gov unit 4 part 1 vocal Flashcards
advice and consent
The authority of the U.S. senate to approve or reject a resolution of ratification of any treaty to which the U.S. is a proposed signatory, as well as to evaluate and confirm Presidential nominees to positions in the federal government.
agenda setting
The way the media influences what issues the public considers important enough to address through the government.
Budget Reform and Impoundment Act of 1974
an act designed to reform the budgeting process by making Congress less dependent on the president’s budget, required the president to spend all appropriated funds, unless Congress approved the impoundment
circular v. pyramid model
Pyramid: each assistant reports through their boss up to the chief of staff. Circular: assistants report directly to the President.
Clinton v. Jones
Court ruled that the President is not immune from civil litigation and the judicial process. Furthermore, the court stated that although branches are separate the branches have the right to exercise control over one another.
diplomatic recognition
The formal acknowledgement of a foreign government as legitimate.
divided government
A situation in which one major political party controls the presidency and the other controls the chambers of Congress, or in which one party controls a state governorship and the other controls the state legislature.
electoral college
A unique American institution created by the Constitution that provides for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the state parties.
executive agreements
Agreements between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that do not require Senate approval.
Executive Office of the President
an organization of several agencies staffed by the President’s closest advisors.
executive orders
Regulations originating from the executive branch. Executive orders are one method presidents can use to control the bureaucracy; more often, though, presidents pass along their wishes through their aides.
executive privilege
An implied presidential power that allows the president to refuse to disclose information regarding confidential conversations or national security to Congress or the judiciary.
Gridlock
The inability of the government to act because rival parties control different parts of the government.
impeachment process
Constitutional process for removing executive officers & judges for “treason, high crimes & misdemeanors” (whatever Congress thinks is impeachable). Two stages: (1) House decides to impeach (accuse) target (simple majority); (2) Senate holds trial to convict (2/3 majority).
Impoundment
A decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by Congress, now prohibited under Federal law.
inner cabinet
The heads of the Defense, State, Treasury, and Justice departments
line-item veto
The power possessed by 42 state governors to veto only certain parts of a bill while allowing the rest of it to pass into law.
Nixon v. Fitzgerald
Presidents cannot be sued for damages related to official decisions made while in office.
presidential succession
The order in which officials fill the office of president in case of a vacancy.
The Presidential Character
Book that simplifies presidential characteristics to: active vs. passive inclinations, positive vs. negative points of view.
United States v. Nixon
The 1974 case in which the Supreme Court unanimously held that the doctrine of executive privilege was implicit in the Constitution but could not be extended to protect documents relevant to criminal prosecutions.
War Powers Resolution
A law passed in 1973 in reaction to American fighting in Vietnam and Cambodia that requires presidents to consult with Congress whenever possible prior to using military force and to withdraw forces after 60 days unless Congress declares war or grants an extension. Presidents view the resolution as unconstitutional.
White House Office
Political appointees who work directly for the president, many of whom occupy offices in the White House.
12th Amendment
added the separation of the president and vice president onto two different ballots
22nd Amendment
Passed in 1951, the amendment that limits presidents to two terms of office.
25th Amendment
Passed in 1967, this amendment permits the vice president to become acting president if both the vice president and the president’s cabinet determine that the president is disabled. The amendment also outlines how a recuperated president can reclaim the job.
Parliamentary system
A system of government in which the legislature selects the prime minister or president.
Presidential ticket
The joint listing of the presidential and vice presidential candidates on the same ballot as required by the Twelfth Amendment.
Treaty:
A formal, public agreement between the United States and one or more nations that must be approved by two-thirds of the Senate.
Congressional-executive agreement
A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that requires approval by both houses of Congress.
Veto
The constitutional power of the president to send a bill back to Congress with reasons for rejecting it. A two-thirds vote in each house can override a veto
Pocket veto
A veto taking place when Congress adjourns within ten days of having submitted a bill to the president, who simply lets it die by neither signing nor vetoing it.
Take care clause:
The constitutional requirement that presidents ensure laws are faithfully executed, even if they disagree with the purpose of those laws
Inherent powers
powers not explicitly stated in the Constitution that allows the government to take actions, which are needed to efficiently perform essential duties.
State of the Union Address:
Annual speech delivered by the president in late January or early February in fulfillment of the constitutional obligation of reporting to Congress the state of the union.
Impoundment:
A decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by Congress, now prohibited under Federal law.
Chief of staff
responsible for coordinating the office, is one of the president’s chief advisors
Executive Office of the President
The cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his responsibilities.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
An office that grew out of the Bureau of the Budget, created in 1921, consisting of a handful of political appointees and hundreds of skilled professionals. The OMB performs both managerial and budgetary functions, and although the president is its boss, the director and staff have considerable independence in the budgetary process
Cabinet
a group of presidential advisers not mentioned in the Constitution, although every president has had one. Today the cabinet is composed of 14 secretaries and the attorney general.
