Political Terms and Roles in Congress

Match the following terms with their definitions:

• whip

• The official chair of the Senate

• president pro tempore

• Party leader who keeps close contact with all members, takes vote counts on key legislations.

• Speaker of the House

• The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution

Who is the head of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate?

• A) minority leader

• B) majority leader

• C) Speaker of the House

• D) president pro tempore

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analyzes the president's budget and economic projections. True or False?

• True

• False

Mechanism requiring the vote of sixty senators to cut off debate is known as ______.

• Cloture

• Filibuster

• Reconciliation

• Hold

What gives a majority of the House of Representatives the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction?

• Cloture

• Discharge petition

• Hold

• Reconciliation

Match the following terms with their descriptions:

• Cloture

• Vote to cut off debate

• Bill

• Proposed law

• Filibuster

• Halting Senate action by long speeches

The process of redrawing congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states is known as ______.

• Apportionment

• Redistricting

• Gerrymandering

• Reconciliation

Match the following terms with their functions: Reconciliation, Hold, Discharge petition.

• Discharge petition

• allows consideration to be informed before a particular bill or nomination to be brought to the floor by Limiting debate to twenty hours ending a threat of filibuster

• Reconciliation

• Petition that gives a majority of the House of Representatives the authority of Bringing an issue to the floor before further action is taken

• Hold

• procedure by which a senator asks to be Informed before a bill is brought to the floor. This signals there may be an objection to the bill or nomination and should be consulted before further action is taken.

A session in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor is called ______.

• Congressional Review

• Markup

• Impeachment

• Pocket Veto

Match the following terms with their definitions: 1) Impeachment 2) Veto 3) Pocket Veto.

• veto

• Charging the President, VP, or other civil officers, including federal judges, with Treason, Bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. The first step in the constitutional process of removing government officials from office.

• Pocket Veto

• If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, the bill is considered rejected without signature

• impeachment

• Rejecting bills formally