Chapter 6

Question 1

bicameral legislature

Answer 1

A two-house legislature

The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature.

Question 2

apportionment

Answer 2

The process of allotting congressional seats to each state according to its proportion of the population, following the decennial census.

Apportionment shifts the seats to fit the members of Congress.

Question 3

bill

Answer 3

A proposed law.

The U.S Senate has approved an anti-BDS bill.

Question 4

impeachment

Answer 4

The power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president, or other “civil officers” including federal judges, with “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” This is the first step in the constitutional process of removing government officials from office.

Two presidents that went through the impeachment process was, Andrew Jackson and Bill Clinton

Question 5

Edmund Burke

Answer 5

Conservative British political philosopher of the eighteenth century who articulated the view that elected representatives should act as “trustees” and use their own best judgement when voting.

Edmund Burke advanced people’s beliefs in American politics.

Question 6

trustee

Answer 6

Role played by an elected representative who listens to constituents’ opinions and then uses his or her best judgment to make a final decision.

Trustee was developed form Edmund Burke.

Question 7

delegate

Answer 7

Role played by a representative who votes the way his or her constituents would want, regardless of personal opinions; may refer to an elected representative to Congress or a representative to the party convention.

A delegate vote for what the majority want.

Question 8

politico

Answer 8

An elected representative who acts as a trustee or as a delegate, depending on the issue.

A politico is flexible depending on what the situation is.

Question 9

incumbency

Answer 9

Already holding an office.

Incumbency is the familiarity of a person in an office and it is an advantage.

Question 10

redistricting

Answer 10

The process of redrawing congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state.

In the U.S House of Representatives they use redistricting for their districts.

Question 11

gerrymandering

Answer 11

The drawing of congressional districts to produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district.

Gerrymandering has to do more with manipulating outcomes then it has to do with population.

Question 12

majority party

Answer 12

The political in each house of Congress with the most members.

A majority party is the Republicans.

Question 13

minority party

Answer 13

The political party in each house of Congress with the second most members.

A minority party is Democrats.

Question 14

party caucus (or conference)

Answer 14

A formal gathering of all party members.

Each party caucus has different roles for different departments.

Question 15

Speaker of the House

Answer 15

The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution; the chamber’s most powerful position; traditionally a member of the majority party.

The Speaker of the House speaks to the President to get their views out. The Democratic Speaker of the House is Nancy Pelosi.

Question 16

majority leader

Answer 16

The head of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate; is a second in authority to the Speaker of the House and in the Senate is regarding as its most powerful member.

The Democrat House majority leader is Steny Hoyer.

Question 17

minority leader

Answer 17

The head of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate.

The Republican House minority leader is Kevin McCarthy.

Question 18

whip

Answer 18

Party leader who keeps close contact with all members of his or her party, takes vote counts on key legislation, prepares summaries of bills, and acts as a communications link within a party.

The Republic whip is Steve Scalise.

Question 19

president pro tempore

Answer 19

The official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority.

The president pro tempore is Charles Grassley.

Question 20

standing committee

Answer 20

Committee to which proposed bills are referred; continues from one Congress to the next.

The standing committee consider the bills they receive and these bills range from different topics.

Question 21

joint committee

Answer 21

Standing committee that includes members from both houses of Congress set up to conduct investigations or special studies.

The joint committee main focus is on major topics.

Question 22

conference committee

Answer 22

Special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate.

Conference committees usually have members that have been there for their awhile.

Question 23

select (or special) committee

Answer 23

Temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose.

Select committees investigate major issues or suspicious activities.

Question 24

Hillary Clinton

Answer 24

First female major party candidate for president of the United States, a Democrat, who ran against President Donald J. Trump in 2016. Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013; New York senator from 2001 to 2009; former first lady.

Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 elections against Donald Trump.

Question 25

House Committee on Rules

Answer 25

The influential “Rules Committee” determines the scheduling and conditions, such as length of debate and type of allowable amendments, for all bills in the House of Representatives ( but not in the Senate, where debate is less regulated).

The House Committee on Rules provides the planning for bills.

Question 26

discharge petition

Answer 26

Petition that gives a majority of the House of Representatives the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction.

The discharge petition allows the House of Representatives to push bills when they feel necessary.

Question 27

seniority

Answer 27

Time of continuous service on a committee.

An example of seniority is John Conyers.

