Final Exam Flashcards
House of Representatives
the number is based on the population and represents districts. They serve 2 year terms, there are 435 members
Senate
each state has 2 representatives that serve 2 yr terms. Popularly elected since 1913; each member reps the entire state
Three jobs of Congress
1) Legislate, 2) Represent the public, 3) Oversee the executive branch “oversight” of executive - part of checks and balances
Congressional district
an electoral constituency that elects a single member of Congress - based on population and census
Reapportionment
deciding how many votes each state gets; done after the census every 10 years to reallocate number of members of the House to reflect population movement
Malapportionment
if district populations are unequal - the goal is “one person, one vote”
Redistricting
redrawing house district lines so there is an equal number of people in each district
Gerrymandering
drawing districts to maximize the influence of a group or political party
Incumbency advantage
1)Name recognition - incumbents have it, challengers dont, 2) Money - incumbents have it, challengers don’t, 3) Political experience - most challengers have little/no experience - they aren’t good candidates (weak challengers), 4) Incumbents typically do what their constituents want - if they didn’t, we’d kick them out
Racial gerrymandering
drawing district lines to encourage election of racial/ethnic minorities
Minority-majority district
district in which minority groups make up a majority of the population
Descriptive representation
representative shares some characteristic (race, gender, ethnicity)
Substantive representation
representative shares opinions
Why we hate congress but like our MC
Congress doesn’t pass many laws; we see other members representing their district and think that they’re helping “special interests”
Congress moves slowly
MCs fight each other, so Congress looks petty, inefficient, and beholden to special interests
MCs tell us how bad Congress is (and they’re the only ones who protect us from Congress)
Presidents tell us how bad Congress is
Committee
a legislative sub-organization that handles a specific duty, has specialized knowledge
Subcommittee
A subdivision of committees that considers specified matters and reports back to the committee
How a bill becomes a law (big points)
- Members of the House of Senate draft, sponsor, and introduce bills for consideration by Congress.
- A committee is assigned to study the bill according to its subject matter. Sometimes they refer the bill to a subcommittee, which may request reports from government agencies, hold hearings to peak interest in it, mark up or revise the bill. The full committee may make a recommendation to pass or revise it, then relases it or puts it aside.
- The bill is returned to the full House or Senate for further debate and approval. Amendments can be proposed at this time.
- House and Senate members vote.
- Both chambers of Congress must approve the bill. Differences may be resolved, bargaining and negotiation.
- After both chambers approve, the bill goes to the President for signature/approval and becomes Public Law. If he refuses, it is a veto, and the bill may return to Congress for reconsideration. If the president does not act in 10 days, the bill automatically becomes law. If Congress adjourns during the 10 days after the bill goes to the President and he doesn’t sign it, it becomes a pocket veto.
- The Office of Federal Register assignes the Law a number and it becomes a codified law.
Agenda (committee chair controls)
they decide which bills will be acted on and which will not; if the committee chair doesn’t put a bill on the committee’s agenda to work on, it will almost certainly die
Rules committee
a legislative committee responsible for expediting the passage of bills considers all bills reported from policy and fiscal committees and determines whether, and in what order, to schedule their consideration on the floor of the House. The Rules Committee also reviews, adopts and schedules consideration of floor resolutions
Filibuster
senators delay or prevent action on a bill by engaging in unlimited debate
Nuclear option
a parliamentary procedure that allows the United States Senate to override the 60-vote rule to close debate, by a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than the two-thirds supermajority normally required to amend the rules.
Cloture
60 or more senators cut off debate
Conference committee
a parliamentary procedure that allows the United States Senate to override the 60-vote rule to close debate, by a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than the two-thirds supermajority normally required to amend the rules
Roles of the president (see book)
Chief Executive, commander in chief, head of state, chief diplomat, chief legislator, political party leader
Chief executive
implement policy, supervise the executive branch of government, prepare executive budget for submission to congress, and appoint and remove executive officials. The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet
Commander in chief
of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States
Head of state
The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. Embodies the state in its unity
Chief diplomat
the role of the president in recognizing foreign governments, making treaties, and effecting executive agreements. commander in chief
Chief legislator
When Congress does pass bills, the president reviews each bill and decides whether to sign it into law or veto it.
