Chapter 11 - Terms Flashcards
A legislative branch divided into two separate houses
Bicameral
Official government count of United States citizens taken every ten years and used to determine the number of representatives for each state.
Census
The process of redrawing congressional district lines to reflect population shifts.
Reapportionment
The redrawing of district boundaries to favor a particular party or group of people.
Gerrymandering
Geographical area in a state represented by a House member.
Congressional District
Legislative districts from which only one representative is chosen.
Single-member district
An elected official who represents an entire state rather than a particular district
At Large
Direct election of senators
Seventeenth Amendment
Nonvoting members of Congress who represent various U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.
Delegates
A temporary alliance of several groups
Coalition
Ameeting of all members of a party in the House or Senate.
Caucus
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 Senate, the most powerful member.
Majority Leader
The leader chosen by the party with the second most members in the House or Senate
Minority Leader
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
Majority Whip
In the House and Senate, the assistant minority leader chosen by the party with the second most seats in that body of Congress; responsibilities include overseeing communication, tracking votes, and summarizing bills.
Minority Whip
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.
President Pro Tempore
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
Speaker of the House
Limits on the number of terms an elected official can serve.
Term Limits
The privilege enabling members of Congress to send official mail free of charge.
Franklin Privilege
Unnecessary trips made by members of Congress at the taxpayers’ expense.
Junkets
Permanent committees of congress
Standing Committees
Temporary congressional committees created for a specific purpose, usually to investigate particular problems.
Select Committees
Permanent committees composed of House and Senate members acting as an advisory board for other committees, especially on tax issues.
Joint Committees
Temporary committees drawn from both chambers of Congress formed to work out a compromise between differing Senate and House versions of a bill or proposed law.
Conference committees
The head of a congressional committee.
Chairs
Tactic used in the Senate to prevent or delay a bill’s passage; usually consists of one or more senators giving extended speeches.
Filibuster
Amotion made by sixteen or more senators to stop debate on a piece of legislation; often used to end a filibuster.
Cloture
The automatic veto of a bill if the president leaves it unsigned for ten days during a congressional adjournment.
Pocket Veto
