ESL Vocabulary – Government: The Governing Process (list, definitions, sample sentences, and review worksheet)

VOCAB LIST: The Governing Process

majority party – the political party with the most members in a government

minority party – a political party other than the majority party

• • In the recent elections, the Democrats became the majority party in Congress, and the Republicans are now the minority party.

propose – to suggest; to put out an idea (for a law, rule, etc.)

bill – a law that has been proposed but has not been approved yet

• • Senator Smith wrote a bill proposing that we lower the income tax rate for all citizens. Since Senator Smith is in the minority party, this bill is not expected to pass.

committee – a group of people (in the legislature) who work on specific issues and sometimes write reports or propose laws

• • After spending months analyzing the government’s budget, the Finance Committee proposed some spending cuts this week.

alliance – an agreement between people or groups to work together for the same goal

• • Two minority parties formed an alliance to prevent the majority party from achieving its goals.

negotiate – to talk or discuss an issue in order to reach an agreement

• • After weeks of negotiations, the majority party and the minority party reached an agreement.

institute (v.) – to establish or set up (a law, policy, etc.)

policy – an official plan for how a person/group/government behaves

• • Congress instituted a new policy that requires every member to vote on a bill.

corruption – dishonesty or illegal behavior by people in power

• • Many people no longer trust the government due to the rampant corruption that has occurred in recent years.
  • Governor Ryan was found guilty of corruption because he took money from his brother’s oil company and then proposed a new energy policy that would help his brother’s company.

revolutionize – to cause very big changes

• • The internet revolutionized how we communicate with people.
  • This new health care bill will revolutionize the health care system in this country.

rights – benefits that are guaranteed to people by a law, constitution, policy, etc.

privileges – special benefits that are only available to certain people

• • Everyone in this country has the right to free speech. However, not everyone has the right to drive a car. You must first get a driver’s license, and this license can be taken away. So driving is a privilege, not a right.