Chapter 6 - Congress Flashcards
Constituency
The district that voted in an official and controls his reelection.
Delegates
A Representative that votes in favor of the preferences of his constituency
Trustees
A Representative that votes based on what he thinks is best FOR his constituency.
Agency Representation
Representation in which constituents can hire and fire representatives.
Bicameral Legislature
A legislative body composed of two chambers
Money Bill
Bills concerning taxation and spending.
Must always originate in the House of Representatives.
Until what Amendment were Senators put in power for 6 year terms by state legislators.
The 17th amendment. It made it so that Senators are chosen via direct popular vote.
Incumbency
The act of holding political office for which one is running for
Caeswork
The act of providing personnel service to constituents in order to gain and maintain trust.
Patronage
A variety of direct services and benefits that members provide for their districts.
Pork-barrel Legislation
The capturing of federal projects and funds for their districts/states.
Bringing home the bacon.
Earmarks
The act of adding in language to bills in order to provide special benefits for their districts/states.
Gerrymandering
The rearrangement of districts in such way to make it more advantageous for a party.
Party Caucus/Conference
A closed closed private Party meeting in which party decisions are made.
Speaker of the House
The chief officer of the house of representatives.
Is determined by an election held at the beginning of every new Congress on a straight party vote.
Majority Leader
The elected leader of the party holding a majority of the seats in the House or Senate.
Minority Leader
The elected leader of party holding less than majority in Senate or House.
Standing Committee
A specialized permanent legislative committee that considers legislation within its specialized category.
Gatekeeping authority:
The right and power to decide if a change in policy will be considered.
Proposal Power
The capacity to bring a proposal before the full legislature
After- the- fact authority
The authority to bring a proposal once it has been approved by the full chamber.
Conference Committee
A joint committee created to work out a compromise for the house and senate’s version of a piece of legislation.
Oversight
The effort by Congress through multiple means to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies.
Seniority
The priority and status given to a congressional committee member paced on time served.
Agency Loss
The difference between what a principal would like an agent to do and what the agent actually does.
Staff Agencies
The agencies responsible for providing Congress with in information regarding policy.
Congressional Caucus
A group of Congressmen paced on party, interests, and social characteristics.
Closed Rule
A House Rule used to bill supporters to prohibit the introduction of amendments to a bill during debates.
Open Rule
A House Rule in which the introduction of amendments to bill is allowed.
Filibuster
The act of holding the floor, since Senators have unlimited time once they are given the floor, with continuous speaking until the opposition backs down.
Cloture
A rule allowing a super majority of the members of a legislative body to set a time limit on bill debate.
Distributive Tendency
The tendency of Congress to spread benefit over a wide range of members districts.
Party Vote
A legislative vote tie between two parties.
Roll-Call votes
A vote in which legislator’s yes or no vote is recorded.
Whip System
The communication system of Congress and Senate. It allows the Leaders to communicate with legislators and collect information.
Logrolling
The act of one legislator helping another legislator by voting on a bill in exchange for them doing the same on a different bill, “Vote for me and I’ll vote for you.”
Executive Agreement
An agreement between the president and a foreign nation that has the power of a treaty but doe NOT require Congressional approval.
Impeachment
The act of charging a government official with “Treason, Bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors, forcing them to brought forth to Congress to determine guilt.
