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| a legislature divided into two houses; the U.S. Congress and the state legislatures are bicameral except Nebraska, which is unicameral |
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| the process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the decennial census according to their proportion of the population |
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| the redrawing of congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state |
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| the power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president, or other "civil officers", including federal judges, with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." This is the first step in the constitutional process of removing such officials from office |
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| the political party in each house of Congress with the most members |
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| the political party in each house of Congress with the second most members |
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| the only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution; elected at the beginning of each new Congress by the entire House; traditionally a member of the majority party and the chamber's most powerful position |
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| Party Caucus or Conference |
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| a formal gathering of all party members |
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| the elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House or Senate; is second in authority to the Speaker and in the Senate is regarded as its most powerful member; helps the Speaker schedule proposed legislation for debate on the House floor |
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| the elected leader of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House or the Senate |
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| key member who keeps close contact with all members of his or her party and takes nose counts on key votes, prepares summaries of bills, and in general acts as a communications link within a party |
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| the official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority party; aka "pro tem" |
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| committee to which proposed bills are referred for consideration; continues from one Congress to the next |
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| committee that includes members from both houses of Congress to conduct investigations or special studies |
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| special joint committee created to iron out differences between Senate and House versions of a specific piece of legislation |
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| Select (or Special) Committee |
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| temporary committee appointed for specific purpose, such as conducting a special investigation or study |
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| petition that gives a majority of the House of Representatives the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction |
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| legislation that allows representatives to bring home the bacon to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs designed to benefit their districts directly |
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| funds in an appropriations bill that provide dollars for particular purposes within a state or congressional district |
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| time of continuous service in an office or on a committee |
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| the fact that being in office helps a person stay in office because of a variety of benefits (i.e. name recognition, access to free media, an inside track on fundraising, a district drawn to favor the incumbent, etc.) that go with the position |
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| role played by elected representatives who listen to the constituents' opinions and then use their best judgment to make final decisions |
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| role played by elected representatives who vote the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinions |
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| role played by elected representatives who act as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue |
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| the political condition in which different political parties control the White House and Congress; a poll in 2006 revealed that 52% of voters preferred divided government |
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| vote trading; voting to support a colleague's bill in return for a promise of future support; often takes place on specialized bills targeting money or projects to selected congressional districts |
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| a process in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor in either house for a vote |
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| a tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. This allows the senator to stop the bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed |
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| a formal way of halting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the Senate; often more of a threat than an actual event; the only way to end a filibuster is a cloture motion |
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| mechanism requiring 60 senators to vote to cut off debate; after a cloture motion has passed, members may spend no more than 30 additional hours debating the legislation at issue |
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| formal constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of the legislative body, thus preventing the bill from becoming law without further congressional activity |
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| if Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, the bill is considered vetoed without the president's signature |
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| Congressional review of the activities of an agency, department, or office |
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| a process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval; gives Congress 60 days to disapprove new agency regulations |
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| passed by Congress in 1973; the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a 60 day period in peacetime (which can be extended for an extra 30 days to permit withdrawal) unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period |
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| a process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senator in whose state the vacancy occurs |
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