Chapter 12

Question 1

constituency

Answer 1

the residents in the area from which an official is elected

Question 2

bicameral

Answer 2

having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses, distinguished from unicameral

Question 3

delegate

Answer 3

a representative who votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency

Question 4

trustee

Answer 4

a representative who votes based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her constituency

Question 5

sociological representation

Answer 5

a type of representation in which representatives have the same racial, gender, ethnic, religious, or educational backgrounds as their constituents; it is based on the principle that if two individuals are similar in background, character, interests, and perspectives, then one can correctly represent the other’s views

Question 6

agency representation

Answer 6

a type of representation in which a representative is held accountable to a constituency if he or she fails to represent that constituency properly; this is incentive for the representative to provide good representation when his or her personal backgrounds, views, and interests differ from those of his or her constituency

Question 7

incumbency

Answer 7

holding the political office for which one is running

Question 8

term limits

Answer 8

legally prescribed limits on the number of terms an elected official can serve

Question 9

apportionment

Answer 9

the process, occurring after every decennial census, that allocates congressional seats among the 50 states

Question 10

redistricting

Answer 10

the process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives; this happens every 10 years to reflect shifts in population or in response to legal challenges to existing districts

Question 11

gerrymandering

Answer 11

the apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party

Question 12

patronage

Answer 12

the resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters

Question 13

pork barrel (or pork)

Answer 13

appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created so that local representatives can win re-election in their home districts

Question 14

private bill

Answer 14

a proposal in Congress to provide a specific person with some kind of relief, such as a special exemption from immigration quotas

Question 15

conference

Answer 15

a gathering of House Republicans every two years to elect their House leaders; Democrats call their gathering the “caucus”

Question 16

caucus (political)

Answer 16

a normally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters

Question 17

Speaker of the House

Answer 17

the chief presiding officer of the House of Representatives; the Speaker is the most important party and House leader and can influence the legislative agenda, the fate of individual pieces of legislation, and members’ positions within the House

Question 18

majority leader

Answer 18

the elected leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate; in the House, the majority leader is subordinate in the party hierarchy to the Speaker of the House

Question 19

minority leader

Answer 19

the elected leader of the minority party in the House or Senate

Question 20

whip

Answer 20

a party member in the House or Senate responsible for coordinating the party’s legislative strategy, building support for key issues, and counting votes

Question 21

standing committee

Answer 21

a permanent committee with the power to propose and write legislation that covers a particular subject, such as finance or agriculture

Question 22

select committees

Answer 22

(usually) temporary legislative committees set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue or address an issue not within the jurisdiction of existing committees

Question 23

joint committees

Answer 23

legislative committees formed of members of both the House and Senate

Question 24

conference committees

Answer 24

joint committees created to work out a compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation

Question 25

seniority

Answer 25

the ranking given to an individual on the basis of length of continuous service on a committee in Congress

Question 26

staff agencies

Answer 26

legislative support agencies responsible for policy analysis

Question 27

caucuses (congressional)

Answer 27

associations of members of Congress based on party, interest, or social group, such as gender or race

Question 28

bill

Answer 28

a proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of Congress and submitted to the clerk of the House or Senate

Question 29

committee markup

Answer 29

the session in which a congressional committee rewrites legislation to incorporate changes discussed during hearings on a bill

Question 30

closed rule

Answer 30

a provision by the House Rules Committee limiting or prohibiting the introduction of amendments during debate

Question 31

open rule

Answer 31

a provision by the House Rules Committee that permits floor debate and the addition of new amendments to a bill

Question 32

filibuster

Answer 32

a tactic used by members of the Senate to prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down; once given the floor, senators have unlimited time to speak, and it requires a vote of three-fifths of the Senate to end a filibuster

Question 33

cloture

Answer 33

a rule or process in a legislative body aimed at ending debate on a given bill; in the U.S. Senate, 60 senators (three-fifths) must agree in order to impose a time limit and end debate

Question 34

veto

Answer 34

the president's constitutional power to turn down acts of Congress; a presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress

Question 35

pocket veto

Answer 35

a presidential veto that is automatically triggered if the president does not act on a given piece of legislation passed during the final 10 days of a legislative session

Question 36

party unity vote

Answer 36

a roll-call vote in the House or Senate in which at least 50 percent of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50 percent of the members of the other party

Question 37

roll-call vote

Answer 37

a vote in which each legislator's yes or no vote is recorded as the clerk calls the names of the members alphabetically

Question 38

logrolling

Answer 38

a legislative practice whereby agreements are made between legislators in voting for or against a bill; vote trading

Question 39

oversight

Answer 39

the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies

Question 40

appropriations

Answer 40

the amounts of money approved by Congress in statutes (bills) that each unit or agency of government can spend

Question 41

executive agreement

Answer 41

an agreement, made between the president and another country, that has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senate's "advice and consent"

Question 42

impeachment

Answer 42

the formal charge by the House of Representatives that a government official has committed "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors"