AP Gov. Ch.6 Viridian Leal Flashcards
(48 cards)
bicameral legislature
a two-house legislature
The US has a bicameral legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
apportionment
the process of allotting congressional seats to each state according to its proportion of population, following the decennial census.
Apportionment of the seats are divided using 10 year intervals within the population.
bill
a proposed law.
A popular bill passed during Obama’s presidency was the Affordable Health Care Act.
impeachment
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.
President Bill Clinton was impeached for having sexual intercourse with his secretary Monica Lewinsky.
Edmund Burke
Conservative British political philosopher of the eighteenth century who articulated the view that elected representatives should act as “trustees” and use their own best judgement when voting.
Edmund Burke was a member of the Whip Party.
trustee
Role played by an elected representative who listens to constituents’ opinions and then uses his or her best judgment to make a final decision.
A modern trustee would be known as a senator.
delegate
role played by a representative who votes the way his or her constituents would want, regardless of personal opinions; refer to an elected representative to Congress or a representative to the party convention.
Currently there are 4,051 pledged delegates.
politico
an elected representative who acts as a trustee or as a delegate , depending on the issue
Politico is another word for politician and a politico could be the president or someone in congress.
incumbency
already holding an office
President Donald J. Trump is the current incumbent of the presidential office.
redistricting
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
Redistricting follows compactness, contiguity, equal population, preservation of existing political communities, partisan fairness, and racial fairness.
gerrymandering
the drawing of congressional districts to produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district
Gerrymandering is the creation of a smaller voting district to take away votes from a certain candidate.
majority party
the political party in each house of Congress with the most members.
The Democratic and Republican Party are majority parties.
minority party
the political party in each house of Congress with the second most members.
The Green Party is a popular minority party.
party caucus (or conference)
a formal gathering of all party members
At the caucus, delegates are chosen to represent the state’s interests at the national party convention.
Speaker of the House
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.
Nancy Pelosi is the current speaker of the house.
majority leader
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 is regarded as its most powerful member.
Majority democratic leader of the House of Reps is Steny Hoyer.
minority leader
the head of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate.
Minority Republican leader of the House of Reps is Kevin McCarthy.
whip
party leader who keeps close contact with all members of his or her party, take vote counts on key legislation, prepares summaries of bills, and acts as a communications link within a party.
The whip leader of the House of Reps is Democrat Jim Clyburn.
president pro tempore
the official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority party
Orrin G. Hatch is the 2018 president pro tempore of the United States Senate.
standing committee
committee to which proposed bills are referred; continues from one Congress to the next.
Some popular standing committees include agriculture, armed service, banking, housing and urban affairs.
joint committee
standing committee that includes members from both houses of Congress set up to conduct investigations or special studies.
The four joint committees include Joint Economic Committee, the Joint Committee on the Library, the Joint Committee on Printing, and the Joint Committee on Taxation.
conference committee
special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House of Senate
In 2019, a conference committee was set in order to dissolve the disputes between Democrats and Republicans about President Donald J. Trumps “wall”
select (or special) committee
temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose
The House of Representatives currently has one select committee.
Hillary Clinton
First female major party candidate for president of the US, a Democrat, who ran against President Donald J. Trump in the 2016 Presidential elections. Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. New York Senator fro 2001 to 2009; former first lady.
Hillary Clinton is spouse to Ex U.S President Bill Clinton.