Poli Sci Test 2 Congress

Front 1

ad hoc committee

Back 1

a congressional committee appointed for a limited time to design and report a specific piece of legislation.
(exp. bills that are particularly sensitive: congressional pay)

Front 2

casework

Back 2

activity undertaken by members of congress and their staffs to solve constituents’ problems with government agencies
(exp. social security checks)

Front 3

closed rule

Back 3

an order from the house rules committee limiting floor debate on a particular bill and disallowing or limiting amendment.

Front 4

cloture

Back 4

a parliamentary procedure used to close debate. cloture is used in the senate to cut off filibusters. under the current senate rules, 3/5 of senators must vote for cloture to halt a filibuster

Front 5

conditional party government

Back 5

the degree of authority delegated to and exercised by congressional leaders; varies with—is conditioned by—the extent of election-driven ideological consensus among members.

Front 6

conference committee

Back 6

a temporary joint committee of the house and senate appointed to reconcile the differences between the two chambers on a particular piece of legislation.
(exp. version of making bills)

Front 7

discharge petition

Back 7

a petition that removes a measure from a committee to which it has been referred in order to make it available for floor consideration. in the house, a discharge petition must be signed by a majority of house members (218)
(directly to the floor without committee approval)

Front 8

entitlement

Back 8

a benefit that every eligible person has a legal right to receive and that cannot be taken away without a change in legislation or due process in court.

Front 9

filibuster

Back 9

a tactic used in the senate to halt action on a bill. it involves making long speeches until the majority retreats. senators, once holding the floor, have unlimited time to speak unless a cloture vote is passed by 3/5 of the members.

Front 10

gerrymandering

Back 10

drawing legislative districts in such a way as to give one political party a disproportionately large share of votes its candidates win.

Front 11

joint committee

Back 11

permanent congressional committees made up of members of both the house and the senate. joint committees do not have any legislative authority; they monitor specific activities and compile reports.

Front 12

majority leader

Back 12

the formal leader of the party controlling a majority of the seats in the house or the senate. in the senate the majority leader is the head of the majority party. in the house, the majority leader ranks second in the party hierarchy behind the speaker.

Front 13

minority leader

Back 13

the formal leader of the party controlling a minority of the seats in the house or the senate.

Front 14

multiple referal

Back 14

the act of sending a propped piece of legislation to more than one committee in the same chamber

Front 15

necessary and proper clause

Back 15

the last clause of article I, section 8, of the constitution. this clause grants congress the authority to make all laws that are “necessary and proper” and to execute those laws.

Front 16

open rule

Back 16

a provision governing debate of a pending bill and permitting any germane amendment to be offered on the floor of the house.

Front 17

pocket veto

Back 17

a method by which the president vetoes a bill passed by both houses of congress by failing to act on it within ten days of congress’s adjournment.

Front 18

political actions committe (PAC)

Back 18

a federally registered fund-raising group that pools money from individuals to give to political candidates and parties.

Front 19

pork barrel legislation

Back 19

legislation that provides members of congress with federal projects and programs for their individual districts.
(project for individual memebers districts)
(exp. money to spend on roads, courthouses, schools, etc.)

Front 20

president pro tempore

Back 20

in the absence of the vice president, the formal presiding officer of the senate. the honor is usually conferred on the senior member of the majority party, but the post is sometimes rotated among senators of the majority party.

Front 21

presidential coattails

Back 21

common metaphor for the capacity of a successful presidential candidate to generate votes for other candidates further down the ticket and pull fellow partisans into office.
(exp. congressional candidates of the same party as the president)

Front 22

proportional representation

Back 22

an electoral system in which legislative seats re awarded to candidates or parties in proportion to the percentage of votes received
(seats awarded proportionally to votes)

Front 23

quorum

Back 23

the minimum number of congressional members who must be present for the transaction of business. under the constitution, a quorum in each house is a majority of its member: 218 in the house and 51 in the senate when there are no vacancies.
(number of members who must be present for business to occur)

Front 24

restricted rule

Back 24

a provision that governs consideration of a bill and that specifies and limits the kinds of amendments that may be made on the floor of the house of representatives.
(governs consideration of a bill. limits number and kind of ammendments)

Front 25

rider

Back 25

an amendment to a bill that is not germane (pertinent) to the legislation.

