Chapter 5 - Congress

Question 1

Bicameral legislature

Answer 1

A legislature consisting of two chambers or houses

Question 2

Single-member district

Answer 2

An electoral district in which a single person is elected to a given office

Question 3

Plurality rule

Answer 3

A method for determining an election’s winner in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins

Question 4

Proportional representation

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Gerrymandering

Answer 5

Drawing strangely shaped district boundaries to gain political advantage

Question 6

Trustees

Answer 6

Representatives who make decisions using their own judgments about what is best for their constituents

Question 7

Delegates

Answer 7

Representatives who listen carefully to what their constituents want and make decisions based on feedback from constituents

Question 8

Constituency service

Answer 8

A legislator directly helping a constituent in dealing with government bureaucracy

Question 9

Incumbency advantage

Answer 9

The advantage current officeholders have in an election, in particular as it relates to the high rates at which congressional legislators win re-election

Question 10

Pork barrel

Answer 10

Government spending that benefits a narrow constituency in return for electoral support or some other kind of political support, including campaign donations

Question 11

Distributional model

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Logrolling

Answer 12

An instance of two or more legislators agreeing to vote in favor of one another’s proposed bills or amendments

Question 13

Informational model

Answer 13

The view that the internal institutions of the congressional chambers are designed to help Congress make more informed decisions

Question 14

Partisan model

Answer 14

The view that majority-party leaders dominate the workings of Congress and ensure that most legislative benefits come to majority-party members

Question 15

Party discipline

Answer 15

Pressure on party members to vote on bills that have the support of the party leadership

Question 16

Speaker of the House

Answer 16

The constitutionally designated leader of the House of Representatives. In the modern House, he or she is always the leader of the majority party

Question 17

Reed’s Rules

Answer 17

Procedural guidelines used by the majority-party leadership for determining who sits on which committees, how the order of business should be decided, and how the majority party should limit the powers of the minority party

Question 18

Majority leader

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Whip

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Standing committee

Answer 20

A group of legislators given permanent jurisdiction over a particular issue area or type of policy

Question 21

special (or select) committee

Answer 21

A committee appointed to consider a special issue or serve a special function that disbands once it has completed its duties

Question 22

Joint committee

Answer 22

A committee made up of members of both the House and Senate

Question 23

Conference committee

Answer 23

A meeting of legislators from the House and Senate to reconcile two bills passed on the same topic

Question 24

Caucus

Answer 24

In a legislature, a group of legislators that unites to promote an agenda not pursued within the parties or the legislative committees

Question 25

Split referral

Answer 25

A rule (in place since 1975) that permits the Speaker to split a bill into sections and give sections to specific committees

Question 26

Markup

Answer 26

A committee or subcommittee process where committee members edit and amend bills

Question 27

Open rule

Answer 27

A provision that allows any amendment to be proposed once a bill comes to the chamber floor

Question 28

Closed rule

Answer 28

A provision that allows no amendments to be proposed once a bill comes to the chamber floor

Question 29

Restricted (or modified) rule

Answer 29

A provision that allows only certain kinds of amendments to be proposed once a bill comes to the floor, typically only amendments that pertain to the original purpose of the bill

Question 30

Unanimous consent agreement

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Filibuster

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Cloture

Answer 32

A rule that limits debate on a bill to a specific number of hours. Senate rules require 60 senators to support such a motion to end debate (including filibusters) and proceed to a vote

Question 33

Pocket veto

Answer 33

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