POLI CH.11

Question 1

reapportionment

Answer 1

Redistribution of representatives among the states, based on population change. The House is reapportioned after each census.

Question 2

impeachment

Answer 2

The formal charge of a government official with “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”

Question 3

Incumbent

Answer 3

A current officeholder

Question 4

gerrymandering

Answer 4

Redrawing a congressional district to intentionally benefit one political party.

Question 5

casework

Answer 5

Solving problems for constituents, especially problems involving government agencies.

Question 6

descriptive representation

Answer 6

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

Question 7

racial gerrymandering

Answer 7

The drawing of a legislative district to maximize the chance that a minority candidate will win election.

Question 8

veto

Answer 8

The president’s approval of a bill that has been passed by both houses of Congress. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in each house.

Question 9

standing committee

Answer 9

A permanent congressional committee that specializes in a particular policy area.

Question 10

Joint committee

Answer 10

A committee made up of members of both the House and the Senate.

Question 11

select committee

Answer 11

A temporary congressional committee created for a specific purpose and disbanded after that purpose is fulfilled.

Question 12

conference committee

Answer 12

A temporary committee created to work out differences between the House and Senate versions of a specific piece of legislation

Question 13

seniority

Answer 13

Years of consecutive service on a particular congressional committee.

Question 14

oversight

Answer 14

The process of reviewing the operations of an agency to determine whether it is carrying out policies as Congress intended

Question 15

Speaker of the House

Answer 15

The presiding officer of the House of Representatives

Question 16

majority leader

Answer 16

The head of the majority party in the Senate; the second highest ranking member of the majority party in the House.

Question 17

filibuster

Answer 17

A delaying tactic, used in the Senate, that allows any senator to prevent a bill from coming to a vote.

Question 18

cloture

Answer 18

The mechanism by which a filibuster is cut off in the Senate.

Question 19

hold

Answer 19

A letter requesting that a bill be held from floor debate.

Question 20

constituents

Answer 20

People who live and vote in a government official’s district or state

Question 21

trustee

Answer 21

A representative who is obligated to consider the views of constituents but is not obligated to vote according to those views if he or she believes they are misguided

Question 22

delegate

Answer 22

A legislator whose primary responsibility is to represent the majority view of his or her constituents, regardless of his or her own view.

Question 23

parliamentary system

Answer 23

A system of government in which the chief executive is the leader whose party holds the most seats in the legislature after an election or whose party forms a major part of the ruling coalition.

Question 24

earmarks

Answer 24

Federal funds appropriated by Congress for use on local projects.