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143 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What plan at the Constitutional Convention was the basis for the Senate
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Great Compromise
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How many members constitute a quorum for the House to consider legislation as a Committee of the Whole
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100 memebers
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Who breaks a tie vote in the House
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Not possible, the bill dies
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How often are Senators chosen
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6yrs
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what are incumbents
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people who are already in office
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How often are Representaitves chosen
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2yrs
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What is the franklin priviledge
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Congressmen receive free postage and stationary
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What is a quorum
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the number of members necessary to have a vote
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5 Committees in Congress
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Standing, Joint, Conference, Select
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What is the job of the Speaker of the House's top assistant
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majority leader
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on what plan at the constitutional convention was the HOUSE OF REP. based
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Virginia Plan
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What is concurrent resolution
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a legislative doc. intended to xpress the will of both chambers of legislature even does not have authority of law
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Implied powers
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powers not given to gov through the elastic clause
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Enumerated Powers
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powers specifically written in the constitution
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Enumerated powers given to congress
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power to tax
power to have currency |
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Bill of Attainder
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a legislative act that inflicts punishment on individuals without any judical action
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What does a Conference Committee do
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joint committee created to iron out the differences between senate and house versions of a specific piece legislative
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representatives are elected from what type of district
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Single Member
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Senators are elected from what type of district
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At large districts
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how many members of congress are there
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535
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who breaks a tie in the senate
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president of the senate
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17th amendment
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made senators directly elected by the people removed their selection from state legislatures
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Name our 2 u.s. senators
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Webb, Warner
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the census, taken every 10 years may affect the number of members per state in this chamber
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House
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how are bills brought to the floor of the Senate
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introduced by a member
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how many members are there in the House of Representatives
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435
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minimum number of members for each state in the House
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1
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Who is the Leader of the Senate
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vice president
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Are there any limits for members of house
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NO
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Are there any limits for members of the Senate
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only can serve 6years
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How are members of senate chosen
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elected
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how was the Senate originally chosen
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by state legislature
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what plan at the constitutional convention was the basis for the SENATE
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New Jersey Plan
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The Basis for the House
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Virginia Plan
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House of Rep was created to represent whom
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the larger, more popular
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How many Senators does VA have
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2
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How long is a term for a member of the house
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term 2years but can hold seat for as long as they are elected
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How long is a term for a Senator
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6years
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Which House of Congress uses more formal rules
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House
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what party controls congress today
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Democratic
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Who may propose laws in Congress
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House and Senate
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When a president rejects a bill
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Veto
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How does congress over-ride a presidential veto
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2/3 vote congress
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What branch of government is congress a part of
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legislative
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what does the legislature do
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makes laws
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role played by elected reps who act as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue
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politico
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role played by elected reps who vote the way their consituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinions
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delegate
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role played by elected reps who listen to constituents' opinions and then use their best judgment to make final decisions
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trustee
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the fact that being in office helps a person stay in office because of a variety of benefits that go with the position
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incumbency
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time of continuous service on a committee
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seniority
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funds in appropriations bill that provide dollars for particular purposes within a state or congressional district
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earmark
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legislation that allows reps to bring home the bacon to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs designed to benefit their districts directly
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pork
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Petition that gives a majority of the House of Reps the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction
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discharge petition
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Temporary committee appointed for specific purpose, such as conducting a special investigation or study
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select (or special) committee
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special joint committee created to iron out differences between Senate and the House versions of a specific piece of legislation
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conference committee
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Committee that includes members from both houses of Congress to conduct investigations or special studies
Committee that includes members from both houses of Congress to conduct investigations or special studies |
Joint Committee
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Committee to which proposed bills are referred; continues from one Congress to the next
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standing committee
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The official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority party
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president pro tempore
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Key member who keeps close contact with all members of his or her party and takes nose counts on key votes, prepares summaries of bills, and in general acts as communications link within a party
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whip
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The elected leader of the party with the second highest number of elected reps in the House of Reps or the Senate
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Minority leader
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the elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Reps or the Senate; is second in authority to the Speaker of the House and in the Senate is regarded as its most powerful member.
