| A | B |
|---|
| Constituent | The people who live within a House member's district or within a Senator's state |
| Census | A Constitutionally required count of the population every 10 years |
| President Pro Tempore | The person who sits in for the vice president when he/she is not present in the Senate |
| Strict constructionists | Those people wo feel that Congress should only exercise the powers granted to it in the Constitution |
| Vice president | The job includes counting electoral college votes and breaking a tie vote in the Senate |
| Delegate theory | The idea that a representative is to be a mouthpiece for their constituents only |
| Filibuster | When a Senator wants to prevent a vote he/she can take the floor and talk continuously |
| Bill of Attainder | A law that punishes a person without a trial |
| Impeachment | The power of Congress to charge officials in the executive and judicial branches with wrongdoing and bring them to trial |
| Gerrymandering | The drawing of district lines to benefit one party over another |
| Pocket veto | If the president does not sign the bill and Congress ends its session, then the bill dies |
| Trustee theory | The idea that a representative makes decisions on what he or she thinks is best for his/her constituents |
| Caucus | A group that shares a common governing interest |
| Ex post facto laws | Laws that criminalize actions that took place in the past and were legal at the time |
| Speaker of the House | The top job in the House of Representatives |
| Appropriation | A bill that sets aside funds for a specific purpose |
| Whip | The job of encouraging party members to vote with the party leadership and to know whose vote can be counted on |
| Loose constructionists | Those who feel like the Constitution is a living document and can be interpreted to fit the times |
| Cloture | The 60 vote threshold in the Senate that ends a filibuster |
| Advice and consent | The approval of nominees for cabinet, Supreme Court, and other judges by the Senate |
