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Chapter 6
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Bicameral | a legislature consisting of two parts, or houses |
Census | a population count taken by the census |
Constituents | 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 the members belong |
Minority party | in both the house of representatives and the senate, the political party to which fewer than half the members belong. |
Standing committee | permanent committees that continues work from session in its congress. |
Seniority | years of service, which is used as a 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 makes expressed powers. |
Impeach | to accuse governments 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 |
Bills of attainder | a law that punishes a person accused of a crime without a trail or a fair hearing in court |
Ex post facto laws | 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 rights of senators and representatives to send job-related mail without paying postage |
Lobbyists | representative of an interest group who 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 projects | government project grant that primarily benefits the homes district or state |
Joint resolutions | a revolution that is passed by both houses of congress |
Special-interest groups | an organization of people with some common interest who try to influence government decisions |
Filibuster | a procedure used in the senate to limit debate on a bill |
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 | president's power to kill a bill , if congress is not in session,by not signing it for 10 days. |