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Survey of the United States Constitution and Government- C181 > Ch 11-13 Definitions > Flashcards

Ch 11-13 Definitions Flashcards

1
Q

Reapportionment

A

Redistribution of representatives among the states, based on population change. The house is reapportioned after each census

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2
Q

Impeachment

A

The formal charging of a government official with treason, bribery, or other crimes

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3
Q

Casework

A

Solving problems for constituents, especially problems involving government agencies

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4
Q

Descriptive Representation

A

A belief that constituents are most effectively represented by legislators who are similar to them in key demographic characteristics such as race, ethnic city, religion or gender

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5
Q

Racial Gerrymandering

A

The drawing of legislative districts to maximize the chance that a minority candidate will win the election.

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6
Q

Congressional Committees

A
  • Standing-A permanent congressional committee that specializes in a particular policy area
  • Joint-A committee it made up of members of both the House and the Senate
  • Select-A temporary congressional committee created for a specific purpose and disbanded after the purpose is fulfilled
  • Conference-A temporary committee created to work out differences between House and Senate versions of a specific piece of legislation
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7
Q

Seniority

A

Years of consecutive service on a particular congressional committee

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8
Q

Oversight

A

The process of reviewing the operations of an agency to determine whether it is caring out policies as Congress intended

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9
Q

Speaker of the House

A

The presiding officer of the House of Representatives

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10
Q

Majority Leader

A

The head of the majority party in the Senate: second highest ranking member of the majority party in the House

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11
Q

Filibuster

A

A delaying tactic, used in the Senate, that involves speechmaking to prevent action on a piece of legislation

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12
Q

Cloture

A

The mechanism by which a filibuster is cut off in the Senate. Takes a vote of 62 invoke.

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13
Q

Hold

A

A letter requesting that a bill be held from floor debate

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14
Q

Bipartisanship

A

Agreement or cooperation between two political parties that usually oppose each other’s policies

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15
Q

Constituents

A

People who live and vote in a government officials district or state

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16
Q

Trustees

A

A representative who is obligated to consider the views of constituents but is not obligated to vote according to those views if he or she believes they are misguided

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17
Q

Delegates

A

A legislator whose primary responsibility is to represent the majority view of his or her constituents, regardless of his or her own view

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18
Q

Parliamentary System

A

The chief executive is the leader who’s party holds the most seats in the legislature after an election or who’s party forms a major part of the ruling collation

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19
Q

Earmarks

A

Federal funds appropriated by Congress for the use on the local projects (banned)

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20
Q

Congress

A

The Legislative Branch (makes laws), and is federal, and bicameral (2 Chambers) which are the House of Representatives and the Senate.

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21
Q

Partisanship

A

A supporter of a person, group, party, or cause, especially person who shows a biased, emotional allegiance

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22
Q

Homogeneous

A

Of the same kind: alike

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23
Q

Formal powers granted to the president in article 2 of the US Constitution

A

Serve as an administrative head of the nation. Act as commander-in-chief of the military. Veto legislation. Appoint various officials. Make treaties.

24
Q

Inherent Powers

A

Authority claimed by the president that is not clearly specified in the Constitution. Typically, these powers are inferred from the Constitution. I.e. executive order

25
Executive Orders
Presidential directives that create or modify laws and public policy without the direct approval of Congress, to take action or stop an activity
26
Unitary Executive
A belief that the presidents inherent powers allow him to overrule congressional grants of independence authority to agencies
27
Delegation of Powers
Congress gives the executive branch the additional authority needed to address new problems
28
Executive Office of the President (EOP)
The presidents executive aids and their staffs: the extended White House executive establishment. Consists of the Cabinet and immediate staff of the president, as well as multiple levels of support staff, all headed by the White House Chief of Staff
29
The Cabinet
A group of presidential advisers: the heads of the executive departments and other key officials. Includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments (defense, education, energy, treasury, transportation, etc.…)
30
Divided Government
The situation in which one party controls the White House and the other controls at least one house of Congress
31
Gridlock
A situation in which government is incapable of acting on important issues
32
Electoral Mandate
An endorsement by voters. Presidents sometimes argue they have been given a mandate to carry out policy proposals
33
Legislative Liaison Staff
Those people who act as a communication link between the White House and Congress, advising the president or cabinet secretaries on pending legislation status
34
Statutory Authority
Authority that comes from congressional statutes
35
Congressional Statute
A congressional bill that has become law
36
War Powers Resolution
Allows the president to go to war for 60 days without congressional approval
37
Bureaucracy
A large, complex organization in which employees have specific job responsibilities and work within a hierarchy of authority. Provide enforcement, administration, and implementation of all federal laws and rights
38
Bureaucrats
Employees of a bureaucracy, usually meaning a government bureaucracy.
39
Departments
The largest units of the executive branch, covering broad areas of government responsibility. Heads of the departments, or secretaries, from the presidents cabinet. -State, Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Justice, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Home and Security
40
Independent Agencies
Executive agencies that are not part of a cabinet departments (i.e. the CIA)
41
Regulatory Commissions
Agencies of the executive branch of government that control/direct some aspect of the economy, such as the Federal Communications Commission
42
Government Corporations
Government agencies that perform what might be provided by the private sector that involve insufficient financial incentive or are better provided when they are somehow linked with government, such as the Postal Service
43
Civil Service
The system by which most appointments to the federal bureaucracy are made, to ensure that government jobs are filled on the basis of merit and employees aren't fired for political reasons
44
Pendleton Act 1883
Established the Civil Service Commission, now the Office of Personal Management, to remove the practice of filling government positions with the presidents political allies
45
Administrative Discretion
The latitude that Congress gives agencies to make policy in the spirit of their legislative mandate
46
Rule Making
The administrative process that results in the issuance of regulations by government agencies
47
Regulations
Administrative rules that guide of the operation of a government program
48
Incrementalism
Policymaking characterized by a series of decisions, each instituting modest change
49
Norms
And organizations informal, unwritten rules that guide individual behavior
50
Implementation
The process of putting specific policies into operation
51
Regulation
Government intervention in a business market to promote some socially desirable
52
Deregulation
Bureaucratic reform by which the government reduces its role as a regulator of business
53
Competition and Outsourcing
Procedures that allow private contractors to bid for jobs previously held exclusively by government employees
54
Government Performance and Results Act
A law requiring each government agency to implement quantifiable standards to measure its performance in meeting stated program goals
55
Administrative Procedures Act
Structures the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations: -published notice in the Federal Register with time for citizen comment

Survey of the United States Constitution and Government- C181 (13 decks)

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