Unit 4: Executive Branch

Question 1

executive branch

Answer 1

branch of government charged with putting the nation’s laws into effect

Question 2

formal (enumerated) powers

Answer 2

powers expressly granted in the Constitution

Question 3

informal powers

Answer 3

powers not laid out in the Constitution but used to carry out presidential duties; developed over time

Question 4

treaty

Answer 4

agreement w/ a foreign gov negotiated by the president and requiring a 2/3 vote in the Senate to ratify

Question 5

State of the Union Address

Answer 5

annual speech from the president to Congress updating that branch on the state of national affairs

Question 6

veto

Answer 6

formal rejection by the president of a bill that has passed both houses of Congress

Question 7

pocket veto

Answer 7

informal veto caused when president chooses not to sign a bill within ten days, during a time when Congress has adjourned at the end of a session

Question 8

presidential pardon

Answer 8

presidential authority to release individuals convicted of a crime from legal consequences and set aside punishment for a crime

Question 9

executive privilege

Answer 9

right claimed by presidents to keep certain conversations, records, and transcripts confidential from outside scrutiny, esp. Congress

Question 10

executive agreement

Answer 10

agreement between a president and another nation that does not have the same durability in the American system as a treaty but does not require Senate ratification

Question 11

signing statement

Answer 11

written comments issued by presidents while signing a bill into law that usually consist of political statements or reasons for signing the bill but may also include a president’s interpretation of the law itself

Question 12

executive orders

Answer 12

policy directives issued by the presidents that do not require congressional approval

Question 13

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

Answer 13

collection of offices withing the White House organization designed mainly to provide information to the president

Question 14

bargaining and persuasion

Answer 14

informal tool used by the president to persuade members of Congress to support his policy

Question 15

bully pulpit

Answer 15

presidential appeals to the public to pressure other branches of gov to support their policies