| A | B |
|---|
| 1. Term Limitation | “ Idea that legislators should only be allowed a maximum number of years in office in order to encourage more involvement in government.” |
| 2. Apportionment | “ Term that refers to the number of representatives assigned to a state based upon its population.” |
| 3. Gerrymandering | “ Drawing a district’s boundaries in an odd shaped manner in order to benefit one political party over another.” |
| 4. Constituents | “ Term defining the people who live within a legislators district.” |
| 5. Franking Privilege | “Right of a Congressmen to send job-related mail without postage.” |
| 6. Censure | “ Formal vote of disapproval of a legislator’s conduct.” |
| 7. Power of the Purse | “ Power of the House of Representatives whereby all revenue producing bills must be introduced in the House of Representatives.” |
| 8. Appropriations | “Term describing the acquiring of revenue for the government.” |
| 9. Majority Leader | “Leader of the political party with the most members within the legislature.” |
| 10. Minority Leader | “ Leader of the political party who does not have the majority seats within a legislature.” |
| 11. Party Whip | “ Member of each political party who is responsible for preliminary voting intentions and trying to influence party members to vote as a group on important issues.” |
| 12. Speaker of the House | “ Leader of the House of Representatives and usually the majority leader of the House who has great power in setting the agenda for the House of Representatives.” |
| 13. President Pro-Tempore | “mostly symbolic position given to the longest serving Senator from the majority party.” |
| 14. Standing Committees | “ Permanent committees of Congress who study |
| 15. Seniority | “ Term that refers to how long a member has been in Congress and is important in assigning committee memberships.” |
| 16. Bill | “ Proposed law” |
| 17. Pigeonhole | “ Action taken by a legislative committee that places a bill to the side without a vote of approval or denial.” |
| 18. Public Hearings | “ Meetings held by legislative committees in order to allow public comments and information to be given to legislative committees.” |
| 19. Filibuster | “ Right of a Senator to hold the Senate floor for an unlimited amount of time—usually threaten as a form of killing or revising a bill the Senator opposes.” |
| 20. Cloture | “ Special vote taken by the Senate that would require a Senator to give up the floor during a filibuster---requires a 2/3 vote---very difficult to achieve.” |
| 21. Roll Call Vote | “ Type of Congressional vote where the name of each legislator is called out and a vote recorded—mostly done electronically today.” |
| 22. Conference Committee | “Special committee made up of legislators from the House and Senate who try to work out differences in bill that passed both houses in different forms.” |
| 23. Pocket Veto | “Process where the President does not sign a bill and Congress has adjourned and after ten days the bills dies rather than becoming law.” |
| 24. Over-Ride | “Ability of Congress to pass a bill after the President has vetoed it---but only if they can pass it again with a 2/3 majority.” |
| 25. Electoral College | “Process of electing the President—each state is assigned a number of electors equal to its representation in Congress and a majority of electoral votes is required to be elected otherwise the House chooses the President.” |
| 26. Bureaucracy | “Term referring to the large number of people who work for the government.” |
| 27. Executive Orders | “Term for orders given by the President in order to carry out his duties as Chief Executive—the orders have the same force as law.” |
| 28. State of the Union | “Speech given by the President each year to describes the situation of the nation and the speech is required by the Constitution” |
| 29. Patronage | “System of giving government jobs to one’s friends and supporters—Sometimes this system was abused and unqualified people were appointed.” |
| 30. Endorsements | “Process where famous or influential people give their support to someone who is seeking office.” |
| 31. Immunity | “Legal term for being free from prosecution.” |
| 32. Pardons | “Legal term for someone being forgiven for a crime that was committed.” |
| 33. Reprieves | “Legal term for delaying the punishment given to someone.” |
| 34. Amnesty | “Legal term for giving a pardon to a large group of people.” |
| 35. Administration | “Term for the people who work closely with the President and his staff.” |
| 36. Chief of Staff | “Person who works closest to the President and serves as the main advisor to the President.” |
