Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government Comprehensive Vocabulary List

Flashcards with vocabulary terms and definitions.

Formal power

Power delegated to a branch of government explicitly listed in the U.S. Constitution.

Informal power

Powers not listed in the U.S. Constitution but implied or granted.

Bicameral

Two-house legislature.

Senate

Designed to represent states equally; has 100 members and debate is less formal than the House; bills are typically brought to the floor by unanimous consent, but a Senator may request a hold on a bill to prevent it from getting to the floor for a vote. During debate, a Senator can use the filibuster or make a motion for cloture.

House

Designed to represent the people; Debate in the House, which has 435 members, is more formal than in the Senate; All revenue bills must originate in the House. Rules for debate in the House on a bill are established by the Rules Committee. The House can form a Committee of the Whole in order to expedite debate on bills. An individual representative in the House can file a discharge petition to have a bill brought to the floor for debate, but it is rarely done.

Federal budget

Generated by Congress to address both mandatory and discretionary spending.

Oversight

Congressional authority to ensure legislation is implemented as intended, including review, monitoring, and supervision of bureaucratic agencies, investigation and committee hearings of bureaucratic activity, and power of the purse; serves as a check of executive authorization.

Speaker of the House

Elected by a majority of House members and presides over the legislative work in the House.

Bill

A draft or proposed law in Congress.

Committee

Conduct hearings and debate and mark up bills with revisions and additions; leadership in committees is determined by the majority political party; a majority of bills do not pass committees to floor debate and vote.

Committee hearing

A method of both houses by which committee members gather and analyze information, evidence, and testimony in deliberation over a bill prior to full chamber debate and vote.

Mark up

Additions and/or revisions of a bill done in congressional committee.

Rules Committee

Establishes rules for debate on a bill in the House.

Committee of the Whole

A committee formed in the House to expedite debate on bills.

Discharge petition

A filing by a House member to have a bill brought to the floor for debate, but rarely done.

Unanimous consent

A typical Senate procedure to bring bills to the floor for debate and vote.

Hold

A filing by a Senator to prevent a bill from getting to the floor for a vote.

Filibuster

A tactic to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill.

Cloture

A procedure to end a debate.

Conference committee

Meets when a bill passed by both chambers on the same topic has variation in its wording and attempt to reconcile those differences.

Mandatory spending

Required by law for entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Entitlements

Any government-provided or government-managed benefit or service to which some or all individuals are entitled.

Social Security

A social insurance program funded by a payroll tax on current employers and employees to be redistributed to qualifying individuals for retirement, disability, or survivor benefits.

Medicare

A federal government-subsidized healthcare program for qualified elderly Americans.

Medicaid

A federal government-subsidized healthcare program for qualified low-income households.

Discretionary spending

Approved on an annual basis for defense spending, education, and infrastructure; as entitlement costs grow, discretionary spending opportunities will decrease unless tax revenues increase, or the budget deficit increases.

Infrastructure

A set of facilities, structures, and utilities developed, owned, operated, and maintained by the federal, state, and/or municipal government; includes highways, roads, railroads, bridges, ports, airports, public transportation, water and sewage systems, electrical grids, and broadband systems.

Pork barrel

Funding for a local project in a larger appropriation bill.

Logrolling

Combining several pieces of legislation into one bill to secure enough votes for passage.

Partisan voting

When members of Congress vote based on their political party affiliation.

Polarization

When political attitudes move toward ideological extremes.

Gridlock

A situation in which no congressional action on legislation can be taken due to a lack of consensus.

Reapportionment

Redistribution of congressional seats to the several states based on the U.S. Census held every 10 years.

Redistricting

Redrawing of congressional districts by state legislatures based on congressional reapportionment.

Gerrymandering

Redrawing of congressional districts with the intent to create undue advantage for a political party.

Divided government

When one party controls the presidency and the other party controls at least one of the chambers of Congress.

Lame duck

An outgoing politician or group of politicians who continue to serve until the assumption of their elected successors.

Trustee representative

A representative who will vote on issues based on their own knowledge and judgment.

Delegate representative

A representative who sees themselves as an agent of those who elected them and will vote on issues based on the interests of their constituents.

Politico representative

Uses a combination of trustee and delegate role conceptions.

Policy agenda

A list of subjects or issues to which government officials will agree to consider as part of public policymaking.

Cabinet

An advisory body to the President made up of the heads of the 15 executive departments and the Vice President.

Executive Office of the President

Comprises the offices and agencies that support the work and agenda of the President; consists of the White House Office (headed by the Chief of Staff), National Security Council, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Veto

Formal power of the President to check Congress, but vetoes can be overridden with a 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress.

Pocket veto

Formal power of the President to check Congress, and cannot be overridden with a 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress.

Line item veto

The (unconstitutional) authority of the President to reject or veto particular provisions of a bill passed by Congress.

Commander in Chief

Formal foreign policy power of the President.

Executive agreement

Informal foreign policy power of the President.

