PS 201 Third Exam (Thank GOD) American Politics or whatever

Constituency

Residents in the area from which an official is elected

Bicameral legislature

(Two chambered) legislature that includes the House and the Senate

Delegate (member of congress)

A representative who acts and votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency

Trustee

A representative who votes based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her constituency

Descriptive representation

the idea that a group elects an individual to represent them who in their own characteristics mirror some of the more frequent experiences and outward manifestations of the group.

Substansive representation

occurs when representatives' opinions and actions reflect the wishes, needs, and interests of the people they represent

Inncumbency

Advantage: a very high percentage of incumbents are reelected

Pork barrel (pork)

Appropriations from legislative bodies for local projects that may not be necessary but can help the legislator win re-election

Apportionment

The process, occurring after every decennial census, that allocates congressional seats among the 50 states

Redistricting

The process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives every 10 years to reflect shifts in population or in response to legal challenges to existing districts

Gerrymandering

If new districts are drawn in such a way to advantage one group or party

Conference

Called this by house republicans

Caucus

Called this by house democrats

Speaker of the House

Leader of the majority party and chief presiding officer of the House of house of representatives

Majority leader

Elected by the majority party; second in leadership after the speaker

Minority leader

Leader of the minority party

Whip

Coordinates the party’s legislative strategy, builds support for the leaderships agenda, and counts votes

Standing committees

Permanent committees with the power to propose and write legislation

Markup

the process by which a U.S. congressional committee or state legislative session debates, amends, and rewrites proposed legislation

Select committees

Temporary legislative committees set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue

Joint committees

Legislative committees formed of members of both the house and senate

Conference committees

Joint committees created to work out a compromise on house and senate versions of a piece of legislation

Seniority

The ranking given to an individual on the basis of length of continuous service on a committee

Staff agencies

Legislative support agencies responsible for policy analysis

Bill

A proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of congress and submitted to the clerk of the house or senate

Open rule

A provision allowing amendments

Closed rule

A provision prohibiting amendments

Filibuster

Tactic to prevent action on legislation by holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down

Cloture

Procedure to end the filibuster; requires approval of three fifths of the senate

Roll-call votes

Are votes in which each legislators vote is recorded as a clerk calls the name of the representative and can occur in either chamber

Veto

Presidents constitutional power to turn down acts on congress

Pocket veto

A presidential veto that is automatically triggered if the president does not act on a given piece of legislation passed during the final 10 days of a legislative session

Unorthodox lawmaking

A set of legislative procedures that deviates from regular order; reflects a greater level of control from party leaders and less deliberation from members

Multiple referral

Referring a bill to more than one committee

Ping-ponging

Bills or amendments sent between houses without a conference committee

Appropriations

Money approved by Congress

Omnibus appropriations bill

Large bills that deal with a number of unrelated topics

Party unity vote

A roll-call vote in the House or Senate in which at least 50 percent of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50 percent of the members of the other party

Polarization

The deep ideological distance between the two parties

Oversight

The effort by congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies

Impeachment

The formal charge by the house of representatives that a government official has committed “Treason, Bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors

Expressed powers

Specific powers granted to the president by the Constitution in Article II

Commander in chief

Commander of the national military and the state national guard units (when called into service)

Executive agreement

Agreements between the president and another country that have the force of treaties but do not require the Senates “advice and consent”

Executive privilege

The claim that confidential communications between a president and close advisers should not be revealed without the consent of the president

Implied powers

The powers necessary to allow presidents to exercise their expressed powers

Delegated powers

Powers assigned to one agency but exercised by another agency with permission of first

Inherent powers

Are not directly stated in the U.S. Constitution but are inferred from it- stemming from the rights, duties and obligations of the presidency

Cabinet

Includes the secretaries and chief administrators of the 15 major departments of federal government

White house staff

Analysts and advisors to the president, each of whom is often given the title “special assistant”

Executive office of the President (EOP)

Is a major part of what is often called the “institutional presidency”

