AP Government/U.S. Politics Unit 2 Notes

Career Officials

________- Strong loyalty to departments (Since, they might have served under different presidents or can be from the opposing party /bipartisans; not dependent on president)

Riders Nongermane Amendments

________- Added to benefit a members own agenda or enhance the political chances of the bill.

Party loyalty

________ is leading factor in how votes are met.

Bully

________ puppet- uses media to influence the public to pass or kill a bill.

Discharge petition

________- Brings the bill out of the committee if its reluctant.

Executive privilege

________- The right to withhold information or their decision making process from another branch, especially Congress.

Tariffs

________ & excise taxes- taxes paid on certain imports & products.

Amnesty

________: Allowed to stay out of jail /prison- not changed.

Defence

Eg: ________, spending to support troops in Afghanistan.

secretary of defence

Eg: Nominated ________ must appear before the Armed Services Committee & only then, the majority can recommend the nominee for the full Senate approval.

Bureaucratic organisations

________ may prioritise the desires of powerful SIGs over their "consumers "marginal is or politically weaker communities they serve)

congressional leaders

President is generally more successful than ________ in using the media to set policy agenda.

loan forgiveness

Eg: Student ________ by Biden; The military, education, and other spending that can be changed by Congress every year.

Gridlock

________- The "congestion "of opposing forces that prevents ideas from moving forward- within each house & b /w Congress and the President; due to intensifying partisanship.

Japan

Eg: Signing a treaty (or executive agreement) { Treaty requires approval of Senate, it requires additional treaty to undo the previous one while executive agreement doesnt need approval from the senate }, hosting a state dinner for the Prime Minister of ________.

Elections

________ are conducted by individual districts within a state.

Veto

________ (Reject a bill)- Congress can override ________ if ⅔ each chamber approves the bill.

Unanimous consent

________- the approval of all senators.

Filibuster

________- Attempt to stall /kill a bill by speaking for an extremely long time.

Obamacare Patent Protection

________ and Affordable Care Act (2010)- Requires Citizens to purchase health insurance & requires insurance companies to accept more clients.

Power of Persuasion

________: President uses it to win support for policy agenda.

Reprieve

________: Postpones executions of a sentence* not common.

Senators

________ can speak for as long as they want, and have fewer restrictions.

HOR

________ can initiate impeachment of president /federal officers, if only the majority of the House agrees on- treason, bribery, or other high crimes.

local candidate

Eg: President holds rally to garner support for a(n) ________.

Senatorial Courtesy

________- Senators will not approve a presidential appointment opposed by a majority party senator from the state in which the appointee would serve.

Pigeonhole

________- The committee chair can decide not to move it forward for debate until a later time.

Appropriation Bills

________- Authorises government to spend $ $ $.

Redistribution of seats

________ in the HOR is based on changes in population.

Union Address

State of the ________- Annual Address to Congress & people know his /her legislative agenda "from time to time.

Mandatory spending

________ is the stuff that the US govt has to pay and we can't vote on that.

Discretionary spending

________ is where Congress and the President get involved and pass the budget plan for the year.

Senate Finance Committee

________- A strong entity in Federal Spending.

Pocket veto

________- Wait 10 days → Congress not in session (adjourns) → at the end of 10 days, bills killed (doesnt go back to Congress for override vote)

HOR

________ has power on everything, except current pay (27th Amendment) ∴ Goes into effect in next term.

Discretionary spending

________ are money left over after mandatory spending which is then spent over other things.

federal money

Power of the Purse- To put out a budget and allocate funds; spend ________.

Equal Representation | | Term Length | 2 years *no limit | 6 years *no limit "Continuous body"

3 classes; every 2 years, ⅓ is up for re-election

HOR can initiate impeachment of president/federal officers, if only the majority of the House agrees on

treason, bribery, or other high crimes

During a session, in the HOR

Speaker of the House, Majority Leader & Minority Leader can speak as long as they want, while the remaining speak for less than an hour

Power of the Purse

To put out a budget and allocate funds; spend federal money

Power to Raise Revenue

Raise revenue is for tax collections and trade between states and nations

Regulating Commerce

Commerce Clause (Article 1, Section 8)

Obamacare / Patent Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)

Requires Citizens to purchase health insurance & requires insurance companies to accept more clients

Gerrymandering

Done by Political Parties           *Shaw vs. Reno (1993)

