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36 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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bicameral
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a legilature consisting of two parts or houses
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census
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a population count taken by the census Bureau
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constituent
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a person from a legislator's district
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gerrymander
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an oddly shaped district designed to increase the voting strength of a particular group
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majority party
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in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the political party in which more than half the members belong
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standing committee
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a permanent committee that continues their work from session to session in Congress
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seniority
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years of service, which is used as a consideration for assigning committee members
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expressed powers
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powers that Congress has that are specifically listed in the Constitution
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implied powers
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powers that Congress has that are not stated explicitly in the Constitution
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elastic clause
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clause in Article I, Section 8 of the contitution that gives Congress the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out its expressed power
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impeach
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to accuse government officialy of misconduct in office
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writ of habeas corpus
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a court order that requires police to bring a prisoner to court to explain why they are holding the person
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bill of attainder
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a law that punishes a person of a crime without a trial or a fair hearing in court
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ex post facto law
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a law that would allow a person to be punished for an action that was not against the law when it was committed
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joint resolution
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a resolution that is passed by both houses of congress
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special-interest group
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an organization of people with some common interest who try to influence government decisions
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rider
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a completely unrelated amendment tacked onto a bill
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filibuster
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a tactic for defeating a bill in the Senate by talking until the bill's sponsor withdraws it
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cloture
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a procedure used in the senate to limit debate on a bill (stops a filibuster)
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voice vote
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a voting method in which those in facor say yea and those against say no
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roll-call vote
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a voting method in the Senate in which memebers voice their votes in turn
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veto
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refusal to sign a bill or resolution
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pocket veto
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president's power to kill a bill if Congress is not in sesion by signing it for 10 days
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hopper
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a mahogany box that the representatives in the house drop a bill into
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pigeonhole
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when chair puts bill aside and lets it die (majority of the time)
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hearing
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an investigative meeting that can take any amount of time (public or closed)
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Select committee
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a committee that deals with one issue for a short period of time
ex. obesity and global warming |
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Joint committee
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members from House and senate who generally address routine matters
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conference committee
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takes two very similar bills and makes a compromise (conference report)
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exclusion
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one way to punish a senator or rep; majority vote; excluding from joining
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expulsion
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2/3 vote; expell somebody from the House or Senate
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censure
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formal dissaproval of member's behavior or actions
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whips
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finds all democrats or republicans to make sure everyone votes
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speaker of the house
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in charge of the house of representatives, comes from the majority party, chosen by majority, must be approved by the whole house, second in line to presidency
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packing
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grouping a political group together
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cracking
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to split up a minority
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