Chapter 13

Question 1

political caucus

Answer 1

a normally closed political party business meeting of citizens or law makers to select candidates, elect officers, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters.

Question 2

expressed powers

Answer 2

specific powers granted by the Constitution to Congress (Article I, Section 8) and to the president (Article II).

Question 3

delegated powers

Answer 3

constitutional powers that are assigned to one governmental agency but that are exercised by another agency with the express permission of the first.

Question 4

inherent powers

Answer 4

powers claimed by a president that are not expressed in the Constitution but are inferred from it.

Question 5

commander in chief

Answer 5

the role of the president as leader of the national military and the state National Guard units (when called into service).

Question 6

War Powers Resolution

Answer 6

a resolution of Congress that the president can send troops into action abroad only by authorization of Congress, or if American troops are already under attack or serious threat.

Question 7

executive agreement

Answer 7

a consensus made between the president and another country, that has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senate’s “advice and consent.”

Question 8

executive privilege

Answer 8

the claim that confidential communications between a president and close advisers should not be revealed without the consent of the president.

Question 9

veto

Answer 9

the president’s constitutional power to turn down acts of Congress. A presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress.

Question 10

pocket veto

Answer 10

a presidential veto that is automatically triggered if the president does not act on a given piece of legislation passed during the final 10 days of a legislative session.

Question 11

legislative initiative

Answer 11

the president’s inherent power to bring a legislative agenda before Congress.

Question 12

executive order

Answer 12

a rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect and formal status of legislation.

Question 13

cabinet

Answer 13

the secretaries, or chief administrators, of the major departments of the federal government.

Question 14

National Security Council

Answer 14

a presidential foreign policy advisory conference composed of the president, the vice president, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, and other officials invited by the president.

Question 15

White House staff

Answer 15

analysts and advisers to the president, each of whom is often given the title “special assistant.”

Question 16

Kitchen Cabinet

Answer 16

an informal group of advisers to whom the president turns for counsel and guidance.

Question 17

Executive Office of the President

Answer 17

the permanent agencies that perform defined management tasks for the president.

Question 18

signing statements

Answer 18

announcements made by the president when making bills into law, often presenting the president’s interpretation of the law.