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Chapter 3: The Legislative Branch

Terms in this set (57)

Seventeenth Amendment
gave the people of the state the right to elect their senators
bicameral
two houses of Congress
reapportionment
distribution of US congressional seats according to changes in the census figures
enumerated powers
limited number of specific powers assigned Congress
implied powers
powers not directly stated but required to fulfill the obligations of the enumerated powers
War Powers Act of 1973
gives the president 48 hours in which to engage in urgent combat without informing Congress
impeach
charging a person with offenses so serious that they are determined to be "treason, bribery, and high crimes and misdemeanors"
advice and consent
allows Senators to recommend or reject major presidential appointees
Speaker of the House
top of the power pyramid in the House of Representatives
floor leaders
lead debate among their party and guide discussions from their side of the aisle
whip
keeps tally of votes among his or her party members
conference chair
takes care of party matters, such as heading the organization of party-centered groups in each house
President of the Senate
rules on Senate procedure, organizes Senate, and votes in place of a tie, usually the Vice-President
president pro tempore
temporary president of the Senate when Vice-President is not there, usually most senior member of the majority party
Senate majority leader
sets the legislative calendar for Senate, determines which bills reach floor for debate
standing committees
permanent committees focused on a particular subject and authorized under the rules of each house
House Judiciary Committee
drafts crime bills that define illegal behavior and outline appropriate punishments
Steering and Policy Committee
Democrats committee to determine which of their embers are assigned to the standing committees
Committee on Committees
Republicans committee to determine which of their members are assigned to the standing committees
joint committees
permanent committees that unite members from the House and Senate
select committees
committees formed for some particular, typically short-lived purpose
conference committees
created temporarily to iron out differences on bills that passed each house but in slightly different forms
markup session
process by which the bill is altered in a conference committee
congressional oversight
when Congress ensures that executive branch agencies are carrying out the policy or program as defined by Congress
caucuses
groups on Congressmen that unite around a particular belief
Ways and Means Committee
House committee that determines tax policy by outline details for tax proposals
Rules Committee
House committee assigns bills to appropriate standing committees, schedules bills for debate and decides when a vote will take class
Committee of the Whole
state of operation in the House in which rules are relaxed and allows longer debate among fewer people
discharge petition
requires a simple majority of the House to agree to bring a bill out of a reluctant committee
filibuster
to stall of even kill a bill by speaking for an extremely long time
unanimous consent
the approval of all Senators
hold
measure to stall a bill
cloture rule
requires three-fifths of Senators to close up or stop debate on a bill and call for a bill
sponsor
the member who introduces a bill and assumes authorship
germane amendments
when amendments are directly related to the topic of the bill (House)
riders
additional bills that ride onto an often unrelated bill (Senate)
omnibus bill
when a bill grows to a mammoth size and addresses multiple programs
pork barrel spending
when members of Congress try to send federal dollars back to their district
earmark
funds directed to a very specific purpose
multiple referral
allowing both committees to address a bill simultaneously
sequential referral
giving on committee priority to review a bill before others
logrolling
trading votes to gain support for a bill
delegate model
when members of Congress try to reflect the will of their constituency when voting
trustee model
when members of Congress try to use their best judgment, regardless of how constituents may view an issue, when voting
politico model
when members of Congress attempt to blend delegate and trustee model, calculating what makes the most sense to them at the tmie
interest
source of revenue for government on government holdings and investments
estate tax
paid by people two inherit a very large amount of money
mandatory spending
expenditures required by law for certain programs
deficit
difference between spending and revenue
discrtionary spending
funds that congressional committees debate and decide how to dividie up
gridlock
so much congestion of opposing forces that nothing can move forward
redistricting
when state legislatures alter congressional district maps to reflect population changes determined by the US Census
Baker v. Carr (1962)
established "one person-one vote" principle that greatly expanded democratic participation and the voting rights of minorities
gerrymandering
illogical district lines drawing to give the advantage to one party
safe seats
districts in which a party consistently wins by more than 55% of the vote
swing districts
districts with closer elections
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
congressional districts designed for the purposes of assuring a majority one race population violates Fourteenth Amendment
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