Chapter 7 Study Guide

Question 1

Pork Barreling/Earmarks

Answer 1

Joining a committee because you will receive benefits that you can give back to your district

Question 2

Majority Leader

Answer 2

Leader of the majority party in congress

Question 3

Closed Rule

Answer 3

No amendments can be made to a bill

Question 4

Gerrymandering

Answer 4

Drawing of district lines in favor of a political party

Question 5

House Rules Committee

Answer 5

Prestigious committee that sets date on calendar for bills and determines which bills will get discussed

Question 6

Safe Districts

Answer 6

Incumbency advantage when a candidate receives 55% of the vote or more in a district

Question 7

Party Caucus

Answer 7

Meeting before every sessions where congress chooses party leaders and committee chairs for that session

Question 8

Seniority System

Answer 8

People who have been in congress the longest have advantage over those who haven’t

Question 9

Quorum

Answer 9

Minimum number of committee members that have to present before action can be taken

Question 10

Committee Chair

Answer 10

Has the highest ranking on a committee; oversees the committee and directs the agenda

Question 11

Committee of the Whole**

Answer 11

All of the legislative bodies as a collective whole; used to speed up the legislation process

Question 12

Select Committee

Answer 12

Temporary committee created for a specific purpose

Question 13

Logrolling

Answer 13

Trading a vote

Question 14

Oversight

Answer 14

Overseeing the execution of laws in subcommittees

Question 15

Subcommittee

Answer 15

A more centralized and specialized committee

Question 16

Redistricting

Answer 16

Redrawing of congressional districts to create districts with equal population

Question 17

Impeachment

Answer 17

Act of removing a government official from office

Question 18

Majority Party

Answer 18

Dominant voting party in congress

Question 19

Minority Leader

Answer 19

Main leader of the minority party in congress

Question 20

Divided Government

Answer 20

Type of government where the President is one party and Congress is another

Question 21

Pocket Veto

Answer 21

President ignores a bill and doesn’t sign or veto it after 10 days so it dies

Question 22

Constituents

Answer 22

People who are represented by a state official in congress; those who vote and live in an area

Question 23

Sunset Laws

Answer 23

Laws that are reviewed and have a set end date

Question 24

Casework

Answer 24

Services that members of congress provide to constituents

Question 25

Cloture

Answer 25

Way to end a debate or filibuster; requires 60 senators to end

Question 26

Discharge Petition

Answer 26

Bill skips going to the House and goes straight to the senate or president

Question 27

Filibuster

Answer 27

“Talking a bill to death;” make sure legislation doesn’t get passed by talking until congress gives in and gets them to stop

Question 28

Apportionment

Answer 28

Taking seats in the House and giving them to every state based on population

Question 29

Mark-Up Session

Answer 29

This is when committees revise, debate, and amend bills

Question 30

Whip

Answer 30

Person who keeps tabs on the House and tries to persuade party members to vote a certain way

Question 31

Rider

Answer 31

Amendment to a bill that has little or no connection to the actual subject of the bill

Question 32

Resolution**

Answer 32

Written motion adopted by a body of Congress

Question 33

Senatorial Courtesy

Answer 33

President will ask the lower courts for suggestions on who to appoint in a lower court

Question 34

Standing Committee

Answer 34

Permanent committee only in one party of Congress

Question 35

Conference Committee

Answer 35

Temporary committee that differentiates differences between two bills proposed in the House and Senate

Question 36

Franking Privilege

Answer 36

Incumbency advantage in which you get free mail to your district

Question 37

President Pro-Tempore

Answer 37

Most senior member in the Senate and presides in absence of the Vice President

Question 38

Incumbency

Answer 38

Someone already in office has a greater chance of getting reelected

Question 39

Bicameral Legislature

Answer 39

Congress divided between the House and Senate

Question 40

Speaker of the House

Answer 40

Speaker chosen by the majority party to represent the House of Representatives

Question 41

Minority Party

Answer 41

Party with the least amount of members in Congress

Question 42

Joint Committee

Answer 42

Permanent committee with members from both the House and Senate

Question 43

Veto

Answer 43

Overriding a bill

Question 44

Appropriation

Answer 44

Money given to Congress with a specific goal

Question 45

Open Rule

Answer 45

When a committee can make amendments to a bill

Question 46

Bipartisanship

Answer 46

Working of two political parties together to enact legislation in Congress

Question 47

Incumbent

Answer 47

Someone who is running for office again