National security council (NSC)

A presidential foreign policy advisory council composed of the president, the vice president, the secretaries of state and defense, and others

Executive order

A rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect and formal status of legislation

Signing statements

Announcements made by the president when signing bills into law, often presenting the presidents interpretation of the law

Bureaucracy

Is the complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of organization that is employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel

Implementation

The efforts of departments and agencies to translate laws into specific bureaucratic rules and actions

Principal-agent problem

A conflict in priorities between an actor (congress) and the representative authorized to act on the actors behalf (the bureaucracy)

Executive departments

There are 15 executive departments in the federal government

Independent regulatory commissions

Rule making bodies outside the executive department, usually headed by commissioners

Government corporation

Is a government agency that performs a market-oriented public service and raises revenue to fund its activities

Merit system

Requires that appointees to positions in public bureaucracy be objectively qualified

Political appointees

The presidentially appointed layer of the bureaucracy on top of the civil service

Senior Executive Services (SES)

The top, presidentially appointed management rank for career civil servants

Privatization

The process by which a formerly public service becomes a service provided by a private company but paid for by the government

Office of management and budget (OMB)

Controls the federal budget and regulations

Police patrol

Oversight involves regular or preemptive hearings

“Fire alarm oversight”

Oversight is prompted by media attention or group complaints

Inspectors general (IGs)

Congress created this in 1978, which are in dependent audit organizations located in most federal agen

Whistleblowers

May report wrongdoing within federal agencies

Regulatory capture

A form of government failure in which an agency becomes more concerned with serving interest groups and businesses than with regulating them

Criminal law

Is the branch of law that regulates the conduct of individuals, defines crimes, and specific punishments for criminal acts

Plaintiff

The individual or organization that brings a complaint in court

Defendant

The one against whom a complaint is brought in a criminal or civil case.

Civil law

The branch of law that deals with disputes that do not involve criminal penalties

Precedent

A prior case whose principles are used by judges as the basis for their decision in present case

Trial court

The first court to hear a case

Court of appeals

If there is a guilty verdict, the defendant may appeal to a higher court

Supreme court

The highest court in the state. They primarily serve an appellate function

Plea bargain

A negotiated agreement in a criminal case in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty in return for the states agreement to reduce the severity of the criminal charge or prison sentence the defendant is facing

Jurisdiction

the authority of a court to hear and decide cases within an area of the law or a geographical territory

Original jurisdiction

Is the authority to consider a case intitially

Due process of law

The right every individual against arbitrary action by national or state governments

Habeas corpus

A court order that the individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention; it is guaranteed by the constitution and can be suspended only in cases of rebellion or invasion

Chief justice

Presides over the courts public session

Class action suit

Legal action by a group or class of individuals with common interests

Judicial review

This is the power of the courts to review and, if necessary, declare laws or executive actions invalid or unconstitutional

Supremacy clause

States that laws passed by the national government and all treaties are the supreme law of land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or any subdivision

Standing

They must have substantial stake in the outcome of this case

mootness

A criterion used to dismiss cases that no longer require resolution

Writ of certiorari

A court process to seek judicial review of a lower court or government agency

Rule of four

Four of the nine Supreme Court justices must vote to accept a case

Solicitor general

The top government lawyer in all cases before the U.S. Supreme Court in which the government is a party- has great influence over the federal courts

Amicus curiae

(“friend of the court”) brief

Briefs

Written documents in which attorneys explain, using case precedents, why a court should find in favor of their client

oral argument

Attorneys for both sides appear before the court to present their positions and answer the justices questions

Opinion

The written explanation of the supreme courts decision

Concurring opinion

If a judge agrees with the decision but not the reasoning they may write a _____.

Dissenting opinion

Justices who disagree with majority may choose to publicize their disagreement in a dissenting opinion

Stare decisis

Deciding cases on the rules and principles set forth in previous court rulings

Judicial restraint

Judicial philosophy whose adherents refuse to go beyond the clear words of constitution in interpreting the documents meaning