AP Gov Unit 2 All Vocab

Seventeenth Amendment

An amendment to the Constitution that changed the election of senates from done by state legislatures (originally intended to protect federalism) to done by a popular vote (ensuring more direct representation).

War Powers Resolution

An act passed in 1973 redefining Congress’s war-declaring power and the President’s power as Commander in Chief; states that Congress had the power to disapprove or approve of any military action within 60 days and the President can call troops into combat 48 hours before notifying Congress.

Committee Chair

A member of Congress, usually of the majority party, who is elected to be the head of a committee and oversees debates, discussions, and decisions on bill proposals, thus having a large effect on the legislative process.

House Rules Committee

An important committee in the House of Representatives that oversees legislation and decides which, how, and when bills make it to the floor for debate

Committee of the Whole

A committee in which the members of the House of Representatives meet under more relaxed conditions, such as a lower quorum and unlimited speech time, to fully discuss a bill.

Standing Committee

A permanent committee of either the House of Representatives or the Senate which is tasked with addressing one type of issue through legislation.

Hold

When a senator objects to a federal nomination position, thereby communicating to Senate leadership that they will not accept the nomination until their concern is addressed; usually effectively hinders the appointment.

Gridlock

When a law cannot be passed and Congress is inefficient because of partisan disagreement and conflict making it difficult to get votes.

Majority-minority districts

A district consisting of mainly a minority ethnic group, giving them an adequate voice when voting for representatives.

Malapportionment

When legislatures draw their districts during regular apportionment with significantly unequal populations (unconstitutional).

Incumbency

The holding of an office by an official or the time period in which it is held.

Incumbency Advantage

The advantages that current officeholders have over those who are running for their position but are not currently in office; for example, more media coverage, name recognition, already established support networks, etc.

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Organizations that provide funding and rally voter support either for or against an official, such as through funding campaigns, thereby influencing election outcomes.

Discharge Petition

The petition to bring a bill out of committee, which has refused to schedule its debate, and straight to the floor for debate in the House of Representatives. Rarely used.

Unanimous Consent Agreement

An agreement for a modified legislative management procedure, such as limited debate, in the Senate, which requires all members to agree

Entitlement Program

A government sponsored social welfare program, funded by taxpayer money, provided to people who meet certain requirements (such as age, income, or disability), regardless of need.

Constituency

A body of constituents (voters) in a specific geographical area who are represented by an elected official.

Bipartisanship

When many members of different political parties work together to solve a common problem or provide for a common interest as opposed to conflicting with one another or only acting on party interests.

Divided Government

A situation in which one political party has control of the legislative, but another (conflicting one) has control of the executive, therefore making it very difficult to pass laws.

Lame Duck Period

The period between the election and the inauguration of the next official, in which the political power of the current (outgoing) official is diminished and laws are rarely passed.

Executive Agreement

Agreements the president makes with foreign nations that bypass approval from Congress; shows the president’s major role in international relations.

State of the Union Address

The yearly speech that the President gives to Congress in which it outlines the legislative agenda and national goals. The President can suggest ideas for new laws during this time.

Presidential Pardon

A formal power granted to the President to pardon an individual of a federal crime.

Bargaining and Persuasion

Informal presidential powers used to influenced Congress’s lawmaking decisions, including utilizing the bully pulpit, media, and State of the Union address to convince the audience

Going Public

A strategy where the President directly addresses the people and convinces the public to support and act on their policies, thereby giving public pressure to Congress to agree with the presidential agenda.

(Writ of) Certiorari

A court order where the Supreme Court orders a lower court to send up their ruling to be reviewed, allowing SCOTUS to choose what cases it can hear based off of significance or need.

Federal Judiciary

The system of federal (U.S.) courts established in Article III of the Constitution; includes the Supreme Court at the top, and then the Federal Court of Appeals, and lastly the Federal District Courts.

Rule of Four

The rule that if four out of nine justices in the Supreme Court agree to issue a writ of certiorari to hear a certain case, they must hear it.

