AP GOV - Unit 4 Congress, Bureaucracy, Executive, Judiciary Test

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Government

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92 Terms

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Incumbency
The person holding office that’s running for re-election
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Franking privilege 
Congress members can use mail without having to pay for postage
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Powers of House
Power of the purse, initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an Electoral College tie
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Powers of Senate
The sole power to confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent, and to provide advice and consent to ratify treaties
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Pork Barrell
Money spent of “wasteful” things to get re-elected
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Log Rolling
Trading votes with another congress member for a bill
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Congressional Budget Office
Providing Congress with objective, nonpartisan, and timely information, analyses, and estimates related to federal economic and budgetary decisions
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House Ways and Means and Rule Committees
Committee for making the rules for bills, rules for the House, and schedule billls
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Speaker of House
Elected by the majority of the House, the constitutional role of presiding over debates in the House, determining who can speak, and maintaining order.
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Majority Leader
Assistant speaker that unites factions and assigns committees
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Minority Leader
The face of the media for the minority party that can also assign committees
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President Pro Tempore
Constiutional role in the senate that is given to the most senior member. This person presides over the senate when the vice president is not there
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Whips
They get people to vote with their party
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Vice President
Constitutional role where this person presides in the senate and breaks ties
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Committee Chairs
Voted on chairs that are typically given to senior members schedule hearings and manage bills in committee
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Filibuster
A senate tradition that used to talk a bill to death but now talking is not required to suspend the voting of a bill
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Motion of Cloture
60 members needed to vote in order to end a filibuster
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Senate Hold
An anonymous filibuster
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Senatorial Courtesy
A senator from the same state as a presidential nominee can deny that nominee
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Caucus
A group of law makers who meet to pursue common interest goals. Less important than a committee
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Standing Committee
A permanent committee in each house that often recommends funding for government agencies
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Joint Committee
A more permanent committee than a conference committee that has membership by the House and Senate
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Conference Committee
A temperory committee established to make a compromise
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Select Committee
A narrow focused committee that may be permanent of temporary
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Checks and Balances
The discharge petition for party leadership, congressional oversight to review an agency, department, or office

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Red Tape
Complex bureaucratic rules and procedure that must be followed to get something done
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Department of Agriculture

1. Helps farmers during droughts and economic crises
2. Oversees school lunch programs
3. Promotes good nutrition
4. Works to ensure a safe and adequate food supply
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Department of Commerce

1. Decides who should get patents to new products
2. Every 10 years conducts the U.S. Census, the official population count
3. Promotes a positive business climate and trade with other countries
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Department of Defense

1. Operates the Army, Navy, Marine Corp, and Air Force
2. Oversees policies that affect the U.S. Military
3. Trains and equips soldiers
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Department of Education

1. Gathers ideas to improve education
2. Promotes “Race to the Top” law and standardized testing
3. Provides government loans/scholarships for college students
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Department of Energy

1. Conducts scientific research to improve energy resources
2. Keeps U.S. nucleur facilities safe
3. Monitors oil drilling
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Department of Health and Human Services

1. FDA makes sure medicines are safe
2. Oversees the CDC
3. Provides help for the elderly
4. Works to improve people’s health
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Department of Homeland Security

1. Citizenship and immigration services decides who should be allowed in the U.S.
2. Coordinates effort between multiple government agencies to fight terrorism
3. Helps president develop policies to keep America safe
4. TSA provides airport security
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Department of Housing and Urban Development

1. Helps improve run down neighborhoods
2. Insures help for affordable homes
3. Makes sure that people who want to buy homes aren’t discriminated against
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Department of Interior

1. Helps native Americans with education and health care
2. Manages national park system
3. Protects natural resources such as water, minerals, plants, and endangered species
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Department of Justice

1. FBI inverstigates crimes
2. Operates our federal prisons
3. Represents the U.S. in legal matters and helps the president make legal decisions
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Department of Labor

1. Enforces laws about workers rights
2. Keeps statistics about the economy and working conditions
3. Provides programs to help the unemployed
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Department of State

1. Issues passports and protects U.S. citizens in other countries
2. Manages U.S. foreign policy
3. Sends ambassadors
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Department of Transportation

1. Makes sure airlines follow safety regulations
2. Improves the national highway system
3. Promotes safe and environemtally sound rail transportation
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Department of Treasury

1. Collects taxes through the IRS
2. Makes paper currency and coins
3. Manages the government’s finances
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Department of Veterans Affairs

