Term
| Elected terms of Congress |
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Definition
Senate - 6 years
House of Representatives - 2 years. |
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Term
| NC 5th Congressional District member |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| Congressional sessions - Regular |
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Definition
| when the House and Senate are in normal operation during the course of the year. |
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Term
| Congressional sessions - Closed |
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Definition
| only legislators are present to discuss the weightiest of matters, including impeachment of the president, national security concerns and other sensitive information |
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Term
| Congressional sessions - Joint |
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Definition
| with both houses present - occur when the president gives his State of the Union address or otherwise appears before Congress. |
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Term
| Congressional sessions - "Lame Duck" |
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Definition
| occur after the November elections and before the January inauguration, when some representatives are set to leave office, whether by choice or after failing to win re-election. |
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Term
| Congressional sessions - Special |
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Definition
| may be called in extraordinary circumstances. For example, a special session of Congress was called on March 20, 2005, to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo, a woman in a persistent vegetative state whose family and husband were at odds over whether to disconnect her feeding tube |
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Term
| Number of members in Congress |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| a survey designed by the government to establish demographic information, particularly regarding population. |
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Term
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Definition
| having power to frame or alter a political constitution orfundamental law, as distinguished |
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Term
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Definition
| To manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class. |
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Term
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Definition
| The political party whose members occupy at least one more than half of the total membership of the body. |
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Term
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Definition
| The party with the second-largest number of members in a legislative chamber. |
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Term
| Majority Party Leaders - Senate |
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Definition
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Term
| Majority Party Leaders- House of Representatives |
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Definition
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Term
| Minority Party Leader - Senate |
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Definition
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Term
| Minority Party Leader - House of Representatives |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer |
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Term
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Definition
| standing committees are permanent legislative panels established by the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate rules. |
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Term
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Definition
| A small legislative committee appointed for a special purpose |
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Term
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Definition
| Group formed with members from both chambers, representing both. |
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Term
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Definition
| A legal paper issued by the court ordering a person to produce the body of another person. It is sometimes used in disputed custody cases where one parent refuses to turn over the child |
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Term
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Definition
| one that is made retroactive to punish an act that wasn't illegal at the time it was committed. For example, if I didn't wear my seatbelt and wearing one wasn't a law, but it became a law the next day, I couldn't get in trouble for it because the "crime" was committed before it was against the law. |
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Term
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Definition
| a formal document charging a public official with misconduct in office |
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Term
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Definition
| a statement in the U.S. Constitution granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers (Article I, Section 8 ). |
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