legislative branch, key terms

CONGRESS- a national legislative body, especially that of the US. The US Congress, which meets at the Capitol in Washington DC, was established by the Constitution of 1787 and is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. HOUSE OF REP.- The House is one of Congress's two chambers (the other is the U.S. Senate) and part of the federal government's legislative branch. The number of voting representatives in the House is fixed by law at no more than 435, proportionally representing the population of the 50 states. SENATE- In the United States government, the Senate is one of two congressional houses. The main job of the Senate, along with the House of Representatives, is to make laws. CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 1- "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. " LEGISLATIVE BRANCH- The legislative branch is the part of the United States government that creates laws. Whenever you read about congresspeople in the Senate or House debating a law, you're reading about the legislative branch: the branch of the government that writes, debates, and passes laws "NECESSARY AND PROPER" CLAUSE- Often called the “elastic clause,” the necessary and proper clause simply states that Congress has the power, “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.” PORK BARREL LEGISLATION- Pork barrel is a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. The usage originated in American English. In election campaigns, the term is used in derogatory fashion to attack opponents. SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT- A single-member district or single-member constituency is an electoral district that returns one officeholder to a body with multiple members such as a legislature. GERRYMANDERING- manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT- A congressional district is an electoral constituency that elects a single member of a congress. Countries with congressional districts include the United States, the Philippines, and Japan. A congressional district is based on population INCUMBENT- an official who holds an office. If you want to run for Congress, you're going to have to beat the incumbent. FILIBUSTER- A strategy employed in the United States Senate, whereby a minority can delay a vote on proposed legislation by making long speeches or introducing irrelevant issues. A successful filibuster can force a withdrawal of a bill. Filibusters can be ended only by cloture. CLOTURE- The cloture rule–Rule 22–is the only formal procedure that Senate rules provide for breaking a filibuster. A filibuster is an attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter. Under cloture, the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours of debate. PRESIDENTIAL VETO- The power of the President to refuse to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevent its enactment into law is the veto. The President has ten days (excluding Sundays) to sign a bill passed by Congress. ... This veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House. LOG ROLLING- In politics, advance agreement by legislators to vote for one another's bills. Logrolling is most common when legislators are trying to secure votes for bills that will benefit their home districts.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​