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45 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Constituent
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one of the persons represented by a legislator or other elected or appointed official
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the people that are represented by the elected official (senate or congress)
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bicameralism
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the division of a legislature into two separate assemblies
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Senate -- equal representation of all states
House -- representation based on population |
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Lawmaking
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the process of establishing the legal rules that govern society
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size of the federal budget, health care reform and gun control, long term prospects for war or peace
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Logrolling
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an arrangement in which two or more members of congress agree in advance to support each other's bill
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offering to support a fellow member's bill in exchange for that member's promise to support your bill in the future
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representation
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the function of members of Congress as eleted officials representing the views of their constituents
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the trustee view of representation and the instructed-delegate view of representation
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Trustee
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a legislator who acts according to her or his conscience and the broad interests of the entire society
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part of the representation function
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Instructed Delegate
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a legislator 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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part of the representation function
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Casework
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personal work for constituents by members of Congress
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tracking down a missing Social Security check, explaining the meaning of particular bills to people who may be affected by them, promoting a local business interest, or interceding with a regulatory agaency on behalf of constituents who disagree with proposed agency regulation
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ombudsperson
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A person who hears and investigates complaints by private individuals against public official or agencies
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A person that does casework
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Oversight
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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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it is done by holding committee hearings and investigations, changing the size of an agency's budget, and cross-examining high-level presidential nominees to head major agencies. related to the concept of constiuency service - investigation of alleged arbitrariness or wrongdoing by bureaucratic agencies
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Agenda Setting
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Determining which public-policy question will be debated or considered
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part of the public-education function
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enumerated (expressed) powers
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a power specifically granted to the national government by the Constitution.
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The first 17 claused of Article I, Sec. 8. right to impose taxes and import tariffs; borrow money; regulate interstate commerce and international trade; to override presidential vetow; regulate the electoral college;declare war;raise and regulate an army and a navy; regulate copyrights.
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Rules Committee
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A standing committe of the House of Representatives that provides special rules under which specific bills can be debated amended, and considered by the house
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propose time limitations on debate
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Filibuster
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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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this is not always the best because their is cloture which shuts off the discussion of the bill
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Direct primary
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An intraparty election in which the voters select the condidates who will run on a party's ticket in the subsequent general election
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the first stage of congressional elections
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pary identifier
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a person who identifies witha a political party
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republican/democrat
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reapportionment
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the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives to each state after the census
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part of the congressional apportionment
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Redistricting
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redrawing of the boundaries of the congressional districts within each state
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part of the congressional apportionment
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Justiciable question
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A question that may be raised and reviewed in court
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gerrymandering
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the drawing of legislative district boundary lines for the purpose of obtaining partisan or factional advantage. A district is said to be gerrymandered when its shape is manipulated by the dominant party in the stat legislature to maximize electoral strenght at the expense of the minority party
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"pack" and "crack" techniques of packing supporting voters into few district, but cracking opposing voters in different districts
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Franking
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a policy that enables members of Congress to send material throught the mail y substituting their facsimile signature (frank) for postage
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privilege that legislators have
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discharge petition
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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. The petition must be signed by an absolute majority (218) of representatives and is used only on rare occasions
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Standing committee
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a permanent committee in the the house or senate that considers bills within a certain subject area
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agriculture, budget -- general interest of the constituents
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Select Committe
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a temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period and for a special purpose
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a public problem - child nutrition or aging.
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Joint Committees
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A legislative committee composed of members from both chambers of Congress
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deal with economy, taxation, and the Library of Congress
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Conference 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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Seniority System
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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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Safe Seat
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A district that returns a legislator with 55 percent of the vote or more
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Speaker of the House
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the presiding officer in the House of Representatives. 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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Majority Leader of the House
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a legislative position held by an important party member in the House of Representatives. The majority leader is selected by the majority party in caucus or conference to foster cohesion amon party members and to act as spokesperson for the majority in the House.
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Minority Leader of the House
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The party leader elected by the minority party of the House.
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Whips
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A member of Congress who aids the majority or minority leader of the House or the Senate
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pass on information between the leaders and party people, conduct polls.
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President Pro Tempore
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The temporary presiding officer of the Senate in the absence of the vice president
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Senate Majority Leader
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the chief spokesperson of the majority party in the Senate, who directs the legislative program and party strategy
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Senate Minority 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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Conservative coalition
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an alliance of Republicans and southern democrats that can form in the House or the Senate to oppose liberal legislation and support conservative legislation
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Executive budget
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the budget prepared and submitted by the president to Congress
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Fiscal Year
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a twelve month period that is used for bookkeeping or accounting purposes. usually, the fiscal year does not coincide with the calendr year.
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Spring Review
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The annual process in which the Office of Management and Budget requires federal agencies to review their programs, activities, and goals and submit their requests for funding for the next fiscal year
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Fall Review
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The annual process in which the OMB after recieving formal federal agency requests for funding for the next fiscal year, reviews the requests, makes changes, and submits it recommendation to the president
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Authorization
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a formal decleration by a legislative committee that a certain amount of funding may be available to an agency. some authorizations terminate in a year; other are renewable automatically withouth further congressional action
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Appropriation
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the passage by congress of a spending bill specifying the amount of authorized funds that actually will be allocated for agency's use
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1st budget resolution
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a resolution passed by congress in may that sets overall revenue and spending goals for the following fy
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2nd budget resolution
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a resolution passed by congress in spt. that sets "binding" limits on taxes and spending for the following fy
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Continuing resolution
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a temporary funding law that congress passes when an appropriation bill has not been decided by the beg. of the new fy on oct. 1
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