Front 26

select committee

Back 26

a temporary legislative committee created for a specific purpose and dissolved after its tasks are completed.

Front 27

senority rule

Back 27

the congressional practice of appointing as committee or subcommittee chairs the members of the majority with the most years of committee service.

Front 28

speaker of the house

Back 28

the presiding officer of the house of representatives. the speaker is elected at the beginning of each congressional session on a party-line vote. as head of the majority party, the speaker has substantial control over legislative agenda of the house.

Front 29

special committee

Back 29

a temporary legislative committee usually lacking legislative authority.
interchangeable with select committee)
(deal with specific problems then disappear)

Front 30

split referral

Back 30

the act of sending different sections of a bill to different committees in the same chamber.

Front 31

standing committee

Back 31

a permanent legislative committee specializing in a particular legislative area. standing committees have stable memberships and stable jurisdictions.

Front 32

ticket splitting (split ticket voting)

Back 32

the act of voting for candidates from different political parties for different offices

Front 33

unanimous consent agreement

Back 33

a unanimous resolution in the senate restricting debate and limiting amendments to bills on the floor

Front 34

whip

Back 34

a member of a legislative party who acts as the communicator between the party leadership and the rank and file. the whip polls members on their voting intentions, prepares bill summaries, and assists the leadership in various other tasks.
(communicator between leader and memebers)

Front 35

terms of office
house:
senate:

Back 35

house: 2 years
senate: 6 years with 1/3 up every 2 years for electon

Front 36

areas of congressional authority

Back 36

foreign affairs.
only congress can declar war

Front 37

where must all revenue bills originate?

Back 37

in the house
(but senate has unrestricted right to amend them)

Front 38

roles of the president

Back 38

recommend new laws
call congress into special session
veto

Front 39

primary goal of congress:

Back 39

get re-elected

Front 40

candidate centered vs. party centered

Back 40

candidate centered: today
party centered: past

Front 41

incumbency

Back 41

have more money, name recognition and are quality candidates

Front 42

logrolling

Back 42

if you support me, i'll support you

Front 43

are legislators representative of the public at large?

Back 43

NO

Front 44

goals and obstacles to congress

Back 44

quality challenger
how to aquire information
how to coordinate action
how to resolve conflicts
how to get members to work for common/personal goals
time pressure
(information, action, conflict, goals, time)

Front 45

two most crucial institutional structures created to exercise congresss constitutional powers are:

Back 45

parties
committee system

Front 46

speaker of the house

Back 46

leader of the house of representatives
selected by majority
sets agenda
coordinates

Front 47

chief assistant to speakers are

Back 47

majority leader
majority whip

Front 48

minority leader

Back 48

leader of the minority party.
organizes resistance to majority

Front 49

who is the presiding officer of the senate?

Back 49

vice president

Front 50

when the vice president is absent who is designated to preside?

Back 50

president pro tempore

Front 51

standing committees

Back 51

exist from one congress to the next.
fixed jurisdicion and stable membership

Front 52

special/select committees

Back 52

appointed to deal with a specific problem/issue and then disappear
(exp. investigation committees)
no jurisdiction/standinig bodies

Front 53

joint committees

Back 53

permanenet committees composed of members from both chambers.
leadership position rotate

Front 54

ad hoc committees

Back 54

handle bills that are particularly sensitive

Front 55

conference committees

Back 55

resolve differences between teh house and senate.
can't amend what comes out of this conference (yes/no vote)

Front 56

money committees
house:
senate:

Back 56

house: ways and means
senate: finance
apropriations in both

Front 57

legislative spending

Back 57

1. committee with jurisdiction over a program authorizes expenditures for it
2. appropriationss committee apppropriates the money.

Front 58

making laws

Back 58

bill introduced -> assignment to committe -> reporting a bill -> scheduling a debate -> date and amendment -> vote -> conference -> back to house/senate -> president (law or veto