Question

across

1. a session at which a committee listens to testimony from people
2. an assistant to the party floor leader in the legislature
3. a vote of formal disapproval
4. an interest group is a group of people who share ______ goals
5. to set up new district lines after reapportionment is complete
6. to draw a district’s boundaries to gain an advantage in elections
7. legislative oversight is when the legislative branch reviews the ______ branch
8. a ______ legislature has two houses
9. the majority leader is the speaker’s top ______
10. a complete count of a population
11. pork-barrel legislation appropriates money for local projects to be paid for with ______ money
12. at-large means as a ______

down

1. this takes place after each census
2. a proposed law
3. the president pro tempore is elected by the ______
4. when one party controls the white house and the other controls the house and senate it is referred to as a ______ government
5. a person whom a member of congress has been elected to represent
6. the senate may use a ______ to defeat a bill
7. the yearly financial plan for the federal government is the national ______
8. an elected official who is already in office
9. a ______ may be held before an election to select delegates
10. a meeting
11. a paid representative of an interest group who contacts government officials on behalf of these interest groups
12. the work a lawmaker does to help constituents with problems
13. a legislative veto allows congress to ______ some actions of executive agencies
14. the power of an executive to reject one or more items in a bill without vetoing the entire bill is a line-item ______

Explanation:

This is a crossword puzzle related to political science (a subfield of Social Science), focusing on legislative and governmental terms. To solve, we identify each clue's context:

• Across 4: A session for committee testimony → "hearing" (matches "a session at which a committee listens to testimony from people").
• Across 6: Assistant to party floor leader → "whip" (common term for a party whip, an assistant in legislative leadership).
• Across 7: Formal disapproval vote → "override" (but wait, no—wait, "vote of formal disapproval" could be "nay" but length? Wait, recheck. Wait, "a vote of formal disapproval"—maybe "reject"? No, length. Wait, maybe "nay" is too short. Wait, maybe "override" is for veto, no. Wait, the clue: "a vote of formal disapproval" → "censure"? No, length. Wait, maybe I misread. Let's check other clues.

• Across 11: To set up new district lines after reapportionment → "redistrict" (process of redrawing districts).
• Across 12: Draw district boundaries for advantage → "gerrymander" (term for partisan redistricting).
• Across 17: Legislative oversight reviews the __ branch → "executive" (legislature oversees executive branch).
• Across 19: A __ legislature has two houses → "bicameral" (two - chamber legislature, like US Congress).
• Across 20: Majority Leader is Speaker’s top __ → "assistant" (Majority Leader assists the Speaker).
• Across 23: Complete count of population → "census" (official population count).
• Across 24: Pork - barrel legislation funds local projects with __ money → "federal" (pork - barrel uses federal funds for local projects).
• Across 25: At - large means as a __ → "whole" (at - large representation is for the whole district/area).

• Down 1: Takes place after each census → "redistricting" (matches "this takes place after each census").
• Down 2: Proposed law → "bill" (a bill is a proposed law).
• Down 5: When one party controls White House and other controls House/Senate → "divided" (divided government).
• Down 8: A person elected to Congress to represent → "representative" (member of Congress representing a district).
• Down 9: Senate may use a __ to defeat a bill → "filibuster" (Senate filibuster to stop a bill).
• Down 10: Yearly financial plan for federal government → "budget" (federal budget is annual financial plan).
• Down 13: Elected official already in office → "incumbent" (incumbent is a current officeholder).
• Down 14: __ may be held before election to select delegates → "caucus" (caucus is a meeting to select delegates).
• Down 15: A meeting → "session" (a legislative session or meeting).
• Down 16: Paid representative of interest group → "lobbyist" (lobbyist represents interest groups to government).
• Down 18: Lawmaker helps constituents with problems → "casework" (legislative casework for constituents).
• Down 21: Legislative veto allows Congress to __ executive agency actions → "overturn" (legislative veto (now unconstitutional) was to overturn executive actions).
• Down 22: Executive power to reject bill items → "line - item" (line - item veto, though US President no longer has it, was the power to reject parts of a bill).

For example, solving "Down 2": The clue is "a proposed law", and the answer is "bill" as a bill is a draft of a proposed law that is under consideration by a legislature.

Answer:

Here are some solved answers (example - focused on a few clear ones):

• Down 2: bill
• Across 23: census
• Across 11: redistrict
• Across 19: bicameral
• Across 17: executive