-
-
Casework
- When members of
- Congress solve problems for constituents, especially problems involving
- government agencies.
-
Caucus
- An informal group of
- members of Congress who share an interest in the same issues and informally work
- together to achieve their shared goals. Ex. – Congressional Hispanic
- Caucus.
-
Closed Rule
- – A rule established
- by the House Rules committee that prohibits bills from being amended during
- debate on the floor of the House.
-
Cloture
- – A vote to end debate
- in the Senate and bring a bill to a vote; requires 60 votes.
-
Conference Committee
- – Committee (composed
- of both Senators and House members) created to reach a compromise between House
- and Senate versions of the same bill.
-
Constituents
- – The people
- represented by a particular member of Congress. For example, House
- member Scott Rigell’s constituents are the people of the Second District of
- Virginia.
-
Earmarks / Pork
Barrel Spending
- – Money directed to a very
- specific program or cause; ex. money for the construction of an indoor rain
- forest. Used by incumbents to gain
- votes.
-
Filibuster
- Debating an issue indefinitely
- in order to prevent a vote; only used in the Senate.
-
Franking Privilege
- – The right of
- members of Congress to mail non-campaign material for free.
-
Gerrymandering
- – When a state
- legislature draws Congressional (House) district lines to benefit a particular
- political party
-
House Rules Committee
- The House committee
- that decides what rules will govern debate of a bill on the floor of the
- House. The Rules committee can place limits on the length of the
- debate, limit amendments, or may refuse to schedule a bill for a vote
- altogether.
-
Impeachment
- –When the House
- brings charges against a president or judge in an attempt to remove him or her
- from office. After impeachment, a trial takes place in the Senate.
-
Incumbent
- – A member of
- Congress running for reelection
-
Legislative Oversight
- – Congress’ power to
- review the actions of the executive branch to determine whether it is enforcing
- Congress’ laws as intended. For example,
- a Congressional hearing on progress on the implementation of the health care
- bill.
-
Logrolling
- Vote trading; “I’ll
- vote for your bill if you vote for mine.”
-
Marginal District
- House districts in
- which candidates tend to win by narrow margins in close elections.
-
Markup Session
- – A session at the
- committee or subcommittee level where a bill is amended (changed).
-
Open Rule
- An order from the
- House Rules Committee that allows a bill to be amended during debate on the
- floor of the House (as opposed to during committee).
-
Reapportionment
- The process of
- allotting seats in the House to each state following a
- census. States that have gained population might gain
- representatives and states that have lost population might lose
- representatives, but the total number of House members will always remain at
- 435
-
Redistricting
- When a state
- legislature redraws the Congressional district lines within its state
-
Resolution
- An expression of Congressional
- opinion; ex. congratulations to the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers.
-
Safe District
- – House districts in
- which incumbents tend to win by margins of 55 percent or more.
-
Standing Committees
- – Congressional
- committees that have the power to approve or reject bills. For example, the House Agriculture Committee.
-
Whip
- – A member of Congress who acts
- as a liaison between the party leaders and the party members in Congress; keeps
- members in line.
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