Unit 2 - Interactions Among Branches of Government

What is advice and consent?

Terms in the Constitution describing the U.S. Senate's power to review and approve treaties and presidential appointments.

What is a caucus?

A group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic. Many are composed of members from both parties and from both houses.

What is cloture?

A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate.

What is the Committee of the Whole?

A committee that consists of an entire legislative body; used for a procedure in which a legislative body expedites its business by resolving itself into a committee of itself.

What is a Conference Committee?

special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate.

What is congressional oversight?

Power used by Congress to gather information useful for the formation of legislation, review the operations and budgets of executive departments and independent regulatory agencies, conduct investigations through committee hearings, and bring to the public's attention the need for public policy.

What is the delegate model?

The view that an elected represent should represent the opinions of his or her constituents.

What is a discharge petition?

Petition that, if signed by majority of the House of Representatives' members, will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration.

What is discretionary spending?

Federal spending on programs that are controlled through the regular budget process.

What are enumerated powers?

The powers explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution.

What is a filibuster?

A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue.

What is gerrymandering?

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

What are implied powers?

Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions.

What is a joint committee?

A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations.

What is logrolling?

An agreement by two or more lawmakers to support each other's bills.

What is an omnibus bill?

a proposed law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics.

What is the politico model?

Legislators should follow their own judgment (that is, act like a trustee) until the public becomes vocal about a particular matter, at which point they should follow the dictates of constituents.

What is reapportionment?

The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.

What is redistricting?

redrawing of congressional district boundaries by the party in power of the state legislature.

What are riders?

Amendments to bills, often in the form of appropriations, that sometimes have nothing to do with the intent of the bill itself and many times are considered to be pork barrel legislation.

What are select committees?

Congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation.

What is the Seventeenth Amendment?

Direct election of senators.

What is a standing committee?

A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area.

What is a swing district?

a district where no single candidate or party has overwhelming support.

What is the trustee model?

a model of representation in which a member of the House or Senate follows his or her own conscience when deciding issue positions.

What is the bully pulpit?

the president's use of his prestige and visibility to guide or enthuse the American public.

What is an executive agreement?

an agreement between the president and the leader of another country.

What is an executive order?

A rule issued by the president that has the force of law.

What is executive privilege?

An implied presidential power that allows the president to refuse to disclose information regarding confidential conversations or national security to Congress or the judiciary.

What is a lame duck?

A person still in office after he or she has lost a bid for reelection.

What is a pocket veto?

A veto taking place when Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill to the president, who simply lets it die by neither signing nor vetoing it.

What is the Twenty-second Amendment?

Limits the president to two terms in office.

What is a veto?

Chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature.

What is the Iron Triangle?

A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group.

What is an Issue Network?

A network that includes policy experts, media pundits, congressional staff members, and interest groups who regularly debate an issue.

What is patronage?

(politics) granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support.

What is the Spoils System?

A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.

What is appellate jurisdiction?

a court's authority to hear an appeal of a decision by another court.

What is binding precedent?

A decision of a higher court that must be followed by lower courts in the same hierarchy.

What is judicial activism?

A judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground. Advocates of this approach emphasize that the courts can correct pressing needs, especially those unmet by the majoritarian political process.

What is judicial review?

Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws.

What is judicial restraint?

A judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal policymaking roles, leaving that duty strictly to the legislatures.

What is stare decisis?

let the decision stand.

What is an appropriation?

money that Congress has allocated to be spent.

What is bureaucracy?

A system of managing government through departments run by appointed officials.

What is a civil service system?

the practice of hiring government workers on the basis of open, competitive examinations and merit.

What is the Commander in Chief?

term for the president as commander of the nation's armed forces.

What are Entitlements (mandatory spending)?

budget programs set by law that may not be altered.

What is a government corporation?

A government agency that operates like a business corporation, created to secure greater freedom of action and flexibility for a particular program.

What are Regulatory Agencies?

Federal regulatory agencies that are independent, thus not fully under the power of the president. Ex. Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission.

What is a line-item veto?

an executive's ability to block a particular provision in a bill passed by the legislature.

What is mandatory spending?

spending on certain programs that is mandated, or required, by existing law.

What is a merit system?

a system of employment based on qualifications, test scores, and ability, rather than party loyalty.

What is a policy agenda?

A set of issues and problems that policy makers consider important. The mass media play an important role in influencing the issues which receive public attention.

What is pork barrel?

the use of government funds for projects designed to please voters or legislators and win votes.

What is the Power of the Purse?

Constitutional power given to Congress to raise and spend money.

What is the Rules Committee?

A standing committee of the House of Representatives that provides special rules under which specific bills can be debated, amended, and considered by the house.

What is a signing statement?

A written declaration that a president may make when signing a bill into law. Usually, such statements point out sections of the law that the president deems unconstitutional.

What is the Speaker of the House?

the leader of the majority party who serves as the presiding officer of the House of Representatives.

What is the State of the Union Address?

A yearly report by the president to Congress describing the nation's condition and recommending programs and policies.

What is a constituent?

a person whom a member of Congress has been elected to represent.

What is revenue?

incoming money.

What is tax revenue?

the money a government gains from the collection of taxes.

What is a budget?

A policy document allocating burdens (taxes) and benefits (expenditures).

Who is the President Pro Tempore?

Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president.

What is partisanship?

Government action based on firm allegiance to a political party.

What is Baker v. Carr?

case that est. one man one vote. this decision created guidelines for drawing up congressional districts and guaranteed a more equitable system of representation to the citizens of each state.

What is Shaw v. Reno?

No racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries; majority-minority districts.

What is the Cabinet?

Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president.

What are Independent Agencies?

government organizations independent of the departments but with a narrower policy focus.

What is life tenure?

federal judges keep their jobs until they retire or die; however, they can be impeached.

What is Federalist 70?

US requires a strong, energetic executive; plural executive is dangerous.

What are Formal Powers?

specific grants of authority defined in the Constitution or in law.

What are Informal Powers?

powers not laid out in the Constitution but used to carry out presidential duties.

What is agenda setting?

Determining which public-policy questions will be debated or considered.

What is Federalist 78 (Hamilton)?

Judiciary branch isn't too powerful because it doesn't have the power of the purse or sword; can't tax, enforce laws, or bring the nation to war.

What is Marbury v. Madison?

This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of Judicial Review.