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30 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
apportionment
the process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the decennial census according to their proportion of the population
impeachment
the power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president, or other "civil officers," including federal judges
incumbency
already holding an office
redistricting
the process of redrawing congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state
gerrymandering
the drawing of congressional districts to produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district
caucus
a formal gathering of all party members
Speaker of the House
the only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution; the chamber's most powerful position; traditionally a member of the majority party
majority leader
the head of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate; is second in authority to the Speaker of the House and in the Senate is regarded as its most power member
minority leader
the head of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate
whip
party leader who keeps close contact with all members of his or her party; takes vote counts on key legislation; prepares summaries of bills, and acts as a communications link within a party
President Pro Tempore
the official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority party
standing committee
committee to which proposed bills are referred; continues from one Congress to the next
joint committee
standing committee that includes members from both houses of Congress; set up to conduct investigations or special studies
conference committee
special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate
select/special committee
temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose
discharge petition
petition that gives a majority of the House of Representatives the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction
seniority
time of continuous service on a committee
markup
a session in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor
hold
a tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill or nomination is brought to the floor; signals leadership that a member may have objections to the bill and should be consulted before further action is taken
filibuster
a formal way of halting Senate action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate
cloture
mechanism requiring sixty senators to vote to cut off debate
veto
formal constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of the legislative body, thus preventing the bill from becoming law without further congressional activity
pocket veto
if Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, the bill is considered vetoed without the president's signature
Congressional Budget Act of 1974
act that established the congressional budget process by laying out a plan for congressional action on the annual budget resolution, appropriations, reconciliations, and any other revenue bills
reconciliation
a procedure that allows consideration of controversial issues affecting the budget by limiting debate to twenty hours, thereby ending threat of a filibuster
pork
legislation that allows representatives to bring money and jobs to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs
earmark
funds that an appropriations bill designates for specific projects within a state or congressional district
War Powers Act
passed by Congress in 1973; the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty-day period in peacetime unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period
congressional review
process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval
senatorial courtesy
process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senators in whose state the vacancy occurs