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necessary and proper clause
source of implied powers for the national government (mcculloch v. maryland, article i, section 8)
bills of attainder
acts that declare an individual guilty and mere out punishment without a trial
ex post facto laws
laws that make an act a crime after it was committed or increases punishment after the crime
seventeenth amendment
provides for direct popular election of united states senators
wesberry v. sanders
requires each congressional district within the states be apportioned on the basis of equal population
senate powers
try impeachments, confirm prez nominations, and ratify treaties
senate population
100 members, 2 for each state and serve 6 years
debate in senate
unlimited, floor debate important in shaping outcome of legislation
house powers
originate tax bills and appropriation bills, and bring impeachments
house population
435 members, serve for 2 years
debate in house
limited debate, committee work is more important
senator requirements
30 years old, citizen for 9 years, and resident of state they represent
house reps
25 years old, citizen for 7 years, and resident of the state they represent
the year of the woman
1992 - when 24 new women were elected to congress
trustee role
concept that legislators should vote on the basis of their consciences and the broad interests of the nation, not simply on the views of constituents (Edmund Burke)
delegate role
A concept of legislative work as simply voting the desires of one’s constituents, regardless of personal views
politico style
a manner of representation in which members of Congress attempt to strike a balance between the interests of their constituents and the dictates of their own judgment
richard fenmo’s idea of homestyle
members’ allocation of time and resources to their district
their personal style
their explanations of their washington activities
franking privilege
a congressional benefit that permits members to send out official mail using their signature rather than postage
pork barrel politics
the effort to enact legislation favoring a legislator’s home district, often in the form of costly government spending that may not be advantageous to the country
ombudsman
a person who intervenes with the bureaucracy on behalf of individual citizens
casework
congressional task of handling requests by constituents for information or assistance with the federal bureaucracy
legislative norms
unwritten rules of acceptable behavior in congress
reciprocity
personal courtesy
specialization
reciprocity (or logrolling)
a practice whereby two or more members of Congress exchange support for legislation important to each other
speaker of the house
presiding officer of the house of representatives who is selected by the majority (article i section 2)
rules committee
house committee that clears most important bills for floor consideration and decides the rule under which bills should be considered and recommends changes in the way a party conducts affairs
party whip
member of each party’s leadership responsible for party discipline and attendance for key votes
democratic caucus
all democratic house members who elect democratic leadership, approves committee assignments, and enforces party rules
the conference
republican caucus who elect republican leadership, approve committee assignments, and shape communications and strategy for the party
president of the senate
largely ceremonial role held by vp
president pro tempore
presiding officer of the senate in the absence of the vp—honorific and given to the senior majority party member
standing committees
the permanent committees of congress that alone can approve legislation and send it to the floor
joint committees
permanent committees made up of members from both houses
special or select committees
committees of congress created periodically to study particular problems or new areas of legislation
congressional seniority
based on a member’s service in congress, it can affect committee assignments, the amount of office space granted, and even the deference shown a member during floor debate
legislative reorganization act of 1970
opened up committee process making it so that open committee hearings are now required and roll-call votes are available to the public
house democratic caucus bill of rights
given authority to select subcommittee chairs
establish subcommittee jurisdiction
provide budgets for running the subcommittees
all committees with 20+ members establish at least 4 subcommittees
subcommittee chairs and ranking minority members allowed to hire staff
legislative assistant
congressional aide who analyzes bills, drafts laws, writes speeches, and prepares position papers
administrative assistant
top aide to a member of congress who frequently acts on behalf of the legislator in dealing with staff, colleagues, constituents, and lobbyists
3 agencies who provide congress with research and analysis
congressional research service
government accountability office
congressional budget office
congressional research service
conducts legal research and policy analysis and digests and summarizes legislation
government accountability office (watchdog agency)
reports to congress on the efficiency and performance of federal programs
congressional budget office
provides essential analysis of the economy and the federal budget for congress
mark-up
process in which a legislative committee sets the precise language and amendments of a bill
union calendar
house schedule for the consideration of tax and appropriation bills
house calendar
legislative schedule in the house of rep for non-money bills
private calendar
schedule for house bills that concerns personal rather than general legislative matters
closed rule
an order from the house rules committee that prohibits amendments to a bill under consideration on the house floor
open rule
an order from the house rules committee whereby amendments to a bill are permitted on the floor
modified rule
an order from the house rules committee allowing a limited number of amendments to a bill during floor consideration
committee of the whole
a parliamentary device used by the house to facilitate floor consideration of a bill; when house dissolves itself into the committee of the whole it can suspend formal rules and consider a bill with quorum of 100 rather than 218
executive calendar
one of two registers of business in the senate that contains presidential nominations and treaties
riders
provisions which ride into law on the backs of necessary pieces of legislation, forcing the president to veto the entire bill in order to kill the amendment
unanimous consent agreement
a common mechanism used by the senate leadership to limit senate debate
filibuster
continuing debate designed to prevent consideration of a particular bill (senate technique)
cloture
