Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation

American GovernmentSocial Studies Department

Kathleen High SchoolLakeland, Florida

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation

• The following key vocabulary words are those which are associated with

your current learning and tied to the specific bench marks and standards

which are aligned with the State Department of Education here in Florida.

These individual words will also provide you with in depth knowledge to

allow you to better understand the unit which we are currently discussing. I

highly advise you to take these words seriously and for you to give your

very best on each and every one of your vocabulary tests that you take.

Finally, these individual vocabulary words will offer you vital connection as

well as serve as direct linkage towards preparing you to answer key

content questions directly connected and associated with the American

Government End of the Year Exam which you must successfully master

and pass.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Bicameral: Composed of or based on two legislative chambers or branches: a bicameral

legislature.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Article I: The agreement made by the original 13 states in 1777 establishing a

confederacy to be known as the United States of America; replaced by the Constitution of 1788.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• House of Representative: The lower house of the United States Congress. With 435

popularly elected officials, the House (as it is often called) is the most representative body in the federal government. House seats are apportioned (see apportionment) relative to each state's population.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Senate: Is a legislative chamber in the bicameral legislature of the United States,

and together with the U.S. House of Representatives makes up the U.S. Congress.

First convened in 1789, the composition and powers of the Senate are established in

Article One of the U.S. Constitution.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Delegated Powers: Also called the Enumerated Powers, are the powers of Congress

established in section eight of Article I of the US Constitution. There are nineteen such powers.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Enumerated Powers: Are powers given to the federal government by the terms of the

U.S. Constitution. The question whether the Constitution also should be understood to give the federal government unenumerated powers was the central issue in nineteenth century constitutional disputations.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Armed Forces: A country's military forces, especially its army, navy, and air force.

Covers all persons who fight on behalf of a party to a conflict and who subordinate themselves to its command.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Coin & Print Money: The power of Congress too coin money is exclusive: under Article

I, Section 10, the states are not permitted to "coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; [or] make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts...." Whereas the prohibitions on the states are clear and detailed, Congress's grant of power under the Coinage Clause is open-ended.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Declare War: To make a formal pronouncement, or sign a legal document, that initiates

a state of war between one nation and another, usually before hostilities begin.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Foreign Relations: Is the management of relationships and dealings between two

countries. Any results of foreign policy dealings and decisions can be considered foreign relations.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Naturalization Laws: The process under federal law whereby a foreign-born person

may be granted citizenship. In order to qualify for naturalization, an applicant must meet a number of statutory requirements, including those related to residency, literacy, and education, as well as an exhibition of "good moral character" and a demonstration of an attachment to constitutional principles upon which the United States is based.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Regulation of Immigration: Refers to national government policies control the

phenomenon of immigration and deportation to their legal status of people, in matters such as citizenship. Immigration laws vary from country to country, as well as according to the political climate of the times, as sentiments may sway from the widely inclusive to the deeply exclusive of new immigrants.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Regulation of Trade: Is a field of law, often bracketed with antitrust (as in the phrase

“antitrust and trade regulation law”), including government regulation of unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive business acts or practices. Antitrust law is often considered a subset of trade regulation law.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Implied Powers: In the United States, are those powers authorized by a document

(from the Constitution) that, while not stated, seem to be implied by powers expressly stated.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• “Necessary & Proper” Clause: The Congress shall have Power To ...make all Laws which

shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• “Elastic” Clause: A statement in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8) granting

Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Impeachment: Is a verb that means to bring an accusation against. Impeach means to

charge someone with doing something wrong, specifically a high government official, such as the US president, a senator, or a Federal judge.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Electoral College: (In the US) a body of people representing the states of the US, who

formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Advice & Consent: Is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills

and in other legal or constitutional contexts, describing a situation in which the executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Treaty: A formal agreement between two or more states in reference to peace,

alliance, commerce, or other international relations.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Presidential Appointments: Is one to a position in the judicial branch, the presidential

Cabinet, or in any federal agency within the behemoth that is our bureaucracy. Many appointees undergo a nomination process where they are either confirmed or rejected by the United State Senate. There are several thousand other appointments to other positions as members of boards and heads of agencies which do not require confirmation. Those which require confirmation by the Senate are designated in the Constitution or in legislation which establishes the position involved. Military commissions require confirmation, as well.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Confirmation: The action of confirming something or the state of being confirmed.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Oversight & Investigative Powers: Refers to the review, monitoring, and supervision of

federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation. Congress exercises this power largely through its congressional committee system.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Speaker of the House: The presiding officer of the United States House of

Representatives. The Speaker, a member of the House, is elected by a majority party caucus.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• President pro tempore of the Senate: A high-ranking senator of the majority party who

presides over the US Senate in the absence of the vice president.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Majority Leader: The head of the majority party in a legislative body, especially the US

Senate or House of Representatives.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Minority Leader: The head of the minority party in a legislative body, especially the US

Senate or House of Representatives.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• “State of the Union” Address: An annual message delivered to Congress by the

president of the United States, in which he describes the condition of the country, outlines the nation's most serious problems, and proposes his annual program of legislation.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Standing Committee: (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a permanent committee

appointed to deal with a specified subject.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Special Committee: Is a congressional committee appointed to perform a special

function that is beyond the authority or capacity of a standing committee.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Bill: A draft of a proposed law presented to congress/parliament for discussion.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Committee Stage: The stage between the second and third reading of a bill in the

Houses of Parliament. At this stage the bill is closely examined by a small committee of MPs.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Pigeonhole: To unfairly think of or describe (someone or something) as belonging to a

particular group, having only a particular skill, etc.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Filibuster: A strategy employed in the United States Senate, whereby a minority can

delay a vote on proposed legislation by making long speeches or introducing irrelevant issues.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Veto: The power of a president or governor to reject a bill proposed by a legislature by

refusing to sign it into law. The president or governor actually writes the word veto (Latin for “I forbid”) on the bill and sends it back to the legislature with a statement of his or her objections.

Congress: Our Législative Branch Vocabulary Word Présentation• Pocket Veto: An automatic veto of a bill that occurs if the president or governor

neither signs nor vetoes a bill within ten days of receiving it — as long as the legislature adjourns during that period.