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Chapter 6 Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Bicameral | A legislature consisting of two parts , or houses |
Census | A population count taken by the Census Bureau |
Constituent | A person form a legislator's district |
Gerrymander | An oddly shaped election district designed to increased the voting strength of a particular group |
Majority Party | In both the Houses of Representatives and the Senate , the political party to which more than half the members belong |
Minority Party | In both the Houses of Representatives and the Senate , the political party to which fewer than half the members belong |
Standing Committee | Permanent committee that continues work from session to 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 1 , Section 8 of the Constitution that gives Congress the right to make all laws " 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 accused of a crime without a trail or a 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 who contacts lawmakers or others governments officials driectly 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 | 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 who vote 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 | A refusal to sign a bill or resoultion |
Pocket Vote | President's power to kill a bill , if Congress is not in session , by noy signing it for 10 days, |