Unit 2 AP Gov Review

House of Representatives

• based on population of states

• 435 members

• each serve 2 year terms

• more formal and stricter compared to Senate

Power of House of Represenatives

• power to impeach (accuse)

• all tax and revenue bills come here

• has rules committee to set up rules for debate on bills

Senate

• 100 members

• serve 6 year terms

• represent states

• less formal, fewer rules compared to House of Rep

Powers of Senate

• Confirmation or ratification powers

• impeachment trials held here, not in house of rep

Enumerated Powers of Congress

• make federal budget

• taxation

• borrow and coin money

• declare war

• provide funds to maintain armed forces

Filibusters

long speeches to prevent a bill from coming to a vote

Cloture

3/5 vote in the House of Representatives to end Filibuster in order to vote on bill

Hold

Prevents the bill to be passed

Standing Committee

• permanent

• bills first go here

• they will edit, and revise bills

• most bills don’t come past this point

• Congressional Oversight; when Congress watches over executive branch to make sure the bill is being enforced correctly

Committee Chairs

• Leaders of Committees

• always from majority party

• holds power over legislation in committee

Speaker of House

• most powerful person in House of Rep

• schedules bills for debates and votes

• always from majority party

President of Senate

• Vice President of U.S.

• casts tie breaking votes

Senate Majority Leader

• Most powerful person in Senate

• from majority party

Power of the Purse

Congress has power to create federal budget, and can use that money

Discretionary Spending

• Must be approved annually as part of budget bill

• Congress and President can increase and decrease money in budget, annually

Mandatory Spending

• required by law, occurs automatically with no action by Congress

• can be changed by legislation

Entitlement Spending

Spending on programs people are entitled to BY LAW

• social security

• medicare

• medicaid

Pork Barrel Legislation

laws that are provide benefit such as jobs, money to a district

Logrolling

“You vote for me, I vote for you”

Trustee

they vote based on what they believe; unbiased opinion

Delegate

votes based how others want, own opinion does not matter

Politico

can change between Trustee and Delegates

Reapportionment

changing number of seats in House of Rep. to be proportional to each state; occurs after census

Redistricting

Redrawing congressional districts; done by state legislatures

Gerrymandering

drawing the districts in strange shapes to benefit a party (legally allowed)

Baker vs. Carr (1962)

the U.S. Supreme Court case that held that federal courts could hear cases alleging that a state's drawing of electoral boundaries, i.e. redistricting, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

Established the principle of "one person, one vote" and made such patterns of representation illegal. The Court asserted that the federal courts had the right to tell states to reapportion their districts for more equal representation.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

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

the court ruled in a 5–4 majority that redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny under the equal protection clause and on the basis that it violated the Fourteenth Amendment because it was drawn solely based on race.

Divided Government

comparing the House, Senate, and White House, at least one is bound to be led by a different party

Policy Gridlock

slow, hard to get things done

Veto

message to congress rejecting a bill

Pocket Veto

president doesn’t do anything with bill, and congress ends session within 10 days of receiving bill

Commander in Chief

head of armed forces; tremendous power in foreign policy

President has this role

executive agreements

like a treaty, but doesn’t need senate ratification; agreement with foreign heads of state

INFORMAL POWER OF PRESIDENT

Executive orders

don’t require congressional approval; have the power of law, used to direct the bureaucracy and foreign policy

INFORMAL POWER OF PRESIDENT

Signing Statements

when president signs bill, these are notes of what the president agrees and doesn’t agree with on a bill

INFORMAL POWER OF PRESIDENT

Bargaining and Persuasion

President bargaining with Congress on appointments, budgets, and goals; relies on persuasion to gains support from public and congress

INFORMAL POWER OF PRESIDENT

Tension and Confrontation with Senate

president nominates people for roles, but senate needs to confirm

Judicial Appointments

president nominates, Congress decides on confirmation or declining. Whatever role is potentially given would be given for LIFE

NO Senate Confirmation Needed for these roles:

• White House Staff

• Chief of Staff

• Press Secretary

• Policy Advisor

Bully Pulpit

the president reaches out to the public in a way where it leads to Congress being pressured into doing something

State of Union Address

the nationally televised speech by Congress saying what is and will happen, trying to gain support

Article III

Judicial Branch

Marbury v. Madison

establishes judicial review

With his decision in Marbury v. Madison, Chief Justice John Marshall established the principle of judicial review, an important addition to the system of “checks and balances” created to prevent any one branch of the Federal Government from becoming too powerful.

Federalist 78

Hamilton is saying how the judicial branch should be kept separate from the other branches because the judicial branch should be checking them; leading to them not getting fired or cut based on decisions made

• must have power of judicial review

Precedent

a past decision influences future decisions

Stare Decisis

means to follow precedent; doesn’t mean that court has to follow precedent

Judicial Restraint

the idea that the court shouldn’t be very powerful

Judicial activism

opposite of Judicial Restraint; means that the Judicial Branch should freely use their power to advance societal goals

Bureaucracy

helps president in enforcing and implementing federal laws that Congress passes

Breaucrats

just non-political career government employees

• low level

Bureaucratic Leadership

politically appointed official

Merit System

Bureaucrats earn jobs based on merit and/or civil service exam; promotes neutrality

Cabinet Department

major areas of responsibility; Department of Homeland Security, Transportation, Veterans affairs, and Education

Executive Agencies

provide public service ex. EPA

Independent Regulatory Commissions

make rules concerning specific industries to protect public

Government Cooporations

provides service that could be done by private company, but are not profitable ex. Amtrak