Chapter 11 Terms Flashcards
Redrawing of congressional district lines to reflect population shifts
Reapportionment
Most powerful position of leadership in the House of Representatives
Speaker of the House
Amendment that called for the direct election of Senators
Seventeenth Amendment
Most powerful position of leadership in the Senate
Majority leader
Permanent committee is generally more powerful than other types of committees
Standing committees
Redrawing of district lines to benefit one political party at the expense of another
Gerrymandering
Type of committee created for a specific purpose, generally to investigate a specific problem or issue
Select committees
Type of committee that has members from both houses and serves primarily as an advisory board to other committees
Joint committee
Type of committee that is temporary; has members from both houses; and works out a compromise agreement on a bill that has emerged from both houses in different forms
Conference committee
Legislative branch divided into two houses
Bicameral
Small meeting of a political party’s top leaders to select party nominees
Caucus
Official government count of United States citizens taken every 10 years
Census
Non-voting members of Congress who represent various US territories and District of Columbia
Delegates
Privilege enabling members of Congress to send official mail free of charge
Franking privileges
Tactic used in the Senate to prevent or delay a bill’s passage; usually consists of one or more senators giving extended speeches
Filibuster
In the House and Senate the assistant minority leader chosen by the party with the second most seats in that body of Congress
Minority whip
Leader chosen by the party with the second most members in the House or the Senate
Minority leader
Honorary position given to the most senior member of the Senate’s majority party
President pro tempore
Legislative district from only one representative is chosen
Single-member districts
Automatic veto of a bill if the president leaves it unsigned for ten days during a congressional adjournment
Pocket veto
Unnecessary trips made by members of Congress at the taxpayer’s expense
Junkets
Geographical area in a state represented by a House member
Congressional district
A motion made by sixteen or more senators to stop a debate on a piece of legislation
Cloture
Heads of congressional committees
Chairs
An elected official who represents an entire state rather than a particular district
At large
Limit to the amount of time someone in office can serve that office
Term limits
In the House and Senate, the assistant majority leader chosen by the party with the most seats in that body of Congress
Majority whip
When different members of different parties join together to support or defeat a particular piece of legislation
Coalition
