Chapter 5 Flashcards
bicameral legislature
a legislature consisting of two chambers or houses
single-member district
an electoral district in which a single person is elected to a given office.
plurality rule
a method for determining an election’s winner in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins.
proportional representation
a method for allocating seats in a legislature in which the number of seats a party receives in a district or nationwide is proportional to the votes it receives in the elections.
gerrymandering
drawing strangely shaped district boundaries to gain political advantage.
trustees
representatives who make decisions using their own judgements about what is best for their constituents.
delegates
representatives who listen carefully to what their constituents want and make decisions based on feedback from constituents.
constituency service
a legislator directly helping a constituent in dealing with government bureaucracy.
incumbency advantage
the advantage current officeholders have in an election, in particular as it relates to the high rates at which congressional legislators win reelection.
party discipline
pressure on party members to vote on bills that have the support of the party leadership.
Speaker of the House
the constitutionally designated leader of the House of Representatives. In the modern House, he or she is always the leader of the majority party.
Reed’s Rules
Procedural guidelines used by the majority party leadership for determining who sits on what committees, how the order of business should be decided, and how the majority party should limit the powers of the minority party.
majority leader
the head of the party holding a majority of seats and, in the Senate, the leader of the Senate. In the House, the majority leader is second to the Speaker of the House.
whip
a member of the House or Senate who is elected by his or her party to help party leaders coordinate party members’ actions, including enforcing party discipline.
standing committee
a group of legislators given permanent jurisdiction over a particular issue area or type of policy.
special (or select) committee
a committee appointed to consider a special issue or serve a special function that disbands once it has completed its duties.
joint committee
a committee of both the House and Senate.
conference committee
a meeting of legislators from the House and the Senate to reconcile two bills passed on the same topic.
caucus
In a legislature, a group of legislators that unite to promote an agenda not pursued within the parties or the legislative committees.
split referral
a rule (in place since 1975) that permits the Speaker to split a bill into sections and give sections to specific committees.
markup
a committee or subcommittee process where committee members edit and amend bills.
open rule
a provision that allows any amendment to be proposed once a bill comes to the chamber floor.
closed rule
a provision that allows no amendments to be proposed once a bill comes to the chamber floor.
restricted (or modified) rule
a provision that allows only certain kinds of amendments to be proposed once a bill comes to the chamber floor, typically only amendments that pertain to the original purpose of the bill.
filibuster
instances in which senators, once recognized to speak on the floor, talk for an extended period (“hold the floor”) in an attempt to block the rest of the Senate from voting on a bill.
cloture
a rule that limits the debate on a bill to a specific number of hours. Senate rules require 60 senators to support such a motion to end the debate (including filibusters) and proceed to vote.
unanimous consent agreement
Rules under which the Senate debates, offers amendments, and votes on a given bill. All members of the chamber must agree to them, so any senator can object and halt progress on a bill.
pocket veto
a veto that occurs automatically if a president does not sign a bill for 10 days after passage in Congress and Congress has adjourned during that 10 day period.
pork barrel
Government spending that benefits a narrow constituency in return for electoral support or some other kind of political support, including campaign donations.
distributional model
the view that the internal institutions of the congressional chambers are designed primarily to help members of Congress secure economic benefits for only their constituents, not the general public.
logrolling
an instance of two or more legislators agreeing to vote in favor of one another’s proposed bills or amendments.
informational model
the view that the internal institutions of the congressional chambers are designed to help Congress make more informed decisions.
partisan model
the view that majority party leaders dominate the workings of Congress and ensure that most legislative benefits come to majority party members.
