AP Gov Unit 2 Review

House of Representatives

House of Representatives

representatives elected by each state, # depends on population size; advantageous for larger states

Senate

2 representatives from each state;advantageous for smaller states

bicameral

a legislature divided into 2 houses, US Congress and every US state legislature except Nebraska's are bicameral

gerrymandering

drawing of congressional districts to favor one political party or group over another

census

tool for understanding demographic changes; Constitution requires an annual one

redistricting

redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following a census , to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population

reapportionment

process of reallocating seats in the House every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census

two party system

several political parties exist, but only 2 major political parties compete for power and dominate elections

single member districts

only one representative is chosen from each district

entitlements

policies for which Congress has obligated itself to pay x level of benefits to y number of recipients (Social Security)

legislative intent

when creating a legislation, the judiciary branch may be considered when interpreting the law; judiciary may attempt to assess where legislation is ambiguous

Civil Rights Act of 1964

law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

law passed that requires employers and public facilities to make "reasonable accommodations" for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment

amendments

revolution of change to a bill, law, or constitution

mandatory spending

required government spending by permanent laws

discretionary spending

spending set by the government through appropriations and bills (operating expenses and salaries of gov. employees)

filibuster

strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation try to talk it to death, based on unlimited debate

incumbency effect

tendency of those already holding office to win reelection due to advantages because they already hold office

Franking privilege

privilege that allows members of Congress to mail letters and other materials to constituents postage-free

legislative veto

ability of Congress to override a presidential decision

Speaker of the House

office mandated by the Constitution; Speaker is chosen in practice by the majority, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed to the presidency should that office become vacant

Majority Leader

principal position ally of the Speaker of the House or the party's wheel horse in the Senate; responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes on behalf of the party's legislative positions

Whip

party leaders who work with the majority or minority leader to count votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to a bill favored by the party

Voter Revolution of 1994

Republican Party success in 1994; US midterm elections--> a net gain of 54 seats in the House and 8 seats in the Senate (led by Newt Gingrich)

Rules Committee

determines the rules of debate for bills in the House

plurality

largest # of votes to be received by any candidate (not necessarily more than half the votes, just most of them.)

fiscal policy

policy that describes the impact of the federal budget- taxes, spending, and borrowing- on the economy; determined by Congress and president

monetary policy

based on monetarism, it is the manipulation of the supply of money in private hands by which the government can control the economy

Riders (on a bill)

an addition or amendment added to a bill that often has no relation to the bill but that may not pass on its own merits

10th Amendment

powers not delegated to the US by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the states are reserved to the states or the people

informal/inherent powers

powers that exist for the national govt. because the govt. is sovereign

President

person who holds office of head of state of the US government

The SEC

Securities and Exchange Commission; federal agency created during the New Deal that regulates stock fraud

Social Security

any government system that provides monetary assistance to people with inadequate or no income; provides benefits

Iron Triangle

entities composed of bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees, which have dominated some areas of domestic policy making; have mutual dependency, in which each element provides key services, info, or policy for the others

Policy networks

explain differences in policy making and power in different policy sectors

lobbying

communication, by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a government decision maker with hope of influencing his decision

Conference Committee

congressional committees formed when Senate and House pass a bill in different forms; party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a compromise bill

joint committee

congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses

select committee

congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose (ex. Watergate investigation)

congressional caucuses

association of congressional members who advocate a political ideology, regional, ethnic, or economic interest

seniority system

simple rule for picking committee chairs, lasted until 1970s, member who had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled Congress became chair, regardless or party loyalty, mental state, or competence

trustee

legislator who uses his or her best judgement to make policy in the interests of the people

cloture motions

prevents filibustering and ends debate in the Senate, by a 3/5 vote of Senate

Ways and Means Committee

charged with reviewing and making recommendations for the gov. budgets; imposes taxes

divided government

one party controls the executive, and the other party controls one or both houses of Congress

Welfare Reform Act of 1996

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, replaced Aid to Dependent Children, ended welfare programs

Medicaid

federal and state funded program that provides healthcare for the needy

party coalitions

groups and interests that support a political party

legislative oversight

Congress' monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings

advise and consent power

allows Senate to constrain President's powers of appointment and treaty making

budget making process

creates US federal budget, controlled by Congressional Budget Office

pork barrel spending

gov. spending for localized projects to bring $$ to a representative district; legislation giving benefits to constituents through sometimes unnecessary or unwise projects within a state or district, to enhance a members chance of reelection

open primary

elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests

blanket primary

elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from all parties; voters can then select some Democrats and Republicans if they choose

casework

activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals; cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get

President Pro Tempore

high-ranking senator of the majority party who presides over the US Senate in the absence of the Vice President

Senate is less formal than House

only 100 Senators, easier to make decisions on bills, easier to organize, need to pass bills to go through legislation process

House is more formal than Senate

435 reps--> harder to organize, has more formal rules in order to control more people, bills can only be discussed for a certain period of time, only popular bills will be discussed

reciprocity (logrolling) in Congress

exchange of political favors for support of a bill

advantages of incumbency in Congress

name recognition, credit claiming (office holder brought gov. projects and money into state/district), casework for constituents (office holders may have helped), constituents solve money problems in gov. and bureaucracy, more visible to constituents, media exposure, experience in campaigning, and voting record

interest groups

group of private citizens whose goal is to influence and shape public policy

Political Action Committees (PAC)

extensions of an interest group that contributes $$ to political campaigns

super PAC

form of a PAC that is allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of $$ from corporations, unions, individuals, and associations; easy to create, independent expenditure-only committee

grassroots

average voter at the local level

mass media

all forms of communication that reach a large portion of the population

party dealignment

gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, seen by shrinking party identification

party realignment

displacement of majority party by minority party, usually during critical election period

Winner Take All

electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who came in first in their constituencies (in US, winner of popular votes of a state receives all electoral votes)

National Party Chairperson

appointed by committee as head of party

soft money

distributed from national political party organization that was not regulated b y law; restricted by Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002

straight ticket voter

voter voting for all candidates, all of the same party

linkage institutions

channels or access points through which issues and people's policy preferences get on the government's policy agenda (political parties, interest groups, and mass media)

New Deal Coalition

alliance of Southern conservatives, religious, and ethnic minorities who supported the Democratic Party for 40 years

National Party Convention

meeting of party delegates every 4 years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform

Proportional Representation

electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the # of votes won in an election

closed primary

only registered party members can vote

electioneering

direct group involvement in electoral process; groups can help fund campaigns, provide testimony, and get members to work for candidates; some form PACs

amicus curiae briefs

friend of the court, interested groups may be invited to file legal briefs supporting or rejecting arguments of a case

class action lawsuit

lawsuits permitting a small # of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated

free-rider problem

problem faced by unions and other groups when people do not join because they can benefit from group's activities without officially joining; the bigger the group --> more free-rider problem

union shop

provision found in some collective bargaining agreements requiring all employees of a business to join the union within a short period (30 days) and to remain members as a condition of employment

Right-to-Work Law

state law forbidding requirements that workers must join a union to hold their jobs, permitted by Taft-Hartley Act of 1947