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majority leader
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A formal gathering of all party members
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Party caucus or conference
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The only officers of the House of Reps. specifically mentioned in the Constitution; elected at the beginning of each new Congress by the entire House; traditionally a member of the majority party
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Speaker of the House
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The political party in each house of Congress with the second most members
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minority party
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the political party in each house of Congress with the most members
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majority party
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The power delegated to the House of Reps. in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president, or other "civil officers" including federal judges with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
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impeachment
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a proposed law
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bill
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The redrawing of congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within the states
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redistricting
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The process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the decennial census according to their proportion of the population
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apportionment
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A legislature divided into two houses
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bicameral legislature
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the process by which a law or policy is put into operation by the bureaucracy
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implementation
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The 1993 liberalization of the Hatch Act. Federal employees are now allowed to run for office in nonpartisan elections and to contribute money to campaigns in partisan elections
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Federal Employees Political Activities Act
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The 1939 act to prohibit civil servants from taking activist roles in partisan campaigns. This act prohibited federal employees from making policical contributions, working for a particular party, or campaigning for a particular candidate
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Hatch Act
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Governmental units that closely resemble a Cabinet department but have narrower areas of responsibility (such as the CIA) and are not part of any Cabinet department
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independent executive agencies
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businesses established by Congress to perform functions that can be provided by private businesses
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government corporations
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major administrative unit with responsibility for a broad area of government operations. Departmental status usually indicates a permanent national interest in a particular governmental function, such as defense, commerce, or agriculture
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departments
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a process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senator in whose state the vacancy occurs
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senatorial courtesy
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Passed by Congress in 1973; the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixtyday period in peacetime (which can be extended for an extra thirty days to permit withdrawl) unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period
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War Powers Act
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an agency created by Congress that is generally concerned with a specific aspect of the economy
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independent regulatory commission
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the system by which federal civil service jobs are classified into grades or levels, and appointments are made on the basis of performance on competitive examinations
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merit system
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the legal system by which many federal bureaucrats are selected
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civil service system
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a process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval
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congressional review
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Congressional review of the activities of an agency, department, or office
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oversight
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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
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pocket veto
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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
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veto
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mechanism requiring sixty senators to vote to cut off debate
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cloture
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a formal way of halting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the Senate
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filibuster
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a tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. This allows the senator to stop the bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed
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hold
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a process in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor in either house for a vote
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markup
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vote trading; voting to support a colleague's bill in return for a promise of future support
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logrolling
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the political condition in which different political parties control the White House and Congress
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divided government
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the fourth-ranking member of the Department of Justice; responsible for handling all appeals on behalf of the US government to the Supreme Court
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solicitor general
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at least four justices of the Supreme Court must vote to consider a case before it can be heard
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Rule of Four
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a request for the Court to order up the records from a lower court to review the case
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writ of certiorari
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Process by which presidents generally defer selection of district court judges to the choice of senators of their own party who represent the state where the vacany occurs
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senatorial courtesy
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in court rulings, a reliance on past decisions or precedents to formulate decisions in new cases
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stare decisis
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a prior judicial decision that serves as a rule for settling subsequent cases of a similar nature
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precedent
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a document containing the legal written arguments in a case filed with a court by a party prior to a hearing or trial
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brief
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Courts established by Congress for specialized purposes, such as the Court of Military Appeals.
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legislative courts
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federal courts specifically created by the US Constitution or by Congress pursuant to its authority in Article III
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constitutional courts
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codes of behavior related to business and contractual relationships between groups and individuals
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civil law
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codes of behavior related to the protection of property and individual safety.
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criminal law
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the power vested in particular courts to review and/or revise the decision of a lower court
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Appellate jurisdiction
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the jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These courts determine the facts of a case
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original jurisdiction
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Authority vested in a particular court to hear and decide the issues in any particular case
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jurisdiction
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Court that generally reviews only findings of law made by lower courts
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apellate court
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court of original jurisdiction where cases begin
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trial court
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Established the basic three-tiered structure of the federal court system
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Judiciary Act of 1789
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rules or regulations issued by the president that have the effect of law. All executive orders must be published in the Federal Register
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executive order
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a quasi-judicial process in which a bureaucratic agency settles disputes between two parties in a manner similar to the way courts resolve disputes
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administrative adjudication
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rules that govern the operation of a particular government program that have the force of law
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regulations
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a quasi-legislative administrative process that has the characteristics of a legislative act
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rule making
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the ability of bureaucrats to make choices concerning the best way to implement congressional intentions
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administrative discretion
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working groups created to facilitate coordination of policy making and implementation across a host of governmental agencies
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interagency councils
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the relatively stable relationships and patterns of interaction that occur among agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees
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iron triangles
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The members of this chamber have always been directly eleced by the people
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House
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proposal for a law that would apply to particular individual or group of individual. Known as an ACT
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private bill
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social workers who are employed by gov agencies
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caseworker
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additional provitions annexed to a bill of alegislature
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rider
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Symbol of authority for Senate
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gold eagle and sheild
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Symbol of authority for House
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46 inch mace topped by an eagle
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who represents Virginia in the House of Representative
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Rob Bell
Tuscano |
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who represents us in the Virginia Senate
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Deeds
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Which House Ratifies treaties
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Senate
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which house approves presidential appointments
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Senate
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how much time do senators usually have to debate a bill
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unlimited
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how many members are there in the US senate
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100
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How many members are there in the Virginia State senate
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40
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what is required to win a vote of cloture to end a Senate filibuster
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60 votes
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what are 2 main types of bills
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public and private
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when a committee revises a bill it is said to do what to it
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"mark up"
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how does a Representative introduce a bill
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Hooper
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who is the leader of the senate
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president of senate
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who is the president of the senate
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Vice President
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2 types of staff in congress
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district and state
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what committee decides length of debate and number of amendments
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rules committee
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which amendment requires congressmen to only serve a term at a time
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20th amendment
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who presides over the senate when president pro-temp and senate president are not present
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senate majority leader
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the senate was created to represent who
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the states
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when did the House of representatives reach its current size
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1929 reapportionment act
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requirements to be a Senator
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must be 30yrs old
u.s. citizen for 9yrs |
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requirements to be in the house of representatives
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25yrs old
u.s citizen for 7 years live in the state u represent |
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most powerful committee in the House
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The House Rules
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