AP US Government and Politics - Congress Vocabulary

bicameral legislature

a lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts

caucus

an association of congressional members created to advance a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest

closed rule

an order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate; forbids a bill from being amended on the floor

cloture rule

a rule by the Senate to end or limit debate

concurrent resolution

an expression of opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, but not the president

conference committee

joint committees appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill

conservative coalition

an alliance between Republicans and conservative Democrats

delegate

a legislator who makes decisions based solely on what is best for their specific constituency

discharge petition

a device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had the bill for 30 days, may petition to have it brought to the floor

divided government

one party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress

division vote

a congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted

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

earmarks

"hidden" congressional provisions that direct the federal government to fund specific projects or that exempt specific persons or groups from paying specific federal taxes or fees

filibuster

an attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action on the bill; Bernie Sanders performed an eight hour one of these, which was turned into a lo-fi hip-hop beat to relax/study to

franking privilege

the ability of members to mail letters to their constituents

gerrymandering

drawing congressional district boundaries in such a way that it favors one particular group or party over another; usually refers to when this is done to an extreme extent

gridlock

this occurs when ideological and partisan divisions in Congress are so strong that compromise becomes difficult, and policymaking slows to halt

joint committees

committees on which both senators and representatives serve (like BBQ sandwiches)

joint resolution

a formal expression of congressional opinion that must be approved by both houses of Congress and by the president; constitutional amendments need not be signed by the president

lame duck

when an officeholder has lost reelection or is term-limited, but remains in office until their replacement is sworn in

majority leader

the legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House or the Senate

marginal districts

political districts in which candidates elected to the House of Representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55 percent of the vote

minority leader

the legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House or the Senate

necessary and proper clause

found in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution; this clause has been the constitutional basis for a wide variety of laws passed and powers assumed by Congress; this is lowkey a bad definition, but it's in the name, and we have talked a lot about it in class

open rule

an order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor

partisan polarization

a vote in which a majority of Democratic legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators

politico

a legislator who makes a decision using a combination of the "trustee" and "delegate" mindset

party vote

there are two measures of this type of vote; by the stricter measure, a party vote occurs when 90 percent or more of the Democrats in either house of Congress vote together against 90 percent or more of the Republicans; a looser measure occurs with at least 50 percent

pork-barrel legislation

legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return

quorum

the minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress

restrictive rule

an order from the House Rules Committee that permits certain kinds of amendments but not others to be made into a bill on the floor

riders

amendments on matters unrelated to a bill that are added to an important bill so that they will "ride" to passage through the Congress; when a bill has many riders, it is called a Christmas-tree bill

roll-call vote

a congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering "yea" or "nay" to their names

safe districts

districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55 percent or more

select committees

Congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose

simple resolution

an expression of opinion either in the House or Senate to settle procedural matters in either body

Speaker

the presiding officer of the House of Representatives and the leader of their party in the House; Democrat Nancy Pelosi is the current one

standing committees

permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area

teller vote

a congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, the "yeas" first and the "nays" second

trustee

a legislator who makes decisions based on their own judgement of what is best for the greater good of society or the country

unified government

the same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress

veto

literally means "I forbid;" it refers to the power of a president to disapprove a bill; it may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each House of Congress

voice vote

a congressional voting procedure in which members shout "yea" in approval or "nay" in disapproval, permitting members to vote quickly or anonymously on bills

whip

a senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking