Upgrade to remove ads
Only $35.99/year

Chapter 4: The Legislative Branch Vocab

Terms in this set (25)

consituent
a person who lives in a electoral district or state and is represented by an elected official in Congress
pork
Publicly funded projects secured by legislators to benefit their home districts or states.
committee
A group of legislators responsible for specific policy areas, such as foreign affairs, agriculture, economics, defense, education, etc.
conference committee
Temporary committee of legislators from both the House and Senate created to work out differences in bills passed by both houses of Congress
appropriations
funds set aside for a specific use as part of a budget or spending bill
casework
Activities/personal services of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals- favors
filibuster
a tactic for delaying or preventing the passage of legislation by making long speeches
cloture
process used to end a filibuster in the Senate; at least 60 senators must support a cloture vote
Gerrymandering
Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting a political party
Oversight
Congress reviews the actions of executive branch agencies to make sure they carry out the laws it has passed
Impeachment
A formal document from the House charging a public official with misconduct in office; the Senate then conducts a trial and votes on whether to remove them from office
Override
Congress can vote to reverse a president's veto of a bill with 2/3rds vote in both houses
Apportionment
How House seats are divided among the states according to each state's population
Delegate
representatives responding directly as most constituents wish
Trustee
representatives doing as they think is best- even if it goes against constituents
Incumbent
An officeholder who is seeking reelection
Caucus
unofficial groups within Congress who share belief sets
Powers of Congress
Collect taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce with other nations and between states, coin money, declare war, and "make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper"
Speaker of the House
Leader of the House; currently Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Senate Majority Leader
Spokesperson for the party that holds the most seats in the Senate; currently Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
interest groups
Organized group whose members share a common goal and try to influence policy through lobbying
Partisanship
Political parties working against each other & being unwilling to compromise
House of Representatives characteristics
435 members, 2 year terms, elected in districts, limited floor debate, more influence on budget/taxes
Senate characteristics
100 members, 6 year terms, elected by states, unlimited floor debate (filibuster), more influence on foreign affairs
Veto
President's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature
Other sets by this creator