Term
two year period of time during which congress meets
Session
period of time during which, each year, Congress assembles and conducts business
Adjourns
suspends until the next session
Prorogue
end, discontinue
Special Session
a meeting to deal with some emergency situation
Apportion
distributed
Reapportion
redistribute
Off-year election
congressional elections held years when there's no presidental election
Single-member district
electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each elected office
At-large
election of an officeholder by the voters of an entire governmental unit rather than by the voters of a district or subdivision
Gerrymander
drawn to the advantage of the political party that controls the State legislature; two forms;(1)to concentrate the opposition's voters in one or a few districts,leaving the other districts comfortably safe for the dominant party,(2) to spread the oppositi
Continuous body
all of the seats in the Senate are never up for election at the same time.
Constituencies
the people and interests the senators represent
Trustee
Lawmaker who votes based on his or her conscience and judgment, not the views of his or her constituents
Partisan
Lawmakers who owe their first allegience to their political party
Politicos
attempt to combine the basic elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan roles.
Oversight Function
Process by which Congress (through it's committees) checks to see that the various agencies in the executive branch are working effectively and in a constitutionally legal manner
Franking privilege
the right of senators and representatives to send job-related mail without paying postage
The Constitution
establishes a bicameral legislature, historically,theoretically,and practically
Georgia and Pennsylvania
had unicameral colonial and then State legislatures; both to become bicameral in 1789 and 1790.
Nebraska
only State to have unicameral legislature today
Bicameralism
a reflection of federalism
The Framers
favored a bicameral Congress in order that one house might act as a check on the other;saw bicameralism as a way to diffuse the power of Congress and so prevent it from overwhelming the other two branches of government
Start of new term for Congress
noon of the 3d day of January of every odd-numbered year
The House of Representatives
435 members,seats apportioned based on the States population;two-year terms;
The Reapportionment Act of 1929
permanent" size of the House is 435 members unless Congress decides to change it;following each census, the Census Bureau is to determine the number of seats each State should have;When Bureau's Plan is ready the President must send it to Congress; If ne
Election Date for the House
the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year
Wesburry v. Sanders,1964
the court held that the population differences among Georgia's congressional districts were so great as to violate the Constitution; had an impact on the makeup of the House, on the content of public policy , and on electoral politics in general
Formal qualifications of the House
at least 25 years of age%