| Question | Answer |
| Constitution: Congress? | Article One |
| How long is a session | One year, two per term of congress |
| Congress remains in congress... | until vote to adjourn |
| House of Representatives # | 435 |
| H of R qualifications | 25 years old, seven year resident of constituency |
| census | population count every ten years |
| apportionment | number of representatives each state gets |
| redistricting | setting up new district lines after apportionment |
| Baker V Carr | Federal courts decide conflicts over redistricting |
| Wesberry v Sanders | 1964 one person one vote |
| gerrymandering | drawing of district boundaries to get political advantage |
| senate | 2 per state 30 years old nine year legal resident of state |
| at large | state wide senators elected |
| senate term | six year terms 1/3 run for re election |
| honoraria | money paid for speeches |
| 27 Amendment | prohibits congress salary increase from effect until after intervening election |
| Senate perk | free from arrest on way to congress |
| Hutchinson v Proxmire | 1979 can be sued libel for statements outside of congress |
| censure | vote of formal disapproval in senate |
| incumbent | members already in office. 90 percent win re-election |
| What changed in 1994? | Republicans win majority in Congress |
| bill | proposed law |
| calendars | schedules that list order bills will be considered |
| house Rules Committee | moves, holds, stops bills; settles disputes between other house committees |
| "rule" | special order from ruels committee t |
| quorum | minimum number of members to be present to permit legislative action |
| calendar of general orders | lists all bills senate will consider |
| filibuster | keep talking until maj abandons or agrees to modify bill |
| cloture | closes filibuster by 3/5 senate |
| speaker of House | majority party chooses speaker |
| Majority leader | plan party leg. programs, implement bills, make sure bills important to party pass |
| whips | assistant to floor leaders in the House |
| Vice President in House | president of senate votes in ties. Constitutional definition of VP |
| president pro tempore | senior member of majority party |
| Standing committtee | permantent group to oversee bills. Subcommittees specializeses in standing comm respronisbility |
| Select committteeeeeees | temporary committttttees that study on special issue. matters of great concern - overlooked problems - problems of interest groups |
| join commmmmmitttteees | house and senate temporary or permanetn member from both parties and houses. no authority to deal with bills or prppose legislation |
| conference commmmiiittteeee | temporary set up when house and senate pass different versions of same bill |
| seniority system | majority party person with long time in commmittttteee becomes chairperson |
| two types of staff | personal and commmmiittteee staff |
| Administrative assistant | legislative aide |
| legilative assistants | well informed about bills |
| caseworkers | handle request from people in lawmakers state or district |
| congressional budget office | coordinate budget of congress |
| general accounting office | congresssional spending and oversight monitoring |
| Government printing office | daily publishing office that records all bills |
