Studied by 65 peoplewhat are the three branches of government?
legislative
executive
judicial
what is bicameral legislative?
2 chambers: senate and house of reps
Who serves as the President of the Senate?
Vice President of the U.S.
Who is the highest ranking Senator of the majority party and serves in the absence of the Vice President?
President Pro Tempore (party with most members)
how is senate divided?
20 standing committees, 68 subcommittees, and 4 joint committees
Who presides over the House and is the leader of the majority party?
Speaker of the House
Number of committees in the house
23 Standing Committees House committees, with 104 subcommittees
Number of senators and representatives in Congress?
435 representatives (re-election every 2 years) & 100 Senators (6 year term)
what are the powers of congress?
Coining money
Maintaining a military
Declaring war on other countries
Regulating interstate and foreign commerce
Elastic Clause
Impeachment
what are the duties of congress?
• write, debate, and pass bills
• investigating pressing national issues
• supervising the executive and judicial branch
What does the House of Representatives consist of?
determined by US census every 10 years
a few delegates from US territories
what are special house duties?
Start laws that involve revenue
Decide if a government official should be put on trial before the Senate if s/he commits a crime against the country.
what are special senate duties?
Confirm or disapprove any treaties the President drafts.
Confirm or disapprove the Presidential appointments
Holds a trial for a Government official
what are exclusive national government powers?
Print money
Regulate interstate and international trade
Make treaties and conduct foreign policy
Declare war
Provide an army and navy
Establish post offices
Make laws
what are exclusive state government powers?
Issue licenses
Regulate intrastate businesses
Conduct elections
Establish local governments
Ratify amendments to the Constitution
Take measures for public health and safety
Exert powers the Constitution does not delegate to the national government or prohibit the states from using
what are concurrent powers of state and national governments?
Collect taxes
Build roads
Borrow money
Establish courts
Make and enforce laws
Charter banks and corporations
Spend money for the general welfare
Take private property for public purposes, with just compensation
What does the President do?
Head of State and Head of Government
Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces
Article II of US Constitution
Execution and Enforcement of Laws created by Congress
15 Executive Departments
President's Cabinet- appointed to carry out day-to-day administration of federal government
Other executive agencies (CIA, EPA), and 50 independent federal commissions (Federal Reserve Board), federal judges, ambassadors, etc.
What are the powers of the president?
Has power to sign legislation or veto bills
Congress can override with 2/3 votes
Conducts diplomacy with other nations
Negotiate and sign treaties, but must be ratified by 2/3 Senate
Executive Orders
Pardons and clemencies for federal crimes (except impeachment)
Vice Pres
Replace President if necessary
Serves as President of the Senate
Votes in tie-breaker only
what does the judicial branch do?
• Interprets laws
• Determines if unconstitutional
who can introduce a bill?
only a member of congress
Individual citizens, Special interest groups, Corporations, Non-governmental organizations
Each committee has what?
a chair (from the Majority) and a ranking member (from the minority).
what does pigeonhole a bill mean?
it means it dies in committee
Where is a bill sent once it is passed through the committee?
it is sent to the whole House for debate and vote.
who determines what bills hit the floor and for how long in the house?
the speaker
What is "Committee of the Whole"?
Bills considered by the whole House at once
What happens when the bill goes to the Senate?
A Senate version is written with the letter S. and a number & the bill must be referred to the appropriate standing committee.
What ends the debate of a bill in senate?
3/5 (60%) of the Senate must agree to end debate (this is called "cloture")
How are Differences Between Houses Reconciled?
Each passes own bill, differences ironed out and made into one bill, considered by conference committee, (both House and Senate members), negotiate and compromise and send combined bill back to both houses
A vote on the "conference report" must be taken and passed by both Houses.
where is debate unlimited?
senate
______ vote ends the debate in the senate
3/5
senate rules are________ than the house
weaker
what percentage must be reached to pass a bill
simple majority (51%)
what is a conference committee?
A committee that settles Senate and House differences in bills.
what is a signing statement?
the president signing legislation while also noting how the new law will be interpreted; the president may also express concerns over particular provisions
if a president vetos a bill what else does he have to do ?
