POLI 2051 Final Exam

twenty-second ammendment

Ratified in 1951, this amendment limits presidents to two terms of office.

twenty-fifth amendment

Ratified in 1967, this amendment permits the vice president to become acting president if the vice president and the president’s cabinet determine that the president is disabled, and it outlines how a recuperated president can reclaim the job.

impeachment

The political equivalent of an indictment in criminal law, prescribed by the Constitution. The House of Representatives may impeach the president by a majority vote for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

watergate

The events and scandal surrounding a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972 and the subsequent cover-up of White House involvement, leading to the eventual resignation of President Nixon under the threat of impeachment.

executive orders

Regulations originating with the executive branch. Executive orders are one method presidents can use to control the bureaucracy.

cabinet

A group of presidential advisers not mentioned in the Constitution, although every president has had one. Today the Cabinet is composed of 14 secretaries, the attorney general, and others designated by the president.

executive office of the president

The offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch, with responsibility for tasks ranging from communicating the president’s message to the American people to promoting U.S. trade interests abroad.

National Security Council (NSC)

The committee that links the president’s foreign and military policy advisers. Its formal members are the president, vice president, secretary of state, and secretary of defense, and it is managed by the president’s national security assistant.

Council of Economic Advisors (CEA)

A three-member body appointed by the president to advise the president on economic policy.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

An office that prepares the president’s budget and also advises presidents on proposals from departments and agencies and helps review their proposed regulations.

state of the union address

The annual speech that the president delivers to Congress, updating the legislature and the nation of the state of national affairs and laying out the chief executive’s proposals and plans for the coming year.

veto

The constitutional power of the president to send a bill back to Congress with reasons for rejecting it. A two-thirds vote in each house can override a veto.

signing statement

A statement issued by presidents when signing some bills saying that they will not comply with some of their provisions and, in effect, vetoing parts of the bills.

executive privilege

The power of the president and other executive branch officials to withhold certain confidential communications from Congress and the courts.

treaty

A binding agreement between the United States and one or more nations that is ratified by the Senate and becomes part of international law.

executive agreement

An agreement between the president and another nation or nations that does not require Senate ratification but that is a binding international obligation.

war powers resolution

A law passed in 1973, in reaction to American fighting in Vietnam and Cambodia, that requires presidents to consult with Congress whenever possible prior to using military force and to withdraw forces after 60 days unless Congress declares war or grants an extension. However, presidents have viewed the resolution as unconstitutional.

crisis

A sudden, unpredictable, and potentially dangerous event requiring the president to play the role of crisis manager. (9/11)

going public

A strategy in which presidents reach out directly to the American people to persuade them to support themselves and their policies and then pressure member of Congress to vote for their proposals.

pocket veto

letting a bill die; not signing or formally vetoing it

legislative veto

the ability of congress to pass a resolution to override a presidential decision

bureacracy

a hierarchical authority structure that uses task specialization, operates on the merit principle, and behaves with impersonality.

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Passed in 1883, an act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage.

civil service

A body of government employees who are hired and promoted through a system based on the merit principle and the desire to create a nonpartisan government service.

merit principle

The idea that hiring should be based on entrance exams and promotion ratings to produce an administration of people with talent and skill.

Hatch Act

A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics while on duty. The same law applies at all times to federal employees in sensitive positions.

Office of Personel Management (OPM)

The office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal government, using elaborate rules in the process.

GS Rating (general schedule)

A schedule for federal employees, ranging from GS 1 to GS 18, by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience.

