Chap 4-7 Flashcards
The Powers of Congress
Lawmaking, budgeting, & exercising oversight of fed bureaucracy & other public officials
Legislative Authority: Most important power of congress is ability 2 pass laws in areas of nat policy
legislative checks on executive
- impeach the president (issued by majority vote in the House, 2/3 vote in senate to remove and convict)
- Ratifies treaties with a 2/3 vote in senate
- Override presidential veto with ⅔ vote in each chamber
- Approval of judges, cabinet members, + heads of executive branch offices (majority vote in senate)
- Prez must have majority support of congress 2 pass laws, create + fund programs
leg check on judicial
-determine # of supreme court justices
Pork barrel spending
leg that directs specific funds to projects w/in district states
Logrolling
trading of votes on leg by members of Congress to get their emarks passed by leg
Earmark
allocation of money to specific projects in states or congressional districts
- Popular w/ Senators and representatives who can take credit for bringing the money home
- criticized for putting needs of a few beneficiaries ahead of the nation as a whole
Oversight
congress oversees executive branch ensures that they are acting legally and in accordance w/ nat goals
- authority to ensure that laws are implemented in the way congress intended
- investigate the prez , other members executive branch, bureaucracy, elected/appointed officials for wrongdoing
apportionment
determining the # of reps for each state using census dat
Redistricting:
re-drawing the congressional districts
-done by State legislatures
Gerrymandering
the intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific interest or group of voters ;drawing congressional districts so that someone has an advantage
partisan, racial/ethinic
Majority-minority districts
-district in which voters of a minority ethnicity make up the electoral majority w/in that electoral district
-created by racial/ethnic gerrymandering
(ncrease likelihood of electing members os racial +ethnic minorities as representatives by concentrating voters of minority ethnicity)
Malapportionment
the uneven distribution of the pop among leg districts; UNCONSTITUTIONAL violates that equal protection clause of 14th amendment
Incumbency advantage
advantages held by those already in office
- name recognition: media coverage; franking privileges (mail constituents w/out paying postage)
- credit claiming: claim credit for work they have already done in their position; earmarks
- funding: Political Action Committees (PACs) more likely to fund, already established donor network
- representing “safe” districts: gerrymandered districts that were created for them (advantage 2 repub or dem)
- helped constituents with casework
- weak/fewer opponents
advantages are greater in house of rep than senate
Speaker or the house:
leader of house of rep, chosen in an election by its members; only House Leadership position described in the Constitution; beginning of each new congress (every 2 years) elected; 2nd inline for succession after vice prez
House Majority leader
person 2nd in command of the house of reps
-ensure party unity and discipline; collects info about how individual mems r planning 2 vote, corralling support on key votes + setting party starts in congress
leadership in senate
VP
Senate majority leader
joint committee
members of both house and senate; focus public attention on an issue, gather info for congress, or help party leaders speed things along in leg process
standing committee
consider leg and exercise oversight of bureaucratic agencies, usually recommending funding lvls 2 them; divided into subcommittees
conference committee
temporary joint committee resolving differences between house and senate versions of a bill; required by constitution before prez can sign bill into law
select/special committee:
temporary called upon to investigate issue/response to crisis or scandal
leg process
formal intro–> Referral to committees –> Floor consideration–>Resolution of differences between house and senate bills (conference committee)—> prez action
goes through house of reps and senate!
