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Legislative Branch
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Pork Barrel Spending | Legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or states |
| Logrolling | Trading of votes on legislation by members of Congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation |
| Constituency | A body of voters in a given area who elect a representative or senator |
| Oversight | Efforts by congress to ensure executive branch agencies, bureaus and cabinets, are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals. |
| Apportionment | The process of determining the number of representatives for each state using census data |
| Redistricting | States' redrawing of boundries of electoral districts following each census |
| Gerrymandering | The intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific interest or group of voters |
| Partisan Gerrymandering | Drawing of district boundries into strange shapes to benefit a political party |
| Majority-Minority district | A district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district |
| Malapportionment | The uneven distribution of the population among legislative ditricts |
| Incumbency | Being already in office as opposed to running for the first time |
| Incumbency advantage | Institutional advantages held by those already in office who are trying to fend off challangers in an election |
| Speaker of the House | The leader of the house of representatives chosen by an election of its members |
| House Majority Leader | The person who is the second in command of the house of representatives |
| Whip | A member of congress, chosen by his or her party members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline |
| Minority Leader | The head of the party with the second highest number of seats in congress, chosen by the party's members |
| Senate Majority Leader | The person who has the most power in the senate is the head of the party with the most seats |
| Committee Chair | Leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee's agenda |
| Discharge petition | 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 |
| House Rules Committee | A powerful committee the determines when a bill will be subject to debate and vote on the House florr, how long the debate will last, and whether ammendments will be allowed on the floor |
| Committe of the Whole | Consists 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 |
| Hold | A delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a bill |
| Unanimous consent agreement | An agreement in the senate that sets the terms for consideration of a bill |
| Filibuster | A tactic through which an individual senator may use the right of unlimited debate to delay a motion or postpone action on a piece of legislation |
| Cloture | A procedure through which senators can end debate on a bill and proceed to action, provided 60 senators agree to it |
| Veto | The power of the president to reject a bill passed by congress, sending it back to the originating branch with objections |
| Entitlement Program | Provides benefits for those who qualify under the law, regardless of income |
| Mandatory Spending | Spending required by existing laws that is "locked in" the budget |
| Discretionary Spending | Spending for programs and policies at the discretion of congress and the president |
| Delegate role | The idea that the main duty of a member of congress is to carry out constituents wishes |
| Trustee Role | The idea that members of congress should act as trustees, making desisions based on their knowledge and judgment |
| Politico role | Representation where members of congress balance their choices with the interest of their constituentents and parties in making descisions |
| Bipartisanship | Agreement between the parties to work together in congress to pass legislation |
| Gridlock | A slowdown or halt in congress' ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship |
| Divided government | Control of the presidency and one or both chambers of congress split between the two major parties |
| Lame duck period | Period at the end of a presidential term when congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees |
Created by:
lgiall20
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