Chapter 6 Terms

Question 1

bicameral legislature

Answer 1

A two house legislature

Question 2

apportionment

Answer 2

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

Question 3

bill

Answer 3

A proposed law

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.

Question 5

incumbency

Answer 5

Already holding an office

Question 6

redistricting

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

gerrymandering

Answer 7

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

Question 8

majority party

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Minority party

Answer 9

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

Question 10

party caucus

Answer 10

A formal gathering of all party members

Question 11

Speaker of the House

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

Majority Leader

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Whip

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

president pro tempore

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Standing committee

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Joint Committee

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Conference Committee

Answer 17

Special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the house and senate

Question 18

Select (or special) Committee

Answer 18

Temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose.

Question 19

Discharge petition

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

Seniority

Answer 20

Time of continuous service on a committee

Question 21

markup

Answer 21

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

Question 22

hold

Answer 22

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 objections to the bill (or nomination) and should be consulted before further action is taken.

Question 23

filibuster

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Cloture

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Veto

Answer 25

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.

Question 26

Congressional Budget Act of 1974

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

Reconciliation

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Pork

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Programmatic requests

Answer 29

federal funds designated for special projects within a state or congressional district.

Question 30

War Powers Resolution

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Congressional review

Answer 31

A process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval.

Question 32

Senatorial Courtesy

Answer 32

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.

Question 33

Trustee

Answer 33

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

Question 34

delegate

Answer 34

Role played by an elected representative who votes the way his or her constituents would want, regardless of personal opinions.

Question 35

Politico

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Divided government

Answer 36

The political condition in which different political parties control the presidency and Congress

Question 37

Unified Government

Answer 37

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

Question 38

logrolling

Answer 38

Vote trading, voting to support a colleagues bill in return for a promise of future support.

Question 39

Minority leader

Answer 39

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

Question 40

Pocket veto

Answer 40

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