ch.11

The current holder of a particular public office.

relection in House=93% relection in Senate=85%

a) more experience b) know what the people want c) know how to properly use campagin funds

a strong challenger

- the House places more limits on debate. -the House is the larger chamber in terms of membership. -the House has less of a tradition as a chamber of equals. -the Speaker is that chamber's presiding officer.

is not the presiding officerof his/her chamber.

-Spending whose tangible benefits are targeted solely at a particular legislator's constituency.

Use of personal staff by members of Congress to perform services for constituents in order to gain their support in future elections.

An election in which there is no incumbent in the race.

The reallocation of House seats among states after each census as a result of population changes.

The process of altering election districts in order to make them as nearly equal in population as possible. Redistricting takes place every ten years, after each population census.

The process by which the party in power draws election district boundaries in a way that is to the advantage of its candidates.

-disruptive Issues -Personal misconduct -variation in turn out -strong challengers

The congressional election that occurs midway through the president's term of office.

-senator: 30 yrs old, U.S. citizen for 9 years, must be an inhabitant of the state in which he shall be elected -house: 25yrs old, U.S. citizen for 7 years, must be an inhabitant of the state in which he shall be elected

appropreate age to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives

appropreate age to serve in the U.S. senate

-A group that consists of a party's members in the House or Senate and that serves to elect the party's leadership, set policy goals, and plan party strategy. -The redrawing of House election districts

political parties

Speaker of the House ex. John Boehner (R)

- 3rd inline for presidency if any thing happens to both Pres. and Vice Pres. -develops the party's position on issues -choose chair person and majority-party members -right to speak 1st during house debates

-House majority leader ex. Eric Cantor (R) -House Majority Whip ex. Kevin McCarthy (R) -House Minority leader ex. Nancy Pelosi (D) House Minority Whip ex. Steny Hoyer

The people residing within the geographical area represented by an elected official.

Members of the House and Senate who are chosen by the Democratic or Republican caucus in each chamber to represent the party's interests in that chamber and who give some central direction to the chamber's work.

Permanent congressional committees with responsibility for a particular area of public policy. An example is the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Temporary committees formed to bargain over the differences in the House and Senate versions of a bill. A conference committee's members are usually appointed from the House and Senate standing committees that originally worked on the bill. -resolves the different versions of a bill passed by House and Senate

The policy area in which a particular congressional committee is authorized to act

A member of Congress's consecutive years of service on a particular committee

A proposed law (legislative act) within Congress or another legislature.

A procedural tactic in the U.S. Senate whereby a minority of legislators prevent a bill from coming to a vote by holding the floor and talking until the majority gives in and the bill is withdrawn from consideration.

A parliamentary maneuver that, if a three-fifths majority votes for it (60 votes), limits Senate debate to thirty hours and has the effect of defeating a filibuster.

An amendment to a bill that deals with an issue unrelated to the content of the bill. Riders are permitted in the Senate but not in the House.

The degree to which a party's House or Senate members act as a unified group in order to exert collective control over legislative action.

A legislative proposal, or bill, that is passed by both the House and the Senate and is not vetoed by the president.

The president's rejection of a bill, thereby keeping it from becoming law unless Congress overrides the veto.

The authority (of a legislature) to make the laws necessary to carry out the government's powers.

-The responsibility of a legislature to represent various interests in society. -Congress represents the interests of constituents

-A supervisory activity of Congress that centers on its constitutional responsibility to see that the executive branch carries out the laws faithfully and spends appropriations properly. -Congress represents the interests of constituents.

The trading of votes between legislators so that each gets what he or she most wants.

most memembers are now career politicians who want to stay in Congress.

conference committee

members of Congress only.

enact legislation

can end a filibuster

the pockect veto applies only when the Congress is not in session

but it is usuallu followed

by committees and their respective subcommittees

the Senate majority leader

current number of voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives

the number of voting members of the U.S. Senate

it must receive the support of a simple majority of its members

defining the conditions and scheduling a bill for floor debate in the House of Representatives

the primary concern of a representative should be the interests of the nation or of his/her consitituency

the percentage of all incumbents in the U.S. House of Repersentatives ar typically reelected

The 2010 midterm election, when the Democrates lost seats, fits the typical pattern of midterm elections

An election in which there is no incumbent in the race

member of congress cotes the way he personally thinks is best