AP Government - Vocabulary - Unit 2 - Interaction Among Branches

16th Amendment

Passed in 1913, permits Congress to levy an income tax.

17th Amendment

Direct election of senators.

22nd Amendment

Passed in 1951, limits presidents to two terms.

25th Amendment

Passed in 1967, permits the vice president to become acting president in the event that the president is temporarily disabled.

Administrative discretion

Authority of administrative actors (bureaucrats) to select among various responses to a given problem, especially when rules do not fit or more than one rule applies.

Amicus Curiae Brief

A 'friend of the court' brief filed by an interest group or interested party to influence a Supreme Court decision.

Appellate Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear an appeal from a lower court.

Appropriations bill

Bill passed annually to fund an authorized program.

Attorney General

Head of the Department of Justice - cabinet head appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate to enforce federal laws of the United States (criminal, civil rights, etc.).

Authorization bill

An act of Congress that establishes a discretionary government program or an entitlement, or that continues or changes such programs.

Bicameral legislature

A legislature that is divided into two chambers.

Bill

A proposed law, drafted in precise, legal language.

Budget

A policy document that allocates burdens (taxes) and benefits (expenditures).

Budget resolution

A bill setting limits on expenditures based on revenue projections, agreed to by both houses of Congress in April each year.

Bully Pulpit

The president's use of his prestige and visibility to guide or enthuse the American public.

Bureaucracy

A large, complex organization of appointed officials who implement policies of Executive and Legislative branches.

Bureaucrat

Appointed government officials who implement policies of Executive and Legislative branches.

Cabinet

The group of presidential advisors who head the executive departments.

Casework

Helping constituents as individuals cut through bureaucratic red tape to receive their rightful benefits.

Caucus

A meeting to determine which candidate delegates from a state party will support.

Civil Service

Promotes hiring on the basis of merit and establishes a nonpartisan government service.

Class Action Lawsuits

A technique used by interest groups which allows groups of people with similar complaints to combine their grievances into a single suit.

Closed rule

Under a Closed Rule no amendments may be offered other than amendments recommended by the committee reporting the bill.

Cloture

A senate motion to end a filibuster requiring 3/5ths vote.

Committee chairs

The most important influences on the congressional agenda; they schedule hearings, hire staff, appoint subcommittees, and manage committee bills.

Conference Committees

Temporary Committees that are formed to resolve differences in the House and Senate version of a bill.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

Research agency of Congress, responsible to it for providing analyses of budget proposals, revenue forecasts, and related information.

Continuing resolutions

Laws that allow agencies to spend at the previous year's level.

Judicial Restraint

Philosophy that judges should use precedents and the framer's original intent to decide cases, and leave policy-making to the legislative branch.

Judicial Review

The courts have the power to decide whether the actions of the legislative and executive branches of state and national governments are in accordance with the Constitution.

Justiciable disputes

Cases that can be settled by legal methods.

Lame-Duck Period

The period of time in which the President's term is about to come to an end and they have less influence.

Legislative oversight

The process of monitoring the bureaucracy and its administration of policy.

Legislative veto

A clause which allows Congress to override the action of the executive.

Line-Item Veto

An executive's power to veto specific dollar amounts or line items from major congressional spending bills.

Logrolling

Tactic of mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.

Majority leader

The Speaker's principal partisan ally who is responsible for soliciting support for the party's position on legislation.

Marbury v. Madison

1803 Supreme Court case that established the concept of judicial review.

Merit system

Government workers hired on the basis of qualifications, using entrance exams and promotion ratings for hiring workers.

Minority leader

The minority party's counterpart to the majority party's leadership.

National Security Council (NSC)

A committee that links the president's key foreign and military advisors.

Nuclear option

A parliamentary procedure that allows the U.S. Senate to override a rule or precedent by a simple majority of 51 votes.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Office responsible for preparing the budget that the president submits to Congress.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

Responsible for hiring for most agencies.

Original intent

The theory that judges should determine the intent of the framers and decide in line with their intent.

Original jurisdiction

Given to a court where a case is first heard.

Oversight

Congressional review of the activities of an executive agency, department or office.

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Passed in 1883, it created the federal Civil Service.

Pocket veto

Occurs when Congress adjourns within 10 days after submitting a bill and the president takes no action to sign it or veto it.

Policy implementation

The stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the results of the policy for individuals.

Political Questions

Conflicts between the president and Congress.

Pork barrel

List of federal projects, grants, and contracts available to cities, businesses, colleges, and institutions.

Precedent

The way similar cases have been handled in the past is used as a guide to current decisions.

Presidential coattails

Where voters cast their ballots for congressional candidates of the president's party because those candidates support the president.

Regulation

The use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector.

Revenues

Money received by the government in any given year.

Rule of Four

The Supreme Court will hear a case if four justices agree to do so.

Select committees

Appointed for a specific purpose.

Senate Finance Committee

Responsible for writing the tax code.

Senatorial Courtesy

An unwritten tradition whereby the Senate will not confirm nominations for lower court positions that are opposed by a senator of the president's own party.

Seniority system

Unwritten rule in both houses reserving the committee chairs to members of the committee with the longest records of continuous service.

Social Security Act of 1935

Passed to provide a minimal level of sustenance to older Americans.

Solicitor General

Responsible for handling all appeals on behalf of the US government to the Supreme Court.

Speaker of the House

Mandated by the Constitution, is next in line after the vice president to succeed a president who is unable to fulfill his/her term.

Spoils System

Government workers hired on the basis of a reward for who they know.

Standard operating procedures

Detailed rules written to cover as many particular situations as officials can anticipate.

Standing Committees

Permanent subject-matter congressional committees that handle legislation and oversee the bureaucracy.

Standing to sue

Litigants must have serious interest, having sustained direct and substantial injury, from a party in a case.

Stare Decisis

A Latin phrase meaning 'let the decision stand.'

Street-level bureaucrats

Bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public.

Supreme Court

The highest court in the land.

Tax expenditures

Revenue losses due to special exemptions, exclusions, and deductions.

Tax Incentive system

Regulatory strategy that rewards individuals or corporations for desired types of behavior.

Uncontrollable expenditures

Result from policies that make some group automatically eligible for benefits.

United Government

When one party controls the White House and both houses of Congress.

United States v. Nixon

1974 Supreme Court decision that required President Nixon to turn White House tapes over to the Courts.

Veto

The president's Constitutional power to reject a bill passed by Congress.

War Powers Resolution

Passed in 1973, requires presidents to consult with Congress prior to using military force.

Watergate

A political scandal involving President Nixon's abuse of his powers.

Whip

The majority or minority leader's principle tool for securing support for legislation.

Writ of Certiorari

An order by the Supreme Court directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review.