He must include his reasons and recommendations for correction.
can sign the bill if he wants it to become law
can include "signing statements" that say how the law should be enforced or if parts will not be enforced
can veto or reject the bill.
what can a president do to make a law?
an executive order
what article discusses the president's role in government?
article 2
how many excutive departments are there?
15
What are the 15 organizations??
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Department of State
Department of Commerce
Department of Transportation (DOT)
Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of Treasury
Department of Education
Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Department of the Interior (DOI)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Department of Labor
what are the 3 qualifications to be president?
35 years old, 14 year resident, natural born citizen
what is the Executive Office of the President (EOP)
Headed by White House Chief of Staff
Shifts as needs shift
Currently over 1800 people
What is a law?
System of rules, regulates actions, enforced by penalties
What are the sources of law?
Local Ordinances - code of laws for municipality (city) or county/paris
Court Cases – past court decisions that influence future legal decisions (sets judicial precedent)
International - laws governing world issues (International treaties)
Constitution - rules from the Constitution (Federal and State)
Statutory - laws created by legislature (U.S. or State Code)
Administrative - laws created by government agencies (Code of Federal Regulations)
What is common law?
A type of law that is established by particular cases
ex: people to read contracts, doctor-patient confidentiality, copyright, and common law marriage
what is statute law?
Written law established by legislature
traffic violations like running a red light and the minimum legal drinking age of 21
what is civil law?
Civil law refers to behavior that causes an injury to an individual or a private party such as a corporation.
Ex: libel, property damage, and negligence that results in personal injuries or death, or malpractice
what is criminal law?
a system of laws concerned with crimes and the punishment of individuals who commit crimes.
ex: burglary, assault, battery and cases of murder
what are the special systems of law?
military and juvenile
what is military law?
Specified is us constitution, enacted uniform code of military justice, final is called court-marshal
What is juvenile law?
Under 18, status offender ( breaking law that doesn't apply to adults ex: drinking, smoking, driving
the supremacy clause
federal law trumps state law
What do courts do?
Settle disputes
Interpret the law
Create expectations for future actions
Federal courts perform judicial review over laws created by Congress and state legislatures, and executive actions
What are the levels of federal courts?
trial, appeal, and supreme
what are trial courts?
District Courts (94 districts; 663 judges)
Hear case for the first time
Both Criminal and Civil
Review evidence and decide facts of case
what are appeals court?
U.S. Court of Appeals or Circuit Courts (13 Circuits)
Don't hear facts; they decide questions of law
Decided by panel of 3 judges
what are supreme courts?
Looks for errors in appeals court
9 Justices
Who influences policy?
Constituents, Political Parties, Interest Groups, Media
What are constituents?
One who authorizes another to act as an agent
Anyone who lives and votes in the area
What is political ideology?
A system of political ideas
Conservativism- limit role of national government
Liberalism- support active government and government intervention to improve the welfare of individuals and to protect civil rights
Progressivism- Alternative term for liberalism
Moderate- middle of the spectrum
What are political parties?
• Group of individuals who organize to win elections, operate the government and determine policy
• Policy generalists
What do political parties
Select candidates
Inform the public
Coordinate policy making,
Check the power of the governing party
balance competing interests
run campaigns
what are interest groups?
individuals sharing common objectives who actively attempt to influence government through direct and indirect methods
what are characteristics of interest groups?
Educate and mobilize ( ex: American cancer society & anti-smoking)
Lobby - go to official, tell them who to vote for ( have to be on a list)
Testify at Congressional Hearings (ex: gun violence)
Engage in litigation in the judicial arena
Monitor government programs (bring court cases like overturning roe v wade)
shape policies - not personnel
gather information for elected officials - may even write bills, especially at state level
what are types of interest groups?
Private- and Public- working for public good (ACLU)
Business (Chamber of Commerce)
Labor (AFL-CIO)
Professional
Agricultural
Consumer
Identity (NAACP)
Ideological (Tea Party/Religious Groups)
Single Issue (MADD)
Government (state and local governments)
how do interest groups influence policy?
Direct Lobbying
Using the Courts
Mobilizing Public Opinion
What is direct lobbying?
attempts by an individual or group to influence a decision-maker directly, such as a legislator or government official, in order to promote or oppose specific legislation or policies.
This can include meetings, phone calls, emails, and other forms of communication aimed at persuading the decision-maker to take a particular action.
