AP Gov Chapter 13: Congress

122239242	bicameral legislature	a lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts
122239243	filibuster	an attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action on the bill
122239244	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
122239245	safe districts	districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55 percent or more
122239246	conservative coalition	an alliance between Republican and conservative Democrats
122239247	majority leader	the legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House or the Senate
122239248	minority leader	the legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House or the Senate
122239249	whip	a senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking
122239250	party polarization	a vote in which a majority of Democratic legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators
122239251	caucus	an association of Congress members created to advance a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest
122239252	standing committees	permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area
122239253	select committees	congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose
122239254	joint committees	committees on which both senators and representatives serve
122239255	conference committees	a joint committee appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill
122239256	public bill	a legislative bill that deals with matters of general concern
122239257	private bill	a legislative bill that deals only with specific, private, personal, or local matters
122239258	simple resolution	an expression of opinion either in the House or Senate to settle procedural matters in either body
122239259	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
122239260	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
122239261	multiple referral	a congressional process whereby a bill may be referred to several important committees
122239262	sequential referral	a congressional process by which a Speaker may send a bill to a second committee after the first is finished acting
122239263	discharge petition	a device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had the bill for 30 days, may petition to have it brought to the floor
122239264	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
122239265	open rule	an order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor
122239266	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
122239267	quorum	the minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress
122239268	quorum call	a roll call in either house of Congress to see whether the minimum number of representatives required to conduct business is present
122239269	cloture rule	a rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate
122239270	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
122239271	voice vote	a congressional voting procedure in which members shout 'yea' in approval or 'nay' in disapproval, permitting members the vote quickly or anonymously on bills
122239272	division vote	a congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted
122239273	teller vote	a congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, the 'yeas' first and the 'nays' second
122239274	roll-call vote	a congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering 'yea' or 'nay' to their names
122239275	pork-barrel legislation	legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return
122239276	franking privilege	the ability of members to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature for postage
122239277	seniority	system under which committee chairs are awarded to members who have the longest continuous service on the committee
122239278	Parliament	an assembly of party representatives that chooses a government and discusses major national issues
122239279	organizational view	explanation of congressional voting which suggests members of Congress respond primarily to cues provided by their colleagues
122239280	attitudinal view	explanation of congressional voting which emphasizes the impact of personal ideology and party identification as a voting cue
122239281	mark-up	committee revisions of a bill; adding, amending, or changing something in a bill that you don't like
122239282	Committee on Committees	assigns Republicans to standing committees in the Senate
122239283	representational view	explanation of congressional voting that is based on the assumption that members want to get reelected and vote to please their constituents
122239284	House Rules Committee	group that decides what business comes up for a vote and what the limitations on debate should be
122239285	Steering Committee	assigns Democrats to standing committees in the Senate
122239286	party caucus	meeting of the members of a political party to decide questions of policy
122239287	party vote	the extent to which members of a party vote together in the House or the Senate
122239288	Christmas tree bill	a bill that has many riders
122239289	riders	unrelated amendments added to a bill
122239290	Union Calendar	schedules bills involving money issues (in the House)
122239291	House Calendar	schedules major bills which don't involve money
122239292	Private Calendar	called on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month, specific bills pertaining to a representative's private matters with constituents (in the House)
122239293	Consent Calendar	schedules bills (in the House)
122239294	Executive Calendar	presidential nominations, treaties, presidential appointments, etc. (in the Senate)
122239295	Calendar of Business	general everyday stuff they will handle in the Senate
122239296	Discharge Calendar	discharge petitions (in the House)