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Legislative Branch > Legislative vocab > Flashcards

Legislative vocab Flashcards

1
Q

What is a Bicameral legislature?

A

A government that has a two-house legislative system

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2
Q

What is a Parliament?

A

A formal conference for the discussion of public affairs

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3
Q

What is Descriptive representation?

A

A belief that constituents are more effectively represented by legislators who are similar to them in such key demographic characteristics as race, gender, ethnicity, or religion.

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4
Q

What is Substantive representation?

A

The ability of a legislator to represent the agenda or interests of a group to which he or she does not personally belong.

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5
Q

What is a Trustee?

A

Decide based on their personal thoughts

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6
Q

What is a delegate?

A

Decide based on what is most popular with their constituents

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7
Q

What is a Majority minority district?

A

A racial or ethnic minority makes up a large-enough share of the electorate to assure that the community has a reasonable chance to elect the candidate of their choice.

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8
Q

What is Malapportionment?

A

The creation of electoral districts with divergent ratios of voters to representatives.

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9
Q

What is Marginal district

A

A constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system.

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10
Q

What is Gerrymandering?

A

Drawing electoral district boundaries to favor one political party

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11
Q

What are Safe districts?

A

The margin is at least 60 percent of the vote. The percentage of the House districts that are considered safe is almost 90 percent. About 50 percent of Senate districts are considered safe.

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12
Q

What is Wesbury vs. Sanders?

A

A landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that districts in the United States House of Representatives must be approximately equal in population.

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13
Q

What is Baker vs. Carr?

A

Each district has to have about the same amount of people

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14
Q

What is Shaw vs. Reno?

A

Drawing districts by race is illegal

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15
Q

What is Miller vs. Johnson?

A

A United States Supreme Court case concerning “affirmative gerrymandering/racial gerrymandering”, where racial minority-majority electoral districts are created during redistricting to increase minority Congressional representation.

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16
Q

What is the Congressional caucus?

A

A congressional caucus is a group of members of the United States Congress that meets to pursue common legislative objectives.

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17
Q

What is a Committee?

A

Small groups of representatives that work on the specifics of a bill

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18
Q

What is Committee of the Whole?

A

The House of Representatives operating as a committee on which every Member of the House serves.

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19
Q

What is House Rules Committee?

A

A committee that decides what gets put to a whole house vote

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20
Q

What are Conference committees?

A

Formed to reconcile differences in bill versions

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21
Q

What is a Filibuster?

A

The practice of extending debate in the Senate, used to obstruct or delay legislation

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22
Q

What is Cloture?

A

A procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote.

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23
Q

What is a Party caucus?

A

A group of members of the United States Congress that meets to pursue common legislative objectives by forming a part

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24
Q

What is the Party whip?

A

Second, to the majority leader, keeps track of party members and persuades votes

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25
Q

What is the Majority leader?

A

Leads the party in their chambers

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26
Q

What is a Minority leader?

A

Leads the party in their chambers

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27
Q

What is Franking privilege?

A

The ability for a member of congress to send as much mail as possible

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28
Q

What is Sophomore Surge?

A

An increase in the number of votes candidates receive between the first time elected and their first time reelected

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29
Q

What is Constituency service?

A

Examples might include having federal agencies listen to an issue, obtaining and distributing government information, military academy appointments, etc.

30
Q

What is incumbency?

A

The trend of most representatives and senators who run for reelection is successful

31
Q

What is a Speaker of the House?

A

The majority leader of the house, with extra powers over the procedure

32
Q

What is a President Pro Tempore?

A

Takes on the procedural role of the vice president in the senate

33
Q

What is Ways and Means Committee?

A

Committee in charge of taxes of all kind

34
Q

What is reapportionment?

A

The process by which congressional districts are redrawn and seats are redistributed among states in the House

35
Q

What is redistricting?

A

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

36
Q

What is congressional oversight?

A

Review, monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation.

37
Q

What is a hold?

A

A tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor

38
Q

What is senatorial courtesy?

A

An agreement among senators to not vote for a nominee opposed by senator’s from nominee’s home state

39
Q

What is impeachment?

A

A formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity

40
Q

What are discharge petitions?

A

A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had a bill for thirty days, may ask to have it brought to the floor

41
Q

What is log rolling?

A

A quid pro quo to get support for legislation

42
Q

What is a Standing committee?

A

A permanent committee

43
Q

What is a Select Committee?

A

A temporary committee formed for a specific purpose

44
Q

What is Joint Committee?

A

Committee formed from both chambers

45
Q

What is a Private bill?

A

Provides benefits to specified individuals (including corporate bodies)

46
Q

What is a Public bill?

A

A congressional or parliamentary bill involving the general interests of the people at large or of the whole community

47
Q

What is a Simple resolution?

A

A legislative measure passed by only either the Senate or the House

48
Q

What is a Concurrent resolution?

A

Used to make or amend rules that apply to both houses

49
Q

What is a Joint resolution?

A

A formal expression of congressional opinion that must be approved by both houses of congress and by the president

50
Q

What is appropriation?

A

A law of Congress that provides an agency with budget authority

51
Q

What is authorization?

A

Any statutory provision that defines the authority of the government to act

52
Q

What is a Sequential referral?

A

Occurs when a measure is referred to an additional committee (or committees) subject to time limits by the Speaker imposed after the primary committee has reported the measure

53
Q

What is a Split Referral?

A

Refers designated portions of the same measure to another committee

54
Q

What is Multiple referrals?

A
55
Q

What is a Markup Discharge petition?

A
56
Q

What is a calendar (congressional)?

A
57
Q

What is the Open rule?

A
58
Q

What is the Closed rule?

A
59
Q

What is a Restrictive Rule?

A
60
Q

What is Germane vs. non-germane?

A
61
Q

What are amendments?

A
62
Q

What is Pork barrel legislation?

A
63
Q

What are Riders?

A
64
Q

What is a Christmas tree bill?

A
65
Q

What is a Quorum call?

A
66
Q

What is a Roll call vote?

A
67
Q

What is a Teller vote?

A
68
Q

What is a Voice vote?

A
69
Q

What is

A
70
Q

What is

A
71
Q

What is

A

Legislative Branch (1 decks)

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