Criminal Law

The branch of law that defines, deals with, and punishes offenders for doing something harmful to society or state.

Civil Law

The branch of law that defines, deals with, and settles disputes between private parties as opposed to punishing an individual for breaking a law.

Political Patronage

Providing jobs, especially in the federal bureaucracy, to those who are members of one’s own political party as opposed to based on merit.

Pendleton Act

An Act passed in 1883 that prevented the use of political patronage, ultimately creating the merit system and a bipartisan Civil Service Commission.

Federal Civil Service

The non-elected and non-military civilian employees of the federal government, who are hired based on merit.

Merit System

Competitive, written exams which determine who gets in a federal employee position as opposed to who is supporting the party in power

Implementation

The process of translating passed laws into real-world results and outcomes, involving cooperation among many governmental branches.

Regulation

Rules and guidelines drafted and created by government agencies to manage developments in society, ensuring stability, order, and the protection of public interests.

Apportionment

Dividing seats in legislative bodies (usually the House of Representatives) into roughly “equal and uniform” districts based on political entities

Speaker of the House

The leader of the HoR; part of the majority party organizes members in committees and debates/leads discussions

Announces results from votes, rules on procedures, 3rd in line of presidential succession

House Majority Leader

Leads debate for majority party, spokespersons (for the media), guides discussions. Second in command

Minority leader

Direct debate for the minority party; guided discussion

Majority Whip

Disciplinary leader for the majority part in the House and Senate; gets party members to vote and ensures they are in good standing

Minority whip

Disciplinary leader for the minority part in the House and Senate; gets party members to vote and ensures they are in good standing

President pro tempore

Member of the Senate who steps in if the President of the Senate (Vice President) isn’t there, and guides discussions and leads the meetings. Part of the majority party; mainly a ceremonial position and is longest serving member of majority party

Senate Majority Leader

Leads debate for majority party, spokespersons (for the media), guides discussions. First in command (more powerful), significant impact on legislative issues

Filibuster

A long speech by the member of the Senate (or speaker/party leader in the HoR) in attempt to stall or block the passing of a law

Cloture

A 60% majority vote in the Senate which can stop debate on a bill and stop a filibuster/allowing for a vote. Afterwards, each senator only has 1 hour to speak about the issue.

Pork Barrel Spending

Government spending for a certain representative’s needs in order to curry political favor, as opposed to what the people actually need

Logrolling

An agreement between legislators where they both vote on each other’s bills; to secure a vote for their bill, one person asks another to vote for it in exchange for them voting for their partner’s bill.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Branch which budgets and organizes funds and national federal spending for the president

Mandatory Spending

Federal spending that is required (by law), for example Medicaid and Social Security

Budget Deficit

When the government’s spending exceeds its revenue, so it has to borrow money or raise taxes to get this money back

Discretionary spending

The fundings which congressional committees debate how to split up; it is the money to be spent of the federal government which is left over after mandatory spending has occurred

National debt

Spending deficits added together; the total amount of money a government ought to pay

Delegate Model

When a representative directly carries out the will of the people (constituents), not necessarily what they think would be best

Trustee Model

When a representative is trusted by their voters (constituents) to carry out sound, beneficial decisions by themselves

Politico Model

A blend of the trustee and delegate models; representatives take into account the will of the people, but also factor in their own political understanding and opinions to make a legislative decision

Redistricting

The act of redrawing voting district borders (who vote for government legislatives) every 10 years due to population changes monitored by a census

Partisan Gerrymandering

The act of drawing district lines irregularly to benefit a certain party through making many districts have the majority voters of that party

Racial Gerrymandering

The act of drawing district lines irregularly to give unfair advantage or disadvantage to a certain racial group

Executive Branch

Branch of the government that is responsible for enforcing or executing laws; includes the President, agencies, and the Cabinet

Formal Powers

Powers explicitly stated (usually in Article II) in the Constitution that are for the President (for example: vetoing rights).

Informal Powers

Political powers for the president which are not explicitly stated in the Constitution but are interpreted (through common sense, historical precedent, and/or political practice) to be important for  policymaking.

