We The People - Chapter 9 Vocab

Front 1

Agency representation

Back 1

the type of representation by which representatives are held accountable to their constituency if they fail to represent that constituency properly. This is the incentive for good representation when the personal backgrounds, views, and interests of the representative differ from those of his or her constituency

Front 2

Appropriations

Back 2

the amounts of money approved by Congress in statutes (bills) that each unit or agency of government can spend

Front 3

Bicameral

Back 3

a two-chambered legislature; opposite of unicameral

Front 4

Bill

Back 4

a proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of Congress and submitted to the clerk of the House or Senate

Front 5

Cloture

Back 5

a rule allowing three-fifths of the members in the U.S. Senate to set a time limit on debate over a given bill

Front 6

Conference

Back 6

a gathering of House Republicans every two years to elect their House leaders. Democrats call their gathering the caucus

Front 7

Conference committee

Back 7

a joint committee created to work out a compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation

Front 8

Constituency

Back 8

the people in the district from which an official is elected

Front 9

Filibuster

Back 9

a tactic used by members of the Senate to prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down. Once given the floor, senators have unlimited time to speak, and it requires a vote of three-fifths of the Senate to end a filibuster

Front 10

Gerrymandering

Back 10

the process of redrawing legislative district boundary lines to provide political advantage or disadvantage

Front 11

Impeachment

Back 11

the formal charge by the House of Representatives that a government official has committed “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”

Front 12

Incumbency

Back 12

holding a political office for which one is running election after election

Front 13

Joint committee

Back 13

a legislative committee formed of members of both the House and the Senate

Front 14

Logrolling

Back 14

a legislative practice wherein agreements are made between legislators in voting for or against a bill; vote trading

Front 15

Majority leader

Back 15

the elected leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. In the House, the majority leader is subordinate in the party hierarchy to the Speaker of the House

Front 16

Minority leader

Back 16

the elected leader of the minority party in the House or Senate

Front 17

Oversight

Back 17

the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies by overseeing or supervising how legislation is carried out by the executive branch

Front 18

Party unity vote

Back 18

a roll-call vote in the House or Senate in which at least 50 percent of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50 percent of the members of the other party. Party votes are rare today, although they were fairly common in the nineteenth century

Front 19

Patronage

Back 19

the resources available to higher officials, including making partisan appointments to offices and conferring grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters

Front 20

Pocket veto

Back 20

a veto that occurs when the president does not sign a passed bill within ten days of receiving it, and Congress adjourned

Front 21

Pork barrel (or pork)

Back 21

appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created to help local representatives win re-election in their home districts

Front 22

Private bill

Back 22

a proposal in Congress to provide a specific person with some kind of relief, such as a special exemption from immigration quotas

Front 23

Redistricting

Back 23

the process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives. This happen every ten years to reflect shifts in population or in response to legal challenges to existing districts

Front 24

Roll-call vote

Back 24

a vote in which each legislator’s yes or no vote is recorded as the clerk calls the names of the members alphabetically

Front 25

Select committee

Back 25

a (usually) temporary legislative committee set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue or address an issue not within the jurisdiction of existing committees

Front 26

Seniority

Back 26

priority or status ranking given to an individual on the basis of length of continuous service on a committee in Congress

Front 27

Sociological representation

Back 27

a type of representation in which representatives have the same racial, ethnic, religious, or educational backgrounds as their constituents. It is based on the principle that if two individuals are similar in background, character, interests, and perspectives, then one could represent the other’s views

Front 28

Speaker of the House

Back 28

the chief presiding officer of the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected at the beginning of every Congress on a straight party vote. The Speaker is the most important party and House leader and can influence the legislative agenda, the fate of individual pieces of legislation, and members’ positions within the House

Front 29

Standing committee

Back 29

a permanent committee with the power to propose and write legislation that covers a particular subject, such as finance or appropriations

Front 30

Term limits

Back 30

legally set limits on the number of terms an elected official can serve

Front 31

Veto

Back 31

the president’s constitutional power to turn down law. A presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress