| A | B |
|---|
| Bicameral | 2 House Legislature |
| Census | Population count taken by Census Bureau |
| Constituent | Person from a legislator's district |
| Gerrymander | Oddly shaped district to increase voting strength of a particular party. |
| Majority Party | Political Party is the house with more than half that belong. |
| Minority Party | Political Party with less than half of its members. |
| Standing Committee | Groups that continues to work in all sessions of Congress. |
| Seniority | Years of service that can be used as consideration for assigning committee members. |
| Expressed Powers | Powers listed in the Constitution like printing money. |
| Implied Powers | Powers that Congress has that are not listed in the Constitution. |
| Elastic Clause | Right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out expressed powers. |
| Impeach | To accuse government officials of misconduct. |
| Writ of Habeas Corpus | A court order that requires police to bring a prisoner to court to explain why they are being held. |
| Bill of Attainder | A law that punished the accused without a trial or hearing in court. |
| Ex Post Facto Law | Law that punished a person accused of a crime that was not a law when it happened. |
| Franking Privelege | The right for a senator to send mail without paying for postage. |
| Lobbyist | Repres. of an interest group who contacts lawmakers and other gov. officials to influence policy making. |
| Casework | The work a lawmaker does for his constituents. |
| Pork Barrel Project | Gov. projects that benefit the intersts of a particular state. |
| Joint Resolution | Resolution passed in both houses. |
| Special-Interest Groups | Organization of people that tries to influence gov. decisions. |
| Rider | Unrelated item added to a bill. |
| Filibuster | Tactic for defeating a bill in the Senate by talking until the bill's sponsor wit draws it. |
| Cloture | Procedure in the Senate to limit debate on a bill. |
| Voice Vote | Voting method in which senators vioce their votes for a bill by saying yes or no. |
| Roll-Call Vote | Voting method in which senators voice their votes in turn. |
| Veto | Refusal to sign a bill into law. |
| Pocket Veto | Power to veto a bill if the Pres. does not sign in 10 days or Congress is not in session. |
