EXAM 3 Flashcards
redistributive policies
Programs such as tariffs or tax reforms that produce considerable benefits to some segments of society but high costs to others
iron triangle
The combination of interest group representatives, legislators, and government administrators seen as extremely influential in determining the outcome of political decisions
House-Senate Conference Committee
A joint committee designed to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill
distributive policies
Programs such as water reclamation projects that provide considerable benefits for a few people and relatively small costs for many, usually provoking little opposition
cloture
Rule 22 of the Senate in which discussion on a piece of legislation can be suspended after no more than thirty hours of debate by a vote of sixty members
filibuster
Continuing debate designed to prevent consideration of a particular bill; a technique used in the Senate
unanimous consent agreement
A common mechanism used by the Senate leadership to limit Senate debate.
Executive Calendar
One of two registers of business in the U.S. Senate that contains presidential nominations and treaties
riders
Provisions, usually attached to appropriation bills that “ride” into law on the backs of necessary pieces of legislation with which the president would have to veto an entire bill in order to kill the amendment
Committee of the Whole
A parliamentary device used by the House of Representatives to facilitate floor consideration of a bill? When the House dissolves itself into the Committee of the Whole, it can suspend formal rules and consider a bill with a quorum of 100 rather than the usual 218.
modified rule
Help
closed rule
An order from the House Rules Committee that prohibits amendments to a bill under consideration on the House floor
open rule
An order from the House Rules Committee whereby amendments to a bill are permitted on the floor
Private Calendar
The schedule for House bills that concerns personal rather than general legislative matters
House Calendar
The legislative schedule in the House of Representatives for non-money bills
Union Calendar
The House schedule for the consideration of tax and appropriation bills
mark-up
The process in which a legislative committee sets the precise language and amendments of a bill
legislative assistant (LA)
A congressional aide who analyzes bills, drafts laws, writes speeches, and prepares position papers
administrative assistant (AA)
Top aide to a member of Congress who frequently acts on behalf of the legislator in dealing with staff, colleagues, constituents, and lobbyists
Congressional seniority
Based on a member’s length of continuous service in the Congress, it can affect committee assignments, the amount of office space granted, and even the deference shown a member during floor debate.
standing committees
The permanent committees of Congress that alone can approve legislation and send it to the floor of the House or Senate
minority leader (Senate)
Leader and chief spokesperson for the minority party in the Senate
majority leader (Senate)
Leader and chief spokesperson for the majority party in the Senate
Conference
The Republican leadership committee in the House
president pro tempore
The presiding officer of the Senate in the absence of the vice president?largely honorific post, usually given to the senior majority party member
Speaker of the House
The presiding officer of the House of Representatives, who is selected by the majority party
politico style
A manner of representation in which members of Congress attempt to strike a balance between the interests of their constituents and the dictates of their own judgment and conscience
delegate role
A concept of legislative work as simply voting the desires of one’s constituents, regardless of one’s own personal views
ex post facto law
A law that makes an act a crime after it was committed or increases the punishment for a crime already committed?both prohibited by the Constitution
bill of attainder
A law that punishes an individual and bypasses the procedural safeguards of the legal process, prohibited by the Constitution
necessary and proper clause
Also called the “elastic clause,” Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, this is the source of “implied powers” for the national government, as explained in McCulloch v. Maryland [17 U.S. (4 Wheaton) 316 (1819)].
executive privilege
The right of the president to refuse information requested by Congress and the courts
Prize
The Supreme Court ruled in the ______________________ Cases that Lincoln had acted in a proper constitutional fashion in his conduct of the Civil War.
line-item
The president does not possess an ___________________ veto, allowing him to veto sections of a bill.
executive agreements
Presidents can avoid the need for Senate ratification of treaties by entering into _____________________ ___________________ with foreign governments.
multiple advocacy
George H. W. Bush’s staged policy debates between his advisors is a process known as _________________ ____________________.
Twenty-second
A third presidential term is forbidden by the _________________________ Amendment.
stewardship theory
The broad interpretation of executive power often associated with Theodore Roosevelt is called the ____________________ ______________________.
inner Cabinet
The group of Cabinet members who handle issues of broad importance such as national security, economy, and justice is called the ____________________ ________________.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
A congressional resolution passed in 1964 granting President Johnson the authority to undertake military activities in Southeast Asia
ceremonial
As chief of state, the president performs primarily _______________________ duties.
commander-in-chief clause
Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the clause that names the president as the civilian head of U.S. military forces
Case Act
Requires the secretary of state to submit to the Senate the final text of any executive agreement and allows agreements concerning sensitive national security matters to be submitted privately to the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees.
Presidential Succession Act of 1947
Established the line of presidential succession after the vice president as follows: the Speaker of the House, the president pro tempore of the Senate, and the Cabinet secretaries in the order of the establishment of their departments
executive agreements
Agreements between heads of state that, unlike treaties, do not require approval by the Senate?there are no clear legal distinctions between the substance of a treaty and that of an executive agreement.
