Unit 2 Facts and Terms List

Incumbents

Those already holding office. In congressional elections, incumbents usually win.

Casework

Activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals; cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get

Pork Barrel

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

Bicameral

A legislature consisting of two parts, or houses

Rule Committee

the "traffic cop" of the House that sets the legislative calendar and issues rules for debate on a bill

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.

Cloture

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

Speaker of the house

An office mandated by the Constitution. The Speaker is chosen in practice by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed to the presidency should that office become vacant.

Whip

a senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking

Standing committee

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

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.

Conference committee

Committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form.

Legislative oversight

Congress's monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings.

Seniority system

a system that gives the member of the majority party with the longest uninterrupted service on a particular committee the leadership of that committee

Caucus

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

Bill

a proposed law presented to a legislative body for consideration

22nd Amendment

Amendment that created a 2 term limit on presidents.

25th Amendment

(1) Succession of VP if president dies or become incapable to do his job.(2) if there is no VP, president must appoint one, and congress must approve

Impeachment

A formal document charging a public official with misconduct in office

Executive orders

Formal orders issued by the president to direct action by the federal bureaucracy.

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.

National Security Council

An office created in 1947 to coordinate the president's foreign and military policy advisers. Its formal members are the president, vice president, secretary of state, and secretary of defense, and it is managed by the president's national security assistant.

Council of Economic Advisors

A three-member body appointed by the president to advise the president on economic policy.

O.M.B.

Office of Management and Budget; prepares the federal budget and monitors spending

Veto

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

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.

War Powers Resolution

A law passed in 1973 spelling out the conditions under which the president can commit troops without congressional approval.

Bureaucracies

formal organizations characterized by a hierarchy of authority, a clear division of labor, explicit rules, and impersonality

Patronage

Granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Passed in 1883, an Act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage.

Merit Principle

The idea that hiring should be based on entrance exams and promotion ratings to produce administration by people with talent and skill.

Hatch Act

A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics.

Office of Personnel Management

The office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal government, using elaborate rules in the process.

Independant Regulatory Agency

An administrative agency that is not considered part of the government's executive branch and is not subject to the authority of the president. Independent agency officials cannot be removed without cause.

Government Corporations

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

Independant Executive Agency

A federal agency that is not part of a cabinet department but reports directly to the president.

Policy Implementation

the stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people whom it affects. It involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program.

Standard Operating Procedures (S.O.P.)s

these procedures are used by bureaucrats to bring uniformity to complex organizations. Uniformity improves fairness and makes personnel interchangeable.

Administrative Discretion

Authority given by Congress to the Federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws.

street-level bureaucrats

A phrase referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion.

Regulation

government intervention in a market that affects the production of a good

Deregulation

The lifting of government restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities.

command-and-control policy

The typical system of regulation whereby government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes offenders.

Incentive System

An alternative to command-and-control, with market-like strategies such as rewards used to manage public policy.

Iron Triangle

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

Class Action Suit

A case brought by someone to help him or her and all others who are similarly situated

Amicus Curie Brief

"friend of the court" brief filed by an interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision

Original Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These are the courts that determine the facts about a case.

Appellate Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts

Senatorial Courtesy

Presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.

Solicitor General

A presidential appointee and the third-ranking office in the Department of Justice. The solicitor general is in charge of the appellate court litigation of the federal government.

Stare Decisis

Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from previous cases

Precedent

an example that may serve as a basis for imitation or later action

Originalism

the belief that the United States Constitution should be interpreted in the way the authors originally intended it

Judicial Review

Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws

Judicial Restraint

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

Judicial Activism

An interpretation of the U.S. constitution holding that the spirit of the times and the needs of the nation can legitimately influence judicial decisions (particularly decisions of the Supreme Court)