Senior Executive Service

An elite cadre of about 9,000 federal government managers at the top of the civil service system.

independent regulatory commission

A government agency with responsibility for making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest in some sector of the economy and for judging disputes over these rules.

government corporation

A government organization that, like business corporations, provides a service that could be delivered by the private sector and typically charges for its services. The U.S. Postal Service is an example.

independent executive agencies

The government agencies not accounted for by Cabinet departments. Their administrators are appointed by the president and serve at the president’s pleasure. NASA is an example.

policy implementation

The stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people affected. Implementation involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program.

standard operating procedures

Better known as SOPs, these procedures for everyday decision making enable bureaucrats to bring efficiency and uniformity to the running of complex organizations. Uniformity promotes fairness and makes personnel interchangeable.

administrative discretion

The authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem. Discretion is greatest when routines, or standard operating procedures, do not fit a case.

sreet-level bureaucrats

A phrase referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion.

regulation

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

bureaucratic adjunction

When the bureaucracy settles disputes between parties that arise over the implementation of federal laws or determines which individuals or groups are covered under a regulation or program.

command-and-control policy

The typical system of regulation whereby government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes offenders.

incentive system

An alternative to command-and- control, with market-like strategies such as rewards used to manage public policy.

deregulation

The lifting of government restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities.

issue networks

An alliance of interest groups and policy advocates who attempt to influence government policy.

standing to sue

The requirement that plaintiffs have a serious interest in a case, which depends on whether they have sustained or are likely to sustain a direct and substantial injury from another party or from an action of government.

class action lawsuits

Lawsuits in which a small number of people sue on behalf of all people in similar circumstances.

justiciable disputes

issues capable of being settled as a matter of law

amicus curiae briefs (“friend of the court”)

Legal briefs submitted by a “friend of the court” for the purpose of influencing a court’s decision by raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties.

original jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These are the courts that determine the facts about a case.

appellate jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of courts that hear cases brought to them on appeal from lower courts. These courts do not review the factual record, only the legal issues involved.

district courts

The 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction. They are the only federal courts in which trials are held and in which juries may be impaneled.

court of appeals

Appellate courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts, except in rare cases. In addition, they also hear appeals to orders of many federal regulatory agencies.

Supreme Court

The pinnacle of the American judicial system. The Court ensures uniformity in interpreting national laws, resolves conflicts among states, and maintains national supremacy in law. It has both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction.

senatorial courtesy

An unwritten tradition whereby nominations for state-level federal judicial posts are usually not confirmed if they are opposed by a senator of the president’s party from the state in which the nominee will serve. The tradition also applies to courts of appeals when there is opposition from a senator of the president’s party who is from the nominee’s state.

solicitor general

A presidential appointee and the third-ranking office in the Department of Justice. The solicitor general is in charge of the appellate court litigation of the federal government.

opinion

A statement of the legal reasoning behind a judicial decision. The content of an opinion may be as important as the decision itself.

dissenting opinion

An opinion written by an appellate judge or Supreme Court justice who disagrees with the majority opinion in a given case.

concurring opinion

A judicial opinion that agrees with the majority opinion but differs with the rationale behind it.

stare decisis

A Latin phrase meaning “let the decision stand.” Most cases reaching appellate courts are settled on this principle.

precedent

how similar cases have been decided in the past

originalism

A view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intentions or original meaning of the Framers. Many conservatives support this view.j

judicial implementation

How and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy, thereby affecting the behavior of others. The courts rely on other units of government to enforce their decisions.

judicial restraint

An approach to decision making in which judges play minimal policymaking roles and defer to legislatures whenever possible.

judicial activism

An approach to decision making in which judges sometimes make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground.

political questions

A doctrine developed by the federal courts and used as a means to avoid deciding some cases, principally those involving conflicts between the president and Congress.

statutory construction

the judicial interpretation of an act of Congress. in some cases where statutory construction is an issue, Congress passes new legislation to clarify existing laws.

budget

A policy document allocating burdens (taxes) and benefits (expenditures).

expenditures

Government spending. Major areas of federal spending are social services and national defense.

revenues

The financial resources of the government. The individual income tax and Social Security tax are two major sources of the federal government’s revenue.

income tax

Shares of individual wages and corporate revenues collected by the government. The Sixteenth Amendment explicitly authorized Congress to levy a tax on income.

