Test #3 Flashcards
House requirements
Minimum age of member-25 years U.S. citizenship- At least 7 years Length of term- 2 years Number representing each state- 1 – 53 per state (depends on population) Constituency- Local
Senate requirements
Minimum age of member- 30 years U.S. citizenship- At least 9 years Length of term- 6 years Number representing each state- 2 per state Constituency- Local and statewide
Sociological representation
a type of representation in which representatives have the same racial, gender, ethnic, religious, or educational backgrounds as their constituents.
agency representation
the sort of representation that takes place when constituents have the power to hire and fire their representatives
occupational backgrounds of congress members
legal profession,
Public service or politics,
business and industry
Two factors related to the U.S. electoral system affect who gets elected and what they do once in office
incumbency advantage and the way congressional district lines are drawn
incumbency
holding a political office for which one is running
Members of Congress who run for re-election have a very good chance of winning
Through such services and through regular e-newsletters, the incumbent seeks to establish a “personal” relationship with his constituents.
Incumbency can also help a candidate by scaring off potential challengers
apportionment and redistricting
The process of allocating congressional seats among the 50 states
Every 10 years, state legislatures must redraw election districts and redistribute legislative representatives to reflect population changes or in response to legal challenges to existing districts.
Redistricting can create open seats and pit incumbents of the same party against one another
Redistricting can also give an advantage to one party by clustering voters with certain ideological or sociological characteristics in a single district, or by diluting the influence of voter blocs by separating those voters into two or more districts.
gerrymandering defintion
The manipulation of electoral districts to serve the interests of a particular group
Miller v. Johnson
the Supreme Court limited racial redistricting by ruling that race could not be the predominant factor in creating electoral districts
patronage definition
the resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters
pork barrel legislation (or pork) defintion and earmark
appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created to help local representatives win re-election in their home districts
A common form of pork barreling is the “earmark,” the practice through which members of Congress insert into bills language that provides special benefits for their own constituents
3 ways members of congress represent their district
individual constituents, organized interests, and district as a whole
private bill
a proposal in Congress to provide a specific person with some kind of relief, such as a special exemption from immigration quotas
conference
House Republicans call their gathering
caucus
House Democrats call their gatherings
Speaker of the House,
The elected leader of the majority party
most important party and House leader and can influence the legislative agenda, the fate of individual pieces of legislation, and members’ positions within the House.
majority leader/minority leader
the elected leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate.
whips,
assistants to their party leaders,
responsible for coordinating the party’s legislative strategy, building support for key issues, and counting votes.
Steering and Policy Committee
tasks are to assign new legislators to committees and to deal with the requests of incumbent members for transfers from one committee to another.
president pro tempore
position of primarily ceremonial leadership
designates a member with the greatest seniority
Standing committees
most important arenas of congressional policy making.
permanent committees
power to propose and write legislation
Except for the House Rules Committee, all standing committees receive proposals for legislation and process them into official bills.
based on seniority
Select committees
temporary and normally do not have the power to present legislation to the full Congress, but rather are set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue or address an issue not within the jurisdiction of existing committees
Congressional leaders form select committees when they want to take up issues that fall between the jurisdictions of existing committees, to highlight an issue, or to investigate a particular problem.
House Select Committee also has the power to report legislation and is now permanent.
based on seniority
Joint committees
formed of members of both the Senate and the House.
There are four such committees: economic, taxation, library, and printing.
permanent
do not have the power to report legislation
based on seniority
conference committees
temporary joint committees whose members are appointed by the Speaker of the House and the presiding officer of the Senate.
charged with working out a compromise on legislation that has been passed by the House and the Senate, but in different versions.
based on seniority
staff system
staffers bear the primary responsibility for formulating and drafting proposals, organizing hearings, dealing with administrative agencies, and negotiating with lobbyists.
How a bill becomes a law
it does not become a bill until it is submitted officially by a senator or representative to the clerk of the House or Senate and referred to the appropriate committee for deliberation.
Once debate is concluded on the floor of the House and the Senate, the leaders schedule it for a vote on the floor of each chamber.
Before a bill can be sent to the president, both houses must pass it in the identical form.
filibuster
members of the Senate can prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down
A vote of three-fifths of the Senate is required to end a filibuster
procedure to end a filibuster is called cloture.
veto
the president’s constitutional power to prevent a bill from becoming a law; a presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress
To veto a bill, the president returns it unsigned within 10 days to the house of Congress in which it originated
pocket veto
cannot be overridden; the bill simply dies
interest groups
mobilize constituents, serve as watchdogs on congressional action, and supply candidates with money.
party unity vote
A vote in which half or more of the members of one party take one position while at least half of the members of the other party take the opposing position
roll-call votes
votes in which each legislator’s yes or no vote is recorded as the clerk calls the names of the members alphabetically
Leadership PACs
rganizations that members of Congress use to raise funds that they then distribute to other members of their party running for election
Money from leadership PACs can be directed to the most vulnerable candidates or to candidates who are having trouble raising money.
logrolling
A legislative practice wherein agreements are made between legislators in voting for or against a bill
You support me on bill X, and I’ll support you on bill Y.”
oversight
refers to the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies
appropriations
the amounts of money approved by Congress in statutes (bills) that each unit or agency of government can spend
impeachment
congress’s power
formal charge by the House of Representatives that a government official has committed “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”
If a majority of the House votes to impeach, an impeachment trial is conducted in and by the Senate
two-thirds majority of the Senate
A strict reading of the Constitution suggests that the only impeachable offense is an actual crime.
expressed powers
specific powers granted by the Constitution to Congress
cannot be revoked by the Congress or any other agency without an amendment to the Constitution
power to receive ambassadors and command of the military forces of the United States.
delegated powers
constitutional powers that are assigned to one governmental agency but that are exercised by another agency with the express permission of the first
if Congress determines that air quality should be improved, it might delegate to the executive branch the power to identify the best means of bringing about such an improvement and the power to implement the actual cleanup process.
