Unit 4 Assignment Study Guide Graded A+

Seniority System {Ans: a simple rule for picking committee chairs, in effect until the 1970's; the member who had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled the chamber became chair, regardless of party loyalty, mental state, or competence}Select Committees {Ans: congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation}Joint Committees {Ans: congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses}Casework {Ans: activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals, particularly by cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get}Bill {Ans: a proposed law, drafted in legal language; anyone can draft a bill, but only a member of the H.O.R. or the Senate can formally submit a bill for consideration}Filibuster {Ans: a strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation use their right to unlimited debate to prevent the Senate from ever voting on a bill; signaled by a hold60 members present and voting can halt a filibuster}Standing Committees {Ans: separate subject-matter committees in each house of Congress that handle bills in different policy areas}Speaker of the House