AP gov - chapter 5 vocabulary: individuals, institutions, and executive power

Executive branch

Branch of government charged with putting nation's laws into effect

Formal/enumerated powers

Powers explicitly granted in constitution

Informal powers

Powers not laid out in constitution but used to carry out other presidential duties

Treaties

Agreement with foreign government negotiated by president and requiring 2/3 vote in senate to approve

State of the union address

Annual speech from president to congress updating branch on state of national affairs

Veto

Formal rejection from president to congress of a bill that successfully had passed both chambers

Pocket veto

Informal veto caused when president chooses not to sign a bill within 10 days, during a time where congress has adjoined at the end of a session.

Presidential pardons

Presidential authority to release individuals convicted of a crime from legal consequences and set aside punishment for a crime

Executive privilege

Right claimed by presidents to keep certain conversations, records and other transcripts confidential from outside scrutiny especially that of congress

Executive agreements

Agreement between president and another nation that does not have the same durability in the American system as a treaty but does not require senate ratification

Signing statements

Written comments issued by presidents while signing a bill into law that usually consist of political states/reasons for signing the bill, but may also include presidents interpretation of the law itself

Executive orders

Policy directly issued by presidents that do not require congressional approval

War Powers resolution

Law passed over president Nixon's veto that restricts the power of the president to maintain troops in combat for more than sixty days without congressional authorization

Impeachment

The process of removing a president from office, with articles of impeachment issued by a majority of votes in the House of Representatives, followed by a trial in the senate, with 2/3 vote necessary to convict and remove

Executive office of the president

A collection of officials within the White House organization designed mainly to provide information to the president

Bargaining and persuasion

Informal tool used by the president to persuade members of congress to support their policy initiatives

Bully pulpit

Presidential appeals to the public to pressure other branches of government to support their polices

Going public

Tactic in which presidents reach out directly to the american people with the hope that the people will, in turn, put pressure upon their representatives/senators to press for a president's policy goals