Ch 3 - Federalism

Question 1

block grants

Answer 1

federal grants that allow states considerable leeway or discretion in how the funds should be spent

Question 2

categorical grants

Answer 2

congressional grants given to states and localities on the condition that expenditures be limited to a problem or group specified by law

Question 3

commerce clause

Answer 3

Article I, Section 8 of the constitution, which delegates to Congress the power “to regulate commerce within foreign Nations, and among the several States and with the Indian Tribes.” The Supreme court interpreted this clause inf avor of national power over the economy

Question 4

concurrent powers

Answer 4

powers exercised by both the federal and the state governments

Question 5

cooperative federalism

Answer 5

federalism existing since the New Deal era in which grants-in-aid have been used strategically to encourage states and localities to pursue nationally deifined goals, which national and state governments sharing powers and resources via intergovernmental cooperation

Question 6

devolution

Answer 6

a policy to remove a program from one level of government by delegating it or passing it down to a lower level of government, such as form the national government to state and local governments

Question 7

dual federalism

Answer 7

the system of government that prevailed in the United States

Question 8

expressed powers

Answer 8

specific powers granted to Congress in the Constitution

Question 9

federalism

Answer 9

a system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between the central (national) government and regional (state) governments

Question 10

full faith and credit clause

Answer 10

provision from Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitutions requiring that the states normally honor the public acts and judicial decisions that take place in another state

Question 11

general revenue sharing

Answer 11

the process by which one unit of government yields a portion of its tax income to another unit government, according to an established formula. Revenue sharing typically involves the national govenrnment providing money to state governments

Question 12

grants-in-aid

Answer 12

programs through which Congress provides money to state and local governments on the condition that the funds be employed for purposes defined by the federal government

Question 13

home rule

Answer 13

power delegated by the state to a local unit of government to manage its own affairs

Question 14

implied powers

Answer 14

powers derived from the necessary and proper clause of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution. Such powers are not specifically expressed, but are implied through the expansive interpretation of delegated powers

Question 15

necessary and proper clause

Answer 15

provision from Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution providing Congress with the authority to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out its expressed powers

Question 16

New Federalism

Answer 16

policy of Presidents Nixon and Reagan to return power to the states through block grants

Question 17

police power

Answer 17

power reserved to the government to regulate the health, safety and morals of its citizens

Question 18

preemption

Answer 18

the principle that allows the national government to override state or local actions in certain policy areas

Question 19

privilages and immunities

Answer 19

provision from Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution that citizens of one state should be entitled to similar treatment in other states

Question 20

police power

Answer 20

power reserved to the government ot regulate the health, safety, and morals of its citizens

Question 21

reserved powers

Answer 21

the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution which aims to reserve powers to the states

Question 22

states’ rights

Answer 22

the principle that the states should oppose the increasing authority of the national government. This principle was most popular in the period before the Civil War

Question 23

unfunded mandates

Answer 23

regulations or conditions for receiving grants that impose costs on state and local governments for which they are not reimbursed by the federal government

Question 24

unitary system

Answer 24

a governing system that gives most power to the federal or national government