American Government Chapter 12 Vocabulary

leadership Speaker of the House – the presiding officer of the house of representatives – chosen by the majority party President of the senate – the senate’s presiding officer – the vice president serves as the president of the senate President pro tempore – serves as presiding officer over the senate when the vice president is not available. This individual is from the majority party and is elected by fellow senators.

Party caucus – closed meeting of the members of each party in each house Floor leaders – next to the Speaker of the house, these are the most important officers in congress. There are majority and minority floor leaders. Whips – majority and minority – they assist the floor leaders

committees Committee chairmen – members who head the standing committees Seniority rule – an unwritten customer whereby the most important positions are held by party members with the longest record of service in the house and senate Standing committees – permanent committees Select committees – sometimes called special committees; panels set up for a specific purpose and usually for a limited time

Joint committees – committees with members from both the house and the senate Conference committee – a temporary committee formed to iron out differences in a particular bill Bill – proposed law Joint resolutions – similar to bills and when passed have the force of law; most often deal with unusual or temporary matters

Concurrent resolutions – deal with matters in which the house and the senate must act jointly, however these do not have the force of law and do not require the president’s signature Rider – a provision not likely to pass on its own merit that is attached to an important measure certain to pass Discharge petition – enables members to force a bill that has remained in committee 30 days onto the floor for conisderation

Subcommittees – divisions of existing committees formed to address specific issues Quorum – majority Engrossed – once a bill has been approved at the second reading, it is printed in its final form Filibuster – an attempt to ‘talk a bill to death’. It is a stalling tactic that can only be used in the senate.

Cloture – limiting debate in the senate Cloture – limiting debate in the senate. 3/5 of senators must vote (60) to invoke cloture. Once done, no more than 30 more hours of floor time may be spent on the measure. Then it must be brought to a final vote. Veto – president’s refusal to sign a bill into law Pocket veto – if congress adjourns its session within 10 days of submitting a bill to the president, and the president does not act, the measure dies.