ap gov unit 2 part 1

Bill

a proposed law

Majority Leader

The legislative leader selected by the majority party who helps plan party strategy, confers with other party leaders, and tries to keep members of the party in line.

Gerrymandering

The process of drawing a district's boundaries to gain an advantage in elections

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 bill/issue

Constituents

The people who a member of Congress has been elected to represent.

Redistricting

The process of setting up new district lines after reapportionment is complete.

Apportionment/ Reapportionment

The process of reassigning representation based on population, after every census.

Minority Leader

The legislative leader selected by the minority party who helps plan party strategy, confers with other party leaders, and tries to keep members of the party in line.

Speaker of the House

The leader of the majority party who serves as the presiding officer of the House of Representatives. Sets the legislative calendar and appoints committee chairs and members.

Majority Party

the party that holds the majority of legislative seats in either the House or the Senate.

Census

a population count

Censure

A vote within Congress of formal disapproval of a member's actions.

Incumbent

An officeholder who is seeking reelection.

Standing Committee

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

Conference Committee

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

Select Committee

A temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period and for a special/specific purpose.

Joint Committee

A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate

Committee Chairs

Leaders of committees. They play dominant roles in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house.

Congressional Hearing

Congressional committee sessions in which members listen to witnesses who provide information and opinions on matters of interest to the committee, including pending legislation.

Majority Whip

This person watches how party members intend to vote on bills (counts votes), persuades them to vote as the party wishes, and sees that the party members are present to vote. A member of the majority party.

Minority Whip

This person watches how party members intend to vote on bills (counts votes), persuades them to vote as the party wishes, and sees that the party members are present to vote. A member of the minority party.

President Pro-Tempore

A leader elected by the Senate to preside "for the time being" in the absence of the vice president.

Minority Party

The party that holds the minority of legislative seats in either the House or the Senate.

Cloture

A procedure for ending a debate (usually ends a filibuster) - voting immediately follows.

Sub Committees

Standing committees that are further divided into smaller, more specialized bodies.

Appropriations Bills

An act of Congress that actually funds programs within limits established by authorization bills.

Legislative Veto

A provision that allows a congressional resolution (passed by a majority of congress, but not signed by the President) to nullify a rulemaking or other action taken by an executive agency.

Impoundment

President's refusal to spend money that Congress has appropriated for a program.

Legislative oversight

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

Quorum

The minimum number of members who must be present to permit a legislative body to take official action.

Pocket Veto

An indirect veto of a legislative bill by the president or a governor by retaining the bill unsigned until it is too late for it to be dealt with during the legislative session.

Veto

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

Logrolling

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

Lobbyist

people who work on behalf of an interest group or business to try to influence legislation, regulation, or other government decisions, actions, or policies.

Closed Rule

Forbids members to offer any amendments to a bill while on the floor.

Open Rule

Permits amendments to a bill while on the floor.

Authorization Bills

Bills that establish, continue, or modify government agencies or programs.

Casework

When a congressperson helps a constituent with a problem.

Pork-Barrel

Federal projects, grants, and contracts available to state and local governments, businesses, colleges, and other institutions in a congressional district.

Pigeonholing

The ability of a committee to kill a bill by setting it aside and not acting on it.

Entitlements

Social programs that continue from one year to the next.

Safe Seat

an office that is extremely likely to be won by a particular candidate or political party

Bureaucratic Rule-Making

guidelines issued by government agencies, which provide specific details about how a policy will be implemented.

Politico (Model of Representation)

An elected representative who acts as a trustee or as a delegate, depending on the issue

Delegate (Model of Representation)

The view that an elected representative should represent the opinions of his or her constituents even if it goes against the conscience of the elected official

Trustee (Model of Representation)

representatives should rely on their own judgement when making decisions. Politicians believe that their constituents have elected them because they trust their judgment to make the right decision.

Docket

a court's calendar, showing the schedule of cases it is to hear

Precedent (stare decisis)

A previous decision or ruling that, in common law tradition, is binding on previous decisions.

Congressional Budget Office

Advises Congress on the probable consequences of its decisions, forecasts revenues, and is a counterweight to the president's Office of Management and Budget.

Civil Service

The permanent professional branches of a government's administration, excluding military and judicial branches and elected politicians.

Federal Register

A daily publication of the US federal government that issues proposed and final administrative regulations of federal agencies.

Party Caucus

A meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy.

Executive Office of the President

The cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out their responsibilities.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The total output of all economic activity in the nation, including goods and services.

Amicus Curiae Brief

Literally, a "friend of the court" brief, filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case.

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.

Fiscal Policy

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending.

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 agency in the Executive Office of the President that advises the president on national security.

Chief of Staff

The person who oversees the operations of all White House staff and controls access to the president.

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.

Committee Chair

They play a dominant role in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house.

Twenty-Second Amendment

Limits the president to two terms in office.

Twenty-Fifth Amendment

Establishes procedures for filling presidential and vice presidential vacancies and makes provisions for presidential disability.

Executive Order

A rule or order issued by the president having the force of law.

Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)

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

Office of Management and Budget

An office that prepares the president's budget and also advises presidents on proposals from departments and agencies and helps review their proposed regulations.

War Powers Resolution

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

Sixteenth Amendment

Authorized Congress to enact a national income tax.

Tax Expenditures

Revenue losses that result from special exemptions, exclusions, or deductions on federal tax law.

Seventeenth Amendment

Allowed americans to vote directly for U.S senators.

Social Security Act

Created a tax on workers and employers. That money provided monthly pensions for retired people.

Medicare

A federal program of health insurance for persons 65 years of age and older.

House Ways and Means Committee

House standing committee responsible for initiating all taxation and revenue bills.

House Rules Committee

The committee in the House of Representatives that reviews most bills coming from a House committee and determines whether, and in what order, to schedule their consideration on the floor of the House. Decides rules for debate on the bill.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

An agency of Congress that analyzes presidential budget recommendations and estimates the cost of proposed legislation.

Budget Resolution

A congressional decision that states the maximum amount of money the government should spend.

Continuing Resolution

A temporary funding law that Congress passes when an appropriations bill has not been decided by the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1.

Bureaucracy

An administrative group of non-elected officials charged with implementing policies created by the other branches of government.

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.

Independent Regulatory Commission

A government agency or commission with regulatory power whose independence is protected by Congress.

Government Corporation

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

Independent Executive Agency

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

Policy Implementation

Carrying out a policy through government agencies and courts.

Administrative Discretion/Discretionary Authority

The power given by Congress to the Federal bureaucracy to make decisions about the implementation of existing laws, using its judgment.

Incentive System

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

Deregulation

A policy promoting cutbacks in the amount of Federal regulation in specific areas of economic activity.

Iron Triangles

A mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees.

Original Jurisdiction

The power of a court to hear a case first, before any other court.

Appellate Jurisdiction

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

District Courts

The 94 federal courts of original jurisdiction. They are the only federal courts in which trials are held.

Court of Appeals

A court with appellate jurisdiction that hears appeals from the decisions of lower courts.

Solicitor General

Justice Department officer who argues the government's cases before the Supreme Court.

Originalism

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

Judicial Implementation

How and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy, thereby affecting the behavior of others. The courts rely on other units of government to enforce their decisions.

Judicial Restraint

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

Judicial Activism

A judicial philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect current conditions and values.

Bully Pulpit

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