Government Chapter 5-7

Front 1

sessions

Back 1

each term of Congress is divided into two meetings. lasts one year and includes breaks for holidays.

Front 2

bicameral legislature

Back 2

it is made up of two houses: the Senate and the house of representatives.

Hint 2

English parliament had an upper and lower house.

Front 3

census

Back 3

population count

Hint 3

we have one every 10 years.
first one was in 1790

Front 4

reapportionment

Back 4

The population of each state determines the new number of representatives to which each is entitled.

Front 5

redistricting

Back 5

The process of setting up new district lines after reapportionment has been completed.

Front 6

gerrymandering

Back 6

political parties controlling the state government draws a districts boundaries to gain advantage in elections.

Hint 6

Elbridge Gerry

Front 7

at-large

Back 7

statewide

Front 8

censure

Back 8

a vote of formal disapproval of a members actions

Front 9

incumbents

Back 9

members already in office.

Front 10

constituents

Back 10

the people in the districts they represent

Hint 10

Major R. Owens

Front 11

caucus

Back 11

closed meeting

Front 12

majority leader

Back 12

helps plan the party's legislative program, steer important bills through the House, and make sure the chairpersons of the committees finish work on bills important to the party.

Front 13

whips

Back 13

serve as assistant leaders in the House.

Front 14

bills

Back 14

a proposed law waiting to be approved by Congress

Front 15

calendars

Back 15

list bills that are up for consideration

Front 16

Rules Committee

Back 16

serves as the "traffic officer" in the House, helping to direct the flow of major legislation.

Front 17

quorum

Back 17

the minimum number of members who must be present to permit a legislative body to take official action.

Front 18

president pro-tempore

Back 18

means "for the time being". selected by the Senate. Is from the majority party and is usually its most senior member.

Front 19

the calendar of general orders

Back 19

lists all the bills the Senate will consider

Front 20

filibuster

Back 20

means to keep talking until majority of the Senate either abandons the bill or agrees to modify its most controversial provisions.

Front 21

standing committees

Back 21

Congress sets up permanent groups to oversee bills that dealt with certain kinds of issues.

Front 22

subcommittees

Back 22

specializes in a subcategory of its standing committees responsibility.

Front 23

select committees

Back 23

study one specific issue and report their findings to the Senate or the House.

Front 24

Select Intelligence Committee

Back 24

is a permanent committee

Hint 24

in 1993 the House terminated four select committees

Front 25

joint committees

Back 25

are either permanent or temporary.

Front 26

conference committee

Back 26

is a temporary committee set up when the House and the Senate have passed different versions of the same bill.

Front 27

Rules Committee

Back 27

taxation and appropriation committees

Front 28

seniority system

Back 28

gave member of the majority party with the longest un-interrupted service on a particular committee the leadership of that committee.

Front 29

personal staff

Back 29

work directly for indevidual senators and representatives.

Front 30

committee staff

Back 30

work for the many House and Senate committees.

Front 31

administrative assistant

Back 31

called an AA, is a very important legislative aide. runs the lawmaking office, supervises the lawmakers schedule, and gives advice on political matters.

Front 32

legislative assistance

Back 32

or LAs, are a second type of personal assistant. make sure that the lawmaker is well informed about certain bills with which he or she must deal with.

Front 33

caseworkers

Back 33

they handle many requests for help from people in a lawmaker's state or congressional district.

Front 34

Library of Congress

Back 34

was created by Congress in 1800 to purchase such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.

Front 35

CBO

Back 35

was established in 1974 to coordinate the budget making work of Congress, study the budget proposals put forward by the president each year, and make cost projections of proposed new programs.

Front 36

GAO

Back 36

the agency has a professional staff of about 5,100 people. they review the financial management of government programs that Congress creates, collect government debts, settle claims, and provide legal service.

Front 37

Government Printing Office (GPO)

Back 37

is the largest printing plant in the world. It does the printing for the entire federal government. Every day it prints the Congressional Record, a daily record of all bills introduced in both houses and of the speeches and testimony presented in Congress.

Hint 37

the Congressional Record

Front 38

private bills

Back 38

deal with individual people or places.

Front 39

public bills

Back 39

deal with general matters and apply to the entire nation.

Front 40

simple resolution

Back 40

covers matters affecting only one house of Congress and is passed by the house alone.

Front 41

Joint Resolution

Back 41

both houses pass, the president's signature gives it the force of law.

Front 42

concurrent resolution

Back 42

covers matters requiring the action of the House and the Senate, but on which a law is not needed.

Front 43

"Christmas Tree" bills

Back 43

sometimes pass because of the essential nature of the underlying bill.

Front 44

first reading

Back 44

bill introduced in the House and Senate are printed and distributed to lawmakers. Each Bell is giving a tital and a number.the first bill introduced during a session of Congress in the Senate is designated as S.1, and so on. In the House, the first bill is H.R. 1, the second bill, H.R. 2, and so on.

Front 45

"pigeonholding"

Back 45

under the chairperson's leadership, the committee can ignore the bill and simply let it die.

Front 46

Voice Vote

Back 46

in which members all call out "Aye" or "No".

Front 47

standing vote or division vote

Back 47

in which those in favor of the bill stand and are counted, then those who oppose stand and are counted.

Front 48

roll-call vote

Back 48

senators respond "Aye" or "No" as their names are called in alphabetical order.

Front 49

conferees

Back 49

managers, they usually come from the House or Senate committees that handled the bill originally.

Front 50

conference report

Back 50

a majority of members of the conference committee from each house drafts the final compromise bill.

Front 51

veto

Back 51

the president refuses to sign the bill and sends it back to Congress in which it originated.

Front 52

pocket veto

Back 52

because Congress is no longer in session, it cannot override the veto and the bill dies.

Front 53

Ways and Means Committee

Back 53

decides whether to go along with presidential requests for tax cuts or increases.

Front 54

closed rule

Back 54

forbids any members to offer any amendments to a bill from the floor.

Front 55

appropriation

Back 55

approval of government spending, is a congressional responsibility.

Front 56

lobbyists

Back 56

interest group representative

Front 57

lobbying

Back 57

direct contact made by a lobbyist in order to persuade government officials to support the policies their interest group favors.