Unit 2

Question 1

Pork Barrel

Answer 1

Federal projects, grants, and contracts available to state and local governments, businesses, colleges, and other institutions in a congress district

Question 2

Caucus

Answer 2

A group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic. Many are composed of members from both parties and from both houses.

Question 3

House Rules Committee

Answer 3

Committee of the US house of representatives that is responsible for the rules under which bills will be presented to the house of representatives, unlike other committees, which often deal with a specific area of policy

Question 4

Standing committee

Answer 4

Committees in each house of Congress that handle bills in different policy areas

Question 5

Conference Committee

Answer 5

Formed when the Senate and the House pass a particular bill in different forms. Used to iron out the differences.

Question 6

Select committee

Answer 6

A committee, as of a legislative body, that is formed to examine and report on a specific bill or issue

Question 7

Legislative oversight

Answer 7

Congress’s monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings.

Question 8

Twenty-second Amendment

Answer 8

Ratified in 1951, this amendment limits presidents to two terms of office.

Question 9

Amicus Curiae brief

Answer 9

Legal briefs submitted for the purpose of influencing the court’s decisions by raising additional points of view not previously stated by the formal parties

Question 10

Appellate jurisdiction

Answer 10

The jurisdiction of courts that hear cases brought to them on appeal from lower courts. These courts to not review the factual records, only the legal issues involved

Question 11

Judicial restraint

Answer 11

An approach to decision-making in which judges play minimal policy-making roles and defer to legislatures whenever possible.

Question 12

Committee chairs

Answer 12

The most important influencers of the congressional agenda. They play dominant roles in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house.

Question 13

Seniority system

Answer 13

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 the chamber became chair, regardless of party loyalty, mental state, or competence.

Question 14

Twenty-fifth Amendment

Answer 14

Ratified in 1967, this amendment permits the vice president to become acting president if the vice president and the president’s cabinet determine that the president is disabled, and it outlines how a recuperated president can reclaim the job.

Question 15

Executive order

Answer 15

Regulations originating with the executive branch. Executive orders are one method presidents can use to control the bureaucracy.

Question 16

Cabinet

Answer 16

A group of presidential advisers not mentioned in the Constitution

Question 17

Office of Management and Budget

Answer 17

An office that prepares the president’s budget and also advises presidents on proposals from departments and agencies and helps review their proposed regulations.

Question 18

Pocket veto

Answer 18

If Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill, the president can let a bill die by doing nothing

Question 19

Legislative Veto

Answer 19

A vote in Congress to override a presidential decision.

Question 20

Original jurisdiction

Answer 20

The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial.

Question 21

War Powers Resolution

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Incumbents

Answer 22

Those individuals who already hold office

Question 23

Minority leader

Answer 23

The principal leader of the minority party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate.

Question 24

Stare decisis

Answer 24

A Latin phrase meaning “let the decision stand.” Most cases reaching appellate courts are settled on this principle.

Question 25

Senatorial courtesy

Answer 25

Nomination for state-level federal judges will not be confirmed if a senator sharing the president’s party is opposed.

Question 26

Precedent

Answer 26

How similar cases have been decided in the past.

Question 27

Originalism

Answer 27

A view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intentions or original meaning of the Framers.

Question 28

Supreme Courts

Answer 28

The pinnacle of the American judicial system. The court ensures uniformity in interpreting national laws, resolves conflicts among the states, and maintains national supremacy and laws. It has both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction

Question 29

Opinion

Answer 29

A statement of legal reasoning behind a judicial decision. The content of an opinion may be as important as the decision itself.

Question 30

Judicial Review

Answer 30

The power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress and those of the executive branch or in accord with the US Constitution. Judicial review was established by Marbury v Madison

Question 31

Elitism

Answer 31

A theory of American democracy contending that an upper-class elite holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization

Question 32

Crisis

Answer 32

A sudden, unpredictable, and potentially dangerous event requiring the president to play the role of crisis manager.

Question 33

Justiciable disputes

Answer 33

issues capable of being settled as a matter of law

Question 34

District courts

Answer 34

The 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction. They are the only federal courts in which trials are held and in which juries may be impaneled.