Chapter 4: Congress Flashcards
pork barrel spending
members of Congress allocate funds to projects in their own district
logrolling
trading of votes on legislation by members of Congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation
oversight
efforts by Congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals
constituency
a body of voters in a given area who elect a representative or senator
apportionment
process of determining the number of representatives for each state after taking a census
redistricting
states’ redrawing of boudnaries of electoral districts following each census
gerrymandering
intentional sue of redistricting to benefit a specific interest or group of voters
partisan gerrymandering
drawing of district boundaries into strange shapes to benefit a political party
majority-minority districts
a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district
malapportionment
the uneven distribution of the population among legislative districts
incumbency
being already in office and running for reelection
incumbency advantage
institutional advantages held by those already in office who are trying to fend off challengers in an election. Experience, money, respect(proven track record), public recognition, familiar with constituents. Larger in House than in Senate
Speaker of the House
leader of the House. Chosen every congress(2yrs) by vote, always in majority party. speakers must help raise money, controls agenda, and committee assignments
political action committees(PACs)
an organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns. important to speaker of the house
House majority leader
the person who is the second in command of the House. sets agenda for majority party
majority whip
supports majoirty leader, collects info and rallies votes(same for minority)
whip
a member of Congress, chosen by his party members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline
house minority leader
coordinates minority party of Congress activity as leader of the party in House
senate majority leader
most powerful person in Senate, shapes legislative agenda. VP is tiebreaker and the official head of the Senate
senate minority leader
leader of opposition in the Senate, coordinate party agenda
committee chairs
leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee’s agenda
4 types of committees
standing: permanent/ most policy issues
joint: have members of both chambers, focused on an issue/gather info
conference: resolve differences between two chambers on a bill
select: temporary response for a crisis/issue
discharge petition
a motion file by a member of Congress(house) to move a bill out of (house) committee and onto the floor of the House of REpresentatives for a vote
House Rules committee
a powerful committee that determines when a bill will be subject to debate and vote on the House floor, how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be allowed on the floor
Committee of the Whole
all members of the House, governed by different rules that make it easier as opposed to the complex and controversial lesislation process
hold
a delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a bill. Can be ignored by the senate majority leader
unanimous consent agreements
the agreement in the Senate that sets the terms for consideration of a bill
filibuster
a tactic through which an individual senator may use the right of unlimited debate to delay a motion or postpone action on a piece of legislation
cloture
a procedure through which senators can end debate on a bill and proceed to action, provided 60 senators agree to it
veto
the power of a presdient to reject a bill passed by Congress, sending it back to the originating branch with objections. Can be overidden by a 2/3s majority in both chambers.
Office of management and budget(OMB)
the executive branch office that assits the president in setting national spending priorities
entitlement program
a program that provides benefits for those who qualify under the alw, regardless of income
mandatory spending
spending required by existing laws that is “locked in “ the budget
discretionary spending
spending for programs and policies at the discretion of Congress and the president
budget surplus
the amount of money remaining when the government takes in more than it spends
budget deficit
the shortfall when a government takes in less money than it spends
national debt
the total amount of money owed by the federal government. Accumulation of debt
delegate role
idea that the main duty of a member of Congress is to carry out constitutents’ wishes
trustee role
the idea that members of Congress should act as trustees, making decisions based on their knowledge and judgement
politico role
representation where members of Congress balance their choices with the interests of their constituents and parties in making decisions
bipartisanship
agreement between the parties to work together in Congress to pass legislation
gridlock
a slowdown or halt in Congress’s ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship
divided government
control of the presidency and one or both chambers of Congress split between the two major parties
lame duck period
period at the end of a presidential term when Congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees
descriptive representation
Congress members mirror the ethnic,social,economic, and racial experiences of those that they represent
substantive representation
congress members may be different race, ethnicity, etc, but they still act in the interest of those that they represent
Baker v Carr
Whose in charge of apportionment/redistricting. Supreme Court can intervene in redistricting. SC has intervened in many cases to more fairly represent underrepresented districts
Shaw v Reno
do racially gerrymandered districts violate 14th amendment, equal protetion clause? Yes, b/c racially motivated drawing of district boundaries violates the equal protections clause. Shaw v Reno would effectively ban racial gerrymandering.
