Terms : Hide Images
| 2545448624 | Appropriation | money that Congress has allocated to be spent | 0 | |
| 2545449573 | Appropriations Committee | congressional committee that deals with federal spending | 1 | |
| 2545450671 | Appellate jurisdiction | authority of a court to hear an appeal from a lower court | 2 | |
| 2545451516 | Bully Pulpit | any highly visible public office whose incumbent uses it as a platform to influence public opinion (primarily connected with the president) | 3 | |
| 2545454105 | Bureaucracy | departments agencies, bureaus and commissions in the executive branch of government | 4 | |
| 2545456003 | Casework | personal work done by a member of Congress for his constituents | 5 | |
| 2545457123 | civil law | concerns noncriminal disputes between private parties | 6 | |
| 2545781396 | class action lawsuits | lawsuit brought on behalf of a class of people against a defendant | 7 | |
| 2545783160 | Closed rule | rules committee rule that bans amendments to a bill | 8 | |
| 2545784542 | cloture | Senate motion to end a filibuster that requires a 3/5 vote | 9 | |
| 2545785638 | concurring opinion | written by Supreme Court Justice who voted with the majority but for different reasons | 10 | |
| 2545788785 | Conference committee | works out compromise between differing House-Senate versions of a bill | 11 | |
| 2545790686 | Constituents | the people who are represented by elected officials | 12 | |
| 2545792542 | discharge petition | a motion to force a bill to the House floor that has been bottled up in committee | 13 | |
| 2545794140 | Dissenting opinion | written by Supreme Court Justice who express a minority viewpoint in a case | 14 | |
| 2545795768 | Executive agreement | an agreement between the President and another head of state that unlike a treaty does not require Senate consent | 15 | |
| 2545797703 | Executive order | presidential rule or regulation that has the force of law | 16 | |
| 2545798787 | Executive privilege | the privilege of a president and his staff to withhold their "privileged" conversations from Congress or the courts | 17 | |
| 2545801230 | Filibuster | nonstop Senate debate that prevents a bill from coming to a vote | 18 | |
| 2545804385 | Finance Committee | Senate committee that handles tax bills | 19 | |
| 2545806016 | Franking privilege | allows members of Congress to send mail postage free | 20 | |
| 2545807822 | Gerrymandering | redrawing district lines to favor one party at the expense of the other | 21 | |
| 2545810227 | Impeachment | refusal of a President to spend money that has been appropriated by Congress | 22 | |
| 2545813008 | Injunction | court order that forbids a party from performing a certain action | 23 | |
| 2545814938 | Judicial activism | philosophy that the courts should take an active role in solving problems | 24 | |
| 2545817439 | Judicial restraint | philosophy that the courts should defer to elected lawmakers in setting policy, and should instead focus on interpreting law rather than making law | 25 | |
| 2545820187 | Judicial review | power of the courts to review the constitutionality of laws of government actions | 26 | |
| 2545822674 | Legislative oversight | ongoing process of congressional monitoring of the executive branch to ensure that the latter complies with the law | 27 | |
| 2545826620 | Legislative veto | process in which Congress overturned rules and regulations proposed by executive branch agencies struck down in 1983 | 28 | |
| 2545831991 | Line item beto | power of most governors to delete or reduce funding in a bill on a line by line basis | 29 | |
| 2545835126 | Logrolling | when two members of Congress agree to vote for each other's bill | 30 | |
| 2545836446 | Majority opinion | written to express the majority viewpoint in a Supreme Court case | 31 | |
| 2545838373 | Mark up | committee action to amend a proposed bill | 32 | |
| 2545839679 | Merit system | system of hiring federal workers based upon competitive exams | 33 | |
| 2545840667 | Open rule | House Rules Committee rule that allows amendments to a bill | 34 | |
| 2545843251 | Original jurisdiction | authority of a court to first hear a case | 35 | |
| 2545846049 | Patronage | power to appoint loyal party members to federal positions | 36 | |
| 2545911486 | Pocket veto | presidential killing of a bill by inaction after Congress adjourns | 37 | |
| 2545913859 | Political appointees | those who have received presidential appointments to office. | 38 | |
| 2545915337 | Pork barrel | wasteful congressional spending | 39 | |
| 2545916539 | Quorum | minimum number of members needed for House or Senate to meet | 40 | |
| 2545918774 | Reapportionment | reallocation of House seats to the states on the basis of changes in state populations, as determined by the census | 41 | |
| 2545920352 | Redistricting | redrawing of congressional district boundaries by the party in power of the state legislature | 42 | |
| 2545922219 | Red tape | complex rules and procedures required by bureaucratic agencies | 43 | |
| 2545924958 | Remand | the Supreme Court's sending of a case back to the original court in which it was heard | 44 | |
| 2545926556 | Rider | amendment to a bill that has little to do with the bill | 45 | |
| 2545927492 | Rule of four | the Supreme Court will hear a case if four Justices agree to do so | 46 | |
| 2545928794 | rules committee | the "traffic cop" of the House that sets the legislative calendar and issues rules for debate on a bill | 47 | |
| 2545933746 | Senatorial courtesy | traditions in which the president consults with the senators within a state in which an appointment is to be made | 48 | |
| 2545935639 | Seniority system | traditions in which the Senator from the majority party with the most years of service on a committee becomes the chairman of that committee | 49 | |
| 2545938808 | Standing committee | the permanent congressional committees that handle legilsation | 50 | |
| 2545941107 | Stare decisis | Latin for "let the decision stand" Supreme Court policy of following precedent in deciding cases | 51 | |
| 2545943078 | Sunset laws | Laws that automatically expire after a given time | 52 | |
| 2545944100 | Ways and Means Committee | House committee that handles tax bills | 53 | |
| 2545949693 | Whistle blower | an employee who exposes unethical or illegal conduct within the federal government or one of its contractors | 54 | |
| 2545951725 | Writ of certiorari | issued by the Supreme Court to a lower court to send up the records of a case so that it can be reviewed by the high court | 55 | |
| 2545955228 | Writ of habeas corpus | court order that the authorities show cause for why they are holding a prisoner in custody | 56 | |
| 2545958216 | Write of mandamus | court order directing a party to perform a certain action | 57 |
