Chapter 3 vocab

Question 1

`Appropriations bill

Answer 1

When the nation’s budget is set, only Congress can set the appropriations— the actual amount available in a fiscal year—for each program that it has authorized

Question 2

Authorization

Answer 2

when a law is passed setting up a government program, Congress must pass an authorization bill that states the maximum amount of money available for it.

Question 3

Baker c. Carr, 1962

Answer 3

a state’s drawing of electoral boundaries, i.e. redistricting, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

Question 4

Blue Dog Democrats

Answer 4

A caucus that is made up of moderate-to-conservative democrats who prefer more moderate policies on issues such as welfare and the budget.

Question 5

Conference committee

Answer 5

consist of members from both the House and Senate, but they are formed exclusively to hammer out differences between House and Senate versions of similar bills.

Question 6

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

Answer 6

advises Congress on the possible economic effects of various spending programs and policies

Question 7

Congressional Research Service (CRS)

Answer 7

As a politically neutral body, it does not pursue policy recommendations but instead researches facts and provides arguments both for and against proposed policies.

Question 8

Constituents

Answer 8

A person who is represented politically by a designated government official or officeholder

Question 9

Contract with America

Answer 9

Republican plan in the 1994 election, calling for welfare reform, congressional term limits, and a balanced-budget amendment

Question 10

Easley v. Cromartie, 2001

Answer 10

Drawing boundaries of an electoral district according to voting behavior, even when that appears to correlate with race, does not violate equal protection if there is a lack of alternative ways to draw boundaries in a more racially balanced way.

Question 11

Franking privilege

Answer 11

The ability of members of Congress to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature (frank) for postage.

Question 12

The Freedom Caucus

Answer 12

caucus that doesn’t like powerful gov, against party leadership completely

Question 13

Incumbents

Answer 13

people who have already held office, with secure seats

Question 14

Malapportionment

Answer 14

unfair proportional distribution of representatives to a legislative body.

Question 15

Minority/majority districting

Answer 15

a racial or ethnic minority makes up a large-enough share of the electorate to assure that the community has a reasonable chance to elect the candidate of their choice.

Question 16

Oversight power

Answer 16

provides the legislative branch with an opportunity to inspect, examine, review and check the executive branch and its agencies.

Question 17

Party whips

Answer 17

Assists each floor leader of the House, and serves as go-betweens for the member and the leadership

Question 18

Politico view

Answer 18

members of congress vote for people back home

Question 19

President pro tempore

Answer 19

preside over the Senate in the absence of the vice president

Question 20

Revenue bills

Answer 20

any bill that increases/decreases the total revenues available for appropriation, including any sales tax exemption bill.

Question 21

Rules Committee

Answer 21

sets very important rules for debate when the bill is presented to the House after it leaves the committee

Question 22

Select committees

Answer 22

formed for specific purposes and are usually temporary

Question 23

Shaw v. Reno, 1993

Answer 23

redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny under the equal protection clause and on the basis that it violated the fourteenth Amendment because it was drawn solely based on race.

Question 24

Special prosecutor

Answer 24

a special counsel that’s a lawyer appointed to investigate, and potentially prosecute, a particular case of suspected wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest exists for the usual prosecuting authority.

Question 25

Trustee view

Answer 25

balances research, hearings, and reports with the views of constituents.

Question 26

Voting Rights Act, 1965

Answer 26

by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices

Question 27

Wesberry v. Sanders, 1964

Answer 27

requires each state to draw its U.S. Congressional districts so that they are approximately equal in population

Question 28

mid-decade redistricting

Answer 28

When a state redraws it district lines before the mandatory 10 year census

Question 29

League of United Latin American Citizens et al. v. Perry, Governor of Texas

Answer 29

It stated that nothing in the Constitution prevented the state from redrawing its electoral boundaries as many times it wanted so long as it did so at least once every ten years.

Question 30

coalitions

Answer 30

a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government or of states in order to achieve a common goal

Question 31

simple resolution

Answer 31

passed by either the House or the Senate, and usually establishes rules, regulations, or practices that do not have the force of law

Question 32

concurrent resolution

Answer 32

comes from both houses, and often settles housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses. Do not have the force of law

Question 33

joint resolution

Answer 33

requires the approval of both houses and the signature of the president, and is essentially the same as a law. Sometimes passed when the houses of Congress react to an important issue that needs immediate attention.

