Unit 2 Vocab Quiz

Pork barrel spending

Directs funding to projects in specific states/districts through “earmarks”

Logrolling

When members of Congress trade their votes on legislation in order to get their earmarks (usually specified funding efforts) passed

Oversight

The power of congress to investigate wrongdoing and ensure proper implementation, ensuring agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments are acting legally and in line with Congressional goals

Constituency

A body voters in a given area who elect a representative or senator

Apportionment

The process of determining the number of representatives for each state/district using census data

Redistricting

Redrawing of district boundaries following a census, opportunity for gerrymandering

Gerrymandering

The intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific interest or group of voters

Incumbency

Having previously served a term in office

Whip

A member of Congress whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline, especially when gathering votes before passing a bill

Filibuster

When a Senator uses the right of unlimited debate to post phone action or raise awareness on a piece of legislation

Cloture

A procedures through which senators end a filibuster, minimum 60 senators must agree to it

Budget surplus

The amount of money remaining when the government takes in more than it spends

Budget deficit

The annual shortfall when a government takes in less money than it spends (current/normal state)

Bipartisanship

Agreements that work between parties for shared aims

Gridlock

A slowdown or halt in Congress’s ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially partisan objects

Divided Government

When the presidency and one or both chambers of Congress split between the two major parties

Lame Duck period

Period at the end of a presidency when Congress is more likely to block presidential initiatives

Treaty

An agreement with a foreign government negotiated by the president but requiring a 2/3 vote in the Senate to ratify

State of the Union Address

Annual speech given by the president delivered to update the people on the state of national affairs

Pocket veto

Informal veto caused by the president failing to sign legislation at the end of a Congressional session

Presidential pardon

Authority given to president to release individuals convicted of a crime and free them from legal consequences

executive privilege

A right claimed by presidents to keep certain conversations, records, and transcripts confidential (even from Congress)

Executive agreement

An agreement between a president and another nation that does not have the same durability of a treaty but does not require the senate to authorize

Executive order

Policy directives issued by presidents that do not require congressional approval

Executive Office of the President

A collection of offices within the White House organization designed to support and inform the president including the president’s advisors

Bully Pulpit

Presidential appeals to the public to pressure other branches of governemnt to support executive policies

Original jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case first, which includes the finding of facts in a case

Appellate jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear and review decisions made by lower courts in that system

Federalist No. 78

Argument from Hamilton that the federal judiciary was, in fact, not overpowered but could serve as a check on the other two branches

Marbury v. Madison

The Supreme Court case that established judicial review over federal laws

Judicial review

The authority of the Supreme Court to strike down a law or executive action if it conflicts with the Constitution

Criminal law

A category of law covering actions that harm the community or common wellbeing

Civil law

A category of law covering cases involving private rights and relationships between individuals and groups

Federal district courts

The lowest level of the federal judiciary, these courts usually have original jurisdiction in cases that start at the federal level

Federal courts of appeals

Middle level of the federal judiciary, these courts review and hear appeals from the federal district courts

Precedent

A judicial decision that guides future courts in handling similar cases

Stare decisis

The practice of letting a previous legal decision stand

Majority opinion

A binding Supreme Court opinion, serving as a precedent for future cases

Concurring opinion

An opinion that agrees with the majority decision offering different or additional reasoning, that does not serve as precedent

Dissenting opinion

An opinion that disagrees with the majority opinion and does not serve as precedent

Judicial restraint

A philosophy of constitutional interpretation that justices should be cautious in overturning laws

Judicial activism

A philosophy of constitutional interpretations that justices should actively wield the power of judicial review—sometimes creating bold new policies

Federal bureaucracy

The departments and agencies within the executive branch that are responsible for carrying out the laws of the nation (usually appointed not elected)

Bureaucrat

An official employed within a government bureaucracy usually serving a specific purpose

Political patronage

Filling administrative positions on the basis of support and loyalty not merit

Merit system

A system of hiring and promotion based on competitive testing results, education, and other qualifications rather than politics and personal connections

Iron triangle

The coordination of the bureaucracy, Congress, and interest groups to mutually act for shared policy goals

Bureaucratic discretion

The power to decide how a law is implemented and to decide what Congress meant when it passed a law

Regulation

The process through which the federal bureaucracy makes rules that have the force of lawn to carry out the laws passed by Congress