Constituent
One of the person represented by a legislator or other elected or appointed officials.
Bicameralism
The division of a legislator into two separate assemblies.
Lawmaking
The process of establishing the legal rules that govern society.
Logrolling
An arrangement in which two or more members of Congress agree in advance to support each other's bills.
Representation
The function of members of Congress as elected officials representing the views of their constituents.
Trustee
A legislator who acts according to her or his conscience and the broad interest of the entire society.
Instructed Delegate
A legislator who is an agent of the voters who elected him or her and who votes according to the views of constituents regardless of personal beliefs.
Ombudsperson
A person who hears and investigates complaints by private individuals against public officials or agencies.
Agenda Setting
Determining which public-policy questions will be debated or considered.
Enumerated Powers
A power specifically granted to the national government by the Constitution. The first seventeen clauses of Article 1, section 8 specify most of the enumarted powers of the congress.
Rules Committee
A standing committee of the House of Representatives that provides special rules under which specific bills can be debated, amended, and considered by the House.
Filibuster
The use of the Senate's tradition of unlimited debate as a delaying tactic to block a bill.
Direct Primary
An intraparty election in which the voters select the candidates who will run on a party's ticket in the subsequent general election.
Reapportionment
The allocation of seats in the House of Representatives to each state after each census.
Redistricting
The redrawing of the boundaries of the congressional districts within each state.
Gerrymandering
The drawing of legislative district boundary lines for the purpose of obtaining partisan or factional advantage. A district is said to be gerrymandered when its shape is manipulated by the dominant party in the state legislature to maximize electoral stre
Franking
A policy enables members of Congress to send material through the mail by substituting their facsmile signature for postage.
Standing Committee
A permanent committee in the House or Senate that considers bills within a certain subject area.
Select Committee
A temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period and for a special purpose.
Joint Committee
A legislative committee appointed to reconcile differences when bills pass the two chambers of congress in different forms.
Conference Committee
A special joint committee appointed to reconcile differences when bills pass the two chambers of congress in different.
Seniority System
A custom followed in both chambers of Congress specifying that the members of the majority party with the longest term of continuous servce will be given preference when a committee chairperson (or a holder of some other significant post) is selected.
Safe Seat
A district that returns a legislator with 55 percent of the vote or more.
Speaker of the House
The presiding officer in the House of Representatives. The speaker is always a member of the majority part and is the most powerful and influential member of the House.
Majority Leader of the House
A legislative position held by an important party member in the house of Representatives. The majority leader is selected by the majority party in caucus or conference to foster cohesion among party members and to act as spokesperson for the majority part
Minority Leader of the House
The party leader elected by the minority party in the House.
Whip
A member of Congress who aids the majority or minority leader of the House or the Senate.
President Pro Tempore
The temporary presiding officer of the Senate in the absence of the Vice President.
Senate Majority Leader
The chief spokesperson of the majority party in the Senate, who directs the legislative program and party strategy.
Senate Minority Leader
The party officer in the Senate who commands the minority party's opposition to the policies of the majority part and directs the legislative program and strategy of his or her party.
Conservative Coalition
An alliance of Republicans and southern Democrats that can form in the house or the Senate to oppose liberal legislation and support conservative legislation.
Executive Budget
The budget prepared and submitted by the president to Congress.
Appropriations
The passage, by Congress, of a spending bill specifying the amount of authorized funds that actually will be allocated for an agency's use.