Chapter 11: Structure of Congress

Question 0

caucus

Answer 0

a meeting of all members of a party in the House or Senate

Question 1

bicameral

Answer 1

a legislative branch divided into two separate houses

Question 2

reapportionment

Answer 2

the process of redrawing congressional district lines to reflect population shifts

Question 3

gerrymandering

Answer 3

the redrawing of district boundaries to favor a particular party or group of people

Question 4

congressional district

Answer 4

geographical area in a state represented by a House member

Question 5

single-member district

Answer 5

legislative districts from which only one representative is chosen

Question 6

at large

Answer 6

statewide election of US senators

Question 7

Seventeenth Amendment

Answer 7

allowed for direct popular election of senators (1913)

Question 8

delegates

Answer 8

nonvoting members of Congress who represent various U.S. territories and the District of Columbia

Question 9

coalition

Answer 9

a temporary alliance of several groups

Question 10

census

Answer 10

official government count of United States citizens taken every ten years and used to determine the number of representatives for each state

Question 11

majority leader

Answer 11

the leader chosen by the party with the most members in the House or Senate; in the House, next to the Speaker in authority, but in the Senates, the most powerful member

Question 12

minority leader

Answer 12

the leader chosen by the part with the second most members in the House or Senate

Question 13

majority whip

Answer 13

In the House and Senate, the assistant majority leader chosen by the party with the most seats in that body of Congress; responsibilities include overseeing communication, tracking votes, and summarizing bills

Question 14

minority whip

Answer 14

In the House and Senate, the assistant minority leaders chosen by that party with the second most seats in that body of Congress; responsibilities include overseeing communication, tracking votes, and summarizing bills

Question 16

president pro tempore

Answer 16

honorary position given to the most senior member of the Senate’s majority party; he presides over the Senate when the vice president is absent

Question 17

Speaker of the House

Answer 17

Head of the House of Representatives who presides over the House, manages House business, and serves as the official spokesman for the House; elected by the House members and usually from the majority party

Question 18

term limits

Answer 18

limits on the number of terms an elected official can serve

Question 19

franking privilege

Answer 19

the privilege enabling members of Congress to send official mail free of charge

Question 20

junkets

Answer 20

unnecessary trips made by members of Congress at the taxpayers’ expense

Question 21

standing committees

Answer 21

permanent committees in Congress

Question 22

select committees

Answer 22

temporary congressional committees created for a specific purpose, usually to investigate particular problems

Question 23

joint committees

Answer 23

permanent committees composed of House and Senate members acting as an advisory board for other committees, especially on tax issues

Question 24

conference committees

Answer 24

temporary committees drawn from both chambers of Congress forms to work out a compromise between differing Senate and House versions of a bill or proposed law

Question 25

chair

Answer 25

the head of a congressional committee

Question 26

filibuster

Answer 26

tactic used in the Senate to prevent or delay a bill’s passage; usually consists of one or more senators giving extended speeches

Question 27

cloture

Answer 27

a motion made by sixteen or more senators to stop debate on a piece of legislation. If sixty or more senators support the motion, cloture is passed; often used to end a filibuster

Question 28

pocket veto

Answer 28

the automatic veto of a bill if the president leaves it unsigned for ten days during a congressional adjournment