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AP Government and Politics > Unit 2A - Congress and Judiciary > Flashcards

Unit 2A - Congress and Judiciary Flashcards

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1
Q

Bicameral

A

Legislature with two houses
- in our case, House of Representatives elected by citizens based on population of state - who at the time elected senators with equal representation (are now elected by us)

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2
Q

17th Amendment

A

Stated direct election of senators

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3
Q

Reapportionment

A

The splitting and distribution of seats in the House based on proportion of population among the states

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4
Q

Enumerated/Expressed Powers

A

Powers listed in the Constitution
- Delegated powers

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5
Q

Implied Powers

A

Powers that are not explicitly stated - such as based on Necessary and Proper Clause

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6
Q

Power of the Purse

A

Congress has the power with dealing with money - start any bill about taxes, etc

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7
Q

War Powers Act of 1973

A

Said that the president must notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops and armed troops can’t stay more than 60 days
- limited scope of presidential power

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8
Q

Impeachment

A

House: has the power to impeach/accuse
Senate: has the power to try - overseen by Chief Head justice

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9
Q

Advice and Consent

A

Power of the Senate to advice the president and have checks such as confirmation of appointments and signing of treaties

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10
Q

Speaker of the House

A

Presides over the House
- run the show/operation
- think as referee
- sets the agenda and controls everything that goes on in the House

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11
Q

Majority Leader

A

Rally team of majority in a chamber and tell them what to do

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12
Q

Minority Leader

A

Rally team of minority in each chamber and tell them what to do/agenda for party

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13
Q

Majority Whip

A

Assistant/second in command
- keep control and order in a party

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14
Q

Minority Whip

A

Assistant/second in command
- keep control and order in a party

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15
Q

President Pro Tempure

A

Sits in a chair and lets the Senate run itself
- Just given to the senator who’s been there the longest

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16
Q

Standing Committees

A

Most important and dominate work
- permanent and always there
- Focused on a particular policy area

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17
Q

Special/Select Committees

A

Created out of an event or circumstance that they want to find more information on
- figure out what went wrong, who was responsible, etc

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18
Q

Joint Committees

A

Has members from both House and Senate - mostly routine management and research
- e.g Joint Committee on taxation

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19
Q

Ways and Means Committee

A

Exclusive to the House of Representatives
- determines tax policy
- first outline details when proposals are presented to raise or lower income tax

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20
Q

Conference Committee

A

Temporary: iron out details and differences on a bill between House and Senate

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21
Q

Making up a Bill

A

Bill gets # - Assigned committee - hearings - markup - floor action - so on

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22
Q

Appropriation

A

Congress spending money: budgeting
- Both Houses have committees for this

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23
Q

Oversight

A

finding out how things are going; gathering information to make educated decisions
- Congress overseeing the bureaucracy to make sure money is getting spent as it should

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24
Q

Caucuses

A

Method to get people to vote
- group of people who meet and discuss politics for a couple of hours then cast ballots

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25
Q

House Rules of Committees

A

Comes up with rules for the House and make sure they are being followed
- Nothing reaches the floor unless they say it can
- determines what gets voted on

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26
Q

Committee Chairperson

A

Head of a Committee appointed

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27
Q

Closed Rule - House

A

No changes can be made to a bill

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28
Q

Open Rule - House

A

Changes or amendments can be made to a bill
- needs to be Germane

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29
Q

Discharge Petition - House

A

Bring a bill out of committee that is holding a bill hostage to House floor
- simple majority to overrule

30
Q

Filibusters and Holds - Senate

A

When a senator tries to hold or stall a debate or bill
- senator using debate time
- has to stay standing the entire time

31
Q

Unanimous Consent - Senate

A

A vote set aside some rules to speed up a decision on a bill
- An agreement on the rules of debate for proposed legislation in the Senate that is approved by all the members

32
Q

Cloture - Senate

A

Stops a filibuster with a 3/5 vote
- or forcing a bill to be voted on with a 3/5 vote

33
Q

Germaneness - House

A

Requires relevancy when adding amendments to bills
- e.g. if you have a bill for school food, and you slap on a segment for boat capacity - not germane

34
Q

Rider

A

An addition or amendment added to a bill that has no relation to the bill

35
Q

Omnibus Bills

A

All encompassing bills
- if you have several separate but related bills, you can slap them all together to get an omnibus bill

