Congress Flashcards
gerrymander
redraw congressional districts for political representation
delegates
reflect constituents opinions
trustees
ex.
use own conscience to vote
john adams
franking priviledge
free use of mail by incumbent congress
what % of incumbents are reelected?
90%
speaker of house functions
controls committee chairs, sets order of business for the house
majority floor leader elected by?
caucas
VP is also president of what?
senate
president pro tempore
honorary position given to senator of majority party based on longest continuous service
does senate have majority and minority leaders?
yes
standing committee
examples:
permanent! determine if legislation should be proposed to entire house or senate
house has 19, senate has 16
armed services, foreign relations
select committee (special committee)
do they propose legislation?
temporary, examine specific issues
no, they issue reports
conference committee
deal w/ legislation passed by both houses of congress. function is to iron out differences in both bill, and then is voted on by house and senate
joint committees
members from both houses, focus on general congress concerns
what bills must originate in the house?
tax and revenue bills
bill debate in house
each rep has 5 minutes
bill debate in senate
can take as long as they want
cloture:
petition to end filibuster
amendments:
allowed by rules committee in house
riders (anything) are allowed in senate
pork barrel legislation
bills designed to benefit congressional districts through fed funds
logrolling
legislators vote for other bills that don’t effect their constituency
pocket veto
an indirect veto of a legislative bill by the president or a governor by retaining the bill unsigned until it is too late for it to be dealt with during the legislative session.