Expressed powers: military
most important exercised by the chief executive.
makes the president the highest military authority in the United States.
commander in chief
a state legislature (or governor, when the legislature is not in session) must request federal troops before the president can send them into the state to provide public order.
the president may deploy troops in a state or city without a specific request from the state legislature or governor if the president considers it necessary to maintain an essential national service during an emergency,
Expressed powers: judicial
presidential power to grant reprieves, pardons, and amnesty involves the power of life and death over all individuals who may be a threat to the security of the United States
Expressed powers: diplomatic
As head of state, the president has the power to make treaties for the United States (with the advice and consent of the Senate)
executive agreement
exactly like a treaty because it is a contract between two countries that has the force of a treaty, but it does not require the Senate’s “advice and consent.”
Expressed powers: executive
president must see that all the laws are faithfully executed, and Section 2, which provides that the president will appoint, remove, and supervise all executive officers, and appoint all federal judges (with Senate approval).
Expressed powers: legislative
president “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
veto power
legislative initiative
the president’s implied power to bring a legislative agenda before Congress.
executive orders.
a rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect and formal status of legislation except that it is limited to the executive branch.
inherent powers
powers claimed by a president that are not expressed in the Constitution but are inferred from it
cabinet
traditional but informal designation for the heads (secretaries, or chief administrators) of all the major federal government departments.
secretaries are appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate
White house staff
analysts and advisers who are closest to, and most responsive to, the president’s needs and preferences.
Kitchen Cabinet
advisers to whom the president turns for counsel and guidance;
Executive Office of the President (EOP)
permanent agencies that perform defined management tasks for the president.
OMB, the CEA, the NSC, and other agencies
why does the vice president exist
to succeed the president in case of death, resignation, or incapacity; and to preside over the Senate
How presidents expand their power
popular mobilization- use popular appeals to create a mass base of support that will allow them to dominate their political foes, a tactic called “going public.
administration- create new administrative institutions and procedures that will reduce their dependence on Congress and give them a more independent governing and policy-making capability
political party- relied on his own party to implement his legislative agenda.
administrative strategy
First, they have enhanced the reach and power of the EOP. Second, they have sought to increase White House control over the federal bureaucracy. Third, they have expanded the role of executive orders. Fourth, they have made frequent use of signing statements and other instruments of direct presidential governance
signing statements
announcements made by the president when signing bills into law, often presenting the president’s interpretation of the law
criminal law
deal with disputes or actions involving criminal penalties
regulates the conduct of individuals, defines crimes, and specifies punishment for criminal acts.
government charges an individual with violating a statute (a law) that has been enacted to protect the public health, safety, morals, or welfare.
government is always the plaintiff
criminal violation has been committed by a named defendant
civil law
involve disputes among individuals or between individuals and the government that do not involve criminal penalties.
the losers in civil cases cannot be fined or sent to prison, although they may be required to pay monetary damages for their actions
precedents
prior cases whose principles are used by judges as the basis for their decisions in present cases)
stare decisis
“let the decision stand.”
trial court
(the first court to hear a criminal or civil case), in front of a judge and sometimes a jury, who will determine whether the defendant violated state law.
court of appeals
(a court that hears the appeals of trial court decisions)
supreme court
(the highest court in a particular state or in the United States, which primarily serves an appellate function).
plea bargains.
a negotiated agreement in a criminal case in a which a defendant agrees to plead guilty in return for the state’s agreement to reduce the severity of the criminal charge the defendant is facing
due process of law
the right of every citizen against arbitrary action by national or state governments
writ of habeas corpus
a court order that the individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention; habeas corpus is guaranteed by the Constitution and can be suspended only in cases of rebellion or invasion
Original jurisdiction
authority to initially consider a case
(1) cases between the United States and one of the 50 states, (2) cases between two or more states, (3) cases involving foreign ambassadors or other ministers, and (4) cases brought by one state against citizens of another state or against a foreign country.
appellate jurisdiction,
authority to hear appeals from a lower court’s decision.
judges receive cases after the factual record is established by the trial court.
all federal cases.
judicial review
power of the judiciary to review and, if necessary, declare actions of the legislative and executive branches invalid or unconstitutional.
supremacy clause
Article VI of the Constitution, which states that laws passed by the national government and all treaties “shall be the supreme Law of the Land” and superior to all laws adopted by any state or any subdivision
also provides that “the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”
writ of certiorari,
a decision of at least four of the nine Supreme Court justices to review a decision of a lower court;
solicitor general
top government lawyer in all cases before the Supreme Court in which the government is a party
controls the flow of cases by screening them before any agency of the federal government can appeal them to the Supreme Court
can enter a case even when the federal government is not a direct litigant, by writing an amicus curiae
amicus curiae
friend of the court
law clerks
research legal issues and assist with the preparation of opinions.
4 of them
graduates of law schools
dissenting opinion
a decision written by a justice in the minority in a particular case in which the justice wishes to express his or her reasoning in the case)
order of supreme court case
write a brief, oral argument, personal conference, opinion writing
judicial restraint
“strict constructionists,” because they refuse to go beyond the clear words of the Constitution in interpreting the document’s meaning.
judicial activism.
believe that the Court should go beyond the words of the Constitution or a statute to consider the broader societal implications of its decisions
