Chapter 11 - Terms

Question 1

A legislative branch divided into two separate houses

Answer 1

Bicameral

Question 2

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

Answer 2

Census

Question 3

The process of redrawing congressional district lines to reflect population shifts.

Answer 3

Reapportionment

Question 4

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

Answer 4

Gerrymandering

Question 5

Geographical area in a state represented by a House member.

Answer 5

Congressional District

Question 6

Legislative districts from which only one representative is chosen.

Answer 6

Single-member district

Question 7

An elected official who represents an entire state rather than a particular district

Answer 7

At Large

Question 8

Direct election of senators

Answer 8

Seventeenth Amendment

Question 9

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

Answer 9

Delegates

Question 10

A temporary alliance of several groups

Answer 10

Coalition

Question 11

Ameeting of all members of a party in the House or Senate.

Answer 11

Caucus

Question 12

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.

Answer 12

Majority Leader

Question 13

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

Answer 13

Minority Leader

Question 14

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

Answer 14

Majority Whip

Question 15

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.

Answer 15

Minority Whip

Question 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.

Answer 16

President Pro Tempore

Question 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

Answer 17

Speaker of the House

Question 18

Limits on the number of terms an elected official can serve.

Answer 18

Term Limits

Question 19

The privilege enabling members of Congress to send official mail free of charge.

Answer 19

Franklin Privilege

Question 20

Unnecessary trips made by members of Congress at the taxpayers’ expense.

Answer 20

Junkets

Question 21

Permanent committees of congress

Answer 21

Standing Committees

Question 22

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

Answer 22

Select Committees

Question 23

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

Answer 23

Joint Committees

Question 24

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.

Answer 24

Conference committees

Question 25

The head of a congressional committee.

Answer 25

Chairs

Question 26

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

Answer 26

Filibuster

Question 27

Amotion made by sixteen or more senators to stop debate on a piece of legislation; often used to end a filibuster.

Answer 27

Cloture

Question 27

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

Answer 27

Pocket Veto