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44 Cards in this Set
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- Back
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One of the persons represented by a legislator or other elected or appointed offical.
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Constituent
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The division of a legislature into two separate assemblies.
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Bicameralism
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The process of establishing the legal rules that govern society.
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Lawmaking
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An arrangement in which two or more members of Congress agreee in advance to support each other's bills.
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Logrolling
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The fuction of memebers of Congress as elected officials representing the views of their constituents.
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Representation
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A legislature who is an agent of the voters who elected him or her and who votes according to the views of constituents regardless of personal beliefs.
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Instructed Delegate
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Person work for constituents by members of Congress.
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Casework
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A person who hears and investigates compaints by private individuals against public officials of agencies.
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Ombudsperson
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The process by which Congress follows up on laws it has enacted to ensure that they are being enforced and administered in the way Congress intended.
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Oversight
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Determining which public-policy questions will be debated or considered.
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Agenda Setting
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A power specifically granted to the national government by the Constitution.
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Enumerated Power
-The first seventeeen clauses for Article I, Section 8, specify most of the enumerated powers of Congress. |
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A standing committee of the House of Represtatives that provides special rules under which specific bills can be debated, amended, and considered by the House.
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Rules Committee
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The use of the Senate's tradition of unlimited debate as a delaying tactic to block a bill.
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Filibuster
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An intraparty election in which the voters select the candidates who will run on a party's ticket in the subsequent general election.
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Direct Primary
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A person who identifies with a political party.
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Party Identifier
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The allocation of seats in the House of Representatives to each state after each census.
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Reapportionment
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The redrawing of the boundaries for the congressional districts whithin each state.
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Redistricting
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The drawing of legislative district boundary lines for the purpose of obtaining partisan or factional advantage.
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Gerrymandering
-A district is said to gerrymandered when its shape is manipulated by the dominant party in the state legislature to maximize electoral strength at the expense of the minority party. |
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A policy that enables members of Congress to send material throught the mail by substituting their facsimile signature (frank) for postage.
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Franking
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A procedure by which a bill in the House of Representatives may be forced (discharged) out of a committee that has refused to report it for consideration by the House.
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Discharge Petition
-The petition must be signed by an absolute majority (218) of representatives and is used only on rare occasions. |
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A permanent committee in the House or the Senate that considers bills within a certain subject area.
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Standing Committee
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A temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period and for a special purpose.
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Select Committee
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A legislative committee composed of member from both chambers of Congress.
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Joint Committee
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A special joint committee appointed to reconcile differences when bills pass the two chambers of Congress in different forms.
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Conference Committee
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A custom followed in both chambers of Congress specifying that the member of the majority party with the longest term of continuous service will be given preference when a committee chairperson (or a holder of some other significant post) is selected.
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Seniority System
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A district that returns a legislature with 55 percent of the vote or more.
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Safe Seat
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The presiding officer in the House of Representatives.
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Speaker of the House
-The Speaker is always a member of the majority party and is the most powerful and influential member of the House. |
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A legislative position geld by an important member of the majority pary in the House of Representatives.
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Majority Leader of the House
-The majority leader is selected by the majority party in caucus or conference to foster cohesion among party member and to act as spokesperson for the majority party in the House. |
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The party leader elected by the monority party in the House.
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Minority Leader of the House
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A member of Congress who aids the majority or minority leader of the House of the Senate.
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Whip
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The temporary presiding officer of the Senate in the absence of the vice president.
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President Pro Tempore
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The chief spokesperson of the majority party in the Senate, who directs the legislative program and party stategy.
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Senate Majority Leader
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The party officer in the Senate who commands the minority party's opposition to the policies of the majority party and directs the legislative program and strategy of his or her party.
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Senate Minority Leader
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The budget prepared and submitted by the president to Congress.
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Executive Budget
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A twelve-month period that is used for bookkeeping, or accounting, purposes.
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Fiscal Year (FY)
-Usually, the fiscal year does not coincide with the calendar year. For example, the federal government's fiscal year runs from October 1 through Sentenber 30. |
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The annual process in which the Office of Management and Budget requires general agencies to review their programs, activities, and goals and submit their requests for funding for the next fiscal year.
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Spring Review
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The annual process in which the Office of Management and Budget, after recieving formal federal agency requests for funding for the next fiscal year, reviews the requests, makes changes, and submits its recommendations to the president.
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Fall Review
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A formal declaration by a legislative committee that a certain amount of funding may be available to an agency.
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Authorization
-Some authorizations terminate in a year; others are renewable automatically without further congressional action. |
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The passage, by Congress, of a spending bill specifying the amount of authorized funds that actually will be allocated for an agency's use.
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Appropriation
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A resolution passed by Congress in May that sets overall revenue and spending goals for the following fiscal year.
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First Budget Resolution
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A resolution passed by congress in September that sets "binding" limits on taxes and spending for the following fiscal year.
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Second Budget Resolution
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A temporary funding law that Congress passes when an appropriations bill has not been passed by the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1.
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Continuing Resolution
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A question that may be raised and reviewed in court.
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Justiciable Question
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A legislator who acts according to her or his conscience on the broad interests of the entire society.
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Trustee
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None
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