Necessary and proper clause
Article I, Section 8, Clause 18, of the Constitution, which gives the national legislature the power to “make all laws that are necessary and proper” to exercise the powers granted by the Constitution; also known as the “elastic clause”
Majority leader
the person elected by the majority party who serves as the spokesperson and main strategist for the majority party in the Senate
Roll call vote
a vote in which each member of Congress is required to publicly state his or her vote; also called a record vote
Writ of Habeas Corpus
a court order that forces the police to present a person in court to face charges; habeas corpus is a phrase in Latin meaning “you have the body”
Separation of power:
powers of government separated into Legislative, executive ,and judicial
Rider
the goal of a rider may be to add an unpopular provision to a bill that is likely to be passed so that the addition may “ride” along with the bill that is passed, or a rider may be designed to kill a bill by attaching an unpopular provision to that bill
Expressed power
the powers explicitly granted to Congress by the Constitution
Impeachment
the process of charging officials in the executive and judicial branches with wrongdoing and bringing them to trial
Whip
representatives of each party whose duty is to encourage fellow party members to vote as the party leadership wants
Floor leader
the representative of each party elected to help manage the actions and strategy of their party in the House of Representatives