tara-AP gov

Categorical Grants

Federal funds for a specific purpose, often with strict rules.

Block Grants

Federal funds for a broad policy area, with fewer restrictions.

Mandates

Federal requirements that states must follow, sometimes funded, sometimes unfunded.

Carrot-and-Stick (Conditional Grants)

States are offered funding (carrot) if they comply with federal requirements, or threatened with losing funding (stick) if they do not.

The Preamble

Lays out what the framers thought to be the purposes of this constitution and of government.

Principles of American Government

• NATURAL RIGHTS

• SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY

• POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY

• REPUBLICANISM

ARTICLE I

• Creates a bicameral legislative branch

• Grants the House the sole power of impeachment

• Grants the Senate the power to conduct impeachment trials

  • ⅔ of the Senate to convict and remove from office.

Article 1, Section 7

• All bills raising revenue must originate in the House of Representatives

• President can sign or veto

• ⅔ of each House of Congress to override a presidential veto

Article 1, Section 8

The Expressed Powers of Congress

• tax, spend and borrow

• to make and enforce laws

• to coin money

• to declare war

• to raise and army and a navy

• to regulate interstate

Article II

• Establishes the presidential term of office at four (4) years

• Establishes the Electoral College as the method of election

• Establishes the President as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces

• Judicial Appointments-section II

• Establishes the power to make treaties with the approval of ⅔ of the Senate-section II

• Requires the President to inform Congress on the “State of the Union”

Article III

• Establishes life tenure for all federal judges

• Establishes the types of cases the Supreme Court may rule on

• Defines treason, the only specific crime mentioned in the Constitution

Article IV

Outlines the States’ relationships to each other

necessary and proper clause

article 1 section 8: Allows the legislative branch “to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers”

Full Faith and Credit Clause

article 4: States will respect the public acts, legal records, and court decisions of every other State

Extradition

article 4; Fugitives from the law who flee the state will be returned to the state in which they committed the crime

Privileges and immunities Clause

States cannot discriminate against the citizens of other states

Article V

Outlines how to amend (change) the Constitution

• To Propose

  • ⅔ of the Congress OR

  • ⅔ of the states

• To Ratify

  • ¾ of the states OR

  • Conventions in ¾ of the states

Article VI

The federal government will assume all debts under the Articles of Confederation

Supremacy Clause

article 6: The Constitution, federal laws and US treaties are the supreme law of the land

Article VII

• Outlines the process for ratifying the Constitution

• 9 of the 13 states were needed to ratify the Constitution

Federalist No. 1

Strong, big government; pro-Constitution

• Emphasizes need for a strong national government

• Ratification is necessary to protect liberty and order

Federalist No. 10

large republic

• Factions = groups driven by self-interest

• Causes of factions cannot be removed without harming liberty

• Solution: control the effects of factions

• Large republic makes it harder for one faction to dominate

Federalist No. 51

Strong national government supports separation of powers

• Separation of powers prevents tyranny

• Checks and balances keep branches equal

• Federalism divides power between states and national gov

Federalist No. 70

Strong/single executive

• Energy in the executive = good leadership

• Executive needs power to act quickly

Brutus No. 1

Small government; strong states’ rights

• Necessary and Proper Clause is dangerous

• Congress could override state power

• Supreme Court too strong and unchecked

• Large republic would not represent the people well

Declaration of Independence

• All men are created equal

• Natural rights: life, liberty, pursuit of happiness

• Government exists to protect rights

• Consent of the governed

• Right to revolution if gov abuses power

Articles of Confederation

• Weak national government

• One-house Congress

• No power to tax or regulate trade

• States held most power

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

• Responds to white clergymen

• Just laws align with moral law

• Unjust laws should be peacefully disobeyed

• Criticizes moderates who prefer order over justice

Limited government 

a political system in which there are certain restrictions placed on the government to protect individual rights and liberties

Natural Right

The Founders argued that the government’s central purpose should be to protect and uphold these rights-John Locke

Social Contract

Society as a whole would agree to give up its most extreme rights so that their natural rights are protected by government.

Popular Sovereignty

Decisions are made about the actions of government via consent of the governed

Republicanism

A form of government in which elected leaders represent the interests of the people.

Bureaucracy

The bureaucracy implements the laws that Congress passes.  Congress grants rule-making authority to the bureaucracy in order to implement laws

The president appoints the heads of bureaucratic agencies, but must be confirmed by the Senate.

Cabinet Department

largest organization in the gov’t

Independent Regulatory Agency

They protect public interest by enforcing rules and resolving disputes over federal regulations.

eg: food and drug administration(FDA)

Independent Executive Agency

narrow focus area in the gov’t

eg: NASA & EPA

Government Corporation

provide service that could be delivered by the private sector, typically charged for their service

eg: Postal service

How bureaucracy implement federal policies

Quasi-legislative: rulemaking

Quasi-judicial: administration discretion and administration adjudication

Civil Service act

Merit system-competetive exam

Hatch Act

Restricting political activities of federal employees

Iron Triangle

Relationship between

• Congress (fundings for B and friendly oversight for IG)

• Bureaucracy (policy choices for C and low regulation for IG)

• Interest Group (electoral support for C and lobby for B)

Issue Network

network between Congress, bureaucracy, university, local gov’t, media, and interest groups

congressional influence on bureaucracy

funding/power of purse, and oversight hearing

presidential check on bureaucracy

appointment/removal, executive order,

judicial check on bureaucracy

judicial review, due process

The Power of the Purse

Congress’s power to raise revenue through taxes and borrowing and to spend money through the appropriations process

Budget

• The President creates the annual budget and submits it to Congress

• made up of revenue and expenditures

• made up of 12 annual appropriations bills-house

Office of Management and Budget

help president to create budget

Congressional Budget Office

Congress made a non partisan accountant to review the budget

Revenue

money coming in

• individual income tax (most)

• corporate tax & social contract tax

• tariff

Different between debt and deficit

A deficit is a short term when spending exceeds income, while debt is the total accumulated amount of all past deficits.

