15390616466 | Bicameral Legislature | A lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts. | | 0 |
15390616467 | Filibuster | An attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action to the bill | | 1 |
15390616468 | Marginal District | Political districts in which candidates elected to the House of Representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55% of the vote. | | 2 |
15390616469 | Franking Privilege | The ability of members to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature for postage. | | 3 |
15390616470 | Conservative Coaliton | Alliance between Republicans and conservative Democrats | | 4 |
15390616471 | Majority Leader | The legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House or the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader: Mitch McConnell (aka Turtle Man) (R) KY.
House Majority Leader: Kevin McCarthy (R) CA. |  | 5 |
15390616472 | Minority Leader | Legislative leader elected by minority party members. Representative of lesser party | | 6 |
15390616473 | Party Whip | A senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking.
A party leader who makes certain that party members are present for a vote and vote the way the party wishes. | | 7 |
15390616474 | Congressional Caucus | A group of Congress members that meet to pursue common legislative objectives. | | 8 |
15390616475 | Standing Committee | Permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area. | | 9 |
15390616476 | Select Committee | Congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose. | | 10 |
15390616477 | Joint Committee | Committees on which both senators and representatives serve. | | 11 |
15390616478 | Conference Committee | A joint committee appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill. | | 12 |
15390616479 | Safe District | Districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55% or more. | | 13 |
15390616480 | Joint Resolution | Formal expression of congressional opinion. Must be approved by both houses and president. A law | | 14 |
15390616481 | Simple Resolution | An expression of opinion either in the House or Senate to settle procedural matters in either body. | | 15 |
15390616482 | 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. | | 16 |
15390616483 | Discharge Petition | A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had the bill for thirty days, may petition to have brought to the floor. | | 17 |
15390616484 | 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. | | 18 |
15390616485 | Open Rule | An order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor. | | 19 |
15390616486 | Quorum | The minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress. | | 20 |
15390616487 | Rider | A provision added to a piece of legislation that is not germane to the bill's purpose. | | 21 |
15390616488 | Cloture Rule | A rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate. Can break filibuster by 3/5 of the vote. Nuclear option | | 22 |
15390616489 | Pork Barrel Legislation | Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return. | | 23 |
15390616490 | Speaker | Presiding officer of the H.O.R. and the leader of his party in the house | | 24 |
15390616491 | Divided Government | One party controls the White House and another controls one or both houses | | 25 |
15390616492 | Unified Government | Same party controls the White House and both houses | | 26 |
15390616493 | majority-minority districts | Congressional district where a majority of voters are racial/ethnic minorities | | 27 |
15390616494 | descriptive representation | when citizens are represented by elected officials from their same racial/ethnic background | | 28 |
15390616495 | substantive representation | ability of citizens to elect officials who will have policies that they favor enacted into law | | 29 |
15390616496 | party vote | A vote where most Democrats are on one side of the bill, and most Republicans are on the other. | | 30 |
15390616497 | 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 | | 31 |
15390616498 | 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. | | 32 |
15390616499 | 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 | | 33 |
15390616500 | division vote | a congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted | | 34 |
15390616501 | roll-call vote | A congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering "yea" or "nay" to their names. | | 35 |
15390616502 | teller vote | A congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, the "yeas" first and the "nays" second. | | 36 |
15390616503 | veto | Chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature | | 37 |