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30 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
apportionment
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the process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the decennial census according to their proportion of the population
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impeachment
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the power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president, or other "civil officers," including federal judges
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incumbency
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already holding an office
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redistricting
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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
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gerrymandering
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the drawing of congressional districts to produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district
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caucus
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a formal gathering of all party members
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Speaker of the House
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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
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majority leader
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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 power member
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minority leader
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the head of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate
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whip
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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
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President Pro Tempore
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the official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority party
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standing committee
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committee to which proposed bills are referred; continues from one Congress to the next
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joint committee
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standing committee that includes members from both houses of Congress; set up to conduct investigations or special studies
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conference committee
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special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate
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select/special committee
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temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose
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discharge petition
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petition that gives a majority of the House of Representatives the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction
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seniority
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time of continuous service on a committee
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markup
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a session in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor
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hold
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a tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill or nomination is brought to the floor; signals leadership that a member may have objections to the bill and should be consulted before further action is taken
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filibuster
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a formal way of halting Senate action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate
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cloture
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mechanism requiring sixty senators to vote to cut off debate
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veto
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formal constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of the legislative body, thus preventing the bill from becoming law without further congressional activity
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pocket veto
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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
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Congressional Budget Act of 1974
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act that established the congressional budget process by laying out a plan for congressional action on the annual budget resolution, appropriations, reconciliations, and any other revenue bills
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reconciliation
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a procedure that allows consideration of controversial issues affecting the budget by limiting debate to twenty hours, thereby ending threat of a filibuster
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pork
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legislation that allows representatives to bring money and jobs to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs
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earmark
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funds that an appropriations bill designates for specific projects within a state or congressional district
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War Powers Act
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passed by Congress in 1973; the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty-day period in peacetime unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period
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congressional review
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process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval
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senatorial courtesy
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process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senators in whose state the vacancy occurs
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