Chapter 10

Question 1

constituency the residents in the area from which an official is elected

Answer 1

the residents in the area from which an official is elected

Question 2

bicameral legislature

Answer 2

a legislative assembly composed of two chambers, or houses

Question 3

delegate (member of Congress)

Answer 3

A representative who votes based on what they think is best for their constituency

Question 4

descriptive representation

Answer 4

a type of representation in which representatives have the same racial, gender, 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 can correctly represent the other’s views

Question 5

substantive representation

Answer 5

a type of representation in which a representative is held accountable to a constituency if he or she fails to represent that constituency properly; this is incentive for the representative to provide good representation when his or her personal background, views, and interests differ from those of their constituency

Question 6

incumbency

Answer 6

holding the political office for which one is running

Question 7

pork barrel (or pork)

Answer 7

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

Question 8

apportionment

Answer 8

the process, occurring after every decennial census, that allocates congressional seats among the 50 states

Question 9

redistricting

Answer 9

the process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives; this happens every 10 years to reflect shifts in population

Question 10

gerrymandering

Answer 10

drawing legislative districts in such a way to give unfair advantage to a political party or one racial or ethnic group

Question 11

conference

Answer 11

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

Question 12

caucus (political)

Answer 12

a normally closed political party business meeting of citizens or lawmakers to select candidates, elect officers, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters

Question 13

Speaker of the House

Answer 13

the chief presiding officer of the House of Representatives. 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

Question 14

majority leader

Answer 14

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

Question 15

minority leader

Answer 15

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

Question 16

whip

Answer 16

a party member in the House or Senate responsible for coordinating the party’s legislative strategy, building support for key issues, and counting votes

Question 17

standing committee

Answer 17

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

Question 18

markup

Answer 18

the session in which a congressional committee rewrites legislation to incorporate changes discussed during hearings on a bill

Question 19

select committees (usually)

Answer 19

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

Question 20

joint committees

Answer 20

legislative committees formed of members of both the House and Senate

Question 21

conference committees

Answer 21

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

Question 22

seniority

Answer 22

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

Question 23

staff agencies

Answer 23

legislative support agencies responsible for policy analysis

Question 24

bill

Answer 24

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

Question 25

open rule

Answer 25

a provision by the House Rules Committee that permits floor debate and the addition of amendments to a bill

Question 26

closed rule

Answer 26

a provision by the House Rules Committee limiting or prohibiting the introduction of amendments during debate

Question 27

filibuster

Answer 27

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

Question 28

cloture

Answer 28

a rule or process in a legislative body aimed at ending debate on a given bill; in the U.S. Senate, 60 senators (three-fifths) must agree in order to impose a time limit and end debate

Question 29

roll-call vote

Answer 29

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

Question 30

veto

Answer 30

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

Question 31

pocket veto

Answer 31

a presidential veto that is automatically triggered if the president does not act on a given piece of legislation passed during the final 10 days of a legislative session

Question 32

unorthodox lawmaking

Answer 32

a set of legislative procedures that deviates from regular order; reflects a greater level of control from party leaders and less deliberation from members

Question 33

multiple referral

Answer 33

the practice of referring a bill to more than one committee for consideration

Question 34

ping-ponging

Answer 34

sending amendments sent back and forth between the relevant House and Senate committees to reconcile differences between bills or major measures without convening a conference committee at all

Question 35

appropriations

Answer 35

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

Question 36

omnibus appropriations bill

Answer 36

a bill that deals with a number of unrelated topics

Question 37

party unity vote

Answer 37

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

Question 38

polarization

Answer 38

the deep ideological distance between the two parties

Question 39

oversight

Answer 39

the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies

Question 40

impeachment

Answer 40

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