AP GOV Unit Two Vocab

Apportionment

The process of distributing the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the states based on population, usually done after each decennial census.

Appropriate

To set aside money for a specific purpose, usually by legislative act.

Cloture

A procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote, especially in the Senate, used to overcome a filibuster. It requires 60 votes to invoke.

Committee of the whole

A device used in the House of Representatives to allow for more flexible debate and easier amendment of bills. All members of the House are members of the Committee of the Whole.

Conference committee

A temporary committee formed to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of a bill.

Congressional Budget Office

A federal agency that provides economic data and analysis to Congress, helping in the budget process and evaluating the economic impact of legislation.

Congressional Research Service

A public policy research arm of Congress that provides comprehensive reports on a variety of issues, serving both chambers by offering impartial analysis and information.

Descriptive representation

A political theory suggesting that elected representatives should reflect the demographic characteristics of their constituents, including race, gender, and socioeconomic status.

Debt

An amount of money borrowed that must be repaid, often with interest, usually incurred by individuals, corporations, or governments.

Deficit

A financial situation where expenditures exceed revenues, resulting in a shortfall that must be addressed in future budgets.

Discharge petition

A procedural maneuver in the House of Representatives used to force a bill out of committee and onto the floor for a vote, requiring the signatures of 218 members.

Divided Government

A situation in which one party controls the presidency while another party controls one or both houses of Congress.

Earmark

A legislative provision that directs appropriated funds to be spent on specific projects, districts, or institutions.

Filibuster

A tactic used in the Senate to delay or block a vote on a bill or other measure by extending debate indefinitely.

Franking privilege

The right of members of Congress to send mail to their constituents at the government's expense.

General Accounting Office

Now known as the Government Accountability Office (GAO), it is an independent agency that provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for the U.S. Congress. It is the primary investigatory arm of Congress.

Gerrymandering

The practice of drawing electoral district boundaries to give one political party an unfair advantage over another.

Holds

A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of a bill or nomination.

Logrolling

A legislative practice in which two or more legislators agree to support each other's bills.

Mark

up

Oversight

Congressional review of the activities of an agency, department, or office, intended to ensure that it is acting in accordance with congressional intentions.

Pork barrel legeslation

Local spending for political gain and not national gain or need.

Redistricting

The process of redrawing electoral district boundaries after a census to reflect population shifts and ensure equal representation.

Rules committee

A powerful committee in the House of Representatives that determines the rules for debate on a bill, including whether amendments will be allowed.

Bully pulpit

A term coined by Theodore Roosevelt, referring to the president's ability to use the office as a platform to speak out and be heard, influencing public opinion and policy.

Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act

Legislation enacted in 1974 to reform budget procedures, establish the CBO, and limit presidential impoundment of funds.

Debt Ceiling

A legislative limit on the amount of national debt that the U.S. federal government can incur.

Entitlement Program

A government program that guarantees benefits to a particular group of citizens who meet specified eligibility requirements (e.g., Social Security, Medicare).

Executive agreement

An international agreement, entered into by the president without the need for senatorial advice and consent.

Executive Office of the President

A cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his responsibilities. Examples include the OMB, NSC, and CEA.

Executive order

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

Executive privilege

The right of the president and other high-ranking executive officers to withhold information from Congress or the courts.

Impeachment

The formal accusation by the House of Representatives that a government official has committed 'Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.'

Imperial presidency

A term used to describe a presidency that has become too powerful and unchecked, often exceeding its constitutional limits.

Lame duck president

An elected official or group of officials, especially a president, continuing in office during the period between an election and the inauguration of a successor.

National Security Council

A committee in the executive branch of government that advises the president on foreign policy, national security, and intelligence matters.

Office of Management and Budget

The presidential agency that prepares the federal budget and oversees the management and spending of executive branch agencies.

Omnibus bill

A single bill that contains many different provisions or addresses many diverse topics.

Signing statement

A written declaration that a president may make when signing a bill into law, often commenting on the bill's constitutionality or interpretation.

State of the Union

An annual address given by the president to a joint session of Congress, outlining the nation's condition and proposing legislative goals.

Veto (all forms)*

The power of the president to refuse to sign a bill into law.

• Regular Veto: The president rejects a bill by returning it to Congress with objections.

• Pocket Veto: The president's indirect veto of a bill by allowing it to expire without signing it, particularly when Congress is not in session.

• Line-item Veto: The power of an executive to nullify specific provisions of a bill without vetoing the entire legislative package (declared unconstitutional for the president by the Supreme Court).

War Powers Act/Resolution

A 1973 law requiring the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops and limiting deployment to 60 days unless Congress authorizes a longer period.

22nd Amendment

Limits the president to two terms or a maximum of 10 years in office.

25th Amendment

Deals with presidential disability and succession, clarifying what happens if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, or becomes unable to perform duties.

Cabinet

A group of presidential advisors, composed of the heads of the executive departments and other officials the president chooses.

Civil Service/Servants

The permanent professional branches of a government's administration, excluding military, judicial, and elected political appointments. Civil servants are the individuals employed in these branches.

Discretionary authority

The extent to which appointed bureaucrats can choose courses of action and make policies not spelled out in advance by laws.

Iron Triangles

A mutually beneficial relationship among an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group, often leading to policy outcomes that benefit all three parties.

Issue Networks

More complex and open systems of influence than iron triangles, involving a broader range of actors (e.g., academics, journalists, researchers, interest groups) who regularly debate government policy.

Merit system

A system of public employment in which selection and promotion depend on demonstrated performance rather than political patronage.

Patronage

A system of public employment in which selection and promotion depend on demonstrated performance rather than political patronage.

Pendleton Act (Pendleton Civil Service Act)

A federal law passed in 1883 that established the merit-based civil service system, requiring government jobs to be awarded on the basis of competitive examinations.

Red tape

Complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done, often seen as inefficient.

Regulations

Rules or orders issued by an executive authority or agency that have the force of law.

• Rulemaking: The process by which agencies develop and issue regulations.

• Administrative Discretion: The ability of agencies to make choices concerning specific enforcement of laws.

Rulemaking authority

The power of executive branch agencies to issue regulations, which carry the force of law, to implement and interpret statutes enacted by Congress.

Amicus curiae

Latin for 'friend of the court'; a brief submitted by a person or group not a party to the case but who has a strong interest in the outcome, aimed at influencing a court's decision.

Appellate jurisdiction

The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.

Judicial activism

A judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground, by interpreting the Constitution broadly to achieve desired social or political goals.

Judicial restraint

A judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal policymaking roles, deferring to the legislatures and the people to make laws.

Judicial review

The power of the courts to declare acts of the legislative and executive branches unconstitutional.

Original jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case for the first time, determining the facts and applying the law.

Precedent

A legal principle or rule established in a previous court case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts.

Stare decisis

Latin for 'let the decision stand'; the legal principle by which judges are obliged to respect the precedents established by prior decisions, promoting consistency and predictability in the law.

Writ of certiorari

A formal request from an appellant to the Supreme Court to call up the records of a lower court case for review.