APGOV PRESIDENT VOCAB

Cabinet:

Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president (pg 342)

Chief of staff:

The head of the White House staff (pg 341)

Congressional-executive agreement

A formal agreement between a U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that requires approval by both houses of Congress (pg 332)

Electoral College:

the electoral system used in electing the president and vice president, in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for a particular party’s candidates (pg 328)

Executive agreement:

A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval (pg 330)

Executive Office of the President (EOP):

The cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his responsibilities. Currently the office includes the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, and several other units (pg 341)

Executive order:

Formal orders issued by the president to direct action by the Federal bureaucracy (pg 338)

Executive privilege:

The right to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to National Security (pg 337)

Impeachment:

Formal accusation against a president or other public official, the first step in removal from office (pg 334)

Impoundment:

A decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by Congress, now prohibited under Federal law (pg 339)

Inherent powers:

Powers that grow out of the very existence of government (pg 333)

Line item veto:

Presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (pg 339)

Mandate:

A president’s claim of broad public support (pg 349)

National Security Council:

An office created in 1947 to coordinate the president’s foreign policy and military policy advisors. Its formal members are the president, the vice president, secretary of state, and the secretary of defense. It is managed by the president’s national security advisor. Known as the NSC. It is a major policy making institution w/in executive branch.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB):

Presidential staff the agency that serves as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for government agencies (pg 341)

Pocket veto:

A formal decision to reject a bill passed by Congress after it adjourns – if Congress adjourns during the ten days that the president is allowed in order to sign or veto law, the president can reject the law by taking no action at all (pg 332)

Political capital:

the amount of overall public approval that a president can use to win support for major decisions and proposals (pg 349)

Presidential support score:

the percentage of times a president wins on key votes in Congress (pg 349)

Presidential ticket:

The joint listing of the presidential and vice presidential candidates on the same ballot as required by the Twelfth Amendment (pg 329)

Recess appointment:

presidential appointment made without Senate confirmation during Senate recess (pg 332)

Signing statement:

a formal document that explains why a president is signing a particular bill into law; these statements may contain objections to the bill and promises not to implement key sections (pg 333)

State of the Union Address

The president’s annual statement to Congress and the nation (pg 333)

Take care clause:

The constitutional requirement (in Article II, Section 3) that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed, even if they disagree with the purpose of those laws (pg 333)

Treaty:

A formal, public agreement between the United States and one or more nations that must be approved by two thirds of the Senate (pg 330)

Twentieth Amendment:

Passed in 1933 and known as the “Lame Duck Amendment”, it changed the inauguration from March 4th to January 20th.

Twenty-fifth Amendment:

Passed in 1967, this amendment permits the vice president to become acting president if both the vice president and the president’s cabinet determine that the president is disabled. The amendment also outlines how a recuperated president can reclaim the job.

Twenty-second Amendment:

Passed in 1951, the amendment that limits presidents to two terms of office.

Vesting clause:

the president’s constitutional authority to control most executive functions (pg 329)

Veto:

War Powers Resolution:

A resolution passed in 1973 requiring the president to give advance warning of a military attack or ask Congress for a declaration of war or specific legislation (pg 336)