1. Helps homeless veterans find a place to live
2. Operates all the military cementaries
3. Provides services such as education and helath care to veteransbv
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Commander in chief
Exclusive Enumerated Power (Formal Power) of the president that allows him to lead the military
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Grant Pardons
Exclusive Enumerated Power (Formal Power) of the president so he can forgive a prisoner
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Call congress into session
Exclusive Enumerated Power (Formal Power) of the president to call both houses in order to discuss a nominee
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Receive amabassadors
Exclusive Enumerated Power (Formal Power) of the president to negotiate with foreign countries
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State of the Union address
Exclusive Enumerated Power (Formal Power) of the president to deliver a speech on what he has done in his presidency so far
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Sign a bill into law
Exclusive Enumerated Power (Formal Power) of the president that makes legislation
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Veto/Pocket Veto
Doesn’t sign the bill and the sessions ends within 10 days and it is an Exclusive Enumerated Power of the president
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Executive agreement
An informal power of the president that makese International agreements like treaties that don’t require Senate confirmation
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Threatening a veto
An informal power of the president that makes congress change a bill
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Bargaining and Persuasion
Informal power of the president that is relied on to secure congressional action which is typically more successful at the start of the term
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Honeymoon period
100 days to get legislation passed
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Coat tail effect
People hold on to the presidents coat tail after an election
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Executive order
Rule issued by the president that has the power of law and is an informal power
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Signing statements
An informal power that is a written comment issued by the president when signign a bill and it informs congress and the public of the president’s interpretation of the law
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Line-item veto
Presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package
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Executive privilege
An implied presidential power that allows the president to refuse to disclose information regarding confidential conversations or national security to Congress or the judiciary
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25th Amendment Order
Succesion order of the president - Vice President. Speaker of the House. President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Secretary of State.
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The Imperial Presidency
Presidency has gained power over time, compares to the power of a King
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Press Secretary
Primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States government administration
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Chief of Staff
Controls the president's calendar, limits access to the president, manages the staff, and helps the president in all aspects of domestic and foreign policy
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War Powers Act
An act that checked and limit the power of the president by requiring the approval of congress to put American troops in combat areas
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Office of Management and Budget
Presidential staff the agency that serves as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for government agencies.
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Economic council
They study the economy to see how economic events can affect the president's economic policy and how the president's policy is affecting the economy. Then, they advise the president on what to do.
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National Security Council
A link between the president's key foreign and military advisers and the president
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Office of Personnel Management
Manages the civil service of the federal government, coordinates recruiting of new government employees, and manages their health insurance and retirement benefits programs.
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Iron Triangle
The connection between Congress, interest groups, and the bureaucracy
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Spoils System/Patronage
A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends
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Congressional Oversight
Power used by Congress to gather information useful for the formation of legislation, review the operations and budgets of executive departments and independent regulatory agencies, conduct investigations through committee hearings, and bring to the public attention the need for public policy.
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Hatch Act
To prohibit government employees from active participation in partisan politics.
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Pendleton Civil Service Act
Provided that federal government jobs be awarded on the basis of merit and that government employees be selected through competitive exams
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Independent execuitve agencies
Narrow areas of responsibilty to perform public services like NASA
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Independent regulatory commisions
Experts who make rules regulating specific industries to protect the publc like the FED and FCC
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Government corporations
Provide services that could be provided by private companies but aren’t profitable
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Cabinet departments
Major administrative responsibilites over a broad area of policy
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Securites and Exchange Commission
Independent regulatory agency that regulates the various stock exchanges
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Federal Reserve
Independent regulatory agency that with a board to control monetary policy
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Stare Decisis
“Let the decision stand” - Using PRECEDENT in earlier cases to help reach a decision on another case so people know what a law means
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Amicus Curiae
“Friend of the court” - Allows interest groups to write letters to the court detailing how a decision would impact them
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Writs of Certiorari
Rule of 4 meaning 4 justices are needed to hear a court case
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Judicial Restraint
Belief that the Supreme Court should rely on precedent in making decisions so it favors less court involvment
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Judicial Activism
Belief that the Supreme Court can correct injustices
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Judiciary Act of 1789
Established 6 justices for the Supreme Court and established lower courts
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Plaintiff
A person who brings a case against another in a court of law.
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Defendant
The person being sued in a court of law
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Court Packing
The idea of adding justices to the Supreme Court or lower courts to shift the balance in a liberal, conservative or other direction.
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District Courts
Courts of original jursidiction meaning no appeals
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Courts of Appeals
Reviews cases from district courts but has original jurisdiction for bureaucracy cases
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Supreme Court
Has the rule of 4 and it interprets te counstitution and how it applies to laws with judicial review
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Original Jurisdiction
1st time hearing a case
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Appellate Jurisdiction
Not a new trial and questioning if the law itself is constitutional
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Background on selection of supreme court nominees
President nominates someone, a background investigation begins, a senate judiciary committee holds hearings, committee votes to recommend the nominee to the entire senate, the entire senate debates the nomination, they vote to confirm the nominee, and the nominee is sworn in