Exam 3 110 American politics

What is the size of the House of Reps.

435

What is the size of the Senate?

100

What are the Qualifications for the House?

HOUSE AGE: 25    CITIZEN: 7 YEARS  Residency: Inhabitant of the state they represent Term Length: 2-year terms

What are the Qualifications for the Senate?

SENATE AGE: 30 Citizenship: 9 YEARS  Residency: Inhabitant of the state they represent Term Length: 6-year

What powers are given to the legislative branch (Congress) in Article I?

Power to make all federal laws

What is the Term of Office for the House?

HOUSE: 2YEARS

-What is the Term of Office for the Senate?

SENATE: 6 YEARS

What is a standing committee?

A permanent, ongoing legislative or organizational panel to handle specific, recurring areas of policy or business

What is a conference committee?

Temporary, bicameral panels formed specifically to reconcile differences and negotiate a compromise version when a bill passes the House and Senate

-What is a select committee?

Temporary or permanent panels; legislative bodies investigating a particular issue, crisis, or emerging topic

-What is a joint committee?

Bicameral panels that include members from both the House and Senate, used to conduct studies or handle housekeeping/administrative tasks

What is pork barrel politics?

Elected officials allocating funds to local projects to secure support and votes from constituents.

-What is incumbency?

The period of time that a person holds a specific official office

How does a Bill Become a Law?

Both houses of Congress pass a bill by majority vote, and the president signs it into law

Who holds the leadership positions in the current Congress?

JD Vance

-Party distribution in the 119^th Congress (2025-2027)

• Republicans: 218 (Majority)

• Democrats: 214

• Independents: 1

• Vacancies: 2

-What is a filibuster?

When a Senator prevents a vote on a bill by way of unlimited debate (blocks or delays a bill)

-What is cloture?

Is used to end or limit debate and force a vote on a bill, amendment, or motion

Reciprocity and specialization?

Help lawmakers manage massive workloads and pass legislation efficiently

What is the oversight function?

Congress ensures that laws are being carried out properly by the president

-What are the Qualifications for the Presidency?

Natural-Born Citizen, Minimum Age of 35, 14-Year Residency

What is the term of Office for the Presidency?

4-year term, Two-Term Limit

-What is contained within the 22nd Amendment?

Limits the number of times a person can be elected to the office of President of the United States to two

What are the formal powers of the Pres. in Article II?

Faithful Execution, Vesting Clause, Pardoning Power, Treaty-Making,etc

-What is an executive agreement?

An agreement between the heads of government of two or more nations

-What is executive privilege?

The authority of the President to withhold documents or information

-What is the War Powers Act (Resolution) of 1973?

Designed to limit the President's ability to initiate or escalate military actions abroad without congressional consent

What is a bureaucracy?

A system of organization and control that is based on three principles: hierarchical authority, job specialization, and formalized rules

What is the civil service system?

professional body of civilian government employees who are hired

What is the Pendleton Act?

Ended the political spoils system and established a merit-based system for selecting federal government workers

-What is the spoils system (patronage)?

winning political party, group, or leader gives government jobs and roles to friends and family to reward them.

What is the merit system?

A system where Civil servants have to score high on a competitive test to get hired.

What is a Cabinet department?

major administrative unit of the executive branch

-What is a government corporation?

A state-owned or federally chartered agency that provides market-oriented public services and generates its own revenues to cover or approximate its operating expenses

What are independent executive agencies?

Federal organizations outside of the standard Cabinet-level executive departments and the Executive Office of the President

What are independent regulatory agencies?

A federal agency created by an act of Congress that operates with a degree of autonomy from the executive branch and the President

What is neo-conservatism?

A political movement that combines features of traditional political and social conservatism

What is neo-liberalism?

A political and economic ideology that favors free-market capitalism, minimal government intervention, and the expansion of private-sector control over society and the economy

What is conservatism (in terms of foreign policy)?

A spectrum of strategic viewpoints, ranging from traditional hawk-realism and conservative internationalism to "America First" nationalism and restraint.

What is isolationism?

A nation keeps the political and economic affairs of other countries at a distance

What is the Monroe Doctrine?

 A warning to  European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere

What is the lesson of Vietnam?

political strategy, military doctrine, and public trust

What was the Cold War?

Decades-long geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union with No Direct Fighting

Which of the following is TRUE about the federal bureaucracy?

It wields GREAT power and performs roles associated with all three branches of government

Who is the Speaker of the House of Representatives?

Mike Johnson

Which of the following is a power of Congress?

Power to tax

Which foreign policy approach involves using the military to force other countries to accept American values?

Neo-conservative

Which article(s) of the Constitution created the executive branch?

II 2nd

Which of the following is a power of the president?

Commander in Chief

What is presidential character according to Barber?

Patterns of behavior learned early in childhood

According to Richard Neustadt in his book Presidential Power, the main source of presidential power is derived from

the power to persuade

Who was Richard Fenno?

Congressional scholar who argued that members of Congress present themselves favorably to voters to gain voting leeway

What president abused his authority using the power to "take care that the laws are faithfully executed" to seize private property and suspend writ of habeas corpus?

Abraham Lincoln

what is the interstate commerce comm

who is Lyndon johnson

what is Vietnam syndrome

what is the Soviet afghanistan war

who was the youngest person elected to senate

Joe Biden

What is reappointment

House is reallocated among the states in proportion to their population

What is constituency?

The people residing in their state or district.

this many senators need to vote for cloture

three-fifth or 60 senators

how much support must a bill have to pass?

50%

Impeachment begins in the House of Representatives, and the Trial in the Senate. What fraction is needed for removal

2/3

what is a pocket veto

to override presidential veto —— congress must agree

2/3

less than ___ of bills become law

10%