Term
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Definition
The process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the decennial
census according to the proportion of the population. |
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Term
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Definition
The 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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Term
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Definition
The only officer in 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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Term
| Party Caucus or Conference |
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Definition
| A formal gathering of all party members |
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Term
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Definition
The elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House or the
Senate |
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Term
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Definition
The elected leader of the party with the second-highest number of elected
representatives in the House or in the Senate |
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Term
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Definition
A key member who keeps close contact with all members of his or her party and takes nose
counts on key votes, prepares summaries of the content and implications of bills, and in general acts
as communications link within the party |
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Term
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Definition
| The official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority party |
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Term
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Definition
continue from one Congress to the next
bills are referred ; can kill bills |
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Term
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Definition
Set up to expedite business between the houses and to help focus public attention on
major matters, such as the economy, taxation, or scandals |
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Term
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Definition
Special joint committees that reconcile differences in bills passed by the House
and Senate |
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Term
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Definition
| Temporary committees appointed for specific purposes |
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Term
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Definition
Petition that gives a majority of the House the authority to bring an issue to the floor in
the face of committee action |
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Term
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Definition
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 |
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Term
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Definition
Funds in appropriations bills that provide dollars for particular purposes within a state or
congressional district |
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Term
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Definition
Role played by elected representatives who listen to constituents’ opinions and then use their best
judgement to make final decisions |
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Term
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Definition
Role played by elected representatives who vote the way their constituents would want them to,
regardless of their own opinions |
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Term
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Definition
| Role played by elected representatives who act as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue |
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Term
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Definition
A process in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor in either
house for a vote |
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Term
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Definition
A tactic by which a Senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. This
allows the Senator to stop the bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed |
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Term
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Definition
If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both
houses, the bill is considered vetoed without the president’s signature |
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Term
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Definition
Congressional review of the activities of an agency, department, or office. Performed by oversight
subcommittees |
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Term
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Definition
A process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of
congressional disapproval |
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Term
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Definition
The president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a 60-day period
in peacetime (which can be extended for an extra thirty days to permit withdrawal) unless Congress
explicitly gives its approval for a longer period |
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Term
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Definition
A process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senator
in whose state the vacancy occurs |
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