Unit 4 Vocab - President + Bureaucracy = Executive Branch

Question 1

Treaty

Answer 1

a formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries

Question 2

Veto

Answer 2

a constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a law-making body

Question 3

Pocket Veto

Answer 3

If he receives a bill within ten days of the adjournment of the Congress, he may simply not respond and the bill will die.

Question 4

Executive Order

Answer 4

a rule or order issued by the president to an executive branch of the government and having the force of law

Question 5

Executive Agreement

Answer 5

an international agreement, usually regarding routine administrative matters not warranting a formal treaty, made by the executive branch of the US government without ratification by the Senate

Question 6

Line Item Veto

Answer 6

the power of a president, governor, or other elected executive to reject individual provisions of a bill

Question 7

Impoundment

Answer 7

an act by a President of the United States of not spending money that has been appropriated by the U.S. Congress

Question 8

Executive Privilege

Answer 8

the privilege, claimed by the president for the executive branch of the US government, of withholding information in the public interest

Question 9

“Take care” Clause

Answer 9

The President must “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

Question 10

“Bully pulpit”

Answer 10

a public office or position of authority that provides its occupant with an outstanding opportunity to speak out on any issue

Question 11

Presidential ticket

Answer 11

For example, in the U.S., the candidates for President and Vice President run on the same “ticket”, because they are elected together on a single ballot question rather than separately. A ticket can also refer to a political party.

Question 12

“Honeymoon period”

Answer 12

period of time when a new government, leader etc has just started and no one criticizes them

Question 13

Inherent powers

Answer 13

powers that Congress and the president need in order to get the job done right

Question 14

Law of Propinquity

Answer 14

more access means more power to influence leader’s decision

Question 15

State of the Union

Answer 15

An annual message delivered to Congress by the president of the United States, in which he describes the condition of the country, outlines the nation’s most serious problems, and proposes his annual program of legislation.

Question 16

Impeachment

Answer 16

a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity

Question 17

12th Amendment

Answer 17

providing for election of the president and vice president by the electoral college

Question 18

20th Amendment

Answer 18

sets the dates at which federal (United States) government elected offices end

Question 19

22nd Amendment

Answer 19

no person can be elected to more than two four-year terms as President of the United States

Question 20

25th Amendment

Answer 20

deals with succession to the Presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President

Question 21

Chief of Staff

Answer 21

the senior staff officer of a service or command

Question 22

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

Answer 22

consists of the immediate staff of the current President of the United States and multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President

Question 23

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Answer 23

largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP)

Question 24

Paradoxes of the Presidency (reading)

Answer 24

*

Question 25

“Decreased influence”

Answer 25

*

Question 26

Cabinet (historical importance)

Answer 26

(in the US) a body of advisers to the president, composed of the heads of the executive departments of the government.

Question 27

Bureaucratic theory (Weber)

Answer 27

• Thought Bureaucracy was a rational way for society to organize its business as a well organized and complex machine

Question 28

Bureaucracy

Answer 28

o Large, complex organization of appointed officials, who are not elected, that is stable over time

Question 29

Bureaucratic oversight

Answer 29

*

Question 30

Civil Service

Answer 30

the permanent professional branches of a government’s administration, excluding military and judicial branches and elected politicians

Question 31

Senior Executive Service

Answer 31

a position classification in the civil service of the United States federal government, somewhat analogous to general officer or flag officer ranks in the U.S. Armed Forces

Question 32

Pendleton Act

Answer 32

decided that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political affiliation

Question 33

“Spoils System”

Answer 33

the practice of a successful political party giving public office to its supporters

Question 34

Merit system

Answer 34

process of promoting and hiring government employees based on their ability to perform a job, rather than on their political connections

Question 35

Independent Agency

Answer 35

those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive departments (those headed by a Cabinet secretary)

Question 36

Government corporation

Answer 36

a company that is owned by the government and operates with the same independence of a private business, except that the owner is the government

Question 37

Independent Regulatory Agency/Commission

Answer 37

federal agencies created by an act of Congress that are independent of the executive departments

Question 38

Office of Personnel Management

Answer 38

an independent agency of the United States government that manages the civil service of the federal government

Question 39

Cabinet (bureaucratic function)

Answer 39

a body of advisers to the president, composed of the heads of the executive departments of the government

Question 40

Hatch Act

Answer 40

prohibits employees in the executive branch of the federal government from engaging in some forms of political activity

Question 41

Iron Triangle

Answer 41

a unique relationship between the bureaucracy, congressmen, and lobbyists that results in the mutual benefit of all three of them

Question 42

Regulations

Answer 42

a rule or directive made and maintained by an authority

Question 43

Issue Network

Answer 43

an alliance of various interest groups and individuals who unite in order to promote a single issue in government policy

Question 44

Indexing

Answer 44

link the value of (prices, wages, or other payments) automatically to the value of a price index

Question 45

Implementation

Answer 45

the process of putting a decision or plan into effect; execution

Question 46

Entitlement programs

Answer 46

a government program that guarantees certain benefits to a particular group or segment of the population

Question 47

Administrative discretion

Answer 47

exercise of professional expertise and judgment, as opposed to strict adherence to regulations or statutes, in making a decision or performing official acts or duties