Chapter 7 Congress

Question 1

Bicameral legislature

Answer 1

A two-house legislature.

Question 2

apportionment

Answer 2

The process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the decennial census according to their proportions of the population.

Question 3

bill

Answer 3

A proposed law

Question 4

impeachment

Answer 4

The power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice-president, or other “civil officers,” including federal judges, with “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” This is the first step in the constitutional process of removing government officials from office.

Question 5

incumbency

Answer 5

Already holding an office.

Question 6

redistricting

Answer 6

The process of redrawing congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state.

Question 7

gerrymandering

Answer 7

The drawing of congressional districts to produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district.

Question 8

majority party

Answer 8

The political party in each house of Congress with the most members.

Question 9

minority party

Answer 9

The political party in each house of Congress with the second most members.

Question 10

party caucus or conference

Answer 10

A formal gathering of all party members.

Question 11

Speaker of the House

Answer 11

The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution, the chamber’s most powerful position; traditionally a member of the majority party.

Question 12

majority leader

Answer 12

The head of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate; is second in authority to the Speaker of the House and in the Senate regarded as its most powerful member.

Question 13

minority leader

Answer 13

The head of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate.

Question 14

whip

Answer 14

Party leader who keeps close contact with all members of his or her party, takes vote counts on key legislation, prepares summaries of bills, and acts as a communications link within a party.

Question 15

president pro tempore

Answer 15

The official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority party.

Question 16

seniority

Answer 16

Time of continuous service on a committee.

Question 17

markup

Answer 17

A session in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor.

Question 18

hold

Answer 18

A tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill or nomination is brought to the floor. This request signals leadership that a member may have objections to the bill (or nomination) and should be consulted before further action is taken.

Question 19

filibuster

Answer 19

A formal way of halting Senate action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate.

Question 20

cloture

Answer 20

Mechanism requiring sixty senators to vote to cut off debate.

Question 21

veto

Answer 21

The formal, constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of Congress, thus preventing them from becoming law without further congressional action.

Question 22

pocket veto

Answer 22

If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, the bill is considered vetoed without the president’s signature.

Question 23

Congressional Budget Act of 1974

Answer 23

Act that established the congressional budget process by laying out a plan for congressional action on the annual budget resolution, appropriations, reconciliation, and any other revenue bills.

Question 24

reconciliation

Answer 24

A procedure that allows consideration of controversial issues affecting the budget by limiting debate to twenty hours, therby ending threat of a filibuster.

Question 25

pork

Answer 25

Legislation that allows representatives to bring money and jobs to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs.

Question 26

War Powers Act

Answer 26

Passed by Congress in 1973; the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty-day period on peacetime (which can be extended for an extra thirty days to permit withdrawal) unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period.

Question 27

congressional review

Answer 27

A process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval.

Question 28

senatorial courtesy

Answer 28

A process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senators in whose state the vacancy occurs.

Question 29

trustee

Answer 29

Role played by an elected representative who listens to constituents’ opinions and then uses his or her best judgment to make a final decision.

Question 30

delegate

Answer 30

Role played by an elected representative who votes the way his or her constituents would want him or her to, regardless of his or her own opinions.

Question 31

politico

Answer 31

Role played by an elected representative who acts as a trustee or as a delegate, depending on the issue.

Question 32

divided government

Answer 32

The political condition in which different political parties control the presidency and Congress.

Question 33

unified government

Answer 33

The political condition in which the same political party controls the presidency and Congress.

Question 34

logrolling

Answer 34

Vote trading; voting to support a colleague’s bill in return for promise of future support.