36
Q

Pork Barrel Spending

A

Scraping for the bottom of the barrel; if there is a limit/budget, you gotta take what you can get for a bill before its all gone: all scrambling to get scraps of money for each state

37
Q

Earmarks

A

Directs approved funds to be spend on specific projects

38
Q

Logrolling (Horse Trading)

A

Trading votes to get support for a bill
- if you vote for mine, I’ll vote for yours

39
Q

Delegate Model

A

You represent the people and do what they want, even if it goes against your own views
- cast a vote amongst your citizens and vote accordingly

40
Q

Trustee Model

A

Your voters elected you, they should trust you
- they should entrust you to make a decision based on your own view

41
Q

Politico Model

A

Mix of Delegate and Trustee model depending on bill and circumstance

42
Q

Overriding a Veto

A

Requires a 2/3 vote in both Houses

43
Q

Mandatory Spending

A

Required government spending by laws
- e.g Social Security

44
Q

Discretionary Spending

A

Spending left up to the government to decide every year - non mandatory
- e.g. defense budget

45
Q

Gridlock

A

Opposing sides won’t let a bill/idea continue

46
Q

Redistricting

A

Redrawing district lines within a state to portion population

47
Q

Gerrymandering

A

When redistricting, controlling party of states draws in such a way that a party dominates or dilutes another to guarantee continuation of safe seats

48
Q

Safe Seats

A

A party/incumbent guaranteed to win a district again

49
Q

Incumbents (Advantage)

A

Government officials who currently hold office and have no recognition but are still guaranteed re-election

50
Q

Constituent Services

A

Offering community services for general public

51
Q

Caseworks

A

Type of Constituent service;
- special case for an individual
- ex. someone in another country without a passport

52
Q

Federal District Courts

A

94 overall - at least 1 in each state
- about 700 judges
- appointed by president
- Original jurisdiction

53
Q

Appellate Courts

A

Reviews decisions from lower courts
- 12 nationwide
- judges most likely to get picked for Supreme Court

54
Q

Original Jurisdiction

A

District courts: First stop, where trails happen
Who hears a trial, rest of courts will review trial
- the authority of a court to hear a case firstly

55
Q

Appellate Jurisdiction

A

A court has the ability to overhear decisions of a lower court

56
Q

Class Action Suit

A

A small # of people sue on behalf of all people facing similar circumstances

57
Q

Stare Decesis

A

Let the decision stand
- governs common law for constitution to be determined
Courts should follow decisions made in previous cases in order to stay consistent

58
Q

Judicial Review

A

The power of the court to check executive orders or laws and review if they are Constitutional or not

59
Q

Dred Scott v Sandford (1857)

A

A slave was take to a state without slavery
- would he be a citizen?
- SCOTUS said no
- courts said slaves were people or citizens no matter where they are

60
Q

Strict Construction

A

More literal interpretation of the Constitution, word for word with less slack

61
Q

Loose Construction

A

Leaves room for more interpretation of Constitution

62
Q

Judicial Restraint

A

Leaves legislation to other branches and for uses on the constitutionality of legislation
- they should stay out of politics
- judges should limit the exercise their power and leave policy such as abortion to state legislature

63
Q

Judicial Activism

A

Makes bolder choices
- legislation from the bench
- allow public views: such as thoughts on abortion and gay marriage

64
Q

Writ of Certiorari

A

When a court decides to hear a case and review lower court decisions
- “to make certain”
They decide to review your case

65
Q

Majority Opinion of the Court

A

What the court rules
- 5/9 judges at least
opinion gets written and thats that, final

66
Q

Dissenting Opinions

A

Opinion of a judge, written, who is against majority explaining reasoning

67
Q

Concurring Opinions

A

agrees with majority opinion but differs in reasoning

68
Q

Litmus Test

A

used to determine political outlook of a presidential nominee

69
Q

Senatorial Courtesy

A

When other senators won’t vote for an appointee who is opposed by senators from the same state as the appointee

70
Q

Amicus Curiae Briefs

A

“Friend of the court” - someone appears in front of court on behalf of others and presents the case even if they are not directly involved

71
Q

Solicitor General

A

Presidential appointee
- in charge of appellate court litigation of federal government; represents us in lawsuits against them

AP Government and Politics (6 decks)

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