Unit 4 Vocab

Front 1

Funded about 11,000 projects, from building a Civil War Theme Park, renovating etc..

Back 1

2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act

Front 2

Actual amount available in a fiscal year

Back 2

Appropriations

Front 3

Bill that states the maximum amount of money available

Back 3

Authorization

Front 4

Senate & the House of Reps.

Back 4

Bicameral

Front 5

Groupings of members of Congress sharing the same interests or points of view

Back 5

Caucuses

Front 6

Bill with many riders that occurs because individual senators are trying to attach their ideas/benefits to their states

Back 6

"Chrismas-tree bill"

Front 7

Sets strict time limits on debates & forbids amendments from the floor, except those from the presenting committee

Back 7

Closed rule

Front 8

3/5 of the entire Senate membership must vote to stop debate

Back 8

Cloture

Front 9

Sits on the floor, but is directed by the chairman of the sponsoring committee

Back 9

Committee of the Whole

Front 10

Permits amendments & often has less strict time limits, allowing input from other members

Back 10

Open rule

Front 11

Also consist of members of the House & Senate, but are formed exclusively to hammer out differences between House & Senate versions of similar bills

Back 11

Conference committees

Front 12

HOUSE - Union, House, Private, Consent, Discharge Calendars
SENATE - Executive Calendar, Calendar of Business

Back 12

Congressional calendars

Front 13

May be signed by 218 members to bring it to the floor

Back 13

Discharge petition

Front 14

The Court rules that race may be a factor in redistricting, but not the "dominant & controlling" one

Back 14

Easley v. Cromartie

Front 15

Allowed the gov't to "make all laws which shall be nedessary & proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, & all other powers vested by this Constitution in the gov't of the US"

Back 15

"Elastic clause"

Front 16

The practice of talking a bill to death

Back 16

Filibuster

Front 17

Free mailings, more experience with campaigning, & greater access to media

Back 17

Franking privilege

Front 18

Relevant to the topic of the bill

Back 18

Germane amendments

Front 19

Originally meant to give one political party an advantage over the other

Back 19

Gerrymandering

Front 20

Those who already hold the office, with secure seats

Back 20

Incumbency

Front 21

Similar in purpose to select committees, but they consist of members from both House & Senate

Back 21

Joint committees

Front 22

Occurs when a member of Congress supports another member's pet project in return for support for his/her own project

Back 22

Logrolling

Front 23

Speaker's most important colleague whose position is often a stepping-stone to the Speaker's position

Back 23

Majority leader of the House

Front 24

Most influential person in the Senate, & has the right to be the first senator heard on the floor

Back 24

Majority leader of the Senate

Front 25

Districts drawn by states to be of unequal sizes & populations

Back 25

Malapportionment

Front 26

Bills that are changed or rewritten

Back 26

Marking up

Front 27

Spokesperson for the minority party, & usually steps into the position of the Speaker when/if his/her party gains a majority in the House

Back 27

Minority leader of the House

Front 28

Legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the Senate

Back 28

Minority leader of the Senate

Front 29

Congress reviews & restricts the annual budget prepared by the executive branch

Back 29

Oversight

Front 30

Those who serve as go-betweens for the members & the leadership

Back 30

Party whips

Front 31

Bills that are forgotten for weeks/forever

Back 31

Pigeonholing

Front 32

Bills that may be passed for frivolous reasons

Back 32

Pork barrel legislation

Front 33

Usually the most senior member in the party; the official chair

Back 33

President pro tempore

Front 34

Passed by either the House or Senate, & usually establishes rules, regulations, or practices that do not have the force of law

Back 34

Simple resolution

Front 35

Comes from both houses, & often settles housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses

Back 35

Concurrent resolution

Front 36

Requires the approval of both houses & the signature of the president, and is essentially the same as a law

Back 36

Joint resolution

Front 37

Rearranging districts to allow a minority representative to be elected

Back 37

Minority/majority districting

Front 38

Bills that must originate in the House of Representatives

Back 38

Revenue bills

Front 39

Formed for specific purposes & are usually temporary

Back 39

Select committees

Front 40

The member with the longest continuous service on the committee is placed automatically in the chairmanship

Back 40

Seniority system

Front 41

Supreme Court case in which the plaintiffs charging the Justice Dept. with the reverse discrimination based on equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment

Back 41

Shaw v. Reno

Front 42

Most important leadership position in the House

Back 42

Speaker of the House

Front 43

Handle bills in different policy areas, thus shaping legislation at a very critical point

Back 43

Standing committees

Front 44

Debate that the number of terms members of Congress can serve should be limited

Back 44

Term limits

Front 45

Members file past the clerk, first the "yeas" & then the "nays"

Back 45

Teller votes

Front 46

"Yea" or "nay" is shouted

Back 46

Voice votes

Front 47

Members stand to be counted

Back 47

Division votes

Front 48

Consists of people answering "yea" or "nay" to their names

Back 48

Roll call votes

Front 49

Permits each member to insert a plastic card in a slot to record his/her vote

Back 49

Electronic votes

Front 50

Supreme Court case in which the Court ordered that districts be drawn so that one person's vote would be as equal as possible to another

Back 50

Wesberry v. Sanders

Front 51

Political districts in which candidates elected to the House win in close elections, typically with less than 55% of the vote

Back 51

Marginal districts

Front 52

Districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55% or more

Back 52

Safe districts

Front 53

Senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking, rounds up members when important votes are to be taken, & attempts to keep a nose count on how the voting on controversial issues is likely to go

Back 53

Whip

Front 54

Legislative bill that deals with matters of general concern

Back 54

Public bill

Front 55

Legislative bill that deals only with specific, private, personal, or local matters rather than with general legislative affairs

Back 55

Private bill

Front 56

An amendment on a matter unrelated to a bill that is added to the bill so that it will "ride" to passage through the Congress

Back 56

Rider

Front 57

Minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress

Back 57

Quorum

Front 58

A calling of the roll in either house of Congress to see whether the number of reps. in attendance meets the miminum number required to conduct official business

Back 58

Quorum call