AP U.S. Government Unit 2: The Legislative Branch, Budget, and Representation

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering AP U.S. Government Unit 2: legislative structures, congressional powers, committees, budget processes, fiscal policy, political models, and redistricting Supreme Court precedents.

House of Representatives Qualifications

The constitutional requirements specifying that a representative must be at least $25$ years old and a U.S. citizen for at least $7$ years.

Exclusive Powers of the House

Powers held solely by the House of Representatives, including originating all money and revenue bills, initiating the impeachment process by introducing impeachment charges, and choosing the president if no candidate wins the Electoral College.

Senate Qualifications and Terms

Requirements mandating that a senator must be at least $30$ years of age and a U.S. citizen for $9$ years, serving $6$-year terms with $\frac{1}{3}$ of the Senate up for election every $2$ years.

Advice and Consent

The exclusive constitutional authority of the Senate to approve treaties by a $\frac{2}{3}$ vote, confirm presidential appointments, and serve as the jury in impeachment trials, where a $\frac{2}{3}$ vote is required to convict.

Article I, Section 8 Enumerated Powers

Explicitly stated powers of Congress, which include regulating interstate and foreign commerce, raising and supporting armies and navies, declaring and funding war, sharing military powers with the president, and approving all federal expenditures.

War Powers Act

Legislation passed by Congress over President Nixon's veto requiring the president to notify Congress within $48$ hours of deploying troops; Congress must approve the action within $60$ days, after which the president has $30$ days to withdraw troops if approval is not granted.

Implied Powers

Powers not explicitly detailed in the Constitution but derived from the Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause), used to authorize actions such as mandating a federal minimum wage of \\$7.25 and establishing military branches like the Air Force and Space Force.

Congressional Caucuses

Informal groups of representatives or senators who share common ideas or demographic traits; political parties constitute the largest caucuses, alongside specific interest groups like the U.S. Women's Caucus.

Speaker of the House

The constitutional leader of the House of Representatives (Article I, Section 2) elected by the entire chamber (with the majority party voting first); this official is third in the presidential line of succession and directs legislative activity on the House floor.

Whip (Majority and Minority)

Party leadership positions in both the House and Senate responsible for acting as disciplinarians to ensure party members vote in line with party leadership.

President Pro Tempore

The presiding officer of the Senate designated to lead when the Vice President is absent, standing fourth in the presidential line of succession.

House Committee on Energy and Commerce

A major standing committee in the House of Representatives with wide-ranging jurisdiction used to influence public policy.

House Committee on Appropriations

A powerful committee in the House of Representatives responsible for regulating government spending and influencing tax and allocation policies.

House Committee on Ways and Means

An influential House committee that handles taxation and revenue legislation, also designated in the notes as overseeing ethics within Congress.

Select Committee

A temporary congressional committee established to investigate or address specific, emerging issues that arise outside the regular standing committee framework.

Conference Committee

A temporary joint committee formed by members of both the House and the Senate to reconcile differences and finalize language on a bill passed by both chambers.

Filibuster

A procedural rule in the Senate allowing unlimited debate to delay or prevent a vote on a bill, intended to protect minority party viewpoints and temper direct democracy.

Cloture

A Senate procedure that requires a $\frac{3}{5}$ supermajority vote (normally $60$ senators) to end a filibuster and limit further debate on a bill.

Rider

An additional provision or amendment attached to an already popular bill to ensure its passage, often unrelated to the main topic of the bill.

Omnibus Bill

A single, broad legislative bill that packages many different, disparate spending measures and legislative categories together.

Pork Barrel Spending

Federal government spending added to a bill that was not part of its original intent, funding localized projects that typically could not pass on their own merit.

Committee Markups

The formal phase in the legislative process during which committee members review, debate, and propose adjustments or amendments to a bill before it is sent to the floor for a vote.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

An agency within the executive branch that assists the president in formulating and presenting the annual executive budget proposal.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

A non-partisan, non-political agency of Congress that analyzes budget proposals and forecasts how revenue and economic conditions will change in the future.

Social Insurance Taxes

Taxes collected specifically to fund social welfare programs like Medicare and Medicaid, comprising approximately $\frac{1}{3}$ of the federal budget.

Tariffs and Excise Taxes

Special taxes imposed by the government, often applied to deter specific consumer behaviors or penalize the purchase of designated goods.

Estate Tax

A federal tax levied on money or assets inherited from an individual's estate following their death, apportioned to the government.

Mandatory Spending

Federal spending required by existing law that must be paid out automatically, primarily guaranteeing funding for entitlement programs like Social Security for retirees and Medicare for the elderly.

Discretionary Spending

Spending categories that Congress negotiates and appropriates annually; roughly half of this funding goes toward the military, with the remainder funding federal government operations and salaries.

National Debt and Foreign Holders

The cumulative total of funds borrowed by the federal government when spending exceeds revenue; Japan is identified as the foreign nation holding the largest portion of American debt.

Political Spectrum

A framework measuring political ideology from left to right: Radicals (far left) and Liberals (left of center) who seek change; Moderates (center, encompassing most Americans); Conservatives (right of center) who desire less government involvement and preservation of tradition; and Reactionaries (far right) who react against progress.

Gridlock

A condition in government where policy and legislative action stall completely because opposing political parties refuse to compromise, characterized by an absence of partisan or bipartisan cooperation.

Delegate Model

A philosophy of representation in which an elected representative acts strictly as a mouthpiece for their constituents, voting according to the explicit desires of the voters they represent.

Trustee Model

A philosophy of representation—more frequently observed in the Senate—where elected officials are trusted to use their own personal judgment and conscience to make decisions on behalf of constituents.

Politico Model

A hybrid representation model where legislators act as trustees on minor issues based on their own conscience, but act as delegates by consulting constituents or party leadership on major, controversial decisions.

Gerrymandering

The practice by state governments of redrawing the boundaries of congressional voting districts following the decennial census to give an unfair political advantage to a specific party, under the legal requirement that districts remain contiguous and relatively equal in size.

Packing

A gerrymandering strategy that concentrates as many like-minded voters of an opposing party into a single district to minimize their electoral influence across other surrounding districts.

Cracking

A gerrymandering strategy that breaks up and disperses a large group of voters across several districts to dilute their voting strength and prevent them from forming a majority in any single district.

Kidnapping

A gerrymandering technique that redraws district boundaries to place an influential incumbent or political figure into an unfavorable district where they are likely to lose reelection.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

A landmark Supreme Court case addressing Tennessee's failure to redistrict for $60$ years despite rapid population growth in Memphis, establishing the principle that congressional districts must be relatively equal in population size under the 'one person, one vote' doctrine.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

A Supreme Court ruling holding that congressional redistricting cannot be drawn solely along racial lines, invalidating North Carolina's creation of an irregularly shaped majority-minority district following a challenge by white voters alleging racial discrimination.

LULAC v. Perry (2006)

A Supreme Court case ruling against Texas's mid-decade redistricting plan that dismantled a predominantly minority district, reaffirming that state legislatures cannot use race as the predominant factor to deliberately dilute minority voting power.