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| 49775317 | reapportionment | The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative districts. | |
| 49775318 | redistricting | The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population. | |
| 49775319 | gerrymandering | The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent. | |
| 49775320 | safe seat | An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of that party's candidate is almost taken for granted. | |
| 49775321 | incumbents | The current holders of elected office. | |
| 49775322 | bicameralism | The principle of a two-house legislature. | |
| 49775323 | enumerated powers | The powers explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution. | |
| 49775324 | Speaker | The presiding officer in the House of Representatives, formally elected by the House but actually selected by the majority party. | |
| 49775325 | majority leader | The legislative leader selected by the majority party who helps plan party strategy, confers with other party leaders, and tries to keep members of the party in line. | |
| 49775326 | minority leader | The legislative leader selected by the minority party as spokesperson for the opposition. | |
| 49775327 | whip | Party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature. | |
| 49775328 | party caucus | A meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy. Called a conference by Republicans. | |
| 49775329 | closed rule | A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments. | |
| 49775330 | open rule | A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill. | |
| 49775331 | president pro tempore | Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president. | |
| 49775332 | hold | A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of a bill or nomination. | |
| 49775333 | fillibuster | A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue. | |
| 49775334 | cloture | A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate. | |
| 49775335 | senatorial courtesy | Presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work. | |
| 49775336 | standing committee | A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area. | |
| 49775337 | special or select committee | A congressional committee created for a specific purpose, sometimes to conduct an investigation. | |
| 49775338 | joint committee | A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations. | |
| 49775339 | seniority rule | A legislative practice that assigns the chair of a committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee. | |
| 49775340 | conference committee | Committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form. | |
| 49775341 | delegate | An official who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of the legislator. | |
| 49775342 | trustee | An official who is expected to vote independently based on his or her judgment of the circumstances; one interpretation of the role of the legislator. | |
| 49775343 | attentive public | Those citizens who follow public affairs carefully. | |
| 49775344 | logrolling | Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators. | |
| 49775345 | discharge petition | Petition that, if signed by a majority of the members of the House of Representatives, will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration. | |
| 49775346 | rider | A provision attached to a bill - to which it may or may not be related - in order to secure its passage. | |
| 49775347 | pocket veto | A veto exercised by the president after Congress has adjourned; if the president takes no action for ten days, the bill does not become law and is not returned to Congress for a possible override. | |
| 49775348 | override | An action taken by Congress to reverse a presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds majority in each chamber. | |
| 51132500 | centralization | Quick, decisive power that comes at the expense of the power of individual congressmen and citizens. Centralization requires a strong leadership, restrictions on debate, few stalling tactics, minimal committee interference, and minimal public scrutiny. | |
| 51132501 | decentralization | Power that involves longer debate and protects individual voices and constituents, requires weak leadership, few restrictions on debate, many opportunities for the minority, powerful committees and intense public scrutiny. | |
| 51132502 | rules committee | A committee in the House whose members are chosen by the Speaker. The committee decides the rules under which certain House business will proceed. | |
| 51132503 | 17th Amendment | Allowed for the direct election of senators. | |
| 51182421 | adjournment | The end of a congressional term. | |
| 51182422 | sessions | Terms are two years long, divided into year long________ | |
| 51182423 | recesses | Breaks from congressional service. | |
| 51182424 | revenue bills | Must originate in the House. | |
| 51182426 | line of succession | Predetermined list of who reaches the presidency if the president dies or becomes incapacitated. | |
| 51182427 | majority party | Party with the most seats in either house. | |
| 51182428 | parliamentary procedure | The rules by which congressional business is conducted. | |
| 51182429 | US Term Limits vs. Thornton | 1995 Supreme Court case that said term limits imposed by state legislatures are unconstitutional. | |
| 51182430 | President of the Senate | The Vice President's traditional role. | |
| 51182431 | docket | The bills up for consideration. Influenced by the Speaker. | |
| 51182432 | pork barrel | Projects congressmen secure for their home state that often waste federal money but secure votes. | |
| 51182433 | 27th Amendment | Prevents salary raises for congressmen from having immediate effect. | |
| 51182434 | Honoraria | Speaking fees. Banned for congressmen. | |
| 51182435 | franking privilege | Congressmen can mail for free. | |
| 51182436 | legislative immunity | Cannot be arrested on the way to a vote. | |
| 51182437 | census | A constitutionally-mandated counting of American citizens every ten years. | |
| 51182438 | packing | Concentrations of the opposing party into a few districts in gerrymandering. | |
| 51182439 | cracking | Dispersion of opposing party into districts to dilute power. | |
| 51182440 | Baker vs. Carr | "One man, one vote" for legislative districts in states, correcting overrepresentation of rural areas. | |
| 51182441 | malapportionment | Shifts within the 10 years. | |
| 51182442 | Racial gerrymandering | Moving voters of the same race into the same district. | |
| 51182443 | Shaw vs. Reno | Prohibits racial gerrymandering. | |
| 51182444 | Miller vs. Johnson | Race cannot be the primary factor in gerrymandering. | |
| 51182445 | institutional powers | Relate to checks and balances. Ratification of treaties by Senate, House votes for impeachment, etc. | |
| 51182446 | censure | Official punishment of a sitting member. | |
| 51182447 | ex post facto laws | After the fact laws. | |
| 51182448 | bills of attainder | Legislative act pronouncing someone's guilt/punishment without trial. | |
| 51182449 | habeas corpus | Cannot be suspended unless a time of invasion or rebellion. | |
| 51182450 | watchdog | Media role over monitoring congress. | |
| 51182451 | authorization | Allows for a program. | |
| 51182452 | appropriation | Pays for a program. | |
| 51182453 | reported out | Action taken if a bill passes through committee successfully. | |
| 51182454 | mark up | Session when a bill is amended in committee. | |
| 51182455 | earmarks | Spending placed by committee members. | |
| 51182456 | pigeonhole | Postpone indefinitely in committee. | |
| 51182457 | line-item veto | Deemed unconstitutional, process of eliminating individual parts of a bill. | |
| 51182458 | Clinton v. NY | Declared line-item veto unconstitutional. | |
| 51182459 | seniority system | Ranking of who has been in the congress longest. | |
| 51182460 | Ways and Means | House committee dealing with tax bills. |
