| Casework | | The privilege of sending mail free of charge by members of Congress |
| Cloture | | The redrawing of congressional district boundaries within each state, based on the reapportionment from the census |
| Conference committee | | A permanent committee in Congress, with a defined legislative jurisdiction |
| Discharge petition | | The most powerful position in the Senate; the majortity leader manages the legislative process and schedules debate on legislation |
| Earmark | | personal work by a member of Congress on behalf of a constituent or group of constituents, typically aimed at getting the government to do something the constituent wants done |
| Filibuster | | The practice of members of Congress agreeing to vote for a bill in exchange for their colleague’s vote on another bill |
| Franking | | a procedural move in which a supermajority of 60 senators agrees to end a filibuster |
| Gerrymandering | | The leader of the minority party in the Senate, who works with the majority leader in negotiating legislation |
| Joint committee | | A designation within a spending bill that provides for a specific expenditure |
| Logrolling | | 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 |
| Majority whip | | A bicameral committee composed of members both chambers of Congress |
| Minority whip | | A bicameral, bipartisan committee composed of legislators whose job is to reconcile two versions of a bill |
| Oversite/Oversight | | The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit an incumbent, a political party, or another group |
| Pocket veto | | Reallocation of seats in the House of Representatives to each state based on changes in state populations since the last census |
| Pork barrel | | A congressional committee created to consider specific policy issues or address a specific concern |
| President pro tempore | | The go-between with the majority leadership and party members in the House of Representatives |
| Reapportionment | | Legislators’ appropriations of funds for special projects located within their congressional districts |
| Redistricting | | A subordinate committee in Congress that typically handles specific areas of a standing committee’s jurisdiction |
| Rules committee | | A special presidential veto of a bill passed at the conclusion of a legislative session, whereby the president waits 10 days without signing the bill, and the bill dies |
| Select committee | | One of the most important committees in the House, which decided the length of debate and the scope of amendments that will be allowed on a bill |
| Senate majority leader | | A model of representation in which a member of the House or the Senate follows his or her own conscience when deciding issue positions |
| Senate minority leader | | The leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by the majority party |
| Speaker of the House | | A special tactic used to extract a bill from a committee to have it considered by the entire House |
| Standing committee | | 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 |
| Subcommittee | | A procedural move by a member of the Senate to attempt to halt passage of a bill, during which the senator can speak for unlimited time on the Senate floor |
| Trustee model | | The 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 |
