AP Government: Congress and the American Presidency Study Guide

Flashcards covering key AP Government terms, definitions, and concepts relating to Congress and the American Presidency.

Agenda

Issues government officials decide to focus on and discuss.

Advice and Consent

The Senate’s power to approve or reject presidential appointments and treaties.

Appointments

The President’s role to appoint officials for government positions, with Senate confirmation.

Apportionment

Dividing seats in the House of Representatives among states based on population.

Appropriation

The government’s approval of money for a specific purpose.

Bicameral Legislature

A two chamber legislature.

Bipartisanship

When members of different political parties work together.

Bully Pulpit

The president’s ability to use public attention to influence people.

Cabinet

The group of top executive department leaders who advise the president.

Chief Executive

The president’s role in carrying out and enforcing federal laws.

Commander-in-chief

The president’s role as the head of the U.S. armed forces.

Committee of the Whole

A committee of the House on which all representatives serve in order to consider the details of a proposal.

Constituents

A voter or resident who lives in an official’s local area.

Cloture

A Senate procedure through which a supermajority of 60 senators can vote to limit the amount of time spent debating a bill and cut off a filibuster.

Conference Committee

A temporary group of House and Senate members who work out differences between two versions of a bill.

Deficit

When the government spends more money than it collects during a specific period.

Delegate

A representative who votes based on what the people they represent want.

Discretionary Spending

Government spending that Congress decides through annual appropriations.

Discharge Petition

A petition signed by members of the House of Representatives to bring a bill out of committee and onto the floor for a vote.

Divided Government

When different political parties control the presidency and at least one chamber of Congress.

Defense

Government protection of the country, including the military and national security.

Entitlement Programs

Programs that provide benefits to people who meet the legal eligibility requirements.

Executive Office of the President

Offices and staff within the White House designed mainly to provide information to the president and help the president manage the executive branch.

Executive Orders

Direct instructions issued by the president to executive branch officials about implementing/managing federal policy, subject to legal and constitutional limits.

Executive Privilege

The president’s claimed power to keep certain executive branch communications confidential.

Executive Agreement

An international alliance agreement made by the president without the formal treaty approval process; does not require a two-thirds vote for ratification from the Senate.

Education Spending

Government money from both the national and state governments to support education.

Federalist Paper #70

An essay written by Hamilton, arguing for a single, energetic president (a unitary executive) rather than a group of leaders.

Filibuster

A tactic used by senators to block a bill by continuing to hold the floor and speak, binding to the Senate rule of unlimited debate, in order to make the bill’s supporters back down.

Federal Budget

The government’s plan for how it will collect and spend money.

Formal Powers of the President

Powers expressly granted in the Constitution.

Gerrymandering

Drawing voting district boundaries to give a political party or group an advantage.

Gridlock

When the government cannot make progress because of political disagreements.

House Rules Committee

A House committee that determines how and when many bills will be debated.

Hold

An informal Senate practice in which a senator signals an objection or asks to delay action on a matter.

Infrastructure

Basic systems and structures a community needs, such as roads, bridges, and water systems.

Informal Powers of the President

Powers implied by the constitution and developed through presidential practice.

Logrolling

When two legislators agree to trade votes for each other’s benefit.

Lame Duck

At the end of a presidential term whose successor has already been chosen.

Malapportionment

When voting districts have unequal populations, giving some voters more representation than others.

Mandatory Spending

Government spending required by existing laws rather than decided through annual appropriations.

House Majority Leader

A leading member of the majority party in the House who helps organize its legislative plans.

Senate Majority Leader

The leader of the majority party in the Senate who helps set the chamber’s legislative agenda.

Minority Leader

The head of the party with fewer seats in a legislative chamber, chosen by the party’s members.

Minority Party

The political party that holds fewer seats in the legislative chamber than the majority party.

Majority Party

The political party that holds more than half (or the most) of the seats in a legislative chamber.

Medicare

An entitlement program where citizens who are 65+ years and meet disability requirements receive coverage.

Medicaid

Program where both the federal and the state governments provide health-care assistance to low-income individuals.

Oversight

Congress’s power to monitor federal agencies and check how laws are carried out.

Pardon

Presidential authority to forgive a federal offense and provide legal relief from its consequences.

Pocket Veto

An informal veto caused when the president chooses not to sign a bill within ten days, during a time when Congress has adjourned at the end of a session that prevents the bill from being returned.

Politico

A representative who acts as a combination of a delegate and a trustee.

Pork Barreling/Earmarks

The use of federal funding to finance localized projects, typically bringing money into a representative’s district in order to please constituents and boost the representative’s chances of winning reelection.

Power of the Purse

Congress’s formal authority to raise money through taxes and decide how and where the federal government spends that money.

Partisan Voting

When voters or politicians strictly back their own party instead of crossing party lines or acting independently.

Polarization

The growing division between two political parties – Democrats vs. Republicans.

Enumerated powers of Congress

Powers specifically given to the government in the Constitution.

Redistricting

States’ redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts following census.

Revenue Bills

A proposed law that creates or changes taxes and other income sources to bring money into the government.

Signing Statements

Written statements a president issues when signing a bill into law, explaining how the administration understands or intends to implement it.

Speaker of the House

The leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by an election of its members.

State of the Union address

An annual speech in which the president reports to Congress on the country and outlines priorities with updating that branch on the state of national affairs.

Social Security

A federal program to provide citizens monthly payments to retired workers, disabled people, and low-income family members.

Trustee

A representative where constituents trust the Rep or Senator to make the most informed choices using their own judgment.

Unanimous Consent

An agreement in the Senate to take action without a formal vote, as long as no senator objects.

Veto

The president’s power to reject a bill passed by Congress.

Vice President

Second-in-command to becoming the U.S. President in case of an emergency; also serves as president of the Senate, who presides over the Senate’s daily proceedings and can break tie votes there.

22nd Amendment

An amendment that limits a president to be elected twice.