Unit 2B - Executive and Bureaucracy Flashcards
Impeachment
Power of Congress to accuse/impeach (House) and try (Senate)
Inherent Powers
Implied powers
- executive privilege, executive orders, executive agreements, signing statements, bully pulpit
Stewardship Theory
Steward - someone who takes care of something
job of the president: do everything they do to take care of the country
State of the Union
A message from President to Congress given usually every year outlining issues for the nation to encourage policies, etc
22nd + 25th Amendments
22th: 2 terms for presidents
25th: In case of incapacitation of presidents, line of succession
Lame Duck Period
Time between when a president is in office and and are no longer elected and when the next president takes office
Bully Pulpit
Speaking to the public and can push their views and agenda onto the public; pushes where they think the country should go and what they should do and want to do in the future
Veto Power
They can veto (say no) to a law Congress passes
- can be overridden with a 3/5 vote in Congress
Pocket Veto
Ignoring a bill as a way to veto the bill - letting it sit on your desk
- after 10 days, the bill dies
Line Item Veto
Could empower executive to take away a line from a bill/budget
- vetoing only a part of the bill
Line Item Veto Act of 1996
Congress granted line veto to president for appropriations and limited tax benefits
Clinton v City of New York - 1998
NYC sued because of president suddenly having too much money power
- argued power of the purse is formally Congress and should stay that way
Commander in Chief
The president has control over the military actions
- declaring war is for Congress
- Nation’s leading military power is the president
War Powers Act of 1973
Context: Johnson mobilized US army to Southeast Asia in 1964; this lead to long war (Vietnam)
- Keeps presidents need for fast and important action and defense while also preserving declaring for war to Congress - President can order military into combat 48 hours before informing Congress and Congress can vote to approve or disapprove of it
Treaty
An agreement between two sides that outlines a deal or criteria for one or both sides
Executive Agreements
Originated from the first sentence of article 2; they look like treaties but they haven’t gone through the Senate; these aren’t permanent because it never went through the Senate
- treaties but not official yk
Executive Orders
Moving money around the bureaucracy to carry out wishes without it having to go through Congress
- he outlines the way he wants it to be carried out specifically - shape the law and execute
Signing Statements
explains the interpretation of a bill and how they expect it to be carried + commentary
- explains how they expect the bill to be enforced
Executive Privilege
The ability to keep information secret from the public and other branches of government to keep national security
US v Nixon - 1974
Nixon declared his secretly recorded conversations were protected under executive privilege and Supreme Court acknowledged executive privilege as Constitutional and sometimes necessary but Court unanimously agreed that the tapes were not protected and not executive privilege
Pardon
When the president issues a pardon, he excuses or shortens jail period for someone
- charge someone’s sentence or release them from prison
- specifically federal crimes
Take Care Clause
Article 2, Section 3
President is to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed”
Balancing the Ticket (VP)
A way to appeal to people the president can’t
The president picks a vice president that can appeal to people they can’t to gain more voters
Cabinet
Don’t give advice like the Chief of Staff - they carry out policies that are given - 15 departments and all heads are senate confirmed
Executive Office of the President
Manage what the president does
- nobody needs to be Senate confirmed
White House Staff (Chief of Staff)
Closest to the president: they help and advice the president
Chief of Staff:
- boss among them and the first advisor of the president
- gate keeper of the president
- they can act as almost the second president of the US
Bureaucracy
Part of the executive branch and carry out the president’s orders
Department
In charge of certain joins and have specialized jobs to oversee and do for what they are given - special departments
Independent Agencies
They are the doers: they do the jobs, they don’t regulate - Congress has oversight over all gvt including them
- ex. CIA, NASA, SSA
Independent Regulatory Commissions
Independent and separated from the president and Cabinet
- nominees and Senate confirms
- fixed terms and can’t be fired
- not subjected to politics
- checked by oversight
ex. FDA
Government Corpoeration
They make their own money and don’t have to be funded
Example: Amtrak, FDIC
Regulations
Making rules for people/companies to follow so there can be order and no taking advantage
Compliance Monitoring
Steps 2 and 3 of administrative discretion
- Bureaucracy makes the rules and regulations, then they make sure businesses are following these rules and laws
ex. inspecting a factory, finding a problem, offering a fine
Iron Triangles
The linkage between Congress, the bureaucracy, and Lobbyists
ex.
- Congress: House Committee of Education
- Department of Education
- groups like NDA or NSBA send lobbyists to influence the law
Patronage
Rewarding loyal party leaders with federal jobs
- Jefferson did this
- you like the guy you give him the spot
Spoils System
Presidents appointed regional + local post masters in the many branch officers across the nation expecting loyalty in return
- post office declare main agency for compaigning
Merit System
The Pendleton Civil Service Act was to prevent this
- # included competitive, written exams for job applications
Pendleton Act - 1883
Removed patronage and the spoils system from the bureaucracy
Hatch Act - 1939
Tried to remove politics from the bureaucracy, banned any campaigning or politics from workplace
- party shouldn’t matter it should be about qualifications
- removed politics from things like school
Discretionary Authority
Administrative Discretion - The power to interpret legislation and create rules to executive departments and agencies
- allow them to create their own rules
Rule Making
What independent regulatory commissions do for the independent agencies
Oversight
Check over the bureaucracy
- Pass laws
- could be specific instructions on how to carry out orders or eliminate agencies, make a new one
- they can do anything passing laws
+ Power of the purse
Investigation
Legislative Veto
Allows a congressional resolution (passed by majority of Congress, but not signed by President) to nullify a rule making or other action taken by an executive agency
Discretionary Spending
You can choose what you want to spend on
- Entire Defense Department is discretionary
The more mandatory spending grows, the less discretionary spending there can be
Mandatory Spending
Has to happen because it is required by law or life necessity
- some things gvt HAS to spend money on
- the more mandatory spending there it, the less discretionary spending there can be
- entitlement programs are mandatory: social security and health insurance
Entitlement Spending
Mandatory Spending
Government programs that provide certain people with benefits that meet criteria
Social Security and Health Insurance
Indexing
Building an automatic adjustment that allows change without people having to do it manually
is in Social Security
COLAs
Cost of living adjustment
- happens automatically - Mandatory spending
