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| a legislature divided into two houses; the U.S. Congress and the state legislatures are bicameral except Nebraska, which is unicameral |
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| proportional process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the decennial census |
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| redrawing of congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state |
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| power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president, or other "civil officers", including federal judges, with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." This is the first step in the constitutional process of removing such government officials from office. |
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| only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution; elected at the beginning of each new Congress by the entire House; traditionally a member of the majority party |
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| political party in each house of Congress with the most members |
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| political party in each house of Congress with the second most members |
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| party caucus or conference |
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| formal gathering of all party members |
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| elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate; is second in authority to the speaker of the House and in the Senate is regarded as its powerful member |
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| elected leader of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate |
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| one of several representatives who keep close contact with all members and take nose counts on key votes, prepare summaries of bills, and in general act as communications links within the party |
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| committee to which proposed bills are referred |
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| includes members from both houses of Congress; conduct investigations or special studies |
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| joint committee created to iron out differences between Senate and House versions of a specific piece of legislation |
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| select (or special) committee |
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| temporary committee appointed for specific purpose, such as conducting a special investigation or study |
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| petition that gives a majority of the House of Representatives the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction |
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| legislation that allows representatives to bring home the bacon to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs designed to benefit their districts directly |
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| time of continuous service on a committee |
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