bills in committee
- most bills die here; may reject bill by vote or table the bill w/ no further action
- info gathered, changes can be made b4 sent 2 floor
Discharge petition:
a motion filed by a mem of congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the House of Reps for a vote
-rarely successful but used to put pressure on committee
what shapes a bill
- congressional staff
- prez: threat of veto
- interest groups
House Rules Committee:
sets rules for debate and vote on house floor (how long the debate will last and whether amendments will be allowed as…)
hold
delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects 2 a bill
Unanimous consent agreement:
agreement in senate that sets the terms for the consideration of a bill
Filibuster:
tactic through which an individual senator may use the rights of an unlimited debate in delay a motion or postpone action on a piece of legislation
Cloture:
end filibuster in senate w/ 60 votes
prez action on bill
sign, veto, or inaction
- doesn’t sign w/in 10days while congress is in session automatically becomes a law
- Veto: reject bill passed by congress, sending it back to the originating branch w/ objections; ⅔ in both chambers can override
Entitlement program
a program that provides benefits for those who qualify under the law, regardless of income; promised benefits 2 those who qualify
ex. social security, medicare…
Mandatory spending:
spending required by existing laws that is locked in budget (entitlement programs)
Budget surplus & deficit
surplus: amount of money remaining when gov takes in more than it spends
Budget deficit: the shortfall when a government takes in less than it spends
National debt:
the total amount of money owed by the federal government (deficits added up over years)
Delegate role:
the idea that the main duty of a member of congress is to carry out the constituents wishes
Trustee role:
the idea that members of congress act as trustees, making decisions based on their knowledge and judgment
Politico role:
representation where members of congress balance their choices with the interest of their constituents and parties making decisions
divided government
control of the presidency and one or both chambers of congress split between the 2 major parties
Lame duck period:
period @ end of prez term when Congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees
prez influence not as strong
roles of prez:
- chief executive:carries out laws of the nation, overseas large and complex system of agencies and bureaucracies
- commander in chief:of army and navy and militia of several states
- leg leader
- party leader
- chief diplomat: guiding foreign policy and interacting w/heads of foreign nations
- Chief of economy: Wrongfully takes credit for good or bad econ when they don’t play much roll in it
- Crisis manager
- Head of state: ceremonial position
Treaty:
agreement w/ forgein gov negotiated by prez and requiring ⅔ vote in senate 2 ratify
(cheif diplomat)
State of union address:
annual prez speech to congress updating branch on state of nat affairs
(cheif leg)
Pocket veto:
informal veto caused when prez chooses not 2 sign a bill w/in 10 days during time when congress has adjourned at the end of session (cheif leg)
Presidential pardon:
prez authority 2 release individuals convicted of crime from legal consequences + set aside punishment for a crime; usually in the final days of office ( cuz controversial)
Executive privilege:
right claimed by Prez to keep certain conversations, records, and transcripts confidential and away from Congress
Executive agreement:
agreement between the Prez and another nation that does not have the same durability, but doesn’t have to be signed by Congress
Signing statements:
written comments issued by Prez while signing a bill into law that usually consists of political statements or reasons for signing the bill, but that may also include the President’s interpretation of the law.
-Can cause concerns about Prez overstepping authority into the lawmaking aspect of Congress
Executive orders:
policy directives issued by Presidents that do not require Congressional approval.
judicial review
Supreme court can overturn executive orders and other prez action that violate const
(judicial check on prez)
War powers resolution (1973):
restricting power of prez to maintain troops in combat for more than 60 days w/out congressional authorization ; limits power of prez as commander in chief
Bully Pulpit:
Presidential appeals to the public to pressure other branches of government to support his or her policies
Going public:
a tactic through which presidents reach out directly to the people, who will, in turn, pressure their elected officials
Federal judiciary:
branch of fed gov that interprets laws of the nation
Supreme court:
highest level of fed judiciary; established in Article 3 of constitution
Original jurisdiction:
authority of a court to act as the first court to hear a case, which includes the finding of facts in the case (aka trial courts); evidence presented here
Appellate jurisdiction:
authority of a court to hear and review decisions made by lower courts in that system; can overturn decisions
Writ of certiorari:
document calling a case up from a lower court to a higher court
Judicial review:
authority of SP to strike down a law or executive action if it conflicts w/ the constitution
organization of fed courts
(upper 2 lower)
SP
Federal court of appeals: review and hear appeals from the federal district court
Federal district courts: these courts usually have original jurisdiction in cases that start at the fed level
Precedent:
judicial decision that guides future courts in handling similar cases
State decisis:
practice of letting a previous legal decision stand; avoid creating new precedent
Judicial restraint:
philosophy of constitutional interpretation that justices should be cautious in overturning laws.