Rally point:
A rise in public approval of the president that follows a crisis as Americans “rally ‘round the flag” and the chief executive
Mandate (electoral)
A concept based on the idea that “the people have spoken.” It is a powerful symbol in American electoral politics, according to legitimacy and credibility to a newly elected president’s proposals.
Constituents
Residents of a congressional district or state that vote for politicians to help run the government in their specific state.
Safe seat:
An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of that party’s candidate is almost taken for granted.
Incumbent
Those already holding office. In congressional elections, incumbents usually win.
Speaker
An office mandated by the Constitution. The Speaker is chosen in practice by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed to the presidency should that office become vacant.
Closed rule:
An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of that party’s candidate is almost taken for granted.
Open rule:
procedural rule in the House that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill
President pro tempore:
officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president.
Hold
procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of a bill or nomination.
Filibuster:
A strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation try to talk it to death, based on the tradition of unlimited debate. Today, 60 members present and voting can halt a filibuster.
Cloture:
procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters in the Senate.
Standing committee:
separate subject-matter committees in each house of Congress that handle bulls in different policy areas.
Special or select committee
Congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation.
Joint committee:
Congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses.
Earmarks:
Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents.
Seniority rule:
A simple rule for picking committee chairs, in effect until the 1970s. The member who had served on the committee the longest, and whose party controlled Congress became chair, regardless of party loyalty, mental state, or competence.
Conference committee:
Congressional committees formed when the Senate and House pass a particular bill in different forms. Party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill.
Trustee:
A legislator who uses his or her best judgment to make policy in the interests of the people.
Logrolling
legislator supports a proposal favored by another in return for support in his or hers.
Discharge petition
when the member of the house files to have a bill discharged from being considered by the committee.
Rider:
an amendment to a bill or an amendment to an appropriation bill that changes the permanent law governing a program funded by a bill.
Override
an action taken by congress to reverse the presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds majority in the chamber.
Appropriation
An act of congress that usually funds programs within limits established by authorization bills. Appropriations usually cover one year.
Authorization:
An act of congress that establishes, continues, or changes a discretionary government program or an entitlement. It specifies program goals or maximum expenditures for discretionary programs.
Bicameral
A legislature divided into two houses, The U.S congress and every American state legislature except Nebraska’s are bicameral.
Caucuses:
(congressional) a group of members of congress sharing some interest or characteristic, Most composed of members from both parties and from both houses. (state party) A meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention. Caucuses are usually organized as a pyramid.
Christmas-tree bill
informal nomenclature for a bill on the senate floor attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments.
Committee of the Whole
committee of the house on which all representatives serve and which meets in the house chamber for the consideration of measures for the union calendar.
Easley v. Cromartie
Race should not be a factor in drawing district lines. (i cannot find a clear explanation for this)
elastic clause:The final paragraph of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution which authorizes congress to pass all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers.
germane amendments
When the house changes bills on its floor, which ultimately allows it to be considered.
Incumbency
The holding of an office.
majority leader of the House
he principal partisan ally of the Speaker of the House of the party’s wheel horse in the Senate. The majority leader is responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes on behalf of the party;s legislative positions.
majority leader of the Senate:
The principal partisan ally of the Speaker of the House of the party’s wheel horse in the Senate. The majority leader is responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes on behalf of the party;s legislative positions.
Mal-apportionment
The uneven distribution of population in legislative districts.
marking up:
The bill is formally worded.
minority leader of the House:
The principal leader of the minority party in the house or senate.
minority leader of the Senate:
The principal leader of the minority party in the house or senate.
minority/majority districting
A minority becomes the majority in a district. (Again not sure)
Oversight
The process of monitoring the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, mainly through congressional hearings.
party whips:
Assists the leaders on the floor and monitors the votes that have and have not been made by party members.
Pigeonholing
Chairperson can kill a bill by just ignoring it.
pork barrel legislation
The mighty list of federal projects, grants, and contracts available to cities, businesses, colleges, and institutions available in a congressional district.
president pro tempore
a high ranking senator of the majority party who presides over the US senate in the absence of the vice president.
resolutions
simple: only requires one: Senate or House
Concurrent: requires both Senate and House
Joint: Go through the same process as bills do to become laws.
revenue bills:
Bills dealing with money that start in the House of Representatives.
seniority system:
a system that gives the member of the majority party with the longest uninterrupted service on a particular committee the position of being the head of that committee.
term limits
specific laws that are meant to limit the amount of time an elected person can serve.
votes: teller, voice, division, roll call, electronic:
Teller: a way congress votes in which the members either yell “yeas” or “nays”
Voice: Congress members yell ‘aye” or “no” and that is counted by the speaker
Division: Congress members stand to show their vote, and that is counted.
Roll Call: When a member’s name is called they either say “yea” or nay”
Electronic: The way to record the votes of the congress members (again i dont know).
