Key Terms
- apportionment
- the process by which seats in the House of Representatives are distributed among the fifty states
- bicameralism
- the political process that results from dividing a legislature into two separate assemblies
- bill
- proposed legislation under consideration by a legislature
- cloture
- a parliamentary process to end a debate in the Senate, as a measure against the filibuster; invoked when three-fifths of senators vote for the motion
- collective representation
- the relationship between Congress and the United States as a whole, and whether the institution itself represents the American people
- conference committee
- a special type of joint committee that reconciles different bills passed in the House and Senate so a single bill results
- constituency
- the body of voters, or constituents, represented by a particular politician
- delegate model of representation
- a model of representation in which representatives feel compelled to act on the specific stated wishes of their constituents
- descriptive representation
- the extent to which a body of representatives represents the descriptive characteristics of their constituencies, such as class, race, ethnicity, and gender
- enumerated powers
- the powers given explicitly to the federal government by the Constitution to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, raise and support armies, declare war, coin money, and conduct foreign affairs
- filibuster
- a parliamentary maneuver used in the Senate to extend debate on a piece of legislation as long as possible, typically with the intended purpose of obstructing or killing it
- implied powers
- the powers not specifically detailed in the U.S. Constitution but inferred as necessary to achieve the objectives of the national government
- inherent powers
- the powers neither enumerated nor implied but assumed to exist as a direct result of the country’s existence
- joint committee
- a legislative committee consisting of members from both chambers that investigates certain topics but lacks bill referral authority
- majority leader
- the leader of the majority party in either the House or Senate; in the House, the majority leader serves under the Speaker of the House, in the Senate, the majority leader is the functional leader and chief spokesperson for the majority party
- markup
- the amending and voting process in a congressional committee
- minority leader
- the party member who directs the activities of the minority party on the floor of either the House or the Senate
- oversight
- the right to review and monitor other bodies such as the executive branch
- politico model of representation
- a model of representation in which members of Congress act as either trustee or delegate, based on rational political calculations about who is best served, the constituency or the nation
- pork-barrel politics
- federal spending intended to benefit a particular district or set of constituents
- president pro tempore
- the senator who acts in the absence of the actual president of the Senate, who is also the vice president of the United States; the president pro tempore is usually the most senior senator of the majority party
- representation
- an elected leader’s looking out for his or her constituents while carrying out the duties of the office
- select committee
- a small legislative committee created to fulfill a specific purpose and then disbanded; also called an ad hoc, or special, committee
- Speaker of the House
- the presiding officer of the House of Representatives and the leader of the majority party; the Speaker is second in the presidential line of succession, after the vice president
- standing committee
- a permanent legislative committee that meets regularly
- surge-and-decline theory
- a theory proposing that the surge of stimulation occurring during presidential elections subsides during midterm elections, accounting for the differences we observe in turnouts and results
- trustee model of representation
- a model of representation in which representatives feel at liberty to act in the way they believe is best for their constituents
- whip
- in the House and in the Senate, a high leadership position whose primary duty is to enforce voting discipline in the chambers and conferences
