| reapportionment | reallocation of seats in the House of Representatives to each state based on changes in the state's population since the last census
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| redistricting | redrawing of congressional district boundaries within each state, based on the reapportionment from the census
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| gerrymandering | the drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit an incumbent, a political party, or another group
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| majority-minority district | a legislative district composed of a majority of a given minority community—say, African Americans—the intent of which is to make it likely that a member of that minority will be elected to Congress
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| trustee model | a model of representation in which a member of the House or Senate follows his or her own conscience when deciding issue positions
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| instructed delegate model | a model of representation in which legislators, as representatives of their constituents, should vote in keeping with the constituents' views, even if those views contradict the legislator's personal views
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| pork barrel | legislators' appropriations of funds for special projects located within their congressional district
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| earmark | a designation within a spending bill that provides for a specific expenditure
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| casework | personal work by a member of Congress on behalf of a constituent or a group of constituents, typically aimed at getting the government to do something the constituent wants done
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| ombudsperson | a role in which an elected or appointed leader acts as an advocate for citizens by listening to and investigating complaints against a government agency
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| oversight | the process by which the legislative branch "checks" the executive branch to ensure that the laws Congress has passed are being administered in keeping with legislators' intent
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| agenda setting | determination by Congress of which public issues the government should consider for legislation
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| bill | a proposed piece of legislation
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| hopper | a wooden box that sits on a desk at the front of the House of Representatives, into which House members place bills they want to introduce
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| joint referral | the practice, abolished in the 104th Congress, by which a bill could be referred to two different committees for consideration
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| lead committee | the primary committee considering a bill
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| seniority system | the system in which the member with the longest continuous tenure on a standing committee is given preference when the committee chooses its chair
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| standing committee | permanent committee in Congress, with a defined legislative jurisdiction
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| select committee | congressional committee created to consider specific policy issues or address a specific concern
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| joint committee | bicameral committee composed of members of both chambers of Congress
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| subcommittee | a subordinate committee in Congress that typically handles specific areas of a standing committee's jurisdiction
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| agency review | part of the committee or subcommittee process of considering a bill, in which committee members ask executive agencies that would administer the law for written comments on the measure
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| hearings | sessions held by committees or subcommittees to gather information and views from experts
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| markup | the process by which members of legislative committees "mark up" a bill with suggested language for changes and amendments
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| report | a legislative committee's explanation to the full chamber of a bill and its intent
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| discharge petition | a special tactic used to extract a bill from a committee to have it considered by the entire House
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| Rules Committee | one of the most important committees in the House, which decides the length of debate and the scope of amendments that will be allowed on a bill
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| unanimous consent | an agreement by every senator to the terms of debate on a given piece of legislation
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| filibuster | a procedural move by a member of the Senate to attempt to halt passage of or change a bill, during which the senator can speak for an unlimited time on the Senate floor
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| cloture | a procedural move in which a supermajority of sixty senators agrees to end a filibuster
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| conference committee | a bicameral, bipartisan committee composed of legislators whose job is to reconcile two versions of a bill
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| pocket veto | a special presidential veto of a bill passed at the conclusion of a legislative session, whereby the president waits ten days without signing the bill, and the bill dies
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| Speaker of the House | the leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by the majority party
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| House majority leader | the leader of the majority party, who helps the Speaker develop and implement strategy and works with other members of the House of Representatives
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| majority whip | a go-between with the majority leadership and party members in the House of Representatives
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| House minority leader | the leader of the minority party, whose job mirrors that of the majority leader but without the power that comes from holding a majority in the House of Representatives
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| minority whip | go-between with the minority leadership, whose job mirrors that of the majority whip but without the power that comes from holding a majority in the House of Representatives
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| president pro tempore | (also called president pro tem) theoretically, the chair of the Senate in the vice president's absence; in reality, an honorary title, with the senator of the majority party having the longest record of continuous service being elected to the position
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| Senate majority leader | the most powerful position in the Senate; the majority leader manages the legislative process and schedules debate on legislation
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| Senate minority leader | the leader of the minority party in the Senate, who works with the majority leader in negotiating legislation
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| logrolling | the practice in which members of Congress agree to vote for a bill in exchange for their colleague's vote on another bill
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| attentive public | the segment of voters who pay careful attention to political issues
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