| 37. Press Secretary | “Person who works closely with the media on behalf of the President.” |
| 38. OMB | “Part of the White House Office that helps the President design a budget for the United States.” |
| 39. NSC | “Group of people who advise the President on matters of National Security.” |
| 40. Secretaries | “Group of people who lead the different departments of the executive branch.” |
| 41. State Department | “Executive department that deals with foreign policy.” |
| 42. Embassies | “Offices that represent the US government in foreign nations.” |
| 43. Passports | “Official identification for US citizens who want to travel to foreign nations.” |
| 44. IRS | “Government Agency who is responsible for collecting taxes.” |
| 45. Joint Chiefs | “Group made up of the highest ranking officers in each of the military branches who advise the President on military matters.” |
| 46. Attorney General | “Leader of the Justice department who is responsible for enforcing the nation’s laws.” |
| 47. FBI | “Agency within the national government who is responsible for enforcing the nation’s laws.” |
| 48. USDA | “Department of the US government that works to insure the safety of the nation’s food supply.” |
| 49. OSHA | “Agency within the national government that insures the safety of workers.” |
| 50. Medicaid / Medicare | “Part of the HUD department that tries to provide basic medical services to the elderly and the poor.” |
| 51. CDC | “Agency within the government that researches diseases and treatments.” |
| 52. FDA | “Agency that makes sure that the foods and medicines that are available to the public are safe for consumption.” |
| 53. HUD | “Department that tries to improve the conditions of urban areas and provide low income housing.” |
| 54. FAA | “Agency that investigates aviation accidents and regulates air traffic.” |
| 55. VA | “Agency that provides services to the nation’s veterans.” |
| 56. Homeland Security | “Newest department that works to keep the nation safe from terrorist activities.” |
| 57. Customs | “Government agency that inspects visitors and goods that come into the US” |
| 58. FEMA | “Agency that works to help citizens after a natural disaster has occurred.” |
| 59. INS | “Agency that is responsible for controlling the process of naturalization and the visas for foreigners visiting the nation.” |
| 60. Social Security | “Independent agency that oversees the pension program for the elderly and the disabled.” |
| 61. CIA | “Executive agency that works to collect information about foreign nations.” |
| 62. Regulatory Commissions | “Parts of the executive branch whose job is to control certain industries or parts of the economy.” |
| 63. EPA | “Agency that tries to protect the environment.” |
| 64. Federal Reserve | “Agency that controls the nation’s banking system.” |
| 65. FCC | “Agency that controls the activities of the media” |
| 66. Red Tape | “Term that refers to the sometimes unnecessary paperwork that is required by the government in order to insure due process.” |
| 67. Civil Service | “Term that refers to people who choose to work in an agency or department of the government.” |
| 68. Pendelton Act / Merit System | “System of giving government positions to those who are well qualified for those positions by administering job-specific tests.” |
| 69. Jurisdiction | “Term meaning the authority to hear and decide an issue.” |
| 70. District Court | “Lowest level of federal court---uses a jury to decide guilt or innocence.” |
| 71. Appeals Court | “Federal Court that hear cases on first appeal and uses a panel of judges to determine whether the trial was fair.” |
| 72. Uphold | “Ruling given by an Appeals or Supreme Court that means the verdict in the original trial was fairly reached.” |
| 73. Overturn | “Ruling in an Appeals or Supreme Court case that mean the original verdict is placed aside and the case is thrown out.” |
| 74. Remand | “Ruling in an Appeals or Supreme Court case that means the case was unfairly reached and a new trial is ordered in a lower court.” |
| 75. Appellate Jurisdiction | “Authority to hear a case after it has been heard in a lower court.” |
| 76. Judicial Review | “Power of the Supreme Court to examine a law and determine its constitutionality.” |
| 77. Majority Opinion | “Term describing the written decision of the justices on the winning side on a Supreme Court decision.” |
| 78. Concurring Opinion | “Term that describes the written opinion of a justice(s) who agrees with the majority but may have slightly different reasons.” |
| 79. Dissenting Opinion | “Term that describes the written opinions of a justice(s) who disagreed with the majority in a court decision.” |