Veto

The final say in the policymaking process, belonging to the president; when a president rejects the bill and sends it back to Congress.

Pocket Veto

When the President receives a bill and does nothing for 10 days, after which instead of becoming a law it fails because Congress is not in session (adjourns)

Treaty

A binding agreement between two sovereign nations; signed and negotiated by the President but requires 2/3 approval by Congress.

Executive order

A law-binding directive issued by the president that does not require congressional approval; informal power

Signing Statement

The written signing or comment from the President when approving a bill finally; includes their understanding of the law

Executive Privilege

The President’s right to keep certain governmental information or documents, including and especially from Congress

Executive Office of the President

Part of the president’s day-to-day staff which coordinates independent agencies part of the executive branch, such as the OMP and CIA

Impeachment

When a government official is charged for misconduct or crimes and is therefore removed from office

Bully Pulpit

A conspicuous position, especially presidency, similar to a stage on which the official could pitch ideas to the American public

Original Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case for the first time (as opposed to only from appeals).

Appellate Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case that has been appealed from a lower court (not the first time).

Federalist No. 78

The judicial branch of the federal government will not be too powerful because of judicial review and checks and balances on the Supreme Court

Federal (US) District Courts

The lowest tier of federal courts; hears criminal and civil matters

Federal (US) Court of Appeals

The middle tier of federal courts; hears cases appealed from lower courts

Supreme Court

The highest tier of federal courts; has both original jurisdiction (in matters regarding states and foreign issues) and appellate jurisdiction (from lower courts). Decision is binding

Marbury vs. Madison (1803)

An important SCOTUS case that established judicial checks over the other two branches by declaring laws (or executive orders) null and void if it conflicted with the Constitution. Specifically, Marbury wanted the court to act according to the Judiciary Act and grant him official appointment, which Madison did not provide. The court then ruled that the Judiciary Act was not constitutional because SCOTUS did not have constitutional power to act on matters that were not pertaining to a state or foreign ambassador.

Judicial Review

The authority of the court to review laws or executive actions from the other two branches to determine if it is constitutional.

Precedent

A ruling that sets up a legal principle and therefore determines/influences the decisions of future cases

Stare decisis

The legal process of determining results of a case by their legal precedents in order to ensure legal consistency

Majority Opinion

The written statement stating what most members of the court rules; decision can be appealed (lower courts) or binding (Supreme Court).

Concurring Opinion

A statement written by a judge who agrees with the result of the majority opinion but not their reasons, detailing their separate reasons and evidence on the case. (Not legally binding.)

Dissenting Opinion

A written statement by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion. It is not legally binding, but provides the insight and explanations of the opposing point of view.

Judicial Restraint

A legal philosophy where judges/the judicial branch decides to limit their power and authority; they interpret the Constitution strictly and often defer decisions to other branches like the legislative. (Courts should not get very involved; no big changes should be made to policies.)

Judicial Activism

A legal philosophy where judges/the judicial branch actively strike down or reverses policies or laws made by other branches, giving them a heavy and direct say in policymaking.

Federal Bureaucracy

A hierarchical arrangement of unelected executive officers that help manage and enforce laws with the President.

Administrative Adjudication

A system used by governmental agencies in the federal bureaucracy to resolve disputes without going to the court; administrative law judges (ALJs) hear the cases and make an (informal) decision.

Bureaucrat

A member of the unelected federal group of executive officials belonging to departments, agencies, etc., who are responsible for enforcing laws.

Iron Triangle

The strong three-way interdependent relationship between congressional committees, interest groups, and agencies.

Issue Network

A combination of committee and agency staff, leaders, experts, etc., who collaborate to influence policymaking in the issue they are concerned with (sometimes interferes with the iron triangle).

Delegated Discretionary Authority

The (constitutional) power given to executive agencies and departments by Congress to create rules and interpret legislation.

Congressional Oversight

Congress making sure the executive agencies and departments are carrying out the law fairly without overstepping their boundaries; Congress’s checks' over the federal bureaucracy in competition with the president.