front 1 Article I | back 1 The United States constitution that created the US Congress and gives it power to make laws. |
front 2 Pork Barrel Spending | back 2 Legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or states. |
front 3 Logrolling | back 3 Trading of votes on legislation by members of Congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation. |
front 4 Earmarks | back 4 Funds in legislation that members of US Congress to specific projects in states or Congressional districts. |
front 5 Oversight | back 5 Efforts by Congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, are acting legally and accordance within Congressional goals. |
front 6 Apportionment | back 6 The process of determining the number of representatives for each state using census data. |
front 7 Redistricting | back 7 States' redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts following each census. |
front 8 Gerrymandering | back 8 The intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific interest of group of voters. |
front 9 Majority-Minority District | back 9 A district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district. |
front 10 Baker v Carr | back 10 Case that federal courts can review unequal district boundaries created by state legislatures. |
front 11 Malapportionment | back 11 The uneven distribution of the population among legislative districts. |
front 12 Shaw v Reno | back 12 Case that ruled drawing voting districts based on race can violate the constitution. |
front 13 Incumbent | back 13 Being already in office as opposed to running for the first time. |
front 14 Incumbent Advantages | back 14 Institutional advantages held by those already in office who are trying to find off challengers in an election. |
front 15 Franking Privilege | back 15 The rights of members of US Congress to send official mail to constituents without paying postage |
front 16 Speaker of the House | back 16 The leader of the house of representatives, chosen by an election of its members. |
front 17 Whip | back 17 A member of Congress, chosen by his or her party members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline. |
front 18 Minority Leader | back 18 The head of the party with the second-highest number of seats in congress, chosen by the party's member |
front 19 Senate Majority Leader | back 19 The person who has the most power in the Senate and is the head of the party with the most seats. |
front 20 Committee Chair | back 20 Member of US Congress who leads a committee and control meetings and agenda. |
front 21 Standing Committee | back 21 Committee that handles bills in a specific area like education or defence. |
front 22 Conference Committees | back 22 Temporarily committee that resolves differences between house and state versions of a bill. |
front 23 Select Commitees | back 23 Committee that focus public attention of an issue, gather information for the Congress, or help party leaders speed things along in the legislative process. |
front 24 Discharge Petition | back 24 A motion filed by a member of Congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the house of representatives for a vote. |
front 25 House Rules Committee | back 25 A powerful committee that determines when a bill will be subjected to debate and votes on the house floor, how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be allowed on the floor. |
front 26 Committee of the Whole | back 26 Consist of all members of the House and meets in the house chamber but is governed by different rules, making it easier to consider complex and controversial legislation. |
front 27 Hold | back 27 A delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects a bill. |
front 28 Unanimous Consent Agreement | back 28 An agreement in the Senate that sets the terms for consideration of a bill. |
front 29 Filibuster | back 29 A tactic through which an individual senator may use the right of unlimited debate to delay a nation or postpone action on a piece of legislation |
front 30 Cloture | back 30 A procedure through which senators can end a filibuster and proceed to action, provided 60 senators agree to it. |
front 31 Office of Management and Budget | back 31 The executive branch office that assists the president on setting national spending priorities. |
front 32 Entitlement Program | back 32 A program that provides benefits for those who qualify under the law, regardless of income. |
front 33 Mandatory Spending | back 33 Spending required by law that is "locked in" the budget. |
front 34 Discretionary Spending | back 34 Spending for programs and policies at the discretion of Congress and the president. |
front 35 Budget Surplus | back 35 The amount of money remaining when the government gets in more than it spends |
front 36 Budget Deficit | back 36 The annual shortfall when a government gets less money than it spends. |
front 37 National Debt | back 37 The total amount of money owed by federal government. |
front 38 Delegate | back 38 The duty of a member of Congress is to carry out constituents' wishes. |
front 39 Trustee | back 39 Members of Congress should act as trustees, making decisions based on their knowledge and judgment. |
front 40 Political | back 40 Representation where members of Congress balance their choices with the interest of their constituents' and parties in making decisions. |
front 41 Bipartisanship | back 41 Agreement between the parties to work together in congress to pass legislation. |
front 42 Gridlock | back 42 A slowdown in congress ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship. |
front 43 Divided Government | back 43 Control of the presidency and one or both chambers of Congress split between the two major parties. |
front 44 Lame Duck Period | back 44 Period at the end of a presidential term when Congress may block presidential term when Congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees. |