Congress Ch. 6

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Bicameral Legislature

Back 1

A two-chamber legislature, made up the House of Representatives (435 representatives) and the U.S. Senate (100 members).

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Casework

Back 2

Activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals; cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have the right to get.

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Closed Rule aka GAG Rule

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

(Under closed rule, members not on the committee have little choice but to vote for or against the bill as it is)

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Cloture

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The process of closing a debate in the Senate by calling for a vote.

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Conference Committee

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Consist of members from both the House and Senate, but they are formed exclusively to hammer out differences between House and Senate versions of similar bills. A bill goes to conference committee after it has been approved in separate process in the two houses, and a compromise bill is sent back to each house for final approval.

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Congressional Agencies

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Government bodies formed by and relied on by Congress to support members of Congress in performing their functions.

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Congressional District

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A geographic region (either a state itself or a region located entirely within one state) whose residents select one member to represent it in the House of Representatives.

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Filibuster

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The action by a single senator or a minority of senators to block a bill from passage by refusing to end discussion.

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Gerrymandering

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The drawing of House district boundaries to the benefit of one political party over another. The term is named for Elbridge Gerry, a Massachusetts delegate to the Constitutional Convention, who (as governor) redrew districts in this fashion to favor the Democratic-Republicans.

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Joint Committee

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A committee composed of members of both the House and the Senate that is investigative in nature.

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Logrolling

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The trading of influence or votes among legislators to achieve passage of projects that are of interest to one another.

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Majority Caucus

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The members of the party that has the majority of seats in a particular chamber.

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Minority Caucus

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The members of the party that has a minority of seats in a particular chamber.

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Majority Leader

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In the Senate, the controlling party's main spokesperson who leads his or her party in proposing new laws and crafting the party's platform. The Senate majority leader also enjoys the power to make committee assignments. In the House, the majority leader is the controlling party's second in command, who helps the Speaker to oversee the development of the party platform.

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Minority Leader

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The leader of the minority party in each chamber.

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Open Rule

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A rule of procedure adopted by the House Rules Committee that permits amendments to a bill.

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Overriding a veto

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The power of the Congress to enact legislation despite a president's veto of that legislation; requires a two-third vote of both houses of Congress.

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Pocket Veto

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The indirect veto of a bill received by the president within ten days of the adjournment of Congress, effected by the president's retaining the bill unsigned until Congress adjourns.

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Pork-Barrel Legislation

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A government project or appropriation that yields jobs or other benefits to a specific locale and patronage opportunities to its political representative.

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President pro tempore

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In the absence of the vice president, the senator who presides over the Senate session. By tradition, this is usually the senator from the majority caucus who has served the longest number of consecutive years in the Senate.

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Reapportionment

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The allocation of a fixed number of House seats to the states.

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Redistricting

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The act of redrawing congressional boundaries to achieve equal representation in each of the congressional districts.

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Reporting Legislation

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The exclusive power of standing committees to forward legislation to the full House or Senate. Neither chamber can vote on a bill unless the committee votes to approve it first.

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Rules Committee

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A committee in the House of Representatives that determines the rules by which bills will come to the floor, be debated, and so on.

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Select Committee

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A committee established by a resolution in either the House or the Senate for a specific purpose and usually, for a limited time.

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Speaker of the House

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The leader of the House of Representatives, responsible for assigning new bills to committees, recognizing members to speak in the House chamber, and assigning chairs of committees.

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Standing Commitee

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A permanent committee that exists in both the House and Senate; most standing committees focus on a particular substantive area of public policy, such as transportation, labor, foreign affairs, and the federal budget.

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Veto

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The constitutional procedure by which the president refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law.

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Whip (majority and minority)

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Member of Congress elected by his or her party to count potential votes and promote party unity in voting.