Perjury-lying under an oath The man committed perjury in court after affirming he would tell the truth.

Pork-barrel legislation-laws the congress pass to appropriate money for local federal projects Congress passed a pork-barrel legislation the fixed the roads in our community.

Expressed Powers-enumerated powers Congress has a wide-range of expressed powers within the government.

Necessary and proper clause-elastic clause. last clause of section 8. Implies that Congress has powers beyond those expressed in the first 17 clauses. The Necessary and Proper Clause grants Congress the powers implied in the constitution.

appropriations bill-proposed laws to authorize spending money In most democracies an appropriations bill is necessary for the government to spend money.

Interstate commerce-commerce among states Interstate commerce is regulated by the federal government.

25th amendment-when office of VIP becomes empty, president appoints a replacement The 25th amendment was adopted February 23, 1967

Rider-a provision on a subject other than the one covered by a bill A rider usually has nothing to do with the bill and occurs at the end of a session

Veto-when the president refuses to sign a bill and returns it to Congress including reasons for the action The president prevents legislative bills from becoming laws by exercising the power of veto.

Standing committee-a permanent committee Standing committees are established by the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate rules.

Select committee -a temporary committee Prior to the advent of permanent standing committees in the early 19th century, the House of Representatives relied almost exclusively on select committees to carry out much of its legislative work.

Joint committee-a committee made up of members of both chambers in a bicameral legislature. Most joint committees are standing committees.

Cloture-closes a debate We decided to cloture the discussion.

Ways and means committee-a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Ways and Means are principally provided by the imposition of taxation.

Appropriation-an approval of government spending Appropriation is congressional responsibility.

Lobbying-the work the lobbyist do to persuade officials to support their views Lobbying is done by many different types of people and organized groups.

PAC's-a Political Action Committee (PAC) is a type of organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaign for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. At the federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election.

Concurrent resolution-deals with matters where laws aren't needed Concurrent resolution requires actions of the House and Senate.

Speaker of the house-the presiding officer of the chamber The Speaker is second in the United States presidential line of succession, after the Vice President.

The Great Compromise-an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution. The Great Compromise is also known as the Connecticut Compromise.

The necessary and proper clause-allows congress to make all laws that appear to be necessary and proper The necessary and proper clause is also known as the elastic clause.

Federalism-the system of government under which the national government and local governments share powers Federalism is a system based on democratic rules.

Confederation-a system in which many decisions are made by an external member-state legislation confederations are often created by treaty.

Reserved powers-powers that belong exclusively to the state In the United States, the reserved powers lie with the constituent states.

Concurrent powers-powers shared by the nation and state governments Building roads is an example of a concurrent power.

Judicial review-the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws and executive actions unconstitutional Judicial review is an example of check and balances in a modern governmental system.

Conservative-individuals should be responsible for their own well being and should not rely on government assistance A conservative person is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes, typically in relation to politics.

Liberal-believe that the government should be used to remedy the social and economic injustices of the marketplace, support government regulation of the economy A liberal is a member of the liberal political party.

Political parties-group of people with similar political goals which hopes it influence policy Political parties participate in electoral campaigns and educational outreach or protest actions.

Super Tuesday-many primaries are held on the same Tuesday early in march More delegates can be won on Super Tuesday than on any other single day of the primary calendar.

Electoral college-created by the framers as a mean of insulting the government from whims of a less educated public The United States Electoral College is the institution that officially elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years.

Voting Rights Act of 1965-encourage states to take measures to increase minority representation in congress The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits discrimination in voting.

Earmarks-provisions within legislation that appropriate money to a specific project Typically, a legislator seeks to insert earmarks that direct a specified amount of money to a particular organization or project in their home state or district.

Pocket veto-if a president doesn't sign a bill during the 10 days before a congressional session ends A pocket veto allows a president to exercise a power over a bill by taking no action.

Plea bargaining-an agreement with the prosecution to agree to a less serious crime and sentence A plea bargain allows both parties to avoid a lengthy criminal trial and may allow criminal defendants to avoid the risk of conviction at trial on a more serious charge.

Appellate Jurisdiction- can only decide issues of law, not the facts of a case Most appellate jurisdiction is legislatively created, and may consist of appeals by leave of the appellate court or by right.

Judicial Restraint-when judges are reluctant to overturn the acts of legislature Judicial restraint encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power.

Judicial activist-a judge who has no qualms overturning legislature A judicial activist describes a judge suspected of ruling a case being based on personal or political considerations rather than on existing law.

Writ of certiorari-a legal document used to request the lower court transcripts The Writ of Certiorari is a writ seeking judicial review.

Suffrage-the right to vote gained through the democratic process. Even as the world entered the 21st century, some nations still did not permit women's suffrage.