bicameral
characterized as having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses
constituency
the residents in the area from which an official is elected.
agency representation
the type of representation in which a representative is held accountable to a constituency if he or she fails to represent that constituency properly.
incumbency
holding a political office for which one is running.
sociological representation
a type of representation in which representatives have the same racial, gender, ethnic, religious, or educational backgrounds as their constituents.
term limits
legally prescribed maximum of the number of terms an elected official can serve.
apportionment
the process, occurring after every decennial census, that allocates congressional seats among the 50 states.
redistricting
the process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives.
gerrymandering
the apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party.
patronage
the resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters.
pork barrel
appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created so that local representatives can win re-election in their home districts.
private bill
a proposal in Congress to provide a specific person with some kind of relief
conference
a gathering of House Republicans every two years to elect their House leaders.
caucus
a normally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters.
Speaker of the House
the chief presiding officer of the House of Representatives.
majority leader
the elected leader of the larger party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. In the House, they are subordinate in the party hierarchy to the Speaker of the House.
minority leader
the elected leader of the smaller party in the House or Senate.
whip
a party member in the House or Senate responsible for coordinating the party's legislative strategy, building support for key issues, and counting votes.
standing committee
a permanent committee with the power to propose and write legislation that covers a particular subject, such as finance or agriculture.
select committees
(usually) temporary legislative committees set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue or address an issue not within the jurisdiction of existing committees.
joint committees
legislative committees formed of members of both the House and Senate.
conference committees
joint committees created to work out a compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation.
seniority
the ranking given to an individual on the basis of length of continuous service on a committee in Congress.
staff agencies
legislative support agencies responsible for policy analysis.
congressional caucuses
associations of members of Congress based on party, interest, or social group, such as gender or race.
bill
a proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of Congress and submitted to the clerk of the House or Senate.
committee markup
the session in which a congressional committee rewrites legislation to incorporate changes discussed during hearings on the bill.
closed rule
a provision by the House Rules Committee limiting or prohibiting the introduction of amendments during debate.
open rule
a provision by the House Rules Committee that permits floor debate and the addition of new amendments to a bill.
filibuster
a tactic used by members of the Senate to prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down. requires a vote of three-fifths of the Senate to end a filibuster.
cloture
a rule allowing a majority of two-thirds or three-fifths of the members of a legislative body to set a time limit on debate over a given bill. In the U.S. Senate, 60 senators (three-fifths) must agree.
veto
the president's constitutional power to turn down acts of Congress. A presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress.
pocket veto
a presidential veto that is automatically triggered if the president does not act on a given piece of legislation passed during the final 10 days of a legislative session.
party unity vote
a roll-call vote in the House or Senate in which at least 50 percent of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50 percent of the members of the other party.
roll-call vote
a vote in which each legislator's yes or no vote is recorded as the clerk calls the names of the members alphabetically.
logrolling
a legislative practice whereby agreements are made between legislators in voting for or against a bill; vote trading.
oversight
the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies.
appropriations
the amounts of money approved by Congress in statutes (bills) that each unit or agency of government can spend.
executive agreement
a consensus made between the president and another country, that has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senate's "advice and consent.
impeachment
the formal charge by the House of Representatives that a government official has committed "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
delegate
a representative who votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency.
trustee
a representative who votes based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her constituency.