Chapter 5 Vocabulary Section 1. Chapter 5 Vocabulary Section 1.

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Chapter 5 Vocabulary

Section 1

• Apportioned = To be distributed, as in the seats in the House of Representatives.

• Gerrymandering = The process of drawing congressional district lines to favor a political party.

• Term limits = Laws that limit the number of terms elected officials can serve.

• Franking privilege = The right of members of Congress to mail official letters free of charge.

• Immunity = Legal protection.

• Expulsion = The removal of a person from an institution, such as Congress, for serious misconduct.

• Censure = The formal disapproval of the actions of a member of Congress by the other members.

Section 2

• Sessions = Meetings of Congress.

Chapter 5 Vocabulary• Caucuses = Meetings of party leaders to

determine party policy or to choose the party’s candidates for public office.

• Majority party = The political party that has the most members in Congress or in a state legislature.

• Minority party = The political party that has fewer members in Congress or in a state legislature.

• Floor leader = A political party leader in Congress who works for passage of bills the party favors.

• Party whip = The assistant to the floor leader in each house of Congress who tries to persuade party members to vote for the bills the party supports.

• President pro tempore = The official who presides over the Senate in the vice president’s absence.

• Bills = Proposed laws being considered by a lawmaking body.

• Committees = Small groups in Congress formed to consider bills.

• Standing committees = Permanent House or Senate committees that consider bills in a certain area.

• Subcommittees = Divisions of standing congressional committees that deal with specific issues in the area handled by their primary committees.

• Select committees = Temporary House or Senate committees appointed to deal with issues not handled by standing committees.

• Joint committees = Committees made up of members of both houses of Congress to deal with matters of mutual concern.

• Conference committees = Temporary congressional committees made up of senators and representatives who try to reach an agreement on different versions of a bill.

• Seniority system = The custom of giving leadership of committees to members of Congress with the most years of service.

• Speaker = The presiding officer of the House of Representatives.

Section 3

• Elastic clause = Article 1, section 8, of the Constitution: known also as the “necessary and proper” clause that allows Congress to extend its delegated powers.

• Implied powers = Powers not specifically granted to Congress by the Constitution that are suggested to be necessary to carry out the powers delegated to Congress under the Constitution.

• Treason = An act that betrays and endangers one’s country.

• Impeachment = A formal charge brought against a government official.

• Ex post facto law = A law that applies to an action that took place before the law was passed.

• Bill of attainder = A law sentencing a person to jail without a trial.

• Writ of habeas corpus = A court order requiring that an accused person be brought to court to determine if there is enough evidence to hold the person for trial.

• Constituents = People represented by members of a lawmaking body.

Section 4

• Appropriation bill = A bill approving the spending of extra public money.

• Act = A law

Chapter 5 Vocabulary• Quorum = The minimum number of members who

must be present before a legislative body can conduct business.

• Roll-call-vote = A vote in Congress in which a record is made of how each member votes.

• Filibuster = A method of delaying action on a bill in the Senate by making long speeches.

• Cloture = A limit on the debate of a bill in the Senate.

• Pocket veto = A means by which the President can reject a bill, when Congress is not in session, by not signing it.

Chapter 5 Vocabulary Section 1. Chapter 5 Vocabulary Section 1.

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