Chapter 12 Constituency the residents in the area from which an official is elected Bicameral characterized as having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses opposite of unicameral Sociological Representation a type of representation in which representatives have the same racial gender ethnic religious or educational backgrounds as their constituents It is based on the principle that if two individuals are similar in background character interests and perspectives then one could correctly represent the other s views Agency Representation the type of representation in which a representative is held accountable to a constituency if he or she fails to represent that constituency properly This is incentive for good representation when the personal backgrounds views and interests of the representative differ from those of his or her constituency Incumbency holding a political office for which one is running Term Limits legally prescribed limits on the number of terms an elected official can serve Apportionment the progress occurring after every decennial census that allocates congressional seats among the 50 seats Redistricting the process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives This happens every 10 years to reflect shifts in population or in response to legal challenges to existing districts Gerrymandering the apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party Patronage the resources available to higher officials usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants licenses or special favors to supporters Pork Barrel appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created so that local representatives can win re election in their home districts Private Bill a proposal in Congress to provide a specific person with some kind of relief such as a special exemption from immigration quotas Conference a gathering of House Republicans every two years to elect their House leaders Democrats call their gathering the caucus Caucus political a normally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates plan strategy or make decisions regarding legislative matters Speaker of the House the chief presiding officer of the House of Representatives The Speaker is the most important party and House leader and can influence the legislative agenda the fate of individual pieces of legislation and members positions within the House Majority Leader the elected leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate In the House the majority leader is subordinate in the party hierarchy to the Speaker of the House Minority Leader the elected leader of the minority party in the House or Senate Whip a party member in the House or Senate responsible for coordinating the party s legislative strategy building support for key issues and counting votes Standing Committee a permanent committee with the power to propose and write legislation that covers a particular subject such as finance or agriculture Select Committees set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue or address an issue not within the jurisdiction of existing committees Joint Committees legislative committees formed of members of both the House and Senate Conference Committees joint committees created to work out a compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation Seniority the ranking given to an individual on the basis of length of continuous service on a committee in Congress Staff Agencies legislative support agencies responsible for policy analysis Caucuses congressional associations of members of Congress based on party interest or social group such as gender or race Bill a proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of Congress and submitted to the clerk of the House or Senate Committee Markup the session in which a congressional committee rewrites legislation to incorporate changes discussed during hearings on the bill Closed Rule a provision by the House Rules Committee limiting or prohibiting the introduction of amendments during debate Open Rule a provision by the House Rules Committee that permits floor debate and the addition of new amendments to a bill Filibuster a tactic used by members of the Senate to prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down Once given the floor senators have unlimited time to speak and it requires a vote of three fifths of the Senate to end a filibuster Cloture a rule allowing a majority of two thirds or three fifths of the members of a legislative body to set a time limit on debate over a given bill In the U S Senate 60 senators three fifths must agree in order to impose such a limit Veto the president s constitutional power to turn down acts of Congress A presidential veto may be overridden by a two thirds vote of each house of Congress Pocket Veto a presidential veto that is automatically triggered if the president does not act on a given piece of legislation passed during the final 10 days of a legislative session Party Unity Vote a roll call vote in the House or Senate in which at least 50 percent of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50 percent of the members of the other party Roll Call Vote a vote in which each legislator s yes or no vote is recorded as the clerk calls the names of the members alphabetically Logrolling a legislative practice whereby agreements are made between legislators in voting for or against a bill vote trading Oversight the effort by Congress through hearings investigations and other techniques to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies Appropriations the amounts of money approved by Congress in statutes bills that each unit or agency of government can spend Executive Agreement an agreement made between the president and another country that has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senate s advice and consent Impeachment the formal charge by the House of Representatives that a government official has committed Treason Bribery or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors Delegate a representative who votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency Trustee a representative who votes based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her