Competency 3.2 - identify the functions of US political institutions, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches

Question 1

unicameral congress

Answer 1

a congress made of one body

Question 2

bicameral congress

Answer 2

a congress split into two bodies that balance and check each other

Question 3

elastic clause

Answer 3

grants implied power to implement the delegated powers

Question 4

impeachment

Answer 4

a formal accusation of wrong-doing and removal from office

Question 5

amendments

Answer 5

changes or additions to the current constitution

Question 6

ratification

Answer 6

formal approval from the states

Question 7

right of habeus corpus

Answer 7

a party under arrest to be brought before the court where authorities must show cause for detainment

Question 8

conference committees

Answer 8

irons out differences between the House and Senate version of a bill before it is sent for presidential approval

Question 9

rules committee

Answer 9

unique to the House of Representatives, this committee acts as a clearing house to weed out bills unworthy of consideration by the full House

Question 10

ways and means committee

Answer 10

a committee that scrutinizes revenue-raising bills before being evaluated by the entire House

Question 11

ex post facto laws

Answer 11

laws that make past actions punishable that were legal when they first occurred

Question 12

filibuster

Answer 12

a delaying tactic that can postpone ant action indefinitely; only allowed in the senate

Question 13

veto

Answer 13

presidential rejection of a proposed bill

Question 14

pocket veto

Answer 14

when the president neither signs nor rejects a bill, and the congress adjourns within ten days of the president’s reciept of the legislation

Question 15

judicial review

Answer 15

power to determine the constitutionality of laws and actions of the legislative and executive branches

Question 16

concurring opinion

Answer 16

an opinion of a justice that agrees with the final ruling, but for a different reason

Question 17

dissenting opinion

Answer 17

an opinion of a justice that disagrees with a final ruling

Question 18

US tax court

Answer 18

handles conflicts between citizens and the internal revenue service (IRS)

Question 19

court of claims

Answer 19

hears cases in which citizens bring suit against the US government

Question 20

interstate commerce commission

Answer 20

monitors surface transportation and some pipelines

Question 21

federal reserve board

Answer 21

supervises the banking system, sets interest rates, and controls the money supply

Question 22

federal trade commission

Answer 22

protects consumers by looking into false advertising and antitrust violations

Question 23

federal communications commission

Answer 23

polices the airwaves by licensing radio and television stations ans regulating cable and telephone companies

Question 24

securities and exchange commission

Answer 24

protects investors by monitoring the sale of stocks and bonds

Question 25

national labor relations board

Answer 25

oversees labor and management practices

Question 26

consumer product safety commission

Answer 26

sets standards of safety for manufactured products

Question 27

nuclear regulatory commission

Answer 27

licenses and inspects nuclear power plants

Question 28

independent executive agencies

Answer 28

another category of the “fourth branch” of government created by congresss with resemblance to the cabinet departments; these powerful entities have top executives appointed by the president (with senate approval)

Question 29

government corporations

Answer 29

commercial enterprises created by congress to perform a variety of necessary services; the United States Postal Service is the largest and most recognized of these

Question 30

spoils system

Answer 30

starting back with Andrew Jackson’s administration, this is the practice of handing out government jobs in return for political favors

Question 31

the civil service act / pendleton act

Answer 31

this act was passed in 1883 in an attempt to reform the spoils system as federal workers were to be recruited on the basis of merit determined by a competitive examination

Question 32

affirmative action

Answer 32

a program to help groups discriminated against in the job market find employment