Review Questions
Terms : Hide Images
| 8740392891 | bicameral legislature | A law making body made of two houses (bi means 2). Example: Congress (our legislature) is made of two house - The House of Representatives and The Senate. | 0 | |
| 8740392892 | caucus | A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform. | 1 | |
| 8740392893 | closed rule | An order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate; forbids a bill from being amended on the floor | 2 | |
| 8740392894 | cloture rule | A rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate | 3 | |
| 8740392895 | concurrent resolution | An expression of opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, but not the president | 4 | |
| 8740392896 | conference committees | A joint committee appointed to resolve differences in the senate and house versions of the same bill | 5 | |
| 8740392897 | conservative coalition | An alliance between Republican and conservative Democrats | 6 | |
| 8740392898 | discharge petition | Petition that, if signed by majority of the House of Representatives' members, will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration. | 7 | |
| 8740392899 | division vote | A congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted | 8 | |
| 8740392900 | divided government | Governance divided between the parties, as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress. | 9 | |
| 8740392901 | double tracking | A procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster in which the disputed bill is shelved temporarily so that the Senate can get on with other business | 10 | |
| 8740392902 | earmarks | Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents. | 11 | |
| 8740392903 | filibuster | A lengthy speech designed to delay or kill the vote on a bill; used only in the Senate | 12 | |
| 8740392904 | franking privilege | Benefit allowing members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free | 13 | |
| 8740392905 | joint committees | Committees on which both senators and representatives serve | 14 | |
| 8740392906 | joint resolution | A formal expression of congressional opinion that must be approved by both houses of congress and by the president; constitutional amendments need not be signed by the president | 15 | |
| 8740392907 | 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. | 16 | |
| 8740392908 | 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 | 17 | |
| 8740392909 | minority leader | Leader of the minority party in a legislature | 18 | |
| 8740392910 | open rule | An order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor | 19 | |
| 8740392911 | party polarization | a vote in which a majority of Democratic legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators | 20 | |
| 8740392912 | party vote | a roll-call vote in the House or Senate in which at least 50 percent of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50 percent of the members of the other party. Party votes are rare today, although they were fairly common in the nineteenth century | 21 | |
| 8740392913 | pork-barrel legislation | legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return | 22 | |
| 8740392914 | quorum | Majority | 23 | |
| 8740392915 | restrictive rule | an order from the House Rules Committee that permits certain kinds of amendments but not others to be made into a bill on the floor | 24 | |
| 8740392916 | riders | Amendments to bills, often in the form of appropriations, that sometimes have nothing to do with the intent of the bill itself and many times are considered to be pork barrel legislation | 25 | |
| 8740392917 | roll-call vote | A congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering "yea" or "nay" to their names. | 26 | |
| 8740392918 | safe districts | Districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55 percent or more. | 27 | |
| 8740392919 | select committees | Congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation. | 28 | |
| 8740392920 | simple resolution | an expression of opinion either in the House or Senate to settle procedural matters in either body | 29 | |
| 8740392921 | speaker | Presiding officer in the House elected by their party; powerful House position | 30 | |
| 8740392922 | standing committees | permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area | 31 | |
| 8740392923 | unified government | The same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress | 32 | |
| 8740392924 | veto | Chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature | 33 | |
| 8740392925 | voice vote | A congressional voting procedure in which members shout "yea" in approval or "nay" in disapproval, permitting members to vote quickly or anonymously on bills | 34 | |
| 8740392926 | whip | A senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking. | 35 |
