| A | B |
|---|
| To be a US Rep | at least 25 years old; citizen for at least 7 years; a resident of the state; 2 year term |
| To be a US Senator | at least 30 years old; citizen for at least 9 years; resident of the state; 6 year term |
| Speaker of the House | Elected member of the majority party; Presides over the HOuse; Heads party leadership conference; second in line (afte the VP) for the Presidency |
| House Majority Leader | acts as spokesperson for the majority party; works closely with Speaker to develop a legislative agenda; liason with minority party |
| House Majority Whip | key role is to keep the majority party unified by keeping members "in line" when there is a vote; Keeps tabs on how the members of the party are lining up for a vote |
| House Minority Leader | Carries out minority party's legislative agenda; liason to majority party |
| House Minority Whip | 2nd most powerful member of the minority party (behind minority leader) ; works to keep the minority party unified by keeping members "in line" when there is a vote |
| Ranking Member of a Committee | Minority party member; the committee chair will consult this person when deciding on committee business |
| 17th Amendment | direct election of Senators |
| Senate President Pro Tem | Temporary presiding officer; (3rd in line to the Presidency); traditionally, the most senior member in the Senate of the majority party |
| Senate Majority Leader | stes the legislative agenda for the Seante |
| Senate Majority Whip | Works with the Senate Majority leader to keep members unified; counts votes |
| Senate Minority Leader | in the Senate, carries out the minority party's legislative agenda; liason with the Majority Leader in the Senate |
| Senate Minority Whip | works with the senate Minority Leader to keep members "in line;" count those votes, baby |
| Committee System | House: 22 = standing committees; Senate = 20 standing committees; most of the work is done here, where mostly no one is paying attention |
| Standing Committee | permanent committees; representation is proportional based on party make-up in the full House/Senate; 15-20 Senators per committee; approx. 40 Reps per committee |
| Joint Committees | members of botht he House and the Senate; do not (usually) develop legislative proposals; Oversight into specific area (ex, tax policies) |
| Select Committees | temporary, with a specificissue (ex, Watergate) |
| Conference Committee | formed to reconcile bills that had been passed (separately) in the House and Senate |
| House Rules Committee | acts as a "gatekeeper" for all legislation that is scheduled to reach the Hosue floor; comes up with "rules" governing the time that each side has for debate; determines whether amendments can be added or not |
| House Appropriations Committee | must approve all revenue legislation including the 13 revenue bills that fund the federal gov't |
| House Ways and Means Committee | deals with tax legislation, adn trade agreements, as well as Socail Security |
| House Judiciary Committee | considers legislatino dealing with civil liberties, constitutional amendments, federal courts and judges, immigration, civil and criminal laws; drafts impeachment charges; oversight responsiblities of the Justice Dept. |
| House Armed Services Committee | considers legislation dealing with eh military; oversigth on Dept of Defense; military funding/the draft/selective service system |
| House Foreign Relations Committee | considers legislation dealing with foreign natins, includign trade and dipomatic relations |
| Senate Appropriations Committee | along with the (more powerful) House counter-parts, considers all revenue bills, including the 13 budget bills that fund the federal government |
| Senate Budget Committee | must approve a budget resolution that gives Congress directino regarding the amount of money that will be spent by the federal government |
| Senate Armed Services Committee | considers legislation dealig with the Armed Services; responsible for holding the Secretary of Defense's confirmatino hearing |
| Senate Foreign Relations Committee | considers legislatin dealing with foreign natinos including trade and diplomatic relations; responsible for holding the confirmation hearings for Sect'y of State and ambassadors |
| Senate Judiciary Committee | considers legislation dealing with civil liberties, constitutional amendments, federal courts and judges, civila nd criminal laws; holds confirmation hearings for the Attorney General; Direcotr of the FBI; and all federal judges, including Supreme Court nominees |
| Filibuster | A Seante rule that allows 41 Seantors to control the debate of pending legislatino, unless 60 Senators vote to cut off debate (cloture) |
| Cloture | 3/5 of the Senate (60 votes) necessary to achieve cloture (end a filibuster) |
| Constituent Services | typically include things like help with federal agencies (Social Security or the VA), help with federal grants; helping students get into a military acadmey; arranging tours of the capitol,and flags flown over the Capitol |
| Franking privilege | gives Reps and Senators free mailing to their constituents for the purpose of keeping the residents of their districts/states informaed about votes and issues |
| Closed Rule | bans amendments to a bill once the bill reaches hte House floor (prevents the minority party from offerring amendments); no such rule in the Senate (unless all 100 Senators agree) |
| Pork Barrel Legislation | refers to projects attached to appropriations bills by representatives and senators that woudl benefit the constituents of their districts/states |
| Logrolling | the process of a congressperson trading his/her vote on a bill for a promise from another member of Congress to support the first member's bill |
| Earmarks | amendments proposed by individual senators and reps that are often called pork barrell legislation |
| Congressional Caucus | for by reps and Seantors who have the same interests for the purpose of developping and promoting legislation (Democratic Caucus; Republican Caucus; Congressional Black Caucus; "Blue Dog" Coalition) |
| Congressional Budget Office (CBO) | a nonpartisan arm of Congress that generates economic reports related to budget issues including the president's propsed budget and congressional budgets; also gives cost estimates for every bill that is discussed in congressional committees |
