Chapter 7 Congress

Question 1

A two-house legislature

Answer 1

bicameral legislature

Question 2

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

Answer 2

apportionment

Question 3

A proposed law

Answer 3

bill

Question 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

Answer 4

impeachment

Question 5

Already holding an office

Answer 5

incumbency

Question 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

Answer 6

redistricting

Question 7

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

Answer 7

gerrymandering

Question 8

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

Answer 8

majority party

Question 9

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

Answer 9

minority party

Question 10

A formal gathering of all party members

Answer 10

party caucus or conference

Question 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

Answer 11

Speaker of the House

Question 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

Answer 12

majority leader

Question 13

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

Answer 13

minority leader

Question 14

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

Answer 14

whip

Question 15

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

Answer 15

president pro tempore

Question 16

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

Answer 16

standing committee

Question 17

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

Answer 17

joint committee

Question 18

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

Answer 18

conference committee

Question 19

Temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose.

Answer 19

select (or special) committee

Question 20

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

Answer 20

discharge petition

Question 21

Time of continuous service on a committee

Answer 21

seniority

Question 22

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

Answer 22

markup

Question 23

A tactic 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 and should be consulted before further action is taken.

Answer 23

hold

Question 24

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

Answer 24

filibuster

Question 25

Mechanism requiring sixty senators to vote to cut off debate

Answer 25

cloture

Question 26

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

Answer 26

veto

Question 27

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.

Answer 27

pocket veto

Question 28

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

Answer 28

Congressional Budget Act of 1974

Question 29

Funds that an appropriations bill designates for specific projects within a state or congressional district

Answer 29

earmark

Question 30

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

Answer 30

War powers Act

Question 31

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

Answer 31

congressional review

Question 32

A process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senators in whose state the vacancy occurs.

Answer 32

senatorial courtesy

Question 33

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

Answer 33

trustee

Question 34

Role played by and elected representative who votes the way his or her constituents would want him or her to, regardless of his or her own opinions

Answer 34

delegate

Question 35

Role played by and elected representative who acts as a trustee or as a delegate, depending on the issue

Answer 35

politico

Question 36

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

Answer 36

divided government

Question 37

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

Answer 37

unified government

Question 38

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

Answer 38

logrolling