AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

American Government, continuity and change: Congress

Terms : Hide Images
legislature divided into 2 houses
process of alloting congressional seats to each state by census
redrawering of congressional districts to reflect population changes
power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge officals
political party in each house of Congress with the most members
political party in each house of Congress with the second most members
only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution; traditionally member of the majority party; Nancy Polesi
a formal gathering of all party members
elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Representatives or Senate
elected leader of the party controlling the second most seats in the House of Representatives or Senate
takes nose counts on key votes, prepares summaries of bills, and acts as a communication link within the party
offical chair of the Senate, the most senior member of the majority party
committee to which proposed bills are referred
includes members from both houses of Congress
joint committee created to iron out differneces between the House and Senate versions of a bill
temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose
petition that gives the majority of the House of Representatives the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction
"bring home the bacon" to their districts
funds for a specific purpose within a state or congressional district
time of continous serivce on a committee
offical already holding office
listens to constituents and then uses their best judgement to make a final decision
vote the way your constituents would want them to
acts as a trustee or delegate depending on the issue
political condition in which different political parties control the White House and Congress
vote trading
process in which committee member offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor
tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. this stops the bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed
formal way of haulting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the Senate
mechanism requiring 60 senators to vote to cut off debate
formal constitutional authority the president rejects bills passed by both houses of the legislative body
the president does not sign the bill after 10 days and Congress has convened prior to the 10 day period
congressional review of activities of an agency, department, or office
process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval
president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas in a 60day period without Congress's approval for a longer period of time

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!