Unit 3 AP Gov Test

Horizontal Separation

separation of powers within federal government

Legislative Powers

Write laws, Article I of the Constitution

Executive powers

Execute laws, Article II of the Constitution

Judicial Powers

Interpret laws, Article III of the Constitution

Article I, Section 8, Clauses 1-17

Expressed powers of CongressArti

Article I, Section 8, Clause 18

Implied powers (necessary and proper clause) of congress

Power of the Purse

The House can control government spending and can withhold funds for certain programs

Power of the Sword

The power for the executive branch to control the military

Incumbency

The advantage of somebody who already has the position and won a previous election (media, franking privileges, weak opponents, name recognition, gerrymandering, fund-raising)

Pork Barrel Spending

Spending money to bring it back, often in support of constituents

Gerrymandering

Drawing districts to favor one party over another

Shaw v. Reno

made is unconstitutional to use race as a basis for drawing lines both to include or exclude minority voters

Redistricting

The process of redrawing district drawings every 10 years after the census

Baker v Carr

“One person, One vote“ districts must be drawn with contiguous boundaries and roughly equal in population

The House of Representatives

435 voting members (by population); 2 year terms; initiates revenue bills; initiates impeachment procedures

Senate

100 voting members (2/state), 6 year terms; offers advice/consent on major presidential appointments; tries impeached officers, approves treaties

Delegate

when a congressperson acts according to what their constituents want (common in the house)

Trustee

when a congressperson acts according to their convictions and what is best for the country in the long run (common in senate)

standing committees

where proposed bills are referred

joint committees

includes members from both houses of congress

conference committee

committee to reconcile differences in bills passed by the house and the senate

select/special committee

temporary committee appointed for a specific purpse

hold

where a senator is asked to be informed before a particular bill

filibuster

formal way of holding senate action by long speeches or unlimited debate

cloture

sixty senators sign to end the filibuster

Congressional Act of 1974

established Congressional budgetary processes and Congressional Budget Office

Reconciliation

consideration of controversial issues affecting the budget; limits debate to 20 hours and ends filibuster

The War Powers Act

the president may deploy troops overseas to a 60 day period in peacetime

congressional review

congress can exercise its oversight powers by nullifying agency regulations

Presidential Qualifications

must be natural-born to the US; 35 years old; and a resident of the US for >14 years

22nd amdnement

presidents may serve up to 2 terms

Executive privledge

implied presidential powers to refuse to disclose information

presidential succession act and 25th amendment

those in line to succeed the president, procedures for filling vacancies in the office of president

appointment power

power of the president to give advice and consent to the senate, courts, and cabinet

power to convene congress

power of the president to inform Congress during the state of the union

the power to make treaties

the power of the president to sign treaties, receive ambassadors, and make executive treaties

the veto power

presidential power to veto legislation

the power to preside over the military as commander in chief

control army/navy

the pardoning power

checks on judicial power where the president can grant to release an individual from punishment/legal consequences of a crime before or after conviction

Informal Qualifications for President

varies and represents what people consider important; male, heterosexual, Christian, incumbent, educated, tall, white, and physically fit

Electoral College Process

electors nominated by state parties, election day, tally of popular vote, electors vote in state capitals, electoral votes sent to Congress, joint session of congress

Cabinet Departments

administrative units

Independent Executive Agencies

similar to cabinet departments, have a narrower range of responsibilities

independent regulatory commissions

regulate a specific economic activity or interest

government corporations

businesses established by Congress to provide functions that private businesses could provide

Hatch Act (1939)

prohibits civil servants from taking activist roles in partisan campaigns

Iron triangles

relationships that occur among agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees/subcommittees

issue networks

loose and Informal relationships that exist among a large number of actors who work in broad policy areasi

interagency councils

working groups established to facilitate the coordination of policy making and implementation across a host of agencies

Policy coordinating committees (PCCs)

facilitate interaction among agencies and departments to deal with complex policies

Elite theory

socieyt is divided into elites and masses, elites have power to make and implement policy, masses respond to the desire of the elites

bureaucratic theory

all institutions fall under control of a large bureaucracy; carries out policy using standardized procedures; bureaucrats are dominant due to their expertise and competence

special interest theory

narrow/specialized groups control the government process; interest groups can step into the government to narrow issues and express concern

pluralist theory

political resources in the US are so large that no single group/interest could ever control any substantial area of policy

distributive policy

provides benefits to individuals, groups, communities, or corporations

regulatory policy

limit the activities of individuals and corporations or prohibit certain types of unacceptable business practices

redistributive policy

public policies that transfer resources from one group to another

agend setting

issue is moved to the institutional agenda

policy formulations

making courses of action to resolve public problems

policy adoption

approval of a policy proposal by the people with requisite authority

policy implementation

process of carrying out public policy

authoritative techniques

people actions must be directed/restrained by government enforecement

incentive techniques

encourage people to act in their own best interest (offer payoffs or tax highly)

capacity techniques

people with information, education, training, or resources that enabled them to participate in policy

hortatory techniques

appeal to the better instincts of pople, direct them to act in desired ways (people decide how to act based on personal values)

polcity evaluation

determine whether a course of action is achieving its intended goals

judiciary act of 1789

establish 3 tiered structure of federal courts

US district courts

at least one/state; original jurisdiction

US Courts of appeals (circuit courts)

if unhappy with district court decision; created by Congress; appellate jurisdiction

11th amendment

protects states from being sued in federal court by a citizen of a different state/country

judiciary act of 1801

federalist effort to pack the courts with partisan judges; reduced members of SCOTUS from 6 to 5, SCOTUS no longer needs to travel, 16 new federal judges

trial courts

where Litigation begins

appellate courts

review findings of law made by trial courts

court of last resourt/constitutional courts

SCOTUS or state courts

executive orders

manage operations within the internal federal government; cannot issue based on something that isn’t an existing law

signing statements

written comment by the president when sighing laws; interpretation, concerns, or plans of implementation

executive priviledge

president right to withhold certain info from Congress, the courts, or the public; if it pertains to national security of executive branch discussions

sources of presidential power

the Constitution, public opinion, congress

independent judiciarty

judicial branch executes powers seperate form the other branches; non-partisan and doesn’t rely on political pressures

common law/precedent

laws and judicial decisions are based on previous laws/decision

criminal law

violation of specific laws that may be punished; violation against society

civil law

dispute between two parties; breach on contract, writ of mandamus, injunction

original judisdiction

hear a case first

appellate jurisdiction

hear a case on appeal

limited jurisdiction

restricts a case to specific types of courts

demographics of congress

gradual increase in diversity (especially in the house); dominant charactaristics: men, white, older age, law/business degrees, Christians

Speaker of the House

presiding officer of the HOR; sets legislative agenda, assigns bills to committees, oversees floor proceedings, represents the house

majority leaders

leads the majority party in the house/senate, sets legislative agenda, coordinates party strategy

minority leaders

leads the minority party, acts as spokesperson, organizes opposition to the majority’s agenda

whips

assist majority and minority leaders in managing party members and ensuring party loyalty

president pro tempore

senior member of the majority party in the Senate (largely ceremonial)

committee makrkup

where a committee makes revisions and amendments to a bill

germaine amendments

amendments that are directly related to the subject matter of the bill; required by the house

non-germaine amendments

amendments unrelated to the main subject of the bill; permitted in the senate

rider amendments

a type of non-germane amendment to pass provisions that may not pass on their own

rules committee

determines the terms of debate for bills

appropriations

legislative funding for specific government programs and agencies

programatic requests/earmarks

funding requests by members of Congress for specific local projects within their districts/states