Chapter #11 Flashcards
How is the number of congressional representatives elected from each state determined?
It is reapportionment and based on a state’s population
name the powers that are unique to the house of representatives in those that are unique to the Senate
-The House of Representatives has the power of impeachment
-Senate has the power to approve major presidential appointments and can act as a court to try impeachments
Descriptive representation
A belief that constituents are most effectively represented by legislators who are similar to them in such key demographic characteristics as race, ethnicity, religion, and gender
Reapportionment
Redistribution of representatives among the states based on population change. The house if is reapportioned after each census
Impeachment
The formal changing of a government official with treason bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors
Incumbent
A current officeholder
Gerrymandering
Redrawing a congressional district to intentionally benefit one political party
Casework
Solving problems for constituents, especially problems involving government agencies
Racial gerrymandering
The drawing of a legislative district to maximize the chance that a minority candidate will win election
Veto
Presidents disapproval of a bill that has been passed by both houses of Congress, Congress can override a veto with a 2/3 vote in each house
Standing committee
A permanent congressional committee that specializes in a particular policy area
Joint committee
A committee made up of members of both the house and the senate
Select committee
A temporary congressional committee created for a specific purpose and disbanded after the purpose is fulfilled
Conference committee
A temporary committee created to work out differences between the house and senate versions of a specific piece of legislation
Seniority
Years of consecutive service on a particular congressional committee
Oversight
The process of reviewing the operations of an agency to determine whether it is carrying our policies as Congress intended
Speaker of the house
The purssiding officer of the House of Representatives
Majority leader
The head of the majority party in the Senate, the second highest ranking member of the majority party in the house
Filibuster
Adelaine tactic used in The Senate that allows the senator to prevent a bill from coming to a vote
Cloture
The mechanism by which a filibuster is cut off in the Senate
Hold
A letter requesting that the bill be held from floor debate
Constituents 
People who live in vote in a government officials district or state
Trustee
A representative who is obligated to consider the views of constituents but is not obligated to vote according to those views if he or she believes they are misguided
Delegate
 A legislator whose primary responsibility is to represent the majority view of his or her constituents, regardless of his or her own view