rule 22 of the senate in which discussion on a piece of legislation can be suspended after no more that 30 hours of debate by a vote of 60
house-senate conference committee
joint committee designed to reconcile differences between the house and senate version of a bill
distributive policies
programs that provide benefits for a few people and relatively small costs for many, usually provoking little opp
redistributive policies
programs such as tariffs or tax reforms that produce considerable benefits to some segments of society but high costs to others
iron triangle
combo of interest group reps, legislators, and government administrators seen as influential in determining the outcome of political decisions
chief of state
role the president plays as the ceremonial head of the nation that can also make the president a symbol of national unity during times of crisis
head of government
chief executive officer of a government
naturalized citizen
a person born in another country who becomes a citizen of the us by a procedure set by congress
presidential requirements
35 years old, resident of the US for at least 14 years
22 amendment
limits the president to 2 terms in office
vesting clause
first clause of article ii which confers executive power in the president
stewardship theory
expansive theory of presidential power by Theodore Roosevelt that holds that the president can undertake any act as long as it isn’t prohibited by the constitution or law
constitutional theory
concept associated with prez taft that the prez cannot exercise any power unless it’s based on a specific constitutional provision or legislative grant
plasticity of the presidency
the tendency of the office to be molded according to the energy and personality of its occupant in combo with needs
section 2 article ii
the president shall nominate with consent of the senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all other officers of the US
myers v. US
said that the president’s power to remove non-civil service appointees was unrestricted and beyond the reach of congress
humphrey’s executor v. US
said that prez roosevelt could not fire a member of the federal trade commission because of policy differences (undid myers v. US)
FTC act
specified that the president could remove a commissioner only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office
seila law v. consumer fraud protection bureau
ruled prez trump could remove the director of the CFPB despite congress having created the position as a 5 year term that could only be dismissed for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or criminal conduct
article ii, section 2
gives prez power to grant reprieves and pardons for offense against the US except in cases of impeachment (only limited to violations of federal laws)
the administration
president plus seniors officials such as cabinet officials, undersecretaries, and the administrators and deputies of the various independent agencies
inner cabinet
cabinet officers whose departments handle issues of broad national importance, including the secretaries of state, defense, and the treasury, and the attorney general
outer cabinet
cabinet officers whose departments deal with sharply defined programs and are subject to considerable pressure from client groups
economic policy council and domestic policy council
established by reagan designed to coordinate policy and to keep members of the outer cabinet in close contact with the president
responsibilities of white house staff
giving prez broad-gauged advice not influenced by a departmental or interest group perspective
setting legislative strategy
keeping check on the bureaucracy
reviewing the performance of cabinet and subcabinet officials
planning the president’s time
saying no for the prez to people who want something that he or she cannot give
multiple advocacy
a system of advising the president in which all sides of an issue are presented
executive office of the president
created to serve as the managerial arm of the presidency (national security council, office of management and budget, and council of economic advisers)
office of management and budget
agency in the executive office of the president that provides the president with budgetary information and advice and is responsible for compiling the president’s annual budget proposal to congress
national security council
designed to provide the president with advice and policy coordination on questions of national security (prez, vp, secretaries of state and defense, and other officials)
council of economic advisers
established by the employment act of 1946 as a part of the executive office of the president (chairperson, academic economist, two other members to analyze economics)
carter-mondale arrangement
converted vice presidency from an office without a role into that of a senior policy adviser to the president
twenty-fifth amendment
provides mechanism for the vice president to assume the presidential disability and the selection of a replacement for the vice president should that office become vacant
presidential succession act of 1947
established the line of presidential succession after the vice president as follows: speaker of the house, president pro tempore of senate, and cabinet secretaries in order of establishment of departments
war powers resolution
requires congressional approval after 60 days of any presidential decision to send troops into combat (nixon)
hughes-ryan amendment
requires congressional notification of covert operations conducted by the CIA
executive agreements
agreements between heads of state that do not require approval by the senate (no legal distinctions between the substance of a treaty and that of an executive agreement)
case act
requires the secretary of state to submit to the senate the final text of any executive agreement and allows agreements concerning sensitive national security matters to be submitted privately to the senate foreign relations and house foreign affairs committees
commander-in-chief
article ii section 2 names the president as the civilian head of U.S forces
korematsu v. US
upheld the exclusion of program of the Japanese as within the combined war powers of congress and the prez
gulf of tonkin resolution
congressional resolution granting president johnson the authority to undertake military activities in southeast asia
war powers resolution of 1973
specified that the prez could not commit troops to combat beyond 6o days unless authorized by congress
national security strategy of the US
outlines the country’s approach to defense
doctrine of preemption
america’s strategy would not be to attack potential enemies before they had the opportunity to attack the US
article i section 7
president may veto a congressional bill within 10 days after it reaches the president’s desk (but has no item veto)
line item veto act
tried to give the president item veto abilities but the SC ruled it unconstitutional