Exists in a few subject matter areas, such as economy and taxation, and draws membership from both the Senate and the House.
What is Joint Committees?
100
Organize hearings, research legislative options, draft committee reports on bills, write legislation and keep tabs on the executive branch.
What is Committee Staff?
100
goal is VISIBILITY
What is advertising?
100
The principle partisan ally of the Speaker of the House or the party's manager in the Senate. Responsible for scheduling bills in the House and rounding up the votes on behalf of the party’s position on legislation.
What is Majority Leader?
100
Literally talk the bill to death, but isn’t absolute if 60 members vote for cloture on debate.
What is Filibuster?
200
May be temporary or permanent and usually have a focused responsibility. For example, the Watergate investigation.
What is Select Committee?
200
Administered by the Library of Congress, who respond to congressional requests for information and provide members with nonpartisan studies.
What is Congressional Research Service?
200
taking a position on policies
What is Position Taking?
200
Work with the majority leader, who carry the word to party troops; counting votes before they are cast and leaning on waverers who votes are crucial to a bill.
What is Whip?
200
A simple rule for picking committee chairs, in effect until the 1970's. The member who had served on the committee the longest.
What is Seniority System?
300
Formed when the House and Senate pass different versions of the same bill (which they typically do). Appointed by the party leadership, and members of each house work out the differences and report back with the compromise bill.
What is Conference Committees?
300
Spend most on their time on casework, providing services to constituents.
What is Personal Staff?
300
advantages of incumbents scare off potential opponents, and those that do run lack experience, funding and organizational backing.
What is Weak Opponents?
300
poised to take over the Speakership and other key posts if it should win majority in the House.
What is Minority Leader?
300
A group of members of Congress who share some interest or characteristic.
What is Caucus?
400
The most important type of Committee, handling bills in different policy areas.
What is Standing Committee?
400
Focuses on analyzing the presidents budget and making economics projections about the performance of the economy, the costs of proposed policies and the economics effects of taxing and spending alternatives.
What is Congressional Budget Office?
400
servicing the constituency through casework and pork barrel.
What is Credit Claiming?
400
Chief leadership position in the House of Representatives and is the only legislative office mandated by the Constitution. Second in line for the Presidency.
What is the Speaker of the House?
400
A proposed law, drafted in precise, legal language.
What is a Bill?
500
Process of monitoring the bureaucracy and its administration of policies, most of which are established by Congress, mainly through hearings.
What is Legislative Oversight?
500
Helps Congress perform its oversight functions by reviewing activities of the executive branch.
What is Government Accountability Office?
500
Incumbents already have face recognition, and all that matters is how much their opponents spend.
What is Campaign Spending?
500
Speaker of the House appoints todays committee members, reviews most bills before going to the full House.