Congress

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Question

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Answer

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Attitudinal view of representation

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The theory of congressional voting behavior which assumes that member vote on the basis of their own beliefs because the array of conflicting pressures on members cancel out one another

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bicameral legislature

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A legislative assembly composed of two separte houses

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Caucus (congressional)

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An association of member of Congress created to advocate a political ideology, a consituency, or regional or econmic interests.

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Chrismas tree Bill

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A bill that has lots of riders

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Committee of the Whole

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A device used in the House of Representatives to expedite the passage of legislation

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Closed Rule

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Limitation imposed by the Rules Committees of House on the amount of debate time allotted to a bil and on the intro of amendments from the floor

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Cloture Rules

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Rule 22 of the Senate, providing for the end of debate on a bill if 3/5 of the members argee.

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Concurrent resoultion

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A resolution used to settle housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses.

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Conference Resoultion

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A special type of joint committee appointed to resolve differences in House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation.

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Congress

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A meeting place of reps and local constituecies who can initate, modify, approve, or rejcet laws.

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Congressional budget office

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1974- to advise Congress on the economic effects of spending programs and to provide information on the cost of proposed policies.

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Congressional Reseach Service

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1914- to respond to congressional requests for information. Keeps track of every major bill.

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Conservative Coalition

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A vote in Congress in which conservative Democrats join with Republicans

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Descriptive Representation

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From Pitkin to refer to hte statistical correspondence of the demographic characteristics of representatives with theose of their consituents.

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Discharge Peitition

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A porcedure for removing legislation form the control of a commitee and bringing it the floor for innediate consideration.

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divison vote

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A mehtod of voting used in both houses in which members stand and are counted

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Double-tracking

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A method to keep the Senate going during a filibuster, whereby a disputed bill is temporarily shelved so that the Senate can go on with other business.

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Filibuster

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A prolonged speech or series of speeches made to deloy action on legislation in the Senate.

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Franking privilage

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The ability of members of Congress to mail letters to their consitituents free of charge by subsiting their facsimile signature for postage

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General Accounting Office

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1921- performs routine audites of the moeny spent by excutive branch. also investigates government.

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Gerrymandering

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Drawing congressional district lines in a bizarre or unusaul shape to make it easy for a candidate of one party to win elections in that district.

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Honoraria

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Speaking fees accepted by members of Congress

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Joint committee

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Committee on which both reps and senators serve.

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Joint resoultion

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A resoultion requiring approval of both houses and the signature of the preisdent and having the same legal status as a law.

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Majority leader

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The legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House or senate.

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Majority-minority districts

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Congressional districts designed to make it easier for minority citizen to elect minority representatives.

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malapportionment

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the creation of congressional districts in a stat which are of unqual size.

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marginal districts

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a congressional district in which the winner of the general election gets less than 55% of the vote

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minority leader

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the head of the minority pary in each house. choosen by the caucus of the minority party.

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mark-up

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revisions and additions to legislation made by commitees and subcommittees.

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multiple referrral

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the practice of referring a bill to several committees.

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Open rule

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consent from the Rules Committee of the House which permits amendments from the floor on a piece of legislation

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Organizational view of reprentation

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The theory of congressional voting behavior which assumes htat members make voting decisions to please fellow members and obtain goodwill

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Parliament

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An assembly of party reps which chooses a government and discusses major national issues.

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Pary votes

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the extent which members of a party vote together in the House and Senate.

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Pork-barrel legislation

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a Bill introduced by a member of Congress that gives tanible benefits, like a highway or bridge, to constituents in the hopes of winning since 1972

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Preisdent pro tempore

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A position created in the Constitution to serve as presiding officer of the senate in the asence of hte vis preisdent

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Private bill

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Legislation that pertains to a particlar indivdualm

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Public bill

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Legislation that pretains to affairs generally

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quorum call

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a calling of the roll in either house to see whether the # of reps in attendance meet the min. mumber required to conduct offical business.

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Representatinal view of reprentation

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The theory of congressional voting behavior that assumes the members make voting decisons based on their percetion of constituents' wishes to ensure their own reelection.

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Restrictive rule

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Consent from the Rules committee of the house which premits certain amentments to a piece of legislation but not others.

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Rider

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A nongermane amendment to an important bill.

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roll-call vote

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a method of voting used in both houses in which members answer yea or nay when there names are called.

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Rules committee

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the commitee that decides whcih bills come up for a vote, in what order, and under what restiction on length of debate and on the right to offer amendments.

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selct committee

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congressional committee appoined for a limted time period and purpose

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17th amendment

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1913- requires senators to be elected by popular vote.

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simple resoultion

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passed by etither house to esblish internal chamber rules

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sophmore surge

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an incease in the number of votes candidates recieve between the first time elected and first fist time reelected

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Speaker of the House

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Teh consititionally mandated presiding officer of the house.

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substantive representation

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a term coined by Pitkin to refer to the correspondence betwee reps opinons and those of theri consituents

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teller vote

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a method of voting used only in the House.

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Voice vote

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a method of voting used in both house in which members vote by shouting yea or nay.

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whip

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a member of the pary leadership in each house who helps the party leader stay infromed about what party members are thinking, rounds up members when important votes are to be taken.