Question 28

markup

Answer 28

A session in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor.

In a markup the members may debate about the bill.

Question 29

Committee of the Whole

Answer 29

A procedure that allows the House of Representatives to deliberate with a lower quorum and to expedite consideration and amendment of a bill.

The Committee of the Whole can recommend things for the bill.

Question 30

hold

Answer 30

A procedure by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill or nomination is brought to the floor. This request signals leadership that a member may have objection to the bill (or nomination) and should be consulted before further action is taken.

They can put a hold on a bill if there are concerns for about it.

Question 31

filibuster

Answer 31

A formal way of halting Senate action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate.

In 1957, Strom Thurmond did a filibuster for the Civil Rights Act of 1957 not to be passed. Though the bill Civil Rights Act of 1967 was passed he still holds the record for longest filibuster.

Question 32

cloture

Answer 32

Mechanism requiring the vote of sixty senators to cut off debate.

Cloture is the only way to end a filibuster.

Question 33

veto

Answer 33

The formal, constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of Congress, thus preventing them from becoming law without further congressional action.

George Washington has vetoed two bills.

Question 34

pocket veto

Answer 34

If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, the bill is considered vetoed without the president’s signature.

The first president to use the pocket veto was James Madison.

Question 35

Richard M. Nixon

Answer 35

The thirty-seventh president, a Republican, who served from 1969 through 1974. Nixon advocated detente during the Cold War and resigned rather than face impeachment and likely removal from office due to the Watergate scandal.

Before Richard M. Nixon became president he was a U.S Representative and a Senator.

Question 36

Congressional Budget Act of 1974

Answer 36

Act that established the congressional budgetary process by laying out a plan for congressional action on the annual budget resolution, appropriations, reconciliation, and any other revenue bills.

The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 created budget committees.

Question 37

reconciliation

Answer 37

A procedure that allows consideration of controversial issues affecting the budget by limited debate to twenty hours, thereby ending threat of a filibuster.

Reconciliation helps limit speeches about topics.

Question 38

pork

Answer 38

Legislation that allows representatives to bring money and jobs to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs.

Pork allows different forms to bring money.

Question 39

programmatic requests

Answer 39

Federal funds designated for special projects within a state or congressional district. Also referred to as earmarks.

One example of programmatic requests is the Air Force Minority Leaders Program.

Question 40

divided government

Answer 40

The political condition in which different political parties control the presidency and at least one house of Congress.

A divided government is the presidency being controlled by the Democrats and the Congress being controlled by Republicans.

Question 41

War Powers Resolution

Answer 41

Passed by Congress in 1973; the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty-day period in peacetime (which can be extended for an extra thirty days to permit withdrawal) unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period.

With the War Powers Resolution the only way the president can keep troops overseas is when war is declared.

Question 42

congressional review

Answer 42

A process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations within a 60-day window by passing a joint resolution of legislative disapproval. The president’s approval of the resolution or a two-thirds majority vote in both houses to overrule a presidential veto is also required.

The congressional review can help Congress when a president veto.

Question 43

senatorial courtesy

Answer 43

A process by which presidents generally allow senators from the state in which a judicial vacancy occurs to block a nomination by simply registering their objection.

The senatorial courtesy allows senators to have more say in nominations.

Question 44

unified government

Answer 44

The political condition in which the same political party controls the presidency and Congress.

A unified government is when the Democrats control presidency and Congress or when Republican control presidency and Congress.

Question 45

logrolling

Answer 45

Vote trading; voting to support a colleague’s bill in return for a promise of future support.

Logrolling is an agreement between two colleague’s.

Question 46

Congressional Research Service (CRS)

Answer 46

Created in 1914, the non-partisan CRS provides information, studies, and research in support of the work of Congress, and prepares summaries and tracks and progress of all bill.

The Congressional Research Service gathers information on bills.

Question 47

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Answer 47

Established in 1921, the GAO is an independent regulatory agency for the purpose of auditing the financial expenditures of the executive branch and federal agencies; until 2004, the GAO was known as the General Accounting Office.

The Government Accountability Office is fact-based and nonpartisan.

Question 48

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

Answer 48

Created in 1974, the CBO provides Congress with evaluations of the potential economic effects of proposed spending policies and also analyzes the president’s budget and economic projections.

The Congressional Budget Office covers some projects such as health care plans.