What is using the courts?
• bringing suit themselves
• financing suits brought by others
• or filing amicus curiae briefs (friend of court, give info to judge to help make analysis)
What is mobilizing public opinion?
Groups also engage in a kind of "indirect lobbying" whereby they seek to influence policy by "going public" to mobilize public opinion; advertising, protest politics, and grassroots lobbying are all potentially successful means of going public.
what is media?
• set national agendas
• prime candidate characteristics
• frame the issues and events that define the debate can have great effects on election outcomes
what is agenda setting?
(that is, the process by which the media help determine which political issues become part of the public debate); generally other political actors use the media for this purpose, though journalists themselves play important roles
what is priming?
occurs when media coverage affects which of many potential criteria the public uses when it evaluates political leaders or candidates.
ex: joe and trump next round, here about joes age and trumps lies.
what is framing?
the power of the media to influence how events and issues are interpreted, is a third potent media effect; because the media provide the interpretive lens (or frame) through which the public hears about issues, political elites compete to have their "spin" on the issue become the dominant frame
ex: fed government allows drilling at the cost of wildlife, fed gov is limiting drilling and it’s not enough
what is family advocacy policy?
the aim is to persuade
To campaign for an underrepresented group or a particular policy alternative that has the potential to enhance family well being
what is advocacy?
value oriented
passionate approach
once you become aligned with a certain policy position, credibility compromised
advocacy with a small “a”
drawing policy attention to without lobbying
Advocacy with a big A
lobbying for a single policy option represents
family policy alternative education
• Presenting research and other findings objectively without relaying personal preferences, value judgments, or biases
• Inform policy discourse by clarifying the potential consequences of several policy alternatives
policymakers needs more…
objective and valid info from reliable, unbiased sources
To be credible as an educator
objective, unbiased, dispassionate
Goal: effective with decision-makers of any political persuasion.
careers in family policy
University Involvement in Family Policy Scholarship
Citizen Engagement in Family Policymaking
Teaching of Family Policy
Family Impact Analysis
Family Research Dissemination
Family Research Integration
Research for Family Policy Formulation
Family Policy Implementation
Family Policy Evaluation
research for family policy formation
conducting studies that help policymakers determine whether social action is need
family policy evaluation
assessing whether programs or policies meet their states outcomes
Family research integration
provide concise, comprehensive reviews of research that highlight the most important findings and draw implications for policy
Family research dissemination
distributing evidence broadly with the intent of seeing it used in the policy and public arenas
• Maybe through media
family impact analysis
goes beyond evaluation research by examining how the program goals may be counterproductive by producing negative consequences for families, sometimes in unintended ways
Teaching family policy
• theoretical and conceptual frameworks to think about policymaking in ways that transcend particular issues, advances in scientific knowledge, and shifts in the political climate
• because of its political and value-laden nature, may pose some unique challenges to those who teach it
Citizen engagement
Include public problem solving, such as teaching citizens how to develop problem-solving relationships with others
WHAT OUTCOMES MATTER TO POLICYMAKERS?
interested in the public value of the functions that families perform for the larger society.
WHAT OUTCOMES MATTER TO PROFESSIONALS?
the private value of the functions that families provide for their members and how family members benefit from policies and programs they participate in.
WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS DO FAMILIES MAKE TO SOCIETY?
-generate productive workers
- raising caring, committed citizens
-family policy and programs are efficient investment of resources to reach societal goals
-effective means of promoting positive child and youth development
what are the 4 societal contributions that can be used as a rationale for promoting families as a fundamental focus of policymaking?
Families are a Fundamental Foundation for Generating Productive Workers
Families Contribute to the Rearing of Caring, Committed Citizens
Family Policies and Programs are an Efficient Investment of Public Resources to Achieve Societal Goals
Family Policies and Programs are an Effective Means of Promoting Positive Child and Youth Development
generate productive workers
preschool education is super important - it instills productive workers and helps lessen child poverty
efficient investment of public resources to reach societal goals
Government cannot afford to replace the functions families perform for the benefit of their members and the good of society
effective means of promoting positive child and youth development
programs that focus on family dynamics have proven to be nine times more effective than "youth-only" approaches.
raising caring, committed citizens
Secure attachment relationships predict many qualities that most societies value in their citizenry
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