Question 34

multiple referral

Answer 34

if a bill needed to be considered by several groups it would be submitted to several committees at once

Question 35

sequential referral

Answer 35

when a measure is referred to an additional committee (or committees) subject to time limits by the Speaker imposed after the primary committee has reported the measure.`

Question 36

public hearings

Answer 36

a formal proceeding held in order to receive testimony from all interested parties – including the general public – on a proposed issue or action

Question 37

committee of the whole

Answer 37

a committee of the House on which all Representatives serve and which meets in the House Chamber for the consideration of measures from the Union calendar.

Question 38

germane amendments

Answer 38

the simple proposition that an amendment must address the same subject as the matter being amended.

Question 39

cloture

Answer 39

in which 3/5ths of the entire Senate membership must vote to stop debate

Question 40

super majority

Answer 40

Any constitutional amendment, whether initiated or referred by the Legislature, must be approved by at least 60% of those voting on the measure.

Question 41

“Hold” (Senate)

Answer 41

an informal, secret notification by a senator to the floor leader that he or she does not want a bill to reach the floor for consideration

Question 42

Unanimous consent

Answer 42

Agreement on any question or matter before the Senate that sets aside a rule of procedure to expedite proceedings. Many requests for unanimous consent are routine but if any senator objects, the request is rejected.

Question 43

teller vote

Answer 43

members file past the clerk, first the “yeas” and then the “nays”

Question 44

voice vote

Answer 44

which they simply shout “yea” or “nay”

Question 45

division vote

Answer 45

members stand to be counted

Question 46

roll call voting

Answer 46

consists of people answering “yea” or “nay” to their names.

Question 47

electronic voting

Answer 47

permits each member to insert a plastic card in a slot to record his or her vote; most commonly used today

Question 48

pocket veto

Answer 48

If the president receives a bill within ten days of the adjournment of the congressional session, he may simply not respond and the bill will die

Question 49

Line-item veto

Answer 49

permits executives to veto sections of a bill that is objectionable to them

Question 50

signing statements

Answer 50

A signing statement is a written pronouncement issued by the President of the United States upon the signing of a bill into law.

Question 51

power of the purse

Answer 51

power of economy

Question 52

spending limits (caps)

Answer 52

passed to prevent out of control spending

Question 53

mandatory spending

Answer 53

items that cannot be controlled through the budget process, they include the interest on the debt, Social Security, federal employee retirement program and Medicare.

Question 54

discretionary defense

Answer 54

federal spending on programs that are controlled through the regular budget process such as education and defense.

Question 55

Budget Control Act, 2011 and 2015

Answer 55

set caps on defense and non-defense discretionary spending through 2021 and required Congress to enact $1.2 trillion in additional deficit reduction.

Question 56

pork

Answer 56

refers to benefits for their districts, and bills that give those benefits to constituents to hope of gaining their vote

Question 57

2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act

Answer 57

funded about 11,000 projects; the act was criticized largely because so much money went to constituencies well represented on the Appropriations Committees in Congress

Question 58

“Bridge to Nowhere"

Answer 58

a project to provide a bridge for a small city in Alaska to an island where the airport was located. Has since become symbolic of the financial irresponsibility of pork projects

Question 59

logrolling

Answer 59

occurs when a member of Congress supports another member's pet project in return for support for his/her own project

Question 60

earmark

Answer 60

any part of a spending bill that provides money for a specific project, location or institution

Question 61

party polarization

Answer 61

the tendency for members of Congress to become less moderate, with conservative members becoming more conservative and liberal members becoming more liberal

Question 62

efficiency gap

Answer 62

is to add up, over all electoral districts, the wasted votes of each party's candidates. The efficiency gap is the difference between the two parties' wasted votes, divided by the total number of votes

Question 63

packing gerrymandering

Answer 63

is done by concentrating a party’s voters in one district with the effect of limiting their numbers in other districts

Question 64

cracking gerrymandering

Answer 64

dilutes the power of voters of a particular party in districts, by dispersing the party’s supports throughout several districts,

Question 65

partisan gerrymandering

Answer 65

the practice of dividing a geographic area into electoral districts, often of highly irregular shape, to give one political party an unfair advantage by diluting the opposition's voting strength.

Question 66

christmas tree bill

Answer 66

a bill that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments.

Question 67

Open Rule

Answer 67

means any member can offer any germane amendment to the bill on the House floor.

Question 68

Closed Rule

Answer 68

eliminate the opportunity to consider amendments, other than those reported by the committee reporting the bill.

Question 69

Rucho v. Common Cause, 2019

Answer 69

a landmark redistricting case, where the Supreme Court ruled it could not set a constitutional standard against partisan gerrymandering.

Question 70

single member district

Answer 70

an electoral district or constituency having a single representative in a legislative body rather than two or more.

Question 71

implied powers doctrine

Answer 71

the necessary and proper clause???