Term
|
Definition
| consisting of two houses or chambers |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| services performed by members of Congress for constituents |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a vote to end a filibuster, requires the vote of 3/5 of the membership of the Senate |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the district of a legislature |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an elected representative who acts in perfect accord with the wishes of his or her constituents |
|
|
Term
| Descriptive representation |
|
Definition
| means that the composition of a representative body reflects the demographic composition of the population as a whole |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a petition signed by at 218 members of House members to force a bill that has been before a committee for at least 30 days while the House is in session out of the committee and onto the floor for consideration |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| gives Congress the authority to make whatever laws are necessary and proper to carry out its enumerated responsibilities |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| powers of the federal government specifically mentioned in the Constitution |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a law that retroactively declares some action illegal |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a parliamentary device used in the Senate to prevent a bill from coming to vote by "talking it to death" made possible by the norm of talking it to death |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| public subsidization of mail from the members of Congress to their constituents |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| redrawing electoral district lines to give an advantage to a particular party or candidate |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an election in which there is no incumbent officeholder |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Congressional responsibility for monitoring the actions of executive branch agencies and personnel to ensure conformity to federal statutes and congressional intent |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| projects designed to bring to the constituency jobs and public money for which the members of Congress can claim credit |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the reallocation of House seats among the states, done after after each national census, to ensure that seats are held by the states in proportion to the size of their populations |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| deferral by members of Congress to the judgment of subject-matter specialists, mainly on minor technical bills |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the redrawing of congressional district lines within a state to ensure roughly equal populations within each district |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the principle that one attains a position on the basis of length of service |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| relatively permanent congressional committees that address specific areas of legislation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an elected representative who believes that his or her own best judgment, rather than instructions from constituents, should be used in making legislative decisions |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| presidential disapproval of a bill that has been passed by both the House and Senate |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a political party member in Congress charges with keeping members informed of the plans of the party leadership, counting votes before action on important issues, and rounding up party members for votes on bills |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the leader of the House of Representatives |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
the Majority leader is the CEO responsible for daily operations |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the chief spokesperson and legislative strategist for the opposition |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
· Because so many members and so many committees in the House, representatives are expected to be experts in their committee areas |
|
|
