Ap Government Chapter 10: Congress

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2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act

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funded about 11,000 projects that benefited the makers' constituents (an example of prok-barrel legislation)

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appropriation

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the actual amount of money available in a fiscal year

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authorization

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type of bill that states the maximum amount of money available

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bicameral

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two-house

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caucuses

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associations of members of congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest

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closed rule

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a "gag rule", sets strict time limits on debates and forbids amendments from the floor, except those form the presenting committee; members not on the committee have little choice but to vote for or against the bill as it is

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open rule

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permits amendments and often has less strict time limits, allowing for more input form members

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"Christmas-tree bill"

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a bill with many riders, or nonrelevant provisions added on to it

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cloture

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when 3/5 of the senate vote to stop debate on a bill, therefore stopping filibustering

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Committee of the Whole

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a committe that sits on the floor and alters bills before they are voted upon; it includes 100 members of teh House and is conducted by the committee chairman

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conference committee

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this committee makes a compromise between the Senate and the house on a Bill if agreements were not able to be made on the bill

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congressional calenders

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a bill must be placed in on of these in order to come before either house

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discharge petition

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may be signed by 218 members of the House in order to have a bill brought to the floor

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Easley v. Cromartie

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a court case regarding racial gerrymandering; ruled that race may be a factor in redistricting, but not a "dominant and controlling" one

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"elastic clause"

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allows the legislature to make any laws "necessary and proper" to enfore and execute the power of the constitution

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filibuster

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practice of "talking a bill to death" during debate to delay it being enacted

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franking privilege

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free mailing that incumbents receive

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germane amendments

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amendments that are relevant to the topic of the bill

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gerrymandering

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manipulating districts in order to make it easier for a certain party to win in order to gain advantage in the House

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incumbency

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those who already hold office

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joint committees

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consist of members from both the House and the Senate; set up to conduct business between the houses and to help focus attention on major issues

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logrolling

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when a member of congress supports another member's project in return for support for their own project

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majority leader of the House

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responsible for scheduling bills and for rounding up votes for bills that the party favors in the House

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majority leader of the Senate

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most influential person in the Senate; has right to be the first senator heard on the floor; determines Senate's agenda and has a say in committee asignments

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malapportionment

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when districts are of unequal sizes and populations

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marking up

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after it goes through a committee, changing or rewriting a bill and then returning it to the committee

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minority leader of the House

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spokesperson for the minority party in the House

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minority leader of the Senate

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spokesperson for the minority in the senate, has as much power as the majority leader will allow

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minority/majority districting

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rearranging districts to allow a minority representative to be elected

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oversight of the budget

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when congress reviews and restricts the annual budget prepared by the executive branch; they set authorizations and apprpriations

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party whips

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assist each floor leader by being go-betweens for the members and the leadership; inform members when important bills will come up for a vote, do osecounts for the leadership, and pressure members to support the leadership

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pigeonholing

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forgetting about bills for weeks or forever,this happens to the majority of bills and they never make it out of the committee

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pork barrel legislation

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bills that give benefits to constituents of members of congress, hoing to gain their votes

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president pro tempore

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a largely cerimonial position in the Senate; the official chair of the senate, but has no real power

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resolutions

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can be simple (sets up rules, regulations, or practices that don't have the force of law), concurrent (settles housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses), joint (essentially the same as a law, must be approved by both houses and the president)

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revenue bills

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a budget bill that must originate in the House, as mandated by the constitution

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select committees

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committees formed for specific purposes and are usually temporary

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seniority

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used from 1910 to the early 1970s, this is how the committee charman was chosen; the member with the longest continuous service in teh committee was placed automatically in the chairmanship

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Shaw v. Reno

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supreme court case in which the plaintiffs charged the Justice department with reverse discrimination based on the equal rights amendment of the 14th amendment when they had ordered North carolina to redraw a district to allow the election of another black rep.

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speaker of the House

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most important leadership position in the House, office is provided for in the constitution; majority party does the choosing

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standing committees

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committees that "stand" for a long time; handle bills in different policy areas

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term limits

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supporters of this believe that popular control of Congress has weakened and that members may become dictatorial or unresponsive to their constituents and that congress members should fulfill their civic duty then retreat back to private life

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types of votes

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teller, voice, division, roll call, electronic

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Wesberry v. Sanders

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case in which the court ordered that districts be drawn so that each person's vote was equal

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marginal districts

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olitical districts in which candidates elected to the House win in close elections, typically by less than 55% of the vote

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safe districts

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districts in whoch incumbents win with over 55% of the vote

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public bill

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a bill that deals with matters of general concern

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private bill

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a bill taht deals with specific, private, personal, or local matters, rather than with general affairs (i.e. immigration, personal claim)

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rider

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a nongermane amendment to a bill

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quorum

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the minimum number of members who must be present in order for business to be conducted in Congress

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quorum call

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a roll call in either House to see if the minimum number of members required are present in order to conduct business