veto
The president's rejection of a bill that has been passed by Congress. A veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.
pocket veto
The automatic death of a bill passed by the House and Senate when the president fails to sign the bill in the last ten days of a legislative session.
omnibus legislation
Large bills that often cover several topics and may contain extraneous, or pork-barrel, projects.
suspension of the rules
One way of moving a piece of legislation to the top of the agenda in the House: debate on the bill is limited to forty minutes, amendments are not allowed, and the bill must pass by a two-thirds vote.
cloture
A procedure through which the Senate can limit the amount of time spent debating a bill (cutting off a filibuster), if a supermajority of sixty senators agree.
filibuster
A tactic used by senators to block a bill by continuing to hold the floor and speak—lunder the Senate rule of unlimited debate—luntil the bill's supporters back down.
hold
An objection to considering a measure on the Senate floor.
closed rules
Conditions placed on a legislative debate by the House Rules Committee prohibiting amendments to a bill.
open rules
Conditions placed on a legislative debate by the House Rules Committee allowing relevant amendments to a bill.
modified rules
Conditions placed on a legislative debate by the House Rules Committee allowing certain amendments to a bill while barring others.
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