Chapter 11- American Government

Bureaucratic Agency

Government unit, composed of unelected civic servants, that is established to accomplish a specific set of goals and objectives as authorized by a legislative body.

Bureaucracy

The name given to the full set of bureaucratic agencies within a government. 

Bureaucrats

Another name for civic servants.

Cabinet

Heads of the fifteen major bureaucratic departments (i.e., department secretaries and the Attorney General) within the executive branch who help the president in setting and executing policy.

Cabinet Departments

The fifteen major bureaucratic departments, each consisting of a vast network of offices and agencies, that are headed by secretaries that are confirmed by the Senate and held directly accountable to the president.

Caucus

A meeting at which local members of a political party register their preference among candidates running for president or select delegates to attend the party's national convention. States use either caucuses or primary elections to determine who their delegates will vote for at the convention to be the party's nominee for president.

Chief of Staff

Considered the president’s closest advisor who generally controls the president’s calendar, access to the president, manages the staff, and advises in all aspects of policy.

Civil Servants

The individuals who fill nonelected positions in government as careers and make up the bureaucracy; also known as bureaucrats.

Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)

Organization that is part of the Executive Office of the President that assists the president in evaluating economic trends and formulating economic policy.

Electoral College

Term used as a shorthand for the system of electing the president. It involves each state being allocated a number of electors equal to the number of seats a state has in the House and Senate (and Washington, D.C. being given three electors as well). Candidates for president choose a slate of electors, and each state decides which slate will represent the state. Today, all states decide to allocate electors based on popular election results within each state. The 535 electors across the 50 states and Washington, D.C. are known collectively as the "Electoral College," and they cast ballots to decide who is president and vice president.

Executive Agreement

An agreement between the president and another country made without formal consent by the Senate. Executive agreements function like treaties except they are more likely to be unilaterally broken by future presidents, which means they are viewed by other countries as less secure and reliable commitments

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

The administrative organization that reports directly to the president and made up of important offices, units, and advisers of the president, including the National Security Council, Council of Economic Advisers, and Office of Management and Budget.

Executive Order

A rule or order issued by the president that has the force of law. Executive orders are deemed valid only if they are authorized by congressional statute and/or by specific constitutional provision(s).

Executive Privilege

The president’s right, under certain circumstances, to withhold information from Congress, the judiciary, or the public.

Faithless Elector

An elector who does not vote for the candidate(s) for president and/or vice president for whom the elector had pledged to vote (as a member of their party).

Going Public

A term for when the president delivers a major television address in the hope that public pressure will result in legislators supporting the president on a major piece of legislation.

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

An agency that provides Congress, its committees, and the heads of the executive agencies with auditing, evaluation, and  investigative services through regular reporting conducted in a relatively fact-based and nonpartisan manner.

Government Corporation

Agencies formed by the federal government to administer a quasi-business enterprise. They fulfill a vital public service the government has an interest in maintaining, but tend to generate enough profit to be self-sustaining. Instead of stockholders, a government corporation has a board of directors and managers, and instead of using profits to pay dividends to investors, government corporations use profits to perpetuate the enterprise.  

Impeachment

The act of charging a government official with serious wrongdoing, which in some cases may lead to the removal of that official from office. Under the U.S. Constitution, government officials may be removed from office if they are impeached by the House and convicted after a trial in the Senate.

Impoundment

A decision by a president to not spend money that has been appropriated by Congress.

Independent Executive Agencies

Bureaucratic agencies with specific tasks that are held accountable to the president but are independent from oversight by any cabinet department.

Independent Regulatory Agencies

A type of independent executive agency that is charged with regulating an industry and that is not only not under the control of any cabinet department, but is also insulated from political pressure from the president. They are insulated because their agency heads can only be removed "for cause," which is different from cabinet secretaries and the heads of other kinds of independent executive agencies, which can be removed without cause.

King Caucus

An informal meeting held in the nineteenth century, sometimes called a congressional caucus, made up of legislators in the Congress who met to decide on presidential nominees for their respective parties.

National Security Council (NSC)

Organization that is part of the Executive Office of the President that assists the president in handling crises in the international arena by identifying quality information and presenting it in a way that is more useful to the president.

Negotiated Rulemaking

A bureaucratic rulemaking process in which neutral advisers convene a committee of those who have vested interests in the proposed rules and help the committee reach a consensus on them.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Organization that is part of the Executive Office of the President that is charged with preparing the president’s budget proposals to Congress, overseeing its implementation, analyzing the effects of all new programs on the national debt, and overseeing executive agency rulemaking.

Override (a veto)

Authority of Congress to enact a bill into law despite a president's veto of the bill. If two-thirds of the House and Senate vote to override a president's veto, the bill becomes law.

Pardon

A government action that results in be person being relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a federal convention. Under the U.S. Constitution, the President is granted authority to issue pardons for anyone convicted of a federal crime except for in cases of impeachment.

Signing Statement

A written statement made by a president at the time they sign a bill into law that seeks to influence the way the law is interpreted and implemented by the bureaucratic agency charged with enforcing it.

Veto

The power to block proposed legislation from becoming a law. Under the U.S. Constitution, the president can veto bills passed by Congress to stop them from becoming law, but Congress can "override" the veto by a two-thirds vote of both chambers of Congress. If Congress votes to override a president's veto, it becomes law despite the president's veto.

Whistleblower

A person who reveals information about activity within an organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whistleblowers can use a variety of internal or external channels to communicate information or allegations.unsafe,