Quiz 4a Flashcards
revenue bills
Must originate in the House of Representatives (special power)
Bicameral (two-house) congress
The Senate and House of Representatives are a result of what?
Impeachment power
The authority to charge the president, vice president, and other civil officers with “high crimes and misdemeanors” given to the house (special power)
“elastic clause”
allowed the government to “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the United States”
Standing committees
The most important type of committees because they handle bills a different policy areas
Separate in the house and state
joint committees
Have members from both the House and Senate
Set up to conduct business between the houses and to help focus public attention on major issues
Select committees
Committees formed for specific purposes and are usually temporary
Party polarization
Growing distance between policy views of the average members of each party
leads to a more cumbersome legislative process
malapportionment
States drawing districts of unequal size and population
Gerrymandering
District boundaries are drawn in strange ways in order to make it easy for the candidate of one party to win election in that district
Baker v Carr
Supreme Court rule (1962) which permitted voters to challenge the constitutionality of voting districts in the courts
Westberry v Sanders
Court case addressing malapportionment
The court ordered that districts be drawn so that one person’s vote would be as equal as possible to another
(one man one vote)
Mid-decade redistricting
Second redistricting based off of voting results
League of United Latin American citizens et al. v Perry, gov. of Texas
Supreme Court case reviewing the second redistricting in texas (mid-decade)
The court ruled that the mid decade redistricting plan did not violate the Constitution
HOWEVER
The court ruled that the districts were drawn in a way to deny Latino voters as a group the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choosing
Authorization
Bill that must be passed by congress when a law is passed setting up a government program that states the maximum amount of money available
Appropriations
The actual amount of money available in a fiscal year
When the nations budget is set, only Congress can set THIS for each program that it has authorized
Speaker of the house
The most important leadership position in the house
President pro tempore
The official chair in the senate, but since the job has no real powers, the job of presiding over the senate is usually given to a junior senator
Shaw v Reno
Supreme Court case where the plaintiffs charged the Justice Department with reverse discrimination based on the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment
a result of minority/majority the redistricting
Easley v. Cromartie
Supreme Court case regarding racial gerrymandering
The court ruled that race may be a factor in redistricting, but not the “dominate and controlling” one
incumbents
incumbency advantage
Those who already hold the office, with secure seats
Franking privilege
Free mailings
–sending mail without postage stamps
Simple resolution
Passed by either the house or the Senate, and usually establishes rules, regulations, or practices that do not have the force of law
Concurrent resolution
Resolution that comes from both houses, and often settles housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses
(not signed by the president and do not have the force of law)
Joint resolution
Requires the approval of both houses and the signature of the president, and is essentially the same as a law
Racial gerrrymandering
ygyu v uy gg
Marginal districts
Districts that have close elections (when the winner gets less than 55% of the vote)
Safe districts
Districts where incumbents win by wide margins (55 percent or more)
Public bill
Pertaining to public affairs generally
Private bill
Pertaining to a particular individual, such as a person pressing a financial claim against the government or seeking special permission to become a naturalized citizen
Unified government
A single party in power in the White House and in both chambers of Congress
