Congressional Vocabulary: Answers and Definitions

1. Apportionment
This term involves the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives. The total size of the House cannot be more than 435 members, and states gain and lose seats depending on changes in population. State legislatures decide on the shape of a district.

2. Gerrymandering
When state legislatures draw district boundaries in order to favor a particular political party, it is called gerrymandering. It results in oddly shaped districts that favor different political groups such as parties or ethnicities.

3. Term Limits
When a political office cannot be held for more than a certain number of years, a term limit has been set. Term limits for Congress have been declared unconstitutional.

4. Qualifications for the House of Representatives
A representative must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for seven years, and a legal resident of the state that is being represented (but not necessarily of the district).

5. Qualifications for the Senate 
A senator must be at least 30 years old, been a U.S. citizen for nine years, and a legal resident of the state that is being represented

6. Franking Privilege
It is the right of congressional members to have all official business mailed free of charge.”Franking” is the stamping of a document.

7. Immunity
For Congress mebers, it means legal protection from arrest stemming from their activities as a lawmaker. This insures that no one can prevent members of Congress from carrying out their duties as lawmakers. Unrelated offenses can still result in arrest.

8. Expulsion
If a House member engages in serious misconduct while in office, he or she may be expelled, or removed from Congress To remove a member in this fashion requires a two-thirds vote of the house in question.

9. Censure
Lesser offenses may result in censure, which amounts to a formal expression of disapproval of a member’s actions. This action requires that the member stand in front of the house and listen to the charges being read aloud.

10. Terms and Sessions
Each term of Congress lasts two years. Each session begins on January 3; the first one taking place after the November election. The second session begins on January 3 of the next year. Sessions usually last until late August or September.

11. Caucus
As sessions begin, party members of each house hold private meetings called caucuses. It is at these party meetings when the members of each house choose their leaders.

12. Majority Party
In either the House or in the Senate, the majority party is the one that has more members. The majority party selects presiding officers, floor leaders and committee chairs.

13. Minority Party
The party with fewer members in either the House or the Senate is the minority party.

14. Speaker of the House
The presiding officer of the House of Representatives is called the Speaker. He is the most powerful House member, controlling who has the floor and other important business. 


15. Floor Leader
Each party has a floor leader in both the House and Senate to guide the party’s proposed legislation through the house in order to get it passed. The floor leader of the majority party is known as the majority leader, and the floor leader of the minority party is called the minority leader. Both the House and Senate have these floor leaders.


16. Party Whip
Each floor leader has an assistant known as the whip, who counts the number of members that are in support of a given bill. It is the whip’s job to convince other members of the party to support legislation that is sponsored by their party.

17. President of the Senate
The presiding officer in the Senate is the president of the Senate. According to the Constitution, the person who plays this role is the Vice President of the United States. Because the vice president is not a member of the Senate, he or she votes only in case of a tie.


18. President Pro-tempore
In the absence of the vice president, the Senate is presided over by a person elected by the Senate, known as the President Pro Tempore, or “president for the time being.” By custom, the Senate has elected the longest serving senator of the majority party.


19. Bills
A bill is a proposed law. Congress considers thousands of these per year.

20. Committees
These are the smaller working groups of Congress. They are the first groups that study a bill as it makes its way through the lawmaking process by holding hearings, meetings, and investigations.

21. Standing Committees
These committees are permanent, each responsible for a particular subject. The Senate has seventeen and the House has nineteen standing committees.

22. Subcommittees
Each standing committee is divided into smaller committees that deal with specific aspects of the committee’s job.

23. Select Committees
These are temporary committees appointed by Congress to deal with topics that do not have a regular, standing committee. Select committees are often formed to investigate problems that arise in government such as scandals (like Watergate) or assassinations. Select committees then make recommendations on how to deal with problems, which can lead to the passage of new laws. Then the committee is dissolved.

24. Joint Committees
These are committees made up of an equal number of members of both houses. They are formed when Congress feels it can deal with a problem by having the two houses work together.

25. Conference Committee
When the House and Senate pass different versions of the same bill, they must work together to remove the differences so that the President receives one bill they both agree on. The work of ironing out differences between the two Houses is done in a conference committee, which has an equal number of members from both houses.

26. Seniority System
The position of chairman of the different committees usually goes to the member of the majority party who has served the longest in progress. 

27.Elastic Clause 
This section of the Constitution is found in Article 1 section 8 and is also called the “necessary and proper” clause because it gives Congress the power to pass any law that it feels it needs to carry out the other powers listed in the Constitution. It is called the “elastic” clause because it stretches the power of Congress well beyond anything that is listed in the Constitution.

28. Implied Powers
The powers that Congress claims under the elastic clause, those that are not written down but that are hinted at, are called implied powers.

29.Treason
Any act that puts one’s nation in danger or that betrays the government is treason. Treason includes actions such as attempting to overthrow the government and giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

30. Impeachment
The process of drawing up a list of charges to be levied against an elected official is called impeachment. It is the responsibility of the House of Representatives to accuse, or impeach, an official, where a vote is taken. If two thirds of the House agrees, the case is sent to the Senate for a trial.

31.Special Powers of the House
a) The House must start all impeachment proceedings.
b) All bills dealing with taxation, or raising money for the government, must begin in the Lower House.
c) The House breaks a tie in the event no clear winner emerges in a presidential election.

32. Special Powers of the Senate
a) The Senate conducts all impeachment trials, with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court acting as the judge.
b) If there is no clear winner in the Electoral College for the position of Vice-President, the Senate makes the choice.
c) Various positions in the government that are chosen by the President must be approved, or confirmed, by the Senate.
d) All treaties and other agreements with foreign nations must be approved, or ratified, by the Senate.

33. Ex Post Facto Law
This type of law punishes a person who did an action before the action was illegal. It is not allowed and is a denied power of Congress.


34.Bills of Attainder
Any law that sentences a person to prison without a trial is called a bill of attainder. Doing do is not allowed by the Constitution because a trial is required.


35. Writ of Habeas Corpus
A writ is a court order. In this case, it is a court order to bring an accused person to court to see if there is enough evidence to hold the person for trial. Only in times of invasion or civil uprising does Congress have the power to suspend, or set aside, a writ of habeas corpus, which literally means, “give us the body.”