ap gov unit 2

legislative, executive, and judicial branches

bicameral legislature

2 separate houses or chambers that make up the lawmaking body

Congress is split into

House of Reps and the Senate

facts about the House

• # of members?

• duration of term?

• 435 members, based on state populations

• elected to 2 year terms

• less prestigious

• more responsive to the people due to shorter terms, members are up for reelection for poor performance

facts about the Senate

• # of members?

• duration of terms?

• 100 members, 2 per state

• elected to 6 year terms

• more prestigious

• members are less responsive to the people, representative of the state due to longer terms

powers reserved for the Senate

• confirm Presidential appointments

• approve/reject treaties

• jury for impeachment trials

powers reserved for the House

• originates money bills (taxes)

• begins impeachment process

• elects the President if the Electoral College fails to do so

congressional joint powers

• enumerated powers

  • enacting laws, coining money, passing federal budget, raising revenue, declaring war, raising and maintaining armed forces

• implied powers

• limitations on powers in Art. II Sec. 9 and 10th amendment

• non-legislative powers

  • Electoral powers, amendment powers, impeachment, executive powers of Senate, investigative powers

Speaker of the House

presiding Officer of the House; acknowledges, signs bills, appoints committees, calls a vote

President of the Senate

the VP of the U.S.; may not speak and can only vote in the event of a tie

President Pro Tempore

resides in the absence of the VP, elected by the Senate, represents the Majority Party

standing committees

permanent groups

select committee

a special group set up for a specific purpose and for a limited time

joint committee

committee composed of members from both houses

oversight committees

responsible for overseeing the executive agencies that are involved to regulate/ensure that they are carrying out the intent of the law that created them

pork/pork barrel

bill that creates jobs or money for a district (localized projects rather than nationwide)

logrolling

representative votes in favor of a colleague’s bill in exchange for a return favor

trustee model of rep

representative votes with their best judgement

delegate model of rep

votes in favor of the constituents

politico model of rep

hybrid of trustee and delegate models

Federal Budget

created by Congress, outlines U.S. government’s spending plan for spending and raising money for the year

• revenues (taxes)

  • expenditures (spending)

mandatory spending

required by law

• social security, Medicare, Medicaid, interest on debt

• takes up ~60% of the federal budget

discretionary spending

Congress decides annually

• defense, education, environment, transportation

• takes up ~30% of the federal budget

net interest

payments on the national debt

deficit

annual spending surpasses revenue

debt

total accumulation of past deficits

how a bill becomes a law

1. has to be proposed in either the Senate or the House

2. goes through committees where the bill either dies or is revised and then presented to a chamber

3. requries majority vote in that chamber before being sent to the other chamber for another majority vote

4. if both houses agree, the bill is sent to the president for signing

   1. the president can veto the bill, sending it back to the houses for revisions

   2. the president can sign the bill into law

   3. the president can pocket veto, doing nothing for 10 days before it automatically is vetoed

executive branch

consists of the President, Vice President, and the Cabinet

Art. II Sec. I

• power to enforce laws

• 22nd Amendment

  • limit’s president terms to 2 terms or a total of 10 years

Consitutional Powers of the President

1. Commander in Chief

• leads US military

• directs military operations

  • the power to declare war is given to Congress

2. Veto Power

• sign a bill into law

• veto a bill and send it back to Congress

  • Congress can override a veto by a 2/3 vote in both houses

3. Foreign Policy

• negotiate treaties

• appoint appointments

• receive foreign diplomats

4. Appointments

• cabinet members, fed. judges, ambassadors, other officials

• Senate must confirm these appointments

War Powers Act of 1973

allows president to send troops for up to 60 days in combat without congressional approval

3 major reasons for removal from office

inefficiency in office, neglect of duty, inappropriate behavior

“State of the Union”

president presents ideas for legislation to Congress

legislative powers of the president

• State of the Union address

• signs/vetoes bills

• issues annual budget and economic reports

• can call for special sessions of Congress after a pressing matter (mass shootings)

judicial powers of the president

• appoint members of the federal Judiciary

• grant:

  • pardons - legal forgiveness for crimes

  • amnesty - pardon for large group of people

  • reprieves - postponing a sentence

  • commutation - reduction of a sentence

president’s informal powers

1. executive orders - tells executive officials how to carry out responsibilities

2. executive agreements - agreements between president and foreign governments (don’t require Senate approval

3. executive privilege - can claim to keep certain communications confidential

constitutional duties of the Vice President

1. President of the Senate

2. take over the president’s position in the event of death, resignation, temporary incapacitation, or if the VP and majority of the cabinet decide the president is unfit to continue

Executive Cabinet

a group of the president’s top advisors, consisting of 15 executive department heads

not formally mandated by law, but allowed in Art II Section 2, Clause 1

checks on Presidential power

1. Congress (legislative)

• override vetoes

• control gov. funding (power of the purse)

• approve/reject appointments

• approve treaties

• investigate executive branch

• impeach/remove president

2. Courts (judicial)

• review presidential actions

• declare exe. orders unconstitutional

3. public

• elections

• public opinion

bully pulpit

informal presidential power to use high visibility and prestige of the executive to speak out, capture media attention, reshape public policy through garnering support of the people and pressuring Congress

effect of increased polarization in Congress

less common ground for compromises

policy gridlock

inability to pass laws due to disagreements

gerrymandering

manipulation of electoral district boundaries to put one party or group at an advantage

president’s formal powers

1. veto

2. Commander in Chief

3. treaty negotiation, only the Senate can ratify them

president’s informal powers

1. executive agreements - president engages in foreign policy without Senate to ratify treaty

2. bargaining and persuasion - get the public to support their policy agenda by pressuring Congress members

3. executive orders - not laws, but written orders directing bureaucracies on what to do and how to spend

4. signing statements - signing a bill into law, but attaches statement explaining how the executive branch expects to see the execution of the law

executive appointments

1. 1000+ appointments requrie Senate approval, based on the Advice and Conset Clause

2. cabinet - heads of all departments that serve as the president’s advisory board

3. ambassadors - president’s representatives in foreign countries

4. federal judges - district judges, Court of Appeals, SCOTUS

5. executive office of the president - members who coordinate executive branch to align with policy agenda

judicial review

one of the Judicial Branch’s powers, allows the court to be the final interpreter of the Constitution

3-tiered court system

1. district

2. appellate (appeals)

3. Supreme Court

Article III

defines jurisdiction of courts, types of cases the Supreme Court can hear, and how federal judges are appointed

stare decisis

“let the decision stand”

• every case creates a precedent in which other judges can make decisions for future cases off of

judicial activism

court’s willingness to overturn precedent

• regard for social effects

judicial restraint

court’s insistence to rule in line with precedent

• strictly interpreting Constitution, not social effects

checks on judiciary

1. congressional legislation

2. constitutional amendment

3. presidential appointments

4. implementation delay

5. congress changing jurisdiction

federal bureaucracy

• exists within the executive branch

• agencies, departments dealing with civil law and responsible for enforcing the law

• responsible for writing laws/rules and enforcing them (writing DETAILED laws to carry out legislature made by Congress)

executive departments

led by president’s cabinet members, oversee broad policy categories

independent agencies

specialize in specific areas of policy

regulatory commissions

made up of industry and business experts, create rules, monitor compliance, issue fines

government corporations

hybrid of private business and government agency, not funded by taxpayers and must generate their own revenue ex. USPS

how people get jobs in a bureaucracy

• used to be patronage (loyalty)

• now is merit-based

delegated discretionary authority

Congress gives authority to bureaucratic entities to make rules