Treaty

Formal foreign policy of the President.

Bargaining and persuasion

Informal power of the President to secure congressional action.

Executive order

An informal power to allow the president to manage the federal government and are implied by the president’s vested executive power or by power delegated by Congress.

Signing statement

An informal power of the President to inform Congress and the public of the president’s interpretation of laws passed by Congress and signed by the president.

Senate confirmation

An important check on appointment powers but there can be a potential for conflict based on who is chosen by the president for appointments, including: Cabinet members, Ambassadors, Some positions within the Executive Office of the President, Supreme Court Justices, Court of Appeals judges, and District Court judges, but the president’s longest lasting influence lies in life-tenured judicial appointments.

Congressional agenda

The formal list of policies Congress is considering at any given time; policy conflicts with the congressional agenda can lead the president to use executive orders and directives to the bureaucracy to address the president’s own agenda items.

Federalist 70

Offers justification for a single executive by arguing a strong executive is “essential to the protection of the country against foreign attacks, to the steady administration of the laws, to the protection of property, and to the security of liberty.”

22nd Amendment

Established presidential term limits and demonstrates concern about the expansion of presidential power.

State of the Union

Formal power of the President that is a nationally broadcast message for agenda setting that uses the media to influence public views about which policies are the most important.

Bully pulpit

Informal power of the President for agenda setting that uses the media to influence public views about which policies are the most important.

Agenda setting

The President uses their formal and informal powers to influence public policy and public opinion in pursuit of their presidential agenda.

Article III

Foundation for powers of the judicial branch; life tenure for justices allows the court to function independent of the current political climate.

Federalist 78

The argument for how its independence checks the power of other branches; life tenure for justices allows the court to function independent of the current political climate.

Judicial review

The Supreme Court’s power to determine the constitutionality of a congressional law, executive action, or state law or state court decision.

Precedent

A principle or rule established in a previous legal case relevant to a court when deciding subsequent cases.

Stare decisis

The legal doctrine under which courts follow legal precedents when deciding cases with similar facts.

Jurisdiction

Legal authority delegated to the federal courts to rule on cases and controversies.

Original jurisdiction

The power of a court to hear a case for the first time.

Appellate jurisdiction

The power of a court to hear a case that has already been heard and decided by a lower court.

Judicial activism

Asserts that judicial review allows the courts to overturn current Constitutional and case precedent or invalidate legislative or executive acts.

Judicial restraint

Asserts that judicial review should be constrained to decisions that adhere to current Constitutional and case precedent.

Federal bureaucracy

Composed of departments, agencies, commissions, and government corporations that implement policy by: Writing and enforcing regulations, Issuing fines, Testifying before Congress, Forming iron triangles, Creating issue networks; discretionary power as delegated by Congress to interpret and implement policies; through their rulemaking authority, federal bureaucratic agencies utilize their discretion to create and enforce regulations.

Regulation

A set of requirements issued by a federal bureaucratic agency to implement congressional laws.

Executive department

One of the principal units of the executive branch and administrative arms of the President; headed by a secretary appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and serve at the pleasure of the President (can be removed for cause); e.g. Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Education.

Executive agency

An agency established outside the Executive Office of the President or executive departments designed for managerial and administrative functions as enacted by congressional legislation; e.g. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Independent regulatory agency / commission

An agency established to oversee and regulate a specific industry or sector and are delegated rulemaking authority; heads of commissions can only be removed for cause and insulated from presidential control; e.g. Federal Elections Commission (FEC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Reserve.

Government corporation

An agency established to provide a market-oriented public service, owned by the federal government and operated as a private business; e.g. United States Postal Service, AMTRAK, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Issue network

Temporary coalitions that form to promote a common issue or agenda.

Iron triangle

Alliances of congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups that are prominent in specific policy areas.

Merit system

Prioritizes hiring and promotion based on professionalism, specialization, and neutrality.

Patronage

Bureaucratic jobs are politically appointed.

Discretionary power

Delegated by Congress to bureaucratic agencies to interpret and implement policies.

Rule-making authority

Federal bureaucratic agencies utilize their discretion to create and enforce regulations.

Department of Homeland Security

The executive department responsible for public security, including anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management.

Department of Transportation

The executive department responsible for managing and administering public transportation and infrastructure projects.

Department of Veterans Affairs

The executive department responsible for providing and managing healthcare and financial benefits for military veterans.

Department of Education

The executive department responsible for government education programs, educational financial aid, and equity access policies in public education.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The executive agency responsible for environmental-related programs and policies to protect human health and safeguard natural environments.

Federal Elections Commission (FEC)

The regulatory commission responsible for enforcement of campaign finance laws in federal elections.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

The regulatory commission responsible for enforcement of laws to protect financial markets, investors, and capital formation.

Power of the purse

The ability of Congress to check the bureaucracy by appropriating or withholding funds.

Compliance monitoring

Ensures that funds are being used properly and regulations are being followed.