Unit 2: Chapter 5 Flashcards
What are the two divisions of Congress ?
The Senate and the House of Representatives
What do bicameral and unicameral mean?
Bicameral - two house legislature
Unicameral - one house legislature
Is the HoR the upper house or the lower house ? How long is each representative elected for ?
The Lower House
Two Years
What is the legislative branch of American Government called ?
Congress
Because house members represent a particular population group, we say that their representation is …
Proportional
What is the proportional distribution of congressional seats among the states ?
Apportionment
Because representation in the House is based on population _______ is sometimes necessary.
Reapportionment
What is a census ?
A counting of the number of people in a specific area
What is gerrymandering ?
When a state legislature draws its boundaries so as to purposely favor the party in power.
Is the Senate the Upper or lower house ? How long does a representative stay in there ?
The Upper house
Six years
What is representation in the Senate based upon?
Equal representation. Each state has the same no. of representatives.
What Amendment said that senators are no longer chosen by state legislatures ?
The 17th Amendment
What term conveys the fact that Senators are now appointed by all of the voters of the state ?
At-large
What is General Election Day?
The Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.
What three qualifications does the constitution require that every Congress member must meet ?
- Age
- Citizenship
- State Residency
What are the three leadership positions in Congress ?
- Speaker of the House
- President of the Senate
- President pro tempore
What is the party with the most members in the house ?
The majority party
What is the Rotunda ?
The great circular hall beneath the Capitol’s dome
What people lead their party in their house ?
Floor leaders
Who assists the floor leader with his responsibilities ?
The whip
What is a private meeting of political party members to decide on policy or to choose their party leaders ?
A caucus
What is the system most often used by the party caucuses in assigning committee or subcommittee chairs?
The seniority system
The minority party names their senior member the …
Ranking member
What committees are used for investigation ?
Select committees
What are joint committees?
Where members from both houses meet in a single committee.
What is a common type of joint committee ?
A conference committee
Who is the chief protocol and law enforcement officer for his house ?
The sergeant at arms
What is the role of the parliamentarian ?
To advise house officers on parliamentary rules and house rules
Who are the minister to the spiritual needs of members, staff, and their families ?
The Chaplains
Who is the official record keeper of the house ?
Secretary
Who helps maintain much of the operational infrastructure in the House?
The chief administrative officer
How long does a term last in Congress ?
Two years
How many sessions are in each term of Congress ?
Two
What does the word “adjourn” mean ?
Dismiss
When does Congress convene ?
January 3 of each odd numbered year
What Amendment changed both the meeting time of Congress and the day on which members assume their duties ?
The 20th Amendment
What is a simple majority ?
One more than half
What word means “the required number to do business” ?
Quorum
What book holds the records of everything said on the House and Senate floors ?
The Congressional Record
What Amendment said that any pay raise that Congress gave itself could not go in effect until the next congressional election ?
The 27th Amendment
What is franking privilege ?
It means that Congressmen are not charged postage on their official mail
What is congressional immunity ?
It means that while on the congressional floor a congressman cannot be held liable for anything he says, and therefore, cannot be arrested.
What does censure mean?
To officially condemn
What is the greatest penalty which either house of Congress may impose on a disorderly member ?
Expulsion
What is legislating ?
Lawmaking
What is a proposed new law ?
A bill
Which bills apply to the nation as a whole and which bills apply only to individual citizens or groups of people?
Public bills and Private bills
What is a former statement of opinion or determination adopted by a legislative assembly ?
A resolution
- What type of resolution was passed by one house dealing only with that house ?
- What type of resolution is passed by both houses and signed by the President ?
- What type of resolution is passed by both houses and deals with matters that need joint action but no formal law?
- Simple Resolution
- Joint Resolution
- Concurrent Resolution
What word means “act together”?
Concur
What is the box on the side of a Clerk’s desk called ?
A hopper
What type of bill is sponsored by members from both parties ?
A bipartisan bill
Much of the action on a bill takes place in the _____?
Committee
What does pigeonholed mean?
A bill that has been purposely put aside and forgotten about
Where do bills go to undergo hearings ?
A subcommittee
What rule says that if a member can get 218 signatures on a petition, he can get his bill out of committee and onto the floor ?
A discharge petition
What is a filibuster ?
An attempt to kill a bill by stalling the vote on it
What is the Cloture Rule ?
It says that if three fifths of the senators vote to invoke cloture, then each senator is limited to a maximum of one hour to speak on a bill under consideration.
What happens when the house expedites legislation by resolving itself into the Committee of the Whole ?
At that point, the entire House sits as one committee; the house is not at session during this time.
Name three ways a Congressional vote may be taken.
- Voice
- Standing
- Roll-call
List the steps on how a bill becomes a law
- Drafted
- Introduced
- Read by title, numbered, registered, and printed
- Referred to a committee
- Referred to a subcommittee
- Reported by the full committees
- Reported to the whole house
- Acted upon by the entire house
- Acted upon by the opposite house
- Examined by a conference committee
- Delivered to the President
What is a temporary committee composed of members of both houses for the purpose of working out a compromise on a bill ?
A conference committee
What is a “pocket veto”?
The practice of killing a bill by not signing it when Congress adjourns
A President can ____ a bill if he wants to stop it from passing.
Veto
A President’s veto can be over thrown if ___ - ______ majority vote in each house says so.
Two - thirds
What is the most important quality of a good representative ?
His character
What is the job of the trustee ?
The representative (acting as the trustee) votes according to his personal judgement rather than the views of his constituency.
What is the job of the delegate ?
The representative (acting as a delegate) votes according to the desires of his constituency rather than his personal judgement.
What is the congressional monitoring of the bureaucracy to make sure that the laws are being faithfully executed?
Oversight
What are sunset laws?
Laws that give a termination date for a bureaucratic agency or program.
What is Congress forbidding the impeachment of an agency’s policy without the President’s consent ?
Legislative Veto
What does “delegated” mean?
Granted
What are expressed powers?
Powers that are granted explicitly to Congress in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution.
What are implied powers ?
Legislated powers which are not specifically stated in the Constitution but have been implied in the expressed powers.
What clause gives Congress the authority to put into operation Borge the expressed and implied powers ?
The “necessary and proper” clause
What are the special powers of the House of Representatives?
- Originating all revenue bills
- Selecting a president from the three top candidates if the Electoral College has not given a majority to any candidate
- Conferring charges of impeachment against a federal official
What are the special powers of Congress ?
- Choosing a Vice President from the top two candidates if no candidate has received a majority of the electoral vote
- Approving all presidential appointments
- Trying all cases of impeachment
- Approving all presidential treaties
What is observed whenever the President nominates a federal officer who is to serve in a particular state ?
Senatorial Courtesy
What is impeachment ?
Means that the House has the power to formally accuse a federal official of some wrongdoing.
What do managers do ?
They present the impeachment case to the Senate, where the trial is conducted.
What two presidents were impeached and what president was almost impeached ?
Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were impeached.
Richard M. Nixon was almost impeached but resigned prior.
What are limitations on Congress called ?
Denied powers
