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72 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Franking Privilege
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as certain government officials (especially legislators) and others designated by law or Postal Regulations. This allows the letter or other parcel to be sent without the application of an actual postage stamp
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Unicameral
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practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber
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Bicameral
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practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers
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Speaker of the House
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the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives
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Newt Gingrich
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American politician who served as the 58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. He was born in Harrisburg, but raised in Hummelstown, a small borough next to Harrisburg. In 1995, Time magazine selected him as the Person of the Year for his role in leading the Republican Revolution in the House
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Nancy Pelosi
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an American politician who is the current Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives. Pelosi served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
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Harry Reid
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the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.
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Party Caucus
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a meeting of members of a political party or subgroup to coordinate members' actions, choose group policy, or nominate candidates for various offices
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Rules Committee
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a committee of the United States House of Representatives. Rather than being responsible for a specific area of policy, as most other committees are, it is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor. As such, it is one of the most powerful committees
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Filibuster
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the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal
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17th Amendment
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established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote
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Rule 22
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A parliamentary procedure by which debate is ended and an immediate vote is taken on the matter under discussion
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Cloture
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a motion or process aimed at bringing debate to a quick end
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Term Limits
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a legal restriction when that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office
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Marginal Districts
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a constituency held with a particularly small majority in a legislative election, generally conducted under a single-winner voting system
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Safe District
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is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both
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House Banking Scandal
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broke in early 1992, when it was revealed that the United States House of Representatives allowed members to overdraw their House checking accounts without risk of being penalized by the House bank (actually a clearinghouse).
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House Post Office Scandal
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the discovery of corruption among various Congressional Post Office employees and members of the United States House of Representatives, investigated 1991–1995
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Reapportionment
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the process of allocating political power among a set of principles (or defined constituencies). In most representative governments, political power has most recently been apportioned among constituencies based on population
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Malapportionment
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broad and systematic variance in the size of electoral constituencies resulting in disproportionate representation for a given voter. Malapportionment is only possible within electoral systems that have districted constituencies
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Gerrymandering
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a practice of political corruption that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected, and neutral districts
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Majority-Minority Districts
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a United States congressional district in which the majority of the constituents in the district are racial or ethnic minorities
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One Man One Vote
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a slogan that has been used in many parts of the world where campaigns have arisen for universal suffrage
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Descriptive Representation
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the idea that elected representatives in democracies should represent not only the expressed preferences of their constituencies (or the nation as a whole) but also those of their descriptive characteristics that are politically relevant, such as geographical area of birth, occupation, ethnicity, or gender
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Substantiative Representation
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a concept in the legislative branches of representative republics describing the tendency of representatives to advocate for certain groups
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Sophomore Surge
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a term used in the political science of the United States Congress that refers to an increase in votes that congressional candidates (candidates for the House of Representatives) usually receive when running for their first re-election
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Privileged Speech
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a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made related to one's duties as a legislator
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Edmund Burke
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Burke was praised by both conservatives and liberals in the 19th century. Since the 20th century, he has generally been viewed as the philosophical founder of modern conservatism, as well as a representative of classical liberalism.
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Representational Theory
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describes how some individuals stand in for others or a group of others, for a certain time period
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Organizational Theory
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the systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people act within organizations
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President Pro Tempore
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the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate and the highest-ranking Senator
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Majority and Minority Leaders
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are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate
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Party Whip
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manages his or her party's legislative program on the House floor. The Whip keeps track of all legislation and ensures that all party members are present when important measures are to be voted upon.
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Steering Committee (Democrat)
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Its primary purpose is to assign fellow party members to other House committees, and it also advises party leaders on policy
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Committee on Committees (Republican)
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It hosts meetings and is the primary forum for communicating the party's message to members. It produces a daily publication of political analysis under the title Legislative Digest.
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Policy Committee
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A group of people officially delegated to perform a function, such as investigating, considering, reporting, or acting on a matter
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Party Polarization
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a vote in which a majority of Democrats legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators
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Caucus
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a meeting of members of a political party or subgroup to coordinate members' actions, choose group policy, or nominate candidates for various offices
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Congressional Black Caucus
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an organization representing the black members of the United States Congress. Membership is exclusive to blacks
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Blue Dog Democrats
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a group of United States Congressional Representatives from the Democratic Party who identify themselves as moderates, generally fiscally conservative and socially liberal
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Standing Committees
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a subunit of a political or deliberative body established in a permanent fashion to aid the parent assembly in accomplishing its duties
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Select Committees
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a special subcommittee of a legislature or assembly goverened under a committee system, like Robert's Rules of Order. They are oftentimes investigative in nature, collecting data or evidence for a law or problem, and will desolve immediately after they report their findings to their superiors
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Joint Committees
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a term in politics that is used to refer to a committee made up of members of both chambers of a bicameral legislature
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Conference Committees
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a joint committee of a bicameral legislature, which is appointed by, and consists of, members of both chambers to resolve disagreements on a particular bill
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Seniority System
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the concept of a person or group of people being in charge or in command of another person or group. This control is often granted to the senior person(s) due to experience or length of service in a given position
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Congressional Research Service
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the public policy research arm of the United States Congress
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General Accounting Office (GAO)
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the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress
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Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
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a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government. It is a government agency that provides economic data to Congress.The CBO was created as a nonpartisan agency by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
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Simple Resolution
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a legislative measure passed by only either the Senate or the House
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Concurrent Resolution
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adopted by both houses of a bicameral legislature that lacks the force of law (is non-binding) and does not require the approval of the chief executive.
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Joint Resolution
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a legislative measure that requires approval by the Senate and the House and is presented to the President for his/her approval or disapproval, in exactly the same case as a bill.
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Multiple Referral
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the process of sending legislation to be considered by more than one committee.
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Sequential Referral
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a congressional process by which a Speaker may send a bill to a second committee after the first is finished acting
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Discharge Petition
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a means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from a Committee and usually without cooperation of the leadership
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Closed Rule
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an order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate;forbids a bill from being amended on floor
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Open Rule
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an order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor
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Restrictive Rule
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an order from the House Rules Committee that permits certain kinds of amendments but not other to be made to a bill on the floor
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Quorum
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the minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress
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Quorum Call
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a roll call in either house of Congress to see whether the minimum number of representatives required to conduct business are present
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Cloture Rule
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a rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate
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Double Tracking
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a procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster in which the disputed bill is shelved temporarily so that the Senate can get on with business
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Roll-Call Vote
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a congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering yea or nay to their names
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Rider
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an additional provision annexed to a bill under the consideration of a legislature, having little connection with the subject matter of the bill
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Christmas Tree Bill
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a political term referring to a bill that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments. A Christmas tree bill consists of many riders. The amendments which adorn the bill may provide special benefits to various groups or interests
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Committee on the Whole
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a device in which a legislative body or other deliberative assembly is considered one large committee. All members of the legislative body are members of such a committee. This is usually done for the purposes of discussion and debate of the details of bills and other main motions.
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Pork-Barrel
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term referring to appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district
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Earmark
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provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees
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Congressional Courtesy
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the rule that congressmen use to ignore people not in their state or district.
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Logrolling
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the trading of favors, or quid pro quo, such as vote trading by legislative members to obtain passage of actions of interest to each legislative member.
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Nongermane Amendment
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similar to a rider on a bill
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Unanimous Consent
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a situation in which no one present objects to a proposal
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Holds
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ability to control power in the government
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