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| 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act |
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| funded about 11,000 projects, from building a Civil War Theme Park, renovating and building museums and health care facilities, constructing several different halls of fame, and funding community swimming pools and parking garages. The act was criticized largely because so much of the money went to constituencies well represented on the Appropriations Committee in Congress. |
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| a sum of money that has been set aside from a budget, especially a government budget, for a specific purpose (the max amount of money available in a fiscal year) |
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| official power or permission to do something |
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| having two separate and distinct lawmaking assemblies, e.g. the Senate and the House of Representatives in the United States |
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| a closed meeting of people from one political party, especially a local meeting to select delegates or candidates |
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| Informal nomenclature for a bill on the Senate floor that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments. |
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| (sometimes called a “gag rule”) sets strict time limits on debates and forbids amendments from the floor, except those from the presenting committee. Under closed rule, members not on the committee have little choice but to vote for or against the bill as it is. |
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| permits amendments and often has less strict time limits, allowing for input from other members. The Rules Committee is controlled by the Speaker, and in recent years, has put more and more restrictions on bills, giving Rules even more power. |
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| the process of closing a debate in the Senate by calling for a vote |
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| sits on the floor; is directed by the chairman of the sponsoring committee |
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| the most important type because they handle bills in different policy areas, thus shaping legislation at a very critical point. The House has 19 and the Senate has 16 currently. |
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| formed for specific purposes and are usually temporary. Sometimes long-standing select committees eventually become standing committees. |
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| similar in purpose to select committees, but they consist of members from both the House and Senate. They are set up to conduct business between the houses and to help focus public attention on major issues. |
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| consist of members from both the House and Senate, but they are formed exclusively to hammer out differences between House and Senate versions of similar bills. A bill goes to conference committee after it has been approved in separate process in the two houses, and a compromise bill is sent back to each house for final approval. |
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| bills to raise revenue of spend money |
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| non-money bills of major importance |
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| private bills that do not affect the general welfare |
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| presidential nominations, proposed treaties |
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| a means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from a Committee and usually without cooperation of the leadership. |
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| (Regarded racial gerrymandering) The Court ruled that race may be a factor in redistricting, but not the “dominate and controlling” one. |
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| (aka the “necessary and proper” clause) allowed the gov. to “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States. |
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| a tactic used to delay or prevent the passage of legislation, e.g. a long irrelevant speech |
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| free mailings (enjoyed by incumbents) |
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| an amendment to a bill must be strictly relevant to the bill |
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| (try to get extra votes unfairly) to manipulate an electoral area, usually by altering its boundaries, in order to gain an unfair political advantage in an election |
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| the period of time during which somebody occupies an official post |
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| the striking of a deal between colleagues in a legislature whereby support is given to a piece of legislation on the understanding that the favor will be returned at a later date |
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| (unequally distributed) describes a distribution of representatives within a legislative body that is unequal or unfair |
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| Majority leader of the House |
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| a stepping-stone to the Speaker’s position |
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| Majority leader of the Senate |
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| the most influential person in the senate and has the right to be the first senator heard on the floor |
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| a mistake, especially as a result of a failure to do or notice something |
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| serve as go-betweens for the members and the leadership. They inform members when important bills will come up for a vote, do nose-counts for the leadership, and pressure members to support the leadership. |
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| to put something off for a while |
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| the term “pork” is used by the members of Congress to refer to benefits for their districts, and bills that give those benefits to constituents in hope of gaining their votes |
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| is elected by the Senate from the majority party and is a largely ceremonial position (usually the senior member in the party) |
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| passed by either the House or the Senate and usually establishes rules, regulations, or practices that do NOT have the force of law. |
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| comes from both houses, and often settles housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses. Simple & concurrent resolutions are NOT signed by the president and do NOT have the force of law. |
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| requires the approval of both houses and the signature of the president, and is essentially the same as a law. Joint resolutions are sometimes passed when the house of Congress reach to an important issue that needs immediate attention (ex. 9/11) |
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| focus on methods of raising money |
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| describes the practice of granting privileges to members of Congress (Senators and Representatives) who have served the longest. |
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| (to allow for the election of one more black representative) A Supreme Court case in which the plaintiffs charged the Justice Department with reverse discrimination based on equal the protection clause of the 14th amendment. The Court ruled narrowly, but allowed the district lines to be redrawn according to Justice Department standards. |
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| the most important leadership position in the House. The speaker has important powers such as- recognizing members who wish to speak, ruling on questions of parliamentary procedure, appointing members to select and conference committees, directing business on the floor, etc |
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| decide how long someone can hold an office |
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| members file past the clerk, first the “yeas” and then the “nays” |
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| in which they simply shout “yea” or “nay” |
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| in which members stand to be counted |
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| in which members stand to be counted |
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| which consists of people answering “yea” or “nay” to their names |
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| that permits each member to insert a plastic card in a slot to record his or her vote. This form is the most commonly used one today. |
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| when the Court ordered that districts be drawn so that one person’s vote would be as equal as possible to another (the “one man one vote” decision) |
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| Minority leader of the House |
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| serves as floor leader of the opposition party and is usually the party's top choice for Speaker for the next Congress.usually meets with the Majority Leader and the Speaker to discuss agreements on controversial issues |
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| Minority leader of the Senate |
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| serves as floor leader of the opposition party and is usually the party's top choice for Speaker for the next Congress.usually meets with the Majority Leader and the Speaker to discuss agreements on controversial issues |
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| Minority/majority districting |
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United States congressional district in which the majority of the constituents in the district are racial or ethnic minorities (as opposed to white non-Hispanics). Whether a district is majority-minority is usually decided by United States Census data.
Majority-minority districts are often the result of racial gerrymandering. |
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