Unit 2 exam

The legislative and executive branch

Senate

One of 2 chambers, represents states equally

* 6 yr term
* 100 senators
* more national interest

House of Representatives

One of 2 chambers, equally represents population

* 2 yr term
* 435 members
* more for public interest

Pork barrel

jobs, policies, that benefit specific voters (to help local rep win reelections)

Descriptive presentation

whether a member shares the same ethnic, race, religion, gender as a voter

Substantive representation

whether a member shares the same policy concern/interests of a voter

Trustee model

represents voters’ interest from afar weighin in national, local, moral concern

Delegate model

carries out direct desires of voters

Politico

someone who acts as a delegate towards very important policies but a trust on less complex issues

Incumbent advantage

has a political advantage over challengers at elections

Redistricting

redo of geographic boundaries of legislative districts, occurs every 10 yrs after census to ensure equal representation

Apportionment

dividing the number of house seats to the states after redistricting

Gerrymandering

using the redrawing of districts for a political advantage, protect incumbents, or change the proportion of minority voters

Universalism norm

when benefits are being divided, available to all states and districts

Logrolling

Congress votes on bills they wouldn’t so that they get support for their bills; “if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”

Earmarks

federally funded local projects that are attached to bills

Speaker of the House

elected leader of the House; head of the majority party; Influences legislative agenda, committee assignments, scheduling, and overal party assignments

Majority Leader

elected head of the party holding majority of seats in the House/Senate; House: aids speaker of the house

Whip system

organizes house leaders who work to spread information and promote party unity when voting happens; Three functions - information gathering, spreading info, and building alliance

Minority leader

elected head of the party hold the least amount of seats in the house/senate

Second in command

assistant majority/minority leader

President of the Senate

Vice president; Only duty is to be the tie breaker and preside over proceedings

President pro tempore

presides over senate; senior member

Roll call votes

recorded vote on legislation

Party vote

a vote in which the majority of one party opposes a position of the other party majority

Part unity

members of congress in the same party vote together on same legislations on party votes

Ideological polarization

no overlap in ideals between parties, makes compromise difficult

Conditional Party govt

stronger leadership in congress but conditional on consent of party members

Standing committees

permanent part of house and senate; more authority, get most work done; Draft legislation and oversee how it’s established,
Many committees share jurisdiction

Select committee

address specific topics for a one to two terms; mostly collect information, provide policy option, and be attentive on the issue; can be temporary

Joint committee

have both House and senate members, limited authority; can be temporary

Conference committee

temporary to resolve issues on house/senate version of a bill

Rules Committee

sets rules on the debates in the house, how long can someone talk, type/quantity of amendments in a bill

Multiple referral

sent more than one committee

Markup

debate aspects of the issue or suggest amends to change the bill

Record vote

if 25 members want to vote, all members go on the floor to vote electronically where it’s displayed

Filibuster

talking about a bill for a really long time to kill the bill

Hold

an objection on a time limit

House Rules Committee

rules that govern the bill process

Closed rules

no amendments to bill

Open rules

allow relevant amendments

Modified rules

allow specific amendments

Committee of the whole

every member is present for this legislative meeting, has rules that must be followed; All amendments are considered under a five minute rule (Can be bent with a phantom amendment to add another 5 minutes)

Power of the purse

congress power to control fiscal policy; They can cut funding of a program if it’s not implemented correctly

Fire alarm oversight

wait until there’s a crisis to spring into action

Police patrol

congress has constant vigilance

President’s job description

Head of the executive branch; Vesting clause declares president is the head of the government and head of state, preside over the country

Constitutional authority

powers from constitution

Statutory authority

powers that come from laws

Constitutional enumerated powers

implementation of laws

* Uses their jugdment to input legislative goals into programs

issue orders to govt agencies that make significant policy changes

Appointment power

* Name ambassadors, senior bureaucrats, and members of the federal judiciary
* Controls 8,000 positions
* About 1200 of these appointees require senate approval


1. One limit on presidential power

Commander in chief - control military

Recess appointment

appointee temporarily holds a position without congress approval

Executive orders

president can change government policy without congressional approval

War Powers Resolution of 1973

limits the president’s ability to send and control the army; here must be notification by the President to the legislative branch within 48 hours of deploying any troops; deployment can be for up to 60 days without a formal Congressional declaration

Treaty Process

Treaty making powers is shared between president and congress; President and staff negotiate terms then send it to congress for approval; Congress isn’t involved at the start which give president unlimited scope of what the treaty can entail; However, since it needs congressional approval, president has to be considerate of congress’s preferences

Executive agreement

agreement between the executive branch and a foreign govt; doesn’t require senate approval

* Can be undone by next president

President Duties

communicating with foreign leaders, nongovernmental organizations, and citizens

State of the Union address

annual speech given to congress about the current state of the nation

* president can recommend policy here, needs to be sponsored tho

Pocket veto

president can veto a bill by not responding it if congress is not in session within the 10 days

Presidential Pardon

President can pardon people charged with federal crimes or reduce their sentence

Executive privilege

ability to shield themselves and their subordinates from revealing information from the White House from the legislative and Judicial branches

* isn’t absolute ( US v Nixon)