Political party leader
the president is the leader of their political party
Public expectations for presidents
We expect too much from presidents because 1. We learn in school about big things presidents did, 2. We forget about checks and balances, 3. Candidates tell us how much they’ll do. We usually have impossible expectations. When problems get better, we don’t credit the president, we find more problems.
Formal/Constitutional powers
the power to sign or veto legislation, command the armed forces, ask for the written opinion of their Cabinet, convene or adjourn Congress, grant reprieves and pardons, and receive ambassadors.
Veto
⅔ vote can overturn. One of the powers of the President
Head of administration
Chief Executive: The President is head of the executive branch which includes 15 Executive Departments, 96 Executive Agencies. Being chief executive includes many significant powers.
Take care clause
“take care that the laws be faithfully executed” (Constitution). Gives the president the power to issue executive orders
Executive order
presidential proclamation that has the force of law and doesn’t need congressional support. Provides specific directions to an agency. The next president can reverse executive orders
Treaty
a formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries.
Executive agreement
an international agreement, usually regarding routine administrative matters not warranting a formal treaty, made by the executive branch of the US government without ratification by the Senate.
Pardon
the right of the leader of a country to forgive someone for a crime, or to excuse someone from a punishment. In the U.S. Article II of the United States Constitution gives the President the power to pardon people for federal crimes.
Presidential appointments to judicial and executive branches
The Constitution authorizes the president of the United States to appoint individuals to executive and judicial offices with the advice and consent of the Senate. This all-important check upon the president’s power gives the Senate influence over the composition of the executive and judicial branches.
State of the Union
annual message from the president to a joint session of the United States Congress
Power to persuade
Presidential power is not the power to direct but the power to persuade. The president cannot accomplish much by merely issuing orders. By threatening a veto, the President can persuade legislators to alter the content of the bill to be more acceptable to the President.
Different Constituencies
all of the constituents of a representative. Constituents also have the power to remove their representative from the position to which they have appointed him or her. All of the constituents who are registered to vote are called the electorate.
Divided government:
when control of the executive branch and the legislative branch is split between two parties, respectively, and in semi-presidential systems, when the executive branch itself is split between two parties.
Going public
a new style of presidential leadership in which the president sells his programs directly to the American public.
Executive privilege
The president can withhold information from Congress or refuse to appear before Congress or the courts. Some other executive officials also have executive privilege. It protects the president’s ability to get candid advice. It is not absolute; it competes with other legal interests. Courts decide when it exists when it doesn’t. Trump administration had claimed.
Federal court system
3 types of courts - District, Appeals, Supreme
State courts
95-99% of cases appear in state courts
Supreme Court
established in constitution. 9 justices, nominated by president & confirmed by senate, life sentence
Appeals (appellate) courts
167 judges, nominated by president and confirmed by senate, life sentence .13 circuts - also called circuit courts
District courts
700 judges, at least one court per state, nominated by president and confirmed by senate, life sentence. Trial courts, jury decides, one judge per case
Federal question
case deals with the constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States
Judicial review
the power of the judiciary to declare actions or laws of the legislative and executive branches unconstitutional
Original jurisdiction
start in district courts
Writ of certiorari
“cert”: says supreme court will hear the case; 4 justices must agree to hear the case, “rule of four”
Standing to sue
plaintiff must have been harmed or threatened with harm
Justiciable controversy
real and substantial harm, not a hypothetical harm
Legal model
facts + law = decision
Stare decisis:
to stand by things settled, come to same decision as earlier cases that are similar. Other courts must follow supreme court decisions, only the supreme court can overturn precedent
Attitudinal model
facts + law = inconclusive - better than the legal model because other factors must have influence and the courts are political actors
Judicial restraint
court should let elected branches make political decisions, rarely intervene
Judicial activism
court should use powers to check the legislature and president, intervene when their power grows too large
Strict construction/textualist
interpret constitution and other law narrowly, do not go beyond what is written, apply existing law exactly; matters because of Aborition and the right to privacy
Broad construction/modernism
interpret constitution as a living, adapting document, consider the context in which the law is applied; consider the context in which the law is applied; consider “spirit of the law
Roe v. Wade
case on abortion/right to privacy
Filibuster change (nuclear option)
procedure that allows majority party to avoid a filibuster on judicial and executive nominations