(undemocratic consequences of going against majority + declaring laws unconst is more authoritative if used sparingly + justices are not policy specialists)
Judicial activism:
philosophy of constitutional interpretation that justices should wield the power of judicial review, sometimes creating bold new policies; protects rights of minorities
Fed bureaucracy:
departments & agencies w/in the executive branch that carry our laws of nation; key implementer of policy; main function is implementation; acts as a court to settle disputes between parties
organization of bureaucracy
- cabinet departments: high level; overseeing the bureaucracy; appointed by president
- independent regulatory commissions: responsible for making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest in some sector of the econ and for judging disputes over these rules
- government corporations: (ex. postal service; amtrak)
- the independent executive agencies: (corps social security administration, NASA..)
implementation:
putting into action laws that congress passed (main job of b)
bureaucratic discretion
since policies r vague bureaucrats have some power to decide how a law is implemented
-create new agency or assign new responsibility to old agency, develop guidelines, coordination of resourcesresources
Y bureaucracies fail:
- Bad design
- lack of clarity
- Administrator’s dispositions: if a head doesn’t believe it they won’t enforce it
- lack of resource/ coordination of resources
- fragmentation: responsibility for a policy is spread over so many ppl that accountability is hard
Regulation:
use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector.
critics believe it drives up prices and hurts america’s competitive posittion
Deregulation:
the lifting of government restrictions on business, industry and professional activities.
critics believe it fails 2 protect public (ex. against severe environmental damage)
How can prez control Bureaucracy:
- appoint the right ppl ro head the agency
- executive order
- fire and hire
- budget proposal and approval
- reorganize an agency
How can congress control Bureaucracy:
-Influence appt agency heads (cuz they confirm)
-Alter an agency’s budget
-Hold hearings
-rewrite leg or make it more detailed
(oversight)
iorn triangle
coordinated and mutually beneficial activities od the bureaucracy, congress, and interest to achieve shared policy goals
issue network
webs of influence between interest groups, policymakers, and policy advocates
Marbury v. Madison
- judicial review*
Marbury appointed as judge @ end of prez term; commissions never sent out cuz secretary assumed his successor would but madison was ordered not 2; Marbury ask SP to issue writ of mandamus (order deliv of commission)
Q: dies Marbury have right to his commission & can he sue fed gov? (yes) does sP have authority to order deliv of commissions? (no)
-Sp doesn’t have power to order commissions cuz part of Fed Judicary Act of 1789 was unconst
Baker v. Carr
redistricting
malapportionment in Tennessee (less rep for urban places w/ more pop); voter believed these districts unconst under 14th A: equal protection clause; tennesse argued fed courts lacked authority to decide case cuz it was “political Q”
Q: do fed courts have power to decide causes about the apportionment of pop into state leg districts
fav of Baker:
-fed courts have authority to enforce requirement of EQUAL PROTECTION LAW against state leg; const guarantee of equal protection
Shaw v Reno
racial gerrymandering
in efforts to elect African American person 2 house of reps, N Carolina gerrymandered majority-minority districts; white voter argued redistricting was motivated by racial discrimination
Q: Did claim that N Carolina’s redistricting plan discriminated on basis of raise valid constitutional issue under 14th A: equal protection clause?
fav of shaw:
- 14TH A: EQUAL P CLAUSE
- “classification of citizens predominantly on basis of race are undesirable in free society and conflict w/ American political value of equality “
fed 70
argues for need of energetic singular executive to
energetic executive: UNITY, duration (prez in position 4 long time), adequate provision + support, competent powers
singular> plural:
- more than 1 decreases ability 2 make strong decisive action
- 1 easier for public to keep watch over+ hold executive responsible
- disagreement between more than 1 executive–> division amongst public (easier to keep unity under 1)
fed 78
responds to anti fed concerns arguing judiciary branch would be unlikely to infringe upon rights & libs
- life long appointment and protected salary will eliminate party influence (insulated)
- weakest branch, realises on other branches; serves instead as check on other 2