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

immediate staff to the president


1. Has the Office of Management and Budget


1. Develops president's budget proposal and monitors spending in govt agencies
2. Office of the United States Trade Representative


1. Negotiates trade agreements with other nations

help president achieve their policy goals and get reelected

* most staff are presidential appointees

First Spouse

One of the president’s most important advisors; Is seen as someone that can express president’s opinions to political appointees, members of congress, or media; Represents America in many events; Controversial whether they should decide policy because they weren’t elected to do so

The President’s Cabinet

* Composed of 15 executive departments heads along with other appointees
* Members help implement president’s agenda in their departments
* Appointees monitor the actions of lower-level bureaucrats since they’re often not sympathetic to president’s priorities
* Members are chosen for their loyalty and expertise

Unilateral Action

Undefined clarity of presidential power enables a president to take unilateral action


1. Change policy without consulting congress
2. They know their action has little chance of being reversed
3. presidents find loopholes, used to justify unilateral action

Unitary executive theory

 idea that the vesting clause allows the president to issue orders and policy directives that Congress can’t undo unless it’s explicitly said in the Constitution

Signing statement

document issued by the president when signing a bill stating their own interpretation that may differ from Congress to have some influence


1. Influence over implementation of law, telling bureaucracy to follow their interpretation
2. If there’s issues with the bill, court has to take into account the presidents interpretation

Impeachment

strips presidents power

* needs to be started at House (charged)
* trial held by Senate, 2/3 majority

Presidential approval rate

 percentage of the public that think they’re doing a good job


1. State of the economy is a factor
2. Certain policies

Going public

appealing to american citizens

Bully pulpit

president’s ability to speak directly to the public about policy matters

Census

Every 10 years, it’s used to count population of the country

* helps redistrict for HoR

Enumerated Powers (Congress)

Powers stated in the Constitution

* declare War
* power to tax
* borrow money
* coin money
* post office
* power of the purse

Implied Powers

Powers not stated in the Constitution

* establish national bank (Congress)
* regulate immigration (Congress)
* initiate tax laws and spending bills (House)

Cabinet

Cabinet members are the president's top advisors and are responsible for managing the various departments and agencies within the executive branch

* 15 department heads

Ambassadors

responsible for representing the United States in foreign countries and for managing diplomatic relations

White House Staff

responsible for providing support and assistance to the president

Federalist 70

Justification for single president

* One executive can get things done more efficiently and quickly. If there was more than one, it would require debates and compromises which take up a lot of time. 
* If power is shared among more than 1 executive, then the ability to maintain and govern the nation will diminish. This can become an issue when an emergency arises and needs to be handled quickly
* Division among executive can occur which can cause a domino effect and cause division within the country
* If the executives were to abuse their power, finding out who is at fault and be held responsible will be nearly impossible whereas if it’s a single executive, we know who it is

Precedent

A legal decision or set of decisions made in earlier, similar cases that serves as a guide or reference for future cases

Stare decisis

The legal principle that courts should follow precedents set by earlier, similar cases, in order to maintain consistency and predictability in the law

Ideology

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A set of beliefs, values, and principles that shape an individual's perspective and decision-making

Presidential appointment

The process by which the President of the United States nominates individuals to fill federal court vacancies, including those on the Supreme Court, which must be confirmed by the Senate

Jurisdiction

The authority of the Supreme Court to hear and make decisions on certain legal cases

Oral Arguments

The opportunity for both sides of a case to present their arguments and answer questions from the justices in an open session

Briefs

Written arguments submitted by both sides of a case before oral arguments, outlining their positions and evidence

Majority Opinion

The decision reached by a majority of the justices in a case

Dissenting Opinion 

A written disagreement with the majority opinion by one or more justices who believe the decision was incorrect

Concurring Opinion

A written agreement with the majority opinion by a justice who agrees with the outcome, but for different reasons

Writ of Certiorari

A formal request by one party to have a case heard by the Supreme Court

Amicus Curiae Briefs

 Briefs filed by individuals or organizations who are not parties to a case but have a strong interest in the outcome and wish to offer their expertise and perspective

Public Opinion

Court makes decisions that are perceived as controversial or unpopular, it can lead to public criticism and pressure on the Court to reconsider its decisions

Judicial Activism

more proactive role for the judiciary, where they take a more expansive view of their powers and actively seek to protect individual rights and liberties; approach often leads to decisions that strike down laws or actions of other branches of government as unconstitutional

Judicial Restraint

 emphasizes the importance of adhering to precedent and the text of the Constitution, and defers to the decisions of elected branches of government; seeks to limit the role of the judiciary in making policy decisions and to preserve the balance of powers within the government

Independent agencies

these agencies operate outside of the control of any one particular department and have a specific mission or function

* Environmental policy agency
* NASA

Iron Triangle

term used to describe the relationship between interest groups, bureaucratic agencies, and congressional committees, in which each entity has a vested interest in preserving the status quo

Pendleton Act

government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit

Hatch Act

act forbids federal workers from taking part in partisan political activities

Discretionary Authority

The power given to an agency to make decisions about the implementation of existing laws, using its discretion and judgment

Rule-making Authority

The power of an agency to create rules and regulations that govern the behavior of individuals and organizations

Agency

A government department, division, or organization responsible for implementing specific policies and regulations