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Chapter Six
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Bicameral | A legislature consisting of two parts |
Census | A population count taken by the census bureau |
constituent | A person from a legislator's district |
gerrymander | An oddly shaped election district designed to increase the voting strength of a particular group |
majority party | in both the house of representatives and the senate, the political party to which more than half members belong |
minorty party | in both the house of representatives and the senate, the political party to which fewer members belong |
standing committee | permanent committee that continues to work from session to session in its congress |
Seniority | years of service, which is used as consideration for assigning committee members |
expressed powers | powers that congress has that are specifically listed in the constitution |
implied powers | powers that congress has that are not stated explicitly in the constitution |
elastic clause | clause in article I, section 8 of the constitution that gives congress the right to make laws all "Necessary and proper" to carry out its expressed powers. |
impeach | to accuse government officials of misconduct in office. |
writ of habeas corpus | a court order that requires police to bring a prisoner to court to explain why they are holding the person. |
bill of attainder | A law that punishes a person of accused of a crime without a trial or fair hearing in court. |
ex post facto law | A law that would allow a person to be punished for an action that was not against the law when it was committed. |
Franking privilege | the right of senators and representatives to send job related mail without paying postage |
lobbyist | representative of an interest group contacts lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy making. |
casework | the work that a lawmaker does to help constituents with a problem |
pork - barrel project | government project grant that primarily benefits the home district or state |
joint resolution | a resolution that is passed by both houses of congress |
special interest group | an organization of people with some common interest who try to influence government decisions |
filibuster | a tactic for defeating a bill in the senate by talking until the bill's sponsor withdraws it |
cloture | a procedure used in the senate to limit debate on a bill. |
voice vote | a voting method in which those in favor say "Yea" and those against say "No" |
standing vote | in Congress, when members stand to be counted for a vote on a bill |
roll call vote | a voting method in the senate in which members voice their votes in turn |
veto | refusal to sign a bill or resolution |
pocket veto | presidents power to kill a bill, if congress is not in session, by not signing it for 10 days |