Unit 3: AP Gov.

Legislators should adhere to the will of their constituents

Legislators should consider the will of the people but act in ways that they believe are best for the long-term interest of the nation

Legislators should follow their own judgment (that is, act like a trustee) until the public becomes vocal about a particular matter, at which point they should follow the dictates of constituents

Legislators should follow the will of the people (that is, act like a delegate) until they truly believe that it is in the best interest of the nation to act differently

A legislator's responsiveness to the questions and concerns of the people he or she represents

A legislature composed of two houses

The process of redrawing legislative district boundaries within a state to reflect population changes

The process of redrawing district lines to increase unduly a group's political power (racial and political)

The process of allocating seats in a legislature; the Constitution requires that seats in the House of Representatives be apportioned to the states every ten years following the federal census.

The process of reallocating states every ten years

The permanent structures that perform the detailed work of a legislature

Specialized groups within standing committees

A temporary committee created to deal with a specific issue

A committee of members of the House and Senate that irons our differences in similar measures that have passed both houses to create a single bill

Units that conduct oversight or issue research, but do not have legislative powers

Committee session for taking testimony from witnesses and for collecting information on legislation under consideration or for the development of new legislation

The section-by-section review and revision of a bill by committee members (the actual writing of a piece of legislation)

Congress' responsibility to keep an eye on agencies in the federal bureaucracy to ensure that their behavior conforms to its wished

Summaries encapsulating the informal judgment of others in the legislature on which members of Congress rely to streamline the decision-making process

The presiding officer of the House of Representatives, who is also the leader of the majority party in the House

The head of the majority party in the Senate, the second-highest-ranking member of the majority party in the House

Assistants to House and Senate leaders, responsible for drumming up support for legislation and for keeping count of how members plan to vote on different pieces of legislation

Leading spokesperson and legislative strategist for the minority party in either the House or the Senate

A prolonged speech while a bill is on the floor that obstructs its voting process

Rule declaring the end of a debate in the Senate

Rule that allows a senator to announce the intention to use delaying tactics if a particular piece of legislation moves to a vote

Length of time served in a chamber of the legislature (members with greater seniority have traditionally been granted greater power)

Supporting a legislator's bill in exchange for support of one's own

Legislation that benefits one state or district