Twenty-fifth Amendment
Ratified in 1967, it provides the mechanism for the vice president to assume the presidency in the event of a presidential disability and the selection of a replacement for the vice president should that office become vacant
Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)
Established by the Employment Act of 1946 as a part of the Executive Office of the President, it consists of a chairperson, usually a prominent academic economist, and two other members who have the primary task of analyzing economic issues for the president.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
An agency in the Executive Office of the President that provides the president with budgetary information and advice and is responsible for compiling the president’s annual budget proposal to Congress
National Security Council (NSC)
Designed to provide the president with advice and policy coordination on questions of national security its members include the president, the vice president, the secretaries of state and defense, and any other officials the president may add
Executive Office of the President (EOP)
Created in 1939 to serve as the managerial arm of the presidency, it includes such agencies as the National Security Council, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Council of Economic Advisers.
multiple advocacy
A system of advising the president in which all sides of an issue are presented
inner Cabinet
Cabinet officers whose departments handle issues of broad national importance, including the secretaries of state, defense, and the Treasury, and the attorney general
outer Cabinet
Cabinet officers whose departments deal with sharply defined programs and are subject to considerable pressure from client groups
the administration
The president plus senior officials such as Cabinet officials, undersecretaries, and the administrators and deputies of the various independent agencies
constitutional theory
The concept associated with President William Howard Taft, that the president couldn’t exercise any power unless it is based on a specific constitutional provision or legislative grant
stewardship theory
An expansive theory of presidential power, put forth by Theodore Roosevelt, that holds that the president can undertake any act as long as it is not prohibited by a specific provision of the Constitution or statutory law
Twenty-second Amendment
Ratified in 1951, it limits the president to two terms in office
chief of state
The role the president plays as the ceremonial head of the nation that can also make the president a symbol of national unity during times of crisis
deregulation
Process of reducing the number and scope of government regulations
red tape
Bureaucratic rules and procedures that seem to complicate and delay needed action unnecessarily
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Compilation of U.S. administrative rules currently in effect, classified by agency and subject matter
Federal Register
A daily government publication that contains proposed and final regulations, presidential proclamations, and executive orders
U.S. Code
Compilation of laws currently in effect, classified by subject matter, such as transportation or labor
slip law
The written text of an act of Congress
U.S. Statutes-at-Large
Chronological compilation, by year, of slip laws passed in each session of Congress
quasi-judicial
A function of regulatory agencies in which, like a court, they can make decisions in individual cases
administrative law judge
An officer with relatively independent status in a regulatory agency who presides over and makes findings in judicial proceedings in which the agency’s actions in individual cases are at issue
quasi-legislative
A function of regulatory agencies in which they can make rules that, like legislation, apply to whole classes of people
social regulation
Type of regulation in which a government agency issues rules designed to achieve noneconomic policy goals, such as fair treatment in employment, clean air, or safe workplaces
regulations
Rules devised by government agencies that shape the actions of individuals and groups in order to achieve purposes mandated by law
economic regulation
Type of regulation in which a government agency issues rules that shape the structure of some industry, such as limiting entrance into the broadcast industry, or banning or encouraging certain business practices
iron triangle
The combination of interest group representatives, legislators, and government administrators seen as extremely influential in determining the outcome of political decisions
legislative veto
Congressional power, which the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in 1983, to halt an executive initiative by a vote of one or both houses or by a congressional committee
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Report a problem
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Report a problem
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Created in 1981 as part of the Executive Office of the President? focusing on the formulation, coordination, and implementation of domestic and economic policy and providing staff support for the Economic and Domestic Policy Councils
Merit Systems Protection Board
An agency charged with protecting individual employees against violations of the merit principle or actions taken against whistle-blowers
Senior Executive Service (SES)
Created by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, a class of civil servants drawn from the highest grades and who might be given bonuses, transferred among agencies, or demoted?all depending on the quality of their work
Hatch Act
Legislation that prohibits civil servants from participating in partisan political activity
Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
Legislation designed to improve the level of performance of civil servants by creating incentives for high quality work, protecting whistleblowers, and making it easier to fire inadequate employees
Pendleton Act
Legislation passed in 1883 that created a Civil Service Commission charged with the task of using merit, rather than partisan political connections, as a condition of government employment
spoils system
The practice of making appointments to government jobs on the basis of party loyalty and support in election campaigns
independent regulatory commission
A type of bureaucratic unit organizationally located outside of an executive department, headed by a group of individuals called a commission, and charged with regulating a specific industry or economic practice
government corporation
A type of bureaucratic unit that offers some service for which the benefiting individual or institution must pay directly
independent agency
A type of bureaucratic unit organizationally located outside of an executive department and generally headed by a single individual
bureaucrat
Individuals working in the executive branch of government who have received their positions on the basis of some type of appointment
bureaucracy
An organization that exists to accomplish certain goals or objectives called public purposes and that consists of a group of people hired and arranged in a hierarchy because of specific duties they can perform
An organization that exists to accomplish certain goals or objectives called public purposes and that consists of a group of people hired and arranged in a hierarchy because of specific duties they can perform
bureaucracy
bureaucracy
An organization that exists to accomplish certain goals or objectives called public purposes and that consists of a group of people hired and arranged in a hierarchy because of specific duties they can perform
