Exam 3 Flashcards
Define “constituency”
Residents in the area from which an official is elected
Important features of Legislative branch
Bicameral; building blocks are parties and committees
Differences between House and Senate
House (435) is more organized and centralized, which Senate (100) is slower to act and deliberative. House members must become policy specialists, while senators are expected to be generalists.
Term lengths
House: 2 yrs, Senate: 6 yrs, President: 4 yrs, Judges and Justices: life
Define apportionment, redistricting, and gerrymandering
Apportionment- allocates House seats among the 50 states every 10 yrs
Redistricting- redraws boundaries of House districts to reflect population changes
Gerrymandering- districts are shaped to create an advantage for the party controlling the redistricting process
Factors that influence who is elected to Congress
Who- ambition, fundraising
Incumbency- war chest, name recognition, constituent services
House districts- lines are often drawn to crest “safe” districts
Define incumbent and name advantages
Person already holding an office;
Competitive advantages: name recognition, fundraising, media coverage
Advantages of office : free mailing to constituents, providing casework, legislative projects
Congressional committees
Standing- permanent to write legislation
Select- temporary for specific issues
Joint- both House and Senate
Conference- joint to compromise on pieces of legislation
Define filibuster and cloture
A tactic used by members of the Senate to prevent action by holding the floor; ending filibusters by a vote to cut off debate
Constitutional power and process of impeachment
If high officials are thought to have committed “treason, bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” they can be impeached. The House acts as grand jury, and the Senate conducts trial.
Role and duties of VP
Role is electoral. Duties: become president in emergency, rule Senate, tally electoral votes by state electors
Difference eligibility criteria and qualifications
Eligibility criteria: natural born citizen, 35 yo, in U.S. at least 14 years.
Qualifications: older, wealthier, educated, married, religious, and held prior office.
Define mandate
Authority granted by constituency to act as its representatives. Elections won by landslide said to give a mandate to do certain policies.
Marbury vs Madison (1803) and Youngstown vs Sawyer (1952)
Marbury vs. Madison- judicial review, power to review an act of Congress, the president, or a state, and to invalidate that action if the court believes it to violate the Constitution. Youngstown Co. vs. Sawyer limited power of the President to seize private property.
Spoils system
Promising party campaign workers with office-holder positions when they become President begun by Andrew Jackson
Rule of law
All are equal before law, and none are immune from it
Original jurisdiction
Supreme Court authority to hear case for first time given in specific cases
Define certiorari, habeas corpus, and stare decisis
Certiorari- decision of at least 4/9 Supreme Court justices to review a decision of a lower court.
Habeas corpus- a court order that the individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention.
Stare decisis- “let the decision stand,” the use of precedent in a current case, the court is hesitant to overturn precedent.
Chief task of federal bureaucracy
Help President carry out their duties and define what Congress’s policy will mean in practice
Organizational units of federal bureaucracy
Cabinet department- largest subunit in executive branch, and head of each department are secretaries in the President’s cabinet.
Independent agencies- like NASA and the CIA.
Government corporations- like USPS. Independent regulatory commissions- like the FTC.
Define executive agreement and executive order
Executive agreement- unofficial treaty made by President without Senate approval
Executive order- rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect and formal status of legislation
War Powers Act of 1973
Designed to restore role in military policy, limiting the President’s authority over foreign wars