• A deficit adds to the debt

intragovernmental debt

borrowing money from itself (borrow from social security trust fund)

uncontrollable Expenditures

2/3 of budget automatic-must have programs

logrolling

The practice of supporting an important project for a member of Congress in return for them supporting something of importance to you

mandatory spending

spending to pay off debt

discretionary spending

yearly spends on the appropriations bills

pork barrel spending

political motivation in discretionary spending

earmark spending

specific bill on business

grants-in-aid spending

aid in financial program

Federal Jurisdiction

Article III, Section 2 grants Federal Courts jurisdiction over a case

• Original Jurisdiction-first heard case

• Appellate Jurisdiction-Circuit Courts of Appeal or the Supreme Court

Exclusive Jurisdiction

Can only be heard in the federal court which is MOST federal cases

Concurrent Jurisdiction

Cases may be in federal or state court. They will share the power to try these cases

Judicial restraint

Judges should decide the case on the framers of the Constitution and precedent-strict

Judicial activism

interpreting the Constitution and the laws based on what are the ongoing changes and values-loose

Presidential Primaries

a battle within a political party to decide who will be the candidate of the party

General Election

a battle between political parties to decide who wins the presidency

Electoral College

Winner-take-all except in Maine and Nebraska

EACH STATE has the same number of electoral votes as they have members in BOTH houses of Congress

4 phase of running president

1: Deciding Whether to Run

2: Officially Declaring Their Candidacy-file with FEC

3: Running for Your Party’s Nomination (presidential primary&National Nominating Convention)

4: General Election-Candidate move to central to persuade swing states

National Nominating Convention

delegate selection process between parties.

Pledged vs Unpledged (Superdelegates)

Caucus

decide in a group for delegate

• Iowa holds the first caucus

• New Hampshire holds the first primary

Legislative Checks on the Executive

Use of checks creates friction between the two branches

• United Governments - a situation in which a single party controls both branches of government - are less likely to use checks

• Divided Governments - are more likely to use checks

Ways Presidents Bypass Congress

• Veto (regular and pocket)

• Executive Orders

• Executive Agreements

• Using the bully pulpit to appeal directly to the people

• Challenge the constitutionality of a law in the courts

White House Staff

closest and loyalest to president. NO need senate confirmation

Implied and Informal Powers of the President

• Foreign Policy

• Bargaining and Persuasion

• Executive Orders-carry the force of law, bypass congress

• Executive Agreements-bypass senates, NOT binding on future leader

• Signing statements-informs Congress of the president’s interpretation of a law.

Imperial Presidency

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr: too much presidential power, president act like monarchs

eg: Bush, Obama

Neustadt’s Five Constituencies

Presidents need to ave power of persuade

• The Public

• His Party

• The Bureaucracy

• Congress

• Foreign Nations

Descriptive Representation

member of Congress representing constituents that have same background and problems

Substantive Representation

member of Congress can’t represent their constituents, but can represent them as advocates who understand their problems and concerns. 

different debates in the congress

House: more formal, limited by House Rules Committee

Senate: less formal, unlimited debates.

• Filibuster and closure

Filibuster

Allows a minority to stall or kill a bill through unlimited speaking time in senate

Cloture

Requires 60 members to cut-off debate and end a filibuster

Great Compromise

binomial legislaton

3/5 compromise

electoral college

3 function of Congress

1. Legislate-pass law

2. Constituent service-represent people

3. oversight-check and balance

Standing Committee

permanent committee under Senate.

Specialized in particular subject

Joint Committees

investigative/research purpose

members of both house alternating

Select Committees

address temporary policy issue

Partisan

believing and acting on the ideas of a political party or group

Trustee

an official who are gonna vote based on their own judgement

Gridlock

unwilling to compromise so that the bill would be in static

Redistricting and Gerrymandering

redraw district boundaries, and create electoral maps that unfairly favor a specific political party

cause Congress more polarized→gridlock

Ideology

set of beliefs and values about how gov’t, society and economy should operate.

• Conservative/Rep: limited gov’t

• Liberal/Dem: more gov’t control

Public Policy

set of laws, action and decision gov’t make in response to public issue

Fiscal Policy

gov’t spending and taxing to influence the economy

Monetary Policy

controls money supplies and interest rate to manage inflation and employment

Benchmark Poll

used by a campaign before declaring candidates, set control to later polls

Tracking Poll

overtime polls to track issue or support candidate

Entrance and Exit polls

predict election results

Push Polls

“push” people toward a certain outcome that the pollster wants

eg: misinformation and misleading