Key Concepts in Congressional and Presidential Powers

Appropriate

Congress's power to allocate a set amount of federal dollars for a specific program or agency.

Authorize

Congress's power to create a federal program or agency and set levels of federal funds to support that program or agency.

Cloture

Vote that can stop a filibuster and bring debate on a bill to an end.

Concurrent budget resolution

Congressional blueprint outlining general amounts of funds that can be spent on federal programs.

Continuing resolution

A measure passed to fund federal programs when the appropriations process has not been completed by September 30, the end of the fiscal year.

Divided government

A situation in which one party controls the executive branch and the other party controls one or both parts of the legislative branch.

Earmark

Federal dollars devoted specifically to a local project in a congressional district or state.

Federal budget deficit

The difference between the amount of money the federal government spends in outlays and the amount of money it receives from revenues.

Filibuster

Tactic of extended speech designed to delay or block the passage of a bill in the Senate.

Hold

Power available to a senator to prevent the unanimous consent that allows a bill or presidential nomination to come to the Senate floor, which can be broken by invoking cloture (currently sixty votes on most items).

Homestyle

The way in which incumbents portray themselves to constituents.

House majority leader

Leader of the majority party in the House and second in command to the Speaker.

House minority leader

Leader of the minority party in the House.

Markup

Process by which bills are literally marked up, or written, by the members of the committee.

National debt

Sum of loans and interest that the federal government has accrued over time to pay for the federal deficit.

Override

Congress's power to overturn a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

Ranking member

Leader of the minority-party members of a committee.

Reconciliation

A measure used to bring all bills that contain changes in the tax code or entitlement programs in line with the congressional budget.

Rule

Guidelines issued by the House Rules Committee that determine how many amendments may be considered for each bill.

Senate majority leader

Leader of the majority party in the Senate.

Senate minority leader

Leader of the minority party in the Senate.

Speaker of the House

Constitutional and political leader of the House.

Unanimous consent agreement

Agreement among all 100 senators on how a bill or presidential nomination will be debated, changed, and voted on in the Senate.

Bully pulpit

Nickname for the power of the president to use the attention associated with the office to persuade the media, Congress, and the public to support his policy positions.

Chief of staff

A person who coordinates and oversees interactions among the president, his personal staff, and his cabinet secretaries.

Commander in chief

Head of the armed forces of the United States.

Entitlement programs

Federal programs, such as Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid, that pay out benefits to individuals based on a specified set of eligibility criteria.

Executive order

Presidential directive that usually involves implementing a specific law.

Executive privilege

President's right to engage in confidential communications with his advisers.

Great Society

Lyndon Johnson's program for expanding the federal social welfare programs in health care, education, and housing and for ending poverty.

Head of state

Title given to the president as a national leader.

Impeachment

Process whereby the House brings charges against the president or another federal official that will, upon conviction by the Senate, remove him or her from office.

Imperial presidency

Power of the president to speak for the nation on the world stage and to set the policy agenda at home.

Lame duck

Term-limited official in his or her last term of office.

New Deal

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's program for ending the Great Depression through government intervention in the economy and the development of a set of safety-net programs for individuals.

Omnibus bill

One very large bill that encompasses many separate bills.

Pardon

Full forgiveness for a crime.

Pocket veto

Automatic veto that occurs when Congress goes out of session within ten days of submitting a bill to the president and the president has not signed it.

Presidential directive

Official instructions from the president regarding federal policy.

Signing statements

Written remarks issued by the president when signing a bill into law that often reflect his interpretation of how the law should be implemented.

State of the Union address

Speech on the condition of the country given by the president to Congress every January.

War Powers Act

The 1973 act that provides that the president cannot send troops into military conflict for more than a total of ninety days without seeking a formal declaration of war, or authorization for continued military action, from Congress.