Gov ch 12

those already holding office. In congressional elections, incumbents usually win

activities of members of congress that help constituents as individuals

the mighty list of federal projects, grants, and contracts avail to cities, businesses, colleges, etc in a congressional district

• a legislature divided into 2 houses
• not Nebraska

An institution unique to the House of Reps that reviews all bills coming from a House committee before they go before the full House

• A Strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation try to talk it to death, based on tradition of unlimited debate
• 60 must be present and voting

• An office mandated by the Constitution
• Speaker is chosen in practice by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, 2nd in line to succeed to the presidency

• the principal partisan ally of the Speaker of the House or the party's manager in the Senate. 
• responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes in behalf of the party's legislative positions

party leaders who work with the majority leader or minority leader to count the votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to a bill favored by the party

the principal leader of the minority party in the House of reps or Senate

Separate subject-matter committees in each house of Congress that handle bills in different policy areas

congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses

• congressional committees formed when the Senate and the House pass a particular bill in different forms.
• party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring the back a single bill

congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation

Congress's monitoring of the bureaucracy and its admin of policy, performed mainly through hearings

• most important influencers of the congressional agenda,
• play dominant roles in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the house

• simple rule for picking committee chairs, in effect until 1970s
• member who has served the longest and whose aprty controlled congress became chair, regardless of party loyalty, mental state, or competence

• a group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic
• composed of members from both parties and from both houses

• a proposed law, drafted in precise, legal language
• anyone eligible to draft a bill, but only a member of Reps or Senate can submit for consideration