Congress Vocab

Question	Answer
Bicameral	Government with 2 branches.
House of representatives	Part of the Legislative branch; member based on state population
Constituents	People who live and vote in a certain area.
Gerrymander	Messing with the boundaries of a voting area so one party leads.
Senate	Part of the Legislative branch; Made up of two representatives from each state
Speaker of the house	Presiding officer of the House of Representatives. Elected by majority caucus.
President Pro Tempore	Spokesperson of the Senate when Vice President isn't present.
Party Whips	People who "whip" the group to focus on the topic
Standing Committee	Created to discuss an issue; never disbands
Select Committee	Created to discuss a certain problem; disbanded after job is done.
Joint Committee	Consists of members from both the House and Senate
Seniority System	Giving senators who have been in certain committees special treatment.
Expressed powers	The powers given to Congress in the constitution
Implied Powers	Powers that are implied, but not stated directly.
Elastic Clause	Clause that gives Congress the power to stretch.
Impeach	Charging with misconduct.
Bills of attainder	Declaring someone is guilty and not giving them a trial.
Ex Post Facto Law	Changes the legal action of something done before a certain crime was committed.
US Representative Qualifications	25 years old; US citizen for the past 7 years; Resident of the state they are representing.
Franking Privilege	Sending mail without having to pay postage.
Pork Barrel Projects	Spending money in an area to gain popularity.
Senator Qualifications	30 years old; US citizen for past 9 years; Live in the state they represent.
Filibuster	Talking to delay an action, or change peoples mind on an action.
Cloture	Quickly ending a debate
Veto	Constitutional right to reject a decision presented.
Pocket veto	Not signing a bill until the legislative session ends.

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	Created by Sarah Allen about 9 years ago