P.O.O.P

Party out of power

Cracking

Spreads P.O.O.P into numerous districts (P.I.P is majority in all districts)

Packing

Packs P.O.O.P into as few district as possible (Since, P.I.P has a majority & has more districts → P.O.O.P is packed into as many less districts as possible)

Kidnapping

P.I.P "draws"  incumbents house out of their election

Incumbents

Current Office Holder

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Divided Government

When different parties control the executive and legislative branches, or each house of Congress is controlled by a different party

Standing (Permanent)  *21 in House, 17 in Senate

Handles most of the work

Lawmakers seek appointments with committees in fields in which they have expertise, or have special interest for the state/district.Eg

Almost 100 members of Congress = Military expertise (Armed Forces) → Qualifies in shaping Congresss military policy

Majority Party

Always holds a majority of seats in each committee → controls the flow of legislation, because a bill must clear committee with a majority vote before it proceeds to the House/Senate floor for a vote

Senates advice & consent role

Standing committees hold confirmation hearings for presidential nominations

Eg

Nominated secretary of defence must appear before the Armed Services Committee & only then, the majority can recommend the nominee for the full Senate approval

House Energy & Commerce

Authority of utilities, gasoline & business matters

Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure

Oversees the creation & maintenance of US highways, regulates airports

House Judiciary Committee

Drafts crime bills that define illegal behaviour & appropriate punishments & handles impeachments

*Ways & Means Committee Exclusive to House

Determines tax policy, first to outline details when proposals are put forward to raise or lower income taxes

Appropriations Committee

*Along with the above committee, influences & controls purse strings

Eg

Joint economic Committee, Joint Committee on the Library of Congress, Joint Committee on Taxation

Discharge petition

Brings the bill out of the committee if its reluctant

Filibuster

Attempt to stall/kill a bill by speaking for an extremely long time

Unanimous consent

the approval of all senators

Cloture Rule (Rule 22)

⅗ = 60/100 senators majority required to stop a debate on the bill → stopping filibuster → Allowing for a vote Once a cloture is reached, each senator has the privilege for speaking for upto 1 hour on that topic/bill

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Riders/Nongermane Amendments

Added to benefit a members own agenda or enhance the political chances of the bill

Pork Barrel Spending

Insertion of funding for local projects into bills

In committee, a bill undergoes 3 stages

hearings, markup & reporting.'

Pigeonhole

The committee chair can decide not to move it forward for debate until a later time

Public Bills

Matters of general concerns & application

Private Bills

Specific, private, personal, local matters

Appropriation Bills

Authorises government to spend $$$

Eg

Defence, spending to support troops in Afghanistan

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Presidents budgeting arm

Senate Finance Committee

A strong entity in Federal Spending

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

Congressional agency of non-partisan accountants

Individual Income Taxes

taxes paid by workers on the income made

Corporate Taxes

taxes paid by businesses on the profits made during the year

Social insurance taxes (aka payroll taxes)

taxes paid by both employers & employees to fund programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment insurance etc

Tariffs & excise taxes

taxes paid on certain imports & products

Other sources

taxes that include interest on govt holdings or investments & estate taxes paid by people who inherit a large amount of money

Eg

Student loan forgiveness by Biden; The military, education, and other spending that can be changed by Congress every year

Eg

Like our trillion dollar debt interest payment or social security, Medicare, Medicaid etc

Legislative

More people (good)

Eg

  White House reception for National Science Fair Winners, Super Bowl Champs

Eg

Appointing new secretary of State, accepting resignation of Attorney General

Executive privilege

The right to withhold information or their decision making process from another branch, especially Congress

Eg

Signing a treaty (or executive agreement) {Treaty requires approval of Senate, it requires additional treaty to undo the previous one while executive agreement doesnt need approval from the senate}, hosting a state dinner for the Prime Minister of Japan

War Powers Act

Limits the President in the ability to wage war

Eg

Sending/removing troops to & fro a foreign country, discussions with another country regarding troop movement

Bully puppet

uses media to influence the public to pass or kill a bill

Power of Persuasion

President uses it to win support for policy agenda

Eg

President holds rally to garner support for a local candidate

President concerned about

taxes, stock market performance, unemployment, business growth, etc

Eg

President negotiates a trade deal to help US farmers

Heads of independent agencies (15 agencies at present; Latest

Department of Homeland Security)