AP Government Test
Terms
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- bicameral legislature
- A lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts. The U.S. Congress is a bicameral legislature composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
- Filibuster
- A prolonged speech or series of speeches made to delay action in a legislative assembly.
- Marginal districts
- Districts that have close elections (when the winner gets less than 55% of the vote)
- Safe districts
- Districts where incumbents win by wide margins (55% or more)
- Conservative coalition
- An alliance between republicans and conservative Democrats
- Malapportionment
- Results from having districts of very unequal sizes
- Gerrymandering
- Drawing a district boundary in some bizaree or unusual shape to make it easy for the candidate of one party to win election in that district
- Majority-Minority districts
- Congressional districts designed to make it easier for minority citizens to elect minority representatives
- Descriptive representation
- The statistical correspondence of the demographic characteristics of representatives w/those of their constituents.Also known as categorical.
- Substantive representation
- The correspondence between representatives' opinions and those of their constituents.
- Sophomore surge
- An increase in the votes that congressional candidates usually get when they 1st run for reelection
- Majority leader
- The legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House of Repos. or the Senate
- Minority leader
- The legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House of Reps, or the Senate. Also floor leader.
- Whip
- A senator who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking; rounds up members when important votes are to be taken, and attempts to keep a nose count on how the voting on a controversial issue is likely to go.
- Party unity vote
- A vote in which a majority of voting Dem. oppose a majority of voting Republicans.
- Caucus
- An association of members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest.
- Standing committees
- More or less permanent bodies w/ specified legislative responsibilities
- Selected committees
- Groups appointed for a limited purpose and usually lasting only a few congresses
- Joint committes
- Those on which both reps. and senators serve.
- Conference committees
- Made up of reps. and senators appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same piece of legislation before final passage. (type ogf joint committee)
- Public bill
- Pertaining to public affairs generally
- Private bill
- Pertaining to a particular individual such as a person pressing a financial claim against the government or seeking special permission to become a naturalized citizen
- Simple resolution
- Used for such matters as establishing the rules under which each body will operate.
- Concurrent resolution
- Settles housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses.
- Joint resolution
- Requires the approval of both houses and the signature of the president; it is the same as a law. Also used to propose a constitutional amendment it which case the signature of the president is not needed.
- Multiple referrals
- A process whereby a bill may now be referred to several committees that simulatneously consider it in whole or in part
- Sequential referral
- A process by which a speaker may send a bill to send a bill to a second committee after the first is finished acting or may refer parts of the bil to separate committees.
- Discharge petition
- A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had a bill for thirty days, may petition to have it brought to the floor.
- Closed rule
- An order from the House Rules Committee in the House of Reps. that sets a time limit on debate and forbids a particular bill from being amended on the legislative floor.
- Open rule
- An order from the House of Rules Committee in the House of Reps., that permits a bill to be amended on the legislative floor.
- Restrictive rule
- An order from the House Rules Committee in the House of Reps. that permits certain kinds of amendments but not others to be made to a bill on the legislative floor.
- Quorum call
- A calling of the roll in either house of Congress to see whether the number of representatives in attendance meets the minimum number required to conduct official business.
- Rider
- Amendments on matters unrelated to a bill that are added to an important bill so that they will "ride" to passage through the Congress.
- Christmas tree bill
- A bill that has lots of riders
- Cloture rule
- A rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate
- Double tracking
- A procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster in which the disputed bill is shelved temporarily so that the Senate can get on with other business.
- Voice vote
- A congressional voting procedure in which members shout "yea" in approval or "nay" in disapproval; allows members to vote quickly or anoymously on bills.
- Division vote
- A congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted.
- Teller vote
- A congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, the "yeas" first and then the "nays".
- Roll-call vote
- A congressional voing procedure that consists of members answering "yea" or "nay" to their names.
- Pork barrel legislation
- Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return.
- Franking privilege
- The ability of members of Congress to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature for postage.
- Divided government
- A government in which one party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress.
- Unified government
- A government in which the same part controls both the White House and both houses of Congress.
- Representative democracy
- A political system in which leaders and representatives acquire political power by means of a competitive struggle for the people's vote.
- Direct democracy
- A political system in which all or most citizens partciapte directly by either holding office or making policy.
- Pyramid structure
- A method of organizing a president's staff in which most presidental assistants report through a hierarchy to the president's chief of staff.
- Circular structure
- A method of organizing a presidnet's staff in which several presidental assistants report directly to the president.
- Ad hoc structure
- A method of organizing a president's staff in which several task forces, committees, and informal groups of friends and advisers deal directly with the president.
- Perks
- The fringe benefits of office
- Cabinet
- The heads of the 14 major executive departments.
- Veto message
- One of two ways for a pres. to disapprove abill. This must be sent to Congress within ten days after the presidnet receives it.
- Pocket veto
- If the president does not sign the bill within ten days of his receiving it and Congress has adjourned within that time, that bill does not become a law.
- Line-item veto
- The powerof an executive to veto some provisions in an approriations bill while approving others. The president does not have the right to exercise a line-item veto and must approve or reject an entire approriation bill.
- Legislative veto
- The rejection of a presidential or administrative-agency action by a vote of one or both houses of Congress without the consent of the president; declared unconstitutional in 1983
- Lame duck
- A politician who is still in office after having lost a re-election bid.
- Impeachment
- A formal accusation against a public official by the lower house of a legislative body.