Chapter 13 Vocab & Questions Flashcards
Attitudinal View
the theory of congressional voting behavior which assumed that members vote on the basis of their own beliefs because the array of conflicting pressures on members cancel out one another
Bicameral Legislature
a legislative assembly composed of two seperate houses such as the US Congress, which consists of the HoR and Senate
Closed Rule
Order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on a debate and forbids a bill from being amended on the floor
Cloture Rule
rule used by the senate to end or limit debate
Committee on Committees
assigns senators to standing committees
Concurrent Resolution
an expression of opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate but not the president
Congressional Caucus
an association for members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest
Conservation Coalition
An alliance of conservative Democrats with the Republicans for voting purposes
Discharge Petition
a means by which the House can remove a bill stalled in committee
Filibuster
a means by which senators can extend debate on a bill in order to prevent or delay its consideration
House Rules Committee
the group that decides what business comes up for a vote and what the limitations on debate should be
Joint Resolution
Resolution that is essentially the same as a law and is used to propose constitutional amendments
Marginal Districts
districts in which the winner got less than 55% of the vote
Markup
committee revisions of a bill
Millionares club
a traditional pejorative name for the united states senate
Multiple Referral
the process through which a bill is reffered to several committees that simultaneously consider it in whole or in part
Organizational View
rxplanation of congressional voting which suggests members of Congress respond primarily to cues provided by their colleagues
Parliament
an assembly of party representatives that chooses a government and discusses major national issues
Party Caucus
A meeting of the members of apolitical party to decide questions of policy
Party Polarization
indicated by votes in which a majority of voting Democrats oppose a majority of voting Republicans
Party Vote
the extent to which members of a party vote together in the House or Senate
Party Whip
han individual who assists the party leader in staying abreast of the concerns and voting voting intentions of the party members
Representational View
explanation of congressional voting that is based on the assumption that members want to get reelected and vote to please their constituents
Restrictive Rule
a rule issued by the RUles Committee that permits some amendments to a bill but not to others
Riders
unrelated amendments added to a bill
Safe districts
districts in which the winner got more than 55% of the votes
Seniority
the system under which committee chairs are awarded to members that have the longest continuous service on the Committee
Sequential referall
the process through which a bill is reffered to second committee after the first is finished
simple resolution
resolution used for matters such as establishing the rules under which each body will operate
Steering Committe
assigns Democrats to standing committees in the senate
Christmas Tree Bill
a bill that has many riders to increase its chances of being passed
Conference Committee
a joint committee appointed to resolve differences in the senate and the House versions of the same bill
Division Vote
a congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted
Double Tracking
a procedure to keep the senate going during a fillibuster whereby disputed bill is temporarily shelved so that the senate can go on with other other business
Franking Privilege
the ability of members to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their own personal purchases for postage
Joint Committee
committees on which both senators and representatives serve
Majority Leader
principle partisan ally of the speaker of the house who schedules bills influences committee assignments and round up votes on behalf of the party’s legislature positions
Majority Leader
legislative leader elected by party members holding a majority of seats in the house of the seat
Open Rule
An order from the house rules committee that permits a bill to be connected on the floor
Pork Barrel Legislation
Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return
Private Bill
a legislative bill that deals only with private personal or local matters
Quorum Call
a roll call neither House of Congress to see whether the minimum number of representatives required to conduct business is present
Roll Call Vote
a congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering yea or nay when their names are called
Select Committee
Permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject
Standing Committees
Separate subject-matter committees in each house of Congress that handle bills in different policy areas.
Teller Vote
a congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers first the yeas then the nays
Voice Vote
a congressional voting procedure used in both houses in which members vote by shouting yea or nay
A person ordinarily becomes a candidate for representative or senator how?
Run in a primary election
Whereas the principle work of a parliament is debate, that of a congress is what?
Representation and action
Contemporary critics of Congress disagree with the Framers vision of Congress in that critics wish to do what?
They wish to end political gridlock by making Congress capable of speedily adopting sweeping changes in national policy
In the twentieth century, the trend in congressional decision making has been toward what?
Decentrailization (not a single body making decisions, multiple groups)
Which Amendment changed the manner in which US Senators are selected?
17th (direct election of representatives)
The typical representative or senator is what?
White, male, protestant, lawyer
Until 1913 Senators were picked by
state legislatures
Which amendment changed the way Senators are chosen?
17th
In 1994, Native American Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Was elected to the senate
Serving in congress later because a career in
1950s
Political Scientists define safe district as one where incumbents receive ____ percent of the vote
55
A new converse convensary every ____ years
2
Studies show correlation between constituency opinion and congressional roll call votes
related to civil rights
For years Congress defended the manner in which it exempted itself from many of its own laws by
separation of powers
The process of “doubletracking” allows what
senate to focus on other business during a filibuster
Bills which contain a large number of “riders” are known as “____ bills”
christmas tree
the practical advantage of the “Committee of a whole” is that it
requires a much smaller number of members to hold quorum
The committee of a whole refers to
member of the house that are on the floor during discussion
In the house, a stalled Bill can be extracted from a committee and brought to the floor by
a discharge petition
Which of the following is signed by the president and has the force of law?
joint resolution
Originally, fillibusters were 16th century
pirates
When a state attempted to impose term limits on its own members of congress
supreme court struck down the effort
According to the text, most categories of pork spending in the last ten to fifteen years have
decreased