sixteenth amendment

The constitutional amendment adopted in 1913 that explicitly permitted Congress to levy an income tax.

deficit

an excess of federal expenditures over federal revenues

national debt

all the money borrowed by the federal government over the years and still outstanding

tax expenditures

Revenue losses that result from special exemptions, exclusions, or deductions allowed by federal tax law.

social security act

A 1935 law intended to provide a minimal level of sustenance to older Americans and thus save them from poverty.

medicare

A program added to the Social Security system in 1965 that provides health insurance for the older people, covering hospitalization, doctor fees, and other health expenses.

incrementalism

A description of the budget process in which the best predictor of this year’s budget is last year’s budget plus a little bit more (an increment). According to Aaron Wildavsky and Naomi Caiden, “Most of the budget is a product of previous decisions.”

uncontrollable expenditures

Expenditures that are determined by how many eligible beneficiaries there are for a program or by previous obligations of the government and that Congress therefore cannot easily control.

entitlements

Policies for which Congress has obligated itself to pay X level of benefits to Y number of recipients. Social Security benefits are an example.

House Ways and Means Committee

The House of Representatives committee that, along with the Senate Finance Committee, writes the tax codes, subject to the approval of Congress as a whole.

senate finance committee

The Senate committee that, along with the House Ways and Means Committee, writes the tax codes, subject to the approval of Congress as a whole.

congressional budget office

Advises Congress on the probable consequences of its decisions, forecasts revenues, and is a counterweight to the president’s Office of Management and Budget.

budget resolution

A resolution binding Congress to a total expenditure level, supposedly the bottom line of all federal spending for all programs.

reconciliation

A congressional process through which program authorizations are revised to achieve required savings. It usually also includes tax or other revenue adjustments.

authorization bill

An act of Congress that establishes, continues, or changes a discretionary government program or an entitlement. It specifies program goals and maximum expenditures for discretionary programs.

appropriations bill

An act of Congress that funds programs within limits established by authorization bills. Appropriations usually cover one year.

continuing resolutions

When Congress cannot reach agreement and pass appropriations bills, these resolutions allow agencies to spend at the level of the previous year.

social welfare policies

Policies that provide benefits, cash or in-kind, to individuals, based on either entitlement or means testing

unemployment rate

As measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the proportion of the labor force actively seeking work but unable to find jobs.

underemployment rate

As measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a statistic that includes (1) people who aren’t working and are actively seeking a job, (2) those who would like to work but have given up looking, and (3) those who are working part time because they cannot find a full-time position.

inflation

a rise in the price of goods and services

consumer price index (CPI)

The key measure of inflation—the change in the cost of buying a fixed basket of goods and services.

laisses-faire

the principle that government should not meddle in the economy

monetary policy

Government manipulation of the supply of money in private hands—one of two important tools by which the government can attempt to steer the economy.

monetarism

An economic theory holding that the supply of money is the key to a nation’s economic health, with too much cash and credit in circulation producing inflation.

federal reserve system

The main instrument for making monetary policy in the United States. It was created by Congress in 1913 to regulate the lending practices of banks and thus the money supply.

fiscal policy

Use of the federal budget—taxes, spending, and borrowing—to influence the economy; along with monetary policy, fiscal policy is the main tool by which the government can attempt to steer the economy. Fiscal policy is almost entirely determined by Congress and the president.

keynesian economic theory

Named after English economist John Maynard Keynes, the theory emphasizing that government spending and deficits can help the economy deal with its ups and downs. Proponents of this theory advocate using the power of government to stimulate the economy when it is lagging.

supply-side economics

An economic theory, first applied during the Reagan administration, holding that the key task for fiscal policy is to stimulate the supply of goods, as by cutting tax rates.

tarriffs

fees for importing goods into the United States from other Countries

entitlement programs

government programs providing benefits to qualified individuals regardless of need

means-tested programs

government programs providing benefits only to individuals who qualify based on specific needs