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Flashcard Blitz
Legislative Branch
267. Bicameral Legislature
Congress is divided into TWO chambers
House of Representatives
Senate
268. Decentralization
Spread out lawmaking power amongst many
different members and steps
I.e., Committees
269. Filibuster
SENATE ONLY: The ability to make an official
speech for an unlimited amount of time
Used to DELAY (or kill) bills
270. Cloture (Senate Rule 22)
SENATE ONLY:
Vote to end debate
Requires 60 votes
271. Incumbency Effect
Advantage that OFFICE HOLDERS have in
elections causing them to WIN 85%+ of the
time
272. Marginal Districts
House districts that have close elections
(could go to either party)
273. Safe Districts
House districts where the elections are
overwhelmingly biased towards one party
over the other
274. Reapportionment
Re-distributing districts based on population
changes
Occurs every 10 years by the US Census

275. Gerrymandering
State Legislatures draw the House Districts to
benefit one party over another
276. Redistricting
State Legislatures draw House Districts based
on new US Census data
277. Wesberry v. Sanders
States must make districts that have as close
to equal population as possible

278. Majority Leader
The head of the party with the most members
Voice of the opinion of the party
279. Minority Leader
The head of the party with fewer votes
Voice of the opinion of the party

280. Whip
Person ensuring party discipline
Keeps the party in check
281. Party polarization
When the two parties are fiercely divided
Rarely compromise
282. Caucus (congressional)
A group of congress members who group
together on a particular legislative issue
283. Committee System
Congress breaks down into smaller groups
Specialize in particular pieces of legislation
284. Standing Committee
A permanent committee that meets regularly
285. Select Committee
A temporary committee that is created for a
specific purpose
286. Joint Committee
Committee with House AND Senate members
together
287. Conference Committee
A special committee that comes together to
RECONCILE (bring together/fix) THE
DIFFERENCES between the House and the
Senate Bills
288. Committee Chair
(& Their Powers)
Leader of the Committee
Sets the Agenda
Runs the Meetings
289. Appropriations
In charge of decided how much money each
law gets
VERY POWERFUL
290. Rules Committee
HOUSE ONLY
Makes the procedure for how bills get passed
Chaired by the Speaker of the House
291. Ways and Means Committee
HOUSE ONLY
In charge of Taxes
292. Judiciary Committee (Senate)
Interviews and approves of Presidents Judicial
nominations
Judges
Supreme Court Justices
293. Constituency Service
Congressional offices provide LEGAL SERVICES
to their voters
I.e., helping them apply for a business license
294. CRS (What it does)
Congressional Research Service
Provides Congress with legislative and policy
advice by their request
i.e., how a law will impact the US.
NONBIASED
295. GAO
Government Accountability Office
Investigate money in congress to make sure it
is being used legally
Where it comes from
Where it goes
296. CBO
Congressional Budget Office
Provides independent analysis of Budget
proposals
i.e., how much a law will actually cost
NONBIASED
297. Public Bill
A potential law that applies to everyone
Most used
298. Private Bill
A potential law that applies to a particular
group or individual
Used infrequently today
Given to executive agencies
299. Simple Resolution
Passed by EITHER the House or the Senate
ONLY.
Do NOT HAVE FORCE OF LAW
Do NOT GO TO PRESIDENT
Used for Rules of the Chamber
300. Concurrent Resolution
A measure adopted by BOTH the House and
Senate
Does NOT CARRY THE FORCE OF LAW
Does NOT GO TO THE PRESIDENT
301. Joint Resolution
Approved by the House AND Senate
Presented to the President
Exactly the same as a regular bill
Used for smaller issues & to declare war
302. Multiple referral
When a bill is sent to more than one
committee to be worked on
303. Sequential referral
Bill is first sent to one committee, and when
they are done it is sent to another committee
to continue to be worked on
304. Bill mark up
Adding, taking away or editing proposed
legislation
305. Discharge Position
A way to bring a bill to the floor without their
voting on it
BYPASSES COMMITTEE (Removes their
power!)
Requires 218 signatures
306. Closed Rule
HOUSE ONLY
No amendments (changes) may be made to
the bill on the floor
Simply vote yes or no
Fast
307. Open Rule
HOUSE ONLY
Allows for any number of amendments to be
made on the floor before the vote
Slows process down
308. Restrictive Rule
Permits certain kinds of amendments to be
made, but not others (may restrict the # as
well)
309. Quorum
The minimum number of congressmen that
must be present to make a vote valid.
MAJORITY
House: 218
Senate: 51
310. Quorum call
Used to force congressmen to attend a vote
(they go get them) if there arent enough
members present to make it legitimate
311. Rider
An amendment (addition) that is not
GERMANE (off topic)
i.e., a line about gun control on a bill about DC
Statehood
Used to limit the power of the president
Forced to sign a law that includes something he
doesnt like
Forced to veto a law he mostly likes
312. Christmas Tree Bill
A bill with lots of riders
313. Double tracking
Procedure to keep the Senate going during a
filibuster
Allows them to work on other bills while the
filibuster is going on
314. Voice vote
Members show yea or nay
Quick
Anonymous
Not very accurate
Speaker of House or President pro. Tempore
of Senate decide who won based on volume
315. Division Vote
Members stand and are counted
Yea
Nay
Anonymous
Quick
Somewhat accurate
Group with the most people standing wins
316. Teller Vote
A person stands at the front of the aisle and
counts as members walk by
Yea
Nay
Quick
more accurate
Anonymous
Group with the most people wins
317. Roll-Call Vote
Each members name is called out
They shout yea or nay
Every vote is recorded for public record
Most accurate
Used for Important votes that people want
remembered
318. Pork-barrel legislation
Bills that give DIRECT benefits (usually some
type of building or project) to constituents
(voters) in specific places
i.e., a hospital in Nevada; a bridge in Alaska
319. Franking Privilege
The ability of members of congress to mail
letter to their constituents for free
Supposed to INFORM the voters of what is going
on
Used for: Free advertising to ~550,000+ people!
~$247,500 per mailing!
Groups Meeting Today
Work on Study Guide, Flashcard Practice, Notes Review, etc.
Fill out the Log sheet and give to Ms. Fuchs
Group 7 3:15-4:15 in Ms.
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Anayah
Tim
Alicia
Lane
Group 5 Lunch in Ms.
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Greg
OJ
Kevionna
Trevon
Vincente

Group 3 3:30-4:30 @
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TaVon
Tasheanna
DaVaughn
Deandre
Asia