unit 2 Flashcards
1
Q
House of Representatives
A
- apportioned by population of state
- only serve 2 year terms
- more populous states have more representatives
- house members represent fewer people, able to know their constituents better
- 435 members
2
Q
Senate
A
- each state gets two
- serve six year terms
- have more constitutional responsibilities than members of the house
3
Q
Coalitions
A
the durability of the working relationships are affected by term length differences
4
Q
enumerated powers
A
- explicitly listed in Article 1 section 8 of the constitution
- federal funding
- foreign policy
- military legislation
- raise revenue through taxation
- coin money for a uniform currency
- pass a federal budget
- declare war
- raise armies
- pass draft laws
5
Q
implied powers
A
congress can pass any law that is required by the enumerated powers
- justification comes at the end of the of Article 1 section 8
- necessary and proper clause (aka elastic clause)
6
Q
House leadership - speaker of the house
A
- speaker of the house: house members choose this leader, speaker will always be a member of the majority party
7
Q
Majority and minority leaders
A
- direct debates
- guide their party members in policy making issues
8
Q
Whips
A
- render party discipline
- make sure party members walk in line with party goals
9
Q
President of the Senate
A
- vice president of the united states
- non-voting member
- votes to break a tie
10
Q
President Pro Tempore
A
- most senior member of the majority party
- has the authority to act as president of the senate if vice president is not present
11
Q
Senate majority leader
A
- sets legislative agenda
- determines which bills reach the floor for debate and which do not
12
Q
Committees
A
- small groups of representatives
- debate and draft precise legislation
- usually serve the goals of the majority party
13
Q
Standing Committees
A
- committees that endure for a long time
- standing committee on the budget
- house judiciary committee
- always needs to be done from session to session
- where legislation begins, most bills never make it past
14
Q
Joint committees
A
- members from both the house and the senate
- joint committee on the library of congress
15
Q
Select Committees
A
- temporary and created for a specific purpose
16
Q
Conference Committees
A
- formed to reconcile differences in legislation
- for a bill to become a law, it must be passed by both houses in identical form
17
Q
House Rules Committee
A
- decides which bills make it to the floor for debate
18
Q
Discharge petition
A
- used to force a bill out of committee for debate and voting
- need majority vote to bring bill out
19
Q
Senate - Filibuster
A
- an attempt to stall or kill a bill by talking for a very long time
20
Q
Cloture
A
- a three-fifths vote which ends a filibuster
21
Q
Unanimous consent
A
- acting senate president asks if they will agree to limit debate
- a way of avoiding possibility of filibuster
- requires unanimous agreement, even one senator can object which is called a hold
22
Q
Riders
A
- non-relevant additions which will usually benefit a representative’s own agenda or something added to help get the bill passed
23
Q
Pork Barrel Spending
A
- funds earmarked for special projects in a representative’s district
24
Q
Logrolling
A
- representatives say if you vote for my bill, I’ll vote for yours
25
Q
Federal budget
A
- most of federal government’s income is gathered from income taxes
- congress has to allocate funds to mandatory spending and discretionary spending
26
Q
Mandatory spending
A
- payments required by law
- entitlement spending
- medicare
- medicaid
- interest payments on debt
27
Q
Discretionary spending
A
- all funds remaining after mandatory spending
- paying federal employees
28
Q
Deficit
A
the gap between the projected budget and the actual funds available
29
Q
Divided government
A
- the president is of one party and congress is of another
30
Q
Lame duck
A
- very little power to do anything since president is on their way out of office
31
Q
Trustee model
A
they have been entrusted with the people’s faith to vote according to the representative’s best judgment
32
Q
Delegate model
A
he or she must vote with the will of the people even if it goes against their better judgment
33
Q
Politico model
A
- how they vote depends on the situation
34
Q
redistricting/gerrymandering
A
- every 10 years a census must be taken to find out how many people live in the U.S and where
- Reapportionment: the doling out of representative seats
- Redistricting: the re-drawing of boundaries that those seats represent
- gerrymandering is a way of drawing districts that is a little sleazy because districts can be drawn to favor one group over another
- usually drawn in weird shapes to ensure that a certain party has the advantage in that district (partisan gerrymandering)
35
Q
Racial gerrymandering
A
- districts are drawn so that certain races constitute the majority in those districts
36
Q
Policy agenda
A
- every president comes into office with policies they want to see enacted
- but congress has the constitutional authority to pass laws
- president get’s policy agenda enacted through formal and informal powers
37
Q
Formal powers
A
- laid out in Article 2 of the constitution
- veto power (bill dies, bill is sent back to congress to revise and starts process over, or congress can override veto with a 2/3rds vote)
- commander in chief of the U.S armed forces (can’t declare war)
- executive agreements (like a contract between a president and another leader)
38
Q
Pocket veto
A
- president has 10 days to sign the bill into law
- president can do nothing with bill, let the session expire, the bill is effectively vetoed
- if there are more than 10 days left in veto session, and the president does nothing, the bill becomes law
39
Q
Informal powers
A
- bargaining and persuasion
- executive order
- signing statement (which informs the nation how the executive branch interprets the law and how the president intends to execute it)
40
Q
Cabinet
A
presidential team of advisors who lead each of the executive agencies
41
Q
Bully Pulpit
A
- speaking directly to the people in hope that they’d put pressure on their representatives
- public platform to advocate
42
Q
State of the union
A
- annual to congress
- for a long time state of the unions were filtered through newspapers
- FDR used fireside chats through radio
- JFK was the first to use television for state of the union
43
Q
Federal court system
A
- 3 levels
- U.S district courts (have the right to hear a case for the first time, original jurisdiction)
- U.S circuit court of appeals (hear appeals from the lower courts, appellate jurisdiction)
- Supreme court (has both original and appellate jurisdiction, depending on the case)
44
Q
Judicial activism
A
- the court acts to establish policy and considers more than just the constitutionality of a decision, it considers the decisions broader effects on society
45
Q
Judicial restraint
A
- believe that a law should only be struck down if it violates the actual written word of the constitution
46
Q
Bureaucracy
A
- falls under the authority of the executive branch
- millions of people employed to carry out the responsibilities of federal government
- not creating laws, only making a set of more refined rules that help facilitate the execution of laws
47
Q
Cabinet Secretaries
A
- highest level of authority in bureaucracy
- leaders of the 15 executive departments
- department of energy, department of homeland security, department of defense, etc.
48
Q
Agencies
A
- work together to accomplish the goals of the department
- internal revenue service (IRS)
49
Q
Commissions
A
- regulatory groups who operate somewhat independently of the authority of the president, but still fall under the executive authority
- run by a board of individuals and are usually created for a specific purpose
- Federal communications commission (FCC)
50
Q
Government corporations
A
- hybrid of business and a government agency
- government acquires businesses when they want to offer a public good, but the free market is the best way to offer that service
- PBS (public broadcasting service)
51
Q
Delegated Discretionary Authority
A
- the authority given to bureaucracy by congress that gives them discretion on how to make the rules and how to carry out the laws
