Congress Ch. 6 Flashcards
Bicameral Legislature
A two-house legislature
Impeachment
The power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, Vice President, or other “civil officers”, including federal judges “Treason, Bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” This is the first step in the constitutional process of removing government officials from office.
Incumbency
Already holding office.
Redistricting
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.
Gerrymandering
The drawing of congressional districts to produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district.
Majority Party
The political party in each house of Congress with the most members.
Minority Party
The political party in each house of Congress with the second most members.
Party Caucus (or Conference)
A formal gathering of all party members.
Speaker of the House
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.
Majority Leader
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.
Minority Leader
The head of the party with the second highest number of elected representation in the House of Representatives or the Senate.
Whip
Party leader who keeps close contact with all members of his r her party, takes vote counts on key legislation, prepares summaries of bills, and acts as a communication link within a party.
President Pro Tempore
The official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority party.
Standing Committee
Committee to which proposed bills are referred; continues from one Congress to the next.
Joint Committee
Standing committee that includes members from both houses of Congress set up to conduct investigations or special studies.
Conference Committee
Special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate.
Select (or Special) Committee
Temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose.
Committee Chairs
Enjoy Tremendous power and prestige, with authorization to select all subcommittee chairs, call meetings, and recommend majority members to sit on conference committees.
Committee Membership
Members of Congress set their sight on certain committee assignments based on their expertise or interests or on a particular committee’s ability to help their process of reelection.
Committee Referrals
When a bill is introduced in each chamber is sent to the clerk of the chamber who give it a number and then is sent to the appropriate committee for consideration which in turns sends it to the sub committee for research.
Markup
A session in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor.
Hold
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.
Filibusters
A formal way of halting Senate action on a bill by means of king speeches or unlimited debate.
Cloture
Mechanism requiring the vote of sixty senators to cut off debate.
