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| The residents of a congressional district or state. |
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| The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative districts. |
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| The redrawing of Congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population. |
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| The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent. |
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| An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of that party's candidate is almost taken for granted. |
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| The current holder of elected office. |
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| The principle of a two-house legislature. |
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| The powers explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution. |
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| The presiding officer in the House of Representatives, formally elected by the House but actually selected by the majority party. |
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| A meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy. Called a conference by the Republicans. |
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| 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. |
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| The legislative leader selected by the minority party as spokesperson for the opposition. |
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| Party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature. |
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| A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments. |
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| A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to to the bill. |
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| Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president. |
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| A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of a bill or nomination. |
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| A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue. |
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| A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate. |
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| Presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work. |
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| A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area. |
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| Special or Select Committee |
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| A congressional committee created for a specific purpose, sometimes to conduct an investigation. |
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| A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations. |
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| Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents. |
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| A legislative practice that assigns the chair of a committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee. |
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| Committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form. |
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| An official who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of the legislator. |
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| An official who is expected to vote independently based on his or her judgement of the circumstances; one interpretation of the role of the legislator. |
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| Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators. |
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| Those citizens who follow public affairs closely. |
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| Petition that, if signed by a majority of the House of Representatives' members, will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration. |
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| A provision attached to a bill-to which it may or may not be related-in order to secure its passage or defeat. |
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| A veto exercised by the president after Congress has adjourned; if the president takes no actions for ten days, the bill does not become law and is not returned to Congress for a possible override. |
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| An action taken by Congress to reverse a presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds majority in each chamber. |
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