POLS 1113 Study Guide: Congress and the Presidency

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Congress, the presidency, the legislative process, representation styles, and executive power dynamics from POLS 1113.

Authorize

To formally create or permit a government program through legislation in Congress.

Appropriate

To allocate and provide actual government funds for a specific authorized program.

Congressional Oversight

The responsibility of Congress to monitor, check, and investigate the executive branch using hearings, formal inquiries, and impeachment.

"The Saucer That Cools the Coffee"

A classic nickname for the Senate, describing its constitutional design as a deliberative, 6-year term body meant to slow down and moderate fast-moving ideas from the House.

House Rules Committee

The powerful House committee that acts as a gatekeeper by scheduling bills, establishing debate time limits, and determining whether amendments are permitted.

Unanimous Consent

A procedural agreement in the Senate requiring all 100 senators to agree in order to move a bill from committee to floor consideration without procedural delays.

Conference Committee

A temporary joint committee formed between both chambers to reconcile differing House and Senate versions of a bill into one identical text.

Gatekeeping

The authority exercised by committee chairs and party leaders to decide which pieces of legislation move forward and which are killed.

Markup

The committee stage where legislative members review, debate, amend, and rewrite the specific language of a proposed bill.

Whipping Votes

The practice by party leadership of tracking, tallying, and exerting pressure on members to vote strictly along party lines.

Delegate Model

A style of legislative representation where the official acts strictly as a messenger, voting directly in accordance with constituent demands regardless of personal views.

Trustee Model

A style of representation where the elected official relies on personal judgment and expertise to decide what is best for the district, state, or nation.

Politico Model

A hybrid representation approach where an official follows constituent preferences on high-salience issues but exercises independent judgment on low-salience issues.

Salience

The level of attention, public awareness, and concern voters direct toward a particular political issue.

Substantive Representation

The degree to which elected legislators champion and vote for policies that directly advance their constituents' policy interests.

Descriptive Representation

The degree to which legislators demographically mirror their constituents in terms of race, gender, education, and occupation.

Hastert Rule

An informal House governing norm under which party leadership only brings a bill to the floor if a majority of the majority party supports it.

Filibuster

A Senate delay tactic in which a senator or minority group extends floor debate indefinitely to delay or prevent a vote on legislation.

Cloture

A Senate procedure requiring a supermajority vote of $60$ senators ($\frac{3}{5}$) to invoke an end to debate and halt a filibuster.

Take Care Clause

The Article II constitutional provision mandating that the president ensure the laws enacted by Congress are faithfully executed.

Soft Power (Presidency)

The informal capacity of a president to lead and accomplish goals through appeal and persuasion rather than formal constitutional command.

Electoral Mandate

The perceived popular authority claimed by a president following a wide margin of electoral victory, used to pressure Congress to pass their agenda.

Coattail Effect

The electoral dynamic in which a popular presidential candidate draws voters to support and elect congressional candidates of the same party.

Honeymoon Period

The brief window at the start of a president's first term characterized by high job approval, during which major legislative proposals face the least resistance.

Rally-Around-the-Flag Effect

A sharp, temporary surge in presidential approval that occurs when the nation unites behind the president during a major crisis, such as the September 11 attacks.

Bully Pulpit

A concept originated by Theodore Roosevelt describing the presidency as a premier public platform to shape public opinion and rally voters to pressure Congress.

Budget Reconciliation

A specialized expedited congressional budget process exempt from the Senate filibuster that requires only a simple majority ($50\% + 1$) to pass.