Government Vocab

  1. Bicameral Legislature
    A lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts.
  2. Caucus
    An association of the congressional members created to advance a plolitical ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest.
  3. Closed Rule
    An order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate and forbids a particular bill from being amended on the floor.
  4. Cloture Rule
    A rule used by the Senate, providing to end or limit debate.
  5. Concurrent Resolution
    An expression of opinion without the use of force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, but not the president.
  6. Conference Committee
    A joint committee appointed to resolve differences in House and Senate versions of the same bill.
  7. Conservative Coalition
    An alliance between conservative Democrats and Republicans.
  8. Discharge Petition
    A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had a bill for thirty days, may petition to have it brought to the floor. If a majority of members agree, the bill is discharged for the committee.
  9. Division Vote
    A congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted.
  10. Double-Tracking
    A procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster, whereby a disputed bill is temporarily shelved so that the Senate can go on with other business.
  11. Filibuster
    An attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action on the bill.
  12. Joint Committee
    Committee on which both representatives and senators serve.
  13. Joint Resolution
    A formal expression of congressional opinion that must be approved by both houses of Congress and by the President; however, joint resolutions proposing a constitutional amendment need not be signed by the president.
  14. Majority Leader
    The legislative leader elected by the party members holding a majority of seats in the House or the Senate.
  15. Marginal Districts
    Political districts in which candidates elected to the House of Representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55 percent of the vote.
  16. Minority Leader
    The legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate.
  17. Multiple Referral
    A congressional process whereby a bill may be referred to several committees that consider it simultaniously in whole or in part.
  18. Open Rule
    An order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor.
  19. Party Polarization
    A vote in which a majority of Democratic legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators.
  20. Pork-Barrel Legislation
    Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents.
  21. Private Bill
    A legislative bill that deals with specific, private, personal or local matters, like a bill pertaining to an individual becoming a naturalized citizen.
  22. Public Bill
    A legislative bill that deals with matters of general concern, like defense expenditures.
  23. Quorum
    The minimum number if members required to be in attendance for Congress to cinduct official business.
  24. Quorum Call
    A calling of the roll in either house of Congress to see whether he number of representatives in attendance meets the minimum number required to conduct business.
  25. Restrictive Rule
    An order from the House Rules Committee that permits certain kinds of amendments but not others to be made to a bill on the floor.
  26. Roll-Call Vote
    A congressional procedure that consists of members answerinjg 'yea' or 'nay' when their names are called.
  27. Safe District
    A House district in which the winner of the general election carries more than 55 percent of the vote.
  28. Select Committees
    Permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within certain subject area.
  29. Sequential Referral
    A congressional process by which a Speaker may send a bill to a second committee after the first is finished acting.
  30. Simple Solution
    An expression of opinion, without the force of law, either in the House or the Senate, to settle housekeeping or procedural matters in either body.
  31. Standing Committees
    Permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area.
  32. Teller Vote
    A congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, first the 'yeas' and 'nays'. Since 1971, teller votes are recorded at the request of twenty members.
  33. Voice Vote
    A congressional voting procedure used in both houses in which members vote by shouting 'yea' or 'nay'.
  34. Whip
    A senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking.
Author
hlprmonkey
ID
39758
Card Set
Government Vocab
Description